Clueless . Austin Chronicle . 08-10-98

Clueless

DIRECTED BY: Amy Heckerling

REVIEWED: 08-10-98

Intense moments on foggy moors, decadent period costumes and stilted banter characterize most film adaptations of 19th-century novels. The Jane Austen craze a couple of years ago generated several such period pieces, including the tedious Emma, starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Though faithful to the novel's particulars, Paltrow's Emma conveys none of Austen's fire, humor, and humanity. Enter Clueless, an adaptation of Emma which, though far from literal, is dazzlingly faithful in spirit. Director/ screenwriter Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Look Who's Talking) updates the story from 1780s British high society to a 1990s Beverly Hills high school. Emma is Cher, played to a tee by Alicia Silverstone at her hair-flipping best. Joined by best friend Dion ("we were both named after great singers of the past"), new student Tai, and an expertly cast ensemble of other upper-class teen characters, Cher makes a game of setting up her teachers and friends, squealing "Oooh ... project!" at every opportunity. Of course her success is but temporary because everything backfires when it comes to her own love life. The emotions are so genuine and Silverstone so endearing in her naiveté that the film (unlike the spin-off TV show) is fantastically watchable. It is also imminently quotable, particularly when it comes to the lines spoken by hilarious character actor Dan Hedaya, who plays Cher's father. To Cher's date he deadpans, "If anything happens to my daughter I have a .45 and a shovel. I doubt seriously that anyone would miss you." With a light soundtrack (keep an eye out for a party-scene appearance by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones) and bright fashion-plate wardrobe, it's obviously not meant to transport the viewer back to turn-of-the-century England. Nevertheless, it captures Emma's theme. It is indeed about cluelessness (social, romantic, academic), but above all it is, like the Austen novel, a witty, unsentimental fable about how love makes you a better person.

--Ada Calhoun

Full Length Reviews
Clueless

Capsule Reviews
Clueless

Film Vault Suggested Links
There's Something About Mary
Nine Months
Woo

Rate this Film
If you don't want to vote on a film yet, and would like to know how others voted, leave the rating selection as "Vote Here" and then click the Cast Vote button.