Clueless is a 1995 teen comedy film written & directed by Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, Johnny Dangerously, & Look Who’s Talking 1/2). It’s loosely based on Jane Austen’s 1815 novel Emma. It was produced by Robert Lawrence (Die Hard with a Vengeance, Rapid Fire, Down Periscope, & Nothing to Lose) & Scott Rudin (No Country for Old Men, Flatliners, White Sands, The Firm, & Moonrise Kingdom). It was followed up by a 1996 television series featuring some of the original cast from the film. A remake is in development right now. The budget was $12 million & it grossed $56.6 million worldwide at the box office!!!!
Cher Horowitz (played by: Alicia Silverstone from The Babysitter, The Crush, Excess Baggage, & Blast from the Past) lives in a Beverly Hills mansion with her father Mel (played by: Dan Hedaya from Blood Simple, The Usual Suspects, Mulholland Dr., & Commando), a $500-an-hour litigator. Cher is attractive, popular, & wealthy. She attends Bronson Alcott High School with her best friend Dionne Davenport (played by: Stacey Dash from Clueless TV Series, Mo’ Money, & Renaissance Man). Dionne has a long-term relationship with popular student Murray (played by: Donald Faison from Clueless TV Series, Scrubs, Remember the Titans, & Sugar Hill). Cher’s rival Amber (played by: Elisa Donovan from Clueless TV Series, A Night at the Roxbury, & Sabrina the Teenage Witch) is always trying to one up her in everything. Josh (played by: Paul Rudd from The Avengers franchise, Ant-Man franchise, Wet Hot American Summer, & Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers), Cher’s socially conscious ex-stepbrother visits her during a break from college. They spar continually but playfully. Cher plays matchmaker for two hard-grading teachers at her school, Mr. Hall (played by: Wallace Shawn from The Princess Bride, Clueless TV Series, & Toy Story franchise) & Miss Geist (played by: Twink Caplan from Clueless TV Series, Look Who’s Talking 1/2, & Loser). After Cher sees their newfound happiness, she realizes she enjoys doing good deeds. Cher then decides to give back to the community by “adopting” a “tragically unhip” new girl at school, Tai Frasier (played by: Brittany Murphy from Sin City, 8 Mile, Spun, & Cherry Falls). Cher & Dionne give Tai a makeover. Cher stops the attraction between Tai & Travis Birkenstock (played by: Breckin Meyer from Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, The Craft, Road Trip, & 54). She tries to steer her towards Elton (played by: Jeremy Sisto from May, Wrong Turn, Suicide Kings, & Six Feet Under), a popular & wealthy student. Elton rejects Tai & tries to seduce Cher. A new student at their school named Christian (played by: Justin Walker from Last Resort, Teen Monster, & Born Bad) becomes Cher’s target boyfriend but he rejects her advances. Tai’s newfound popularity strains her relationship with Cher. Tai confesses her feelings for Josh & wants Cher’s help in pursuing him. Cher realizes that she actually liked Josh after refusing to help Tai. She starts to change her life around for the good. Can she win Josh over? Or Will the popular Tai win that battle????
Amy Heckerling made one of the best teen comedies in the 80’s with Fast Times at Ridgemont High. She returned to the sub-genre & did the same thing with Clueless for the 90’s. It’s a cinematic time capsule for those years. Heckerling captured everything from those years with this. She nailed the slang, dialogue, atmosphere, music, & the look for this production. It’s easy to see why this was so popular when it was first released. It’s hilarious & it features more than a few laugh out loud moments. Alicia Silverstone was born for this role & she will most likely always be remembered for this performance when it comes to her career. She had excellent chemistry with Stacey Dash & Paul Rudd here. I’ve always been a huge fan of her & she is definitely one of her finest hours when it comes to cinema. She had a top notch supporting cast to help her out which includes Dan Hedaya, Stacey Dash, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Sisto, Brittany Murphy, Wallace Shawn, Breckin Meyer, & Donald Faison. Clueless really takes you back to high school & all the typical students plus teachers that you had to deal with. It does have some serious scenes with some drama splashed for a nice overall balance. Clueless is still very fun & entertaining after al these years. This one still has a massive fan base & gets quoted all the time, RECOMMENDED!!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Paramount Pictures for this 25th anniversary release! This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer os exactly the same as the previous home video release. It looked great before on blu ray so that’s definitely something to mention because it’s rare but sometimes newer re-issues actually get worse somehow. Clueless is pure 90’s with it’s look & atmosphere, it takes you back to your earlier years. The costumes & beautiful locations really stand out here. It has a variety of audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0, & Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0 on this re-release. It has the same exact audio as the older blu ray also. That’s not necessary a bad thing because it sounds fantastic in the home set up. All the dialogue is very clean, all the silly moments are elevated, & the music has a nice boost to it. Lots of tracks that you will remember & recognize from back then. I still have the Mighty Mighty Bosstones stuck in my head. It has English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, & Spanish subtitles.
Let’s discuss the special features from Paramount Pictures! It has the same exact extras as the previous release. “Clue or False Trivia Game” is a fun interactive trivia game that plays during the movie.”The Class of ’95” is almost 19 minutes. It has interviews with director Amy Heckerling, actors Alicia Silverstone, Dan Hedaya, Stacey Dash, Paul Rudd, Brittany Murphy, Wallace Shawn, Donald Faison, Twink Caplan, & various members of the production. They chat about the feature & their experience on it. They talk the world of Clueless & the various styles in it. They break down the cast & characters for it. “Fashion 101” is almost 11 minutes. It has interviews with the director, cast, & various members of the production. It goes over the look of the film. They chat about the fashion & costumes for Clueless. It shows off the variety of styles that appear in the movie. “Language Arts” is a little over 8 minutes. It has interviews with the director, cast, & various members of the production. They chat about the unique words, quotes, & phrases used in the film. They talk about the research & time put into doing this. They give the definitions & what exactly the slang used in this world means. “Suck ‘N Blow: A Tutorial” is almost 3 minutes. It has interviews with the director, cast, & various members of the production. It shows you how to play the game from Clueless. It goes through the difficulties they had doing it. They chat about the different cards they used for it. “Driver’s Ed” is almost 4 minutes. It has interviews with the director, cast, & various members of the production. They revisit & bring up the hilarious freeway scene. “We’re History” is almost 9 minutes. It has interviews with the director, cast, & various members of the production. They all chat about their experience & how the film changed their lives. They tell stories about the production & life after Clueless. It has two “Trailers” for Clueless which includes Teaser & Theatrical. As you can see, it’s not much different than the other releases from the past but the biggest selling point here is the limited edition packaging. This 25th anniversary steel book looks amazing & I love the design for it. It also comes with a digital code. A standard version was also released. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
