Theme and director’s intention -
"The movie is aimed at teenagers, but like all good comedies, it will appeal to anyone who has a sense of humor and an ear for the ironic." -Ebert
"Like an episode of "Beverly Hills, 90210" on helium, "Clueless" is a fresh, disarmingly bright and at times explosively funny comedy well worth a trip to the mall, even if it eventually runs out of gas. " -Lowry
“The setting is Bronson Alcott High School, which is not this film's only nod to the classics. Some of "Clueless" is actually lifted from Jane Austen's "Emma," with Cher a mind-bendingly up-to-date version of the novel's matchmaking minx. Ms. Heckerling (who also wrote the film) deserves extra credit for doing that homework, but some of the modified Austen situations become a little improbable here.”
- Maslin
Separate elements and their relationship to the whole -
"So, OK, you're probably like - what is this, a Noxzema commercial? First words of "Clueless" That's exactly what I was like. The hand-held camera was tilting crazily, showing the sun-blessed teenagers of Southern California, and I'm like - what is this, an MTV video?" - Ebert
"Heckerling gets the most out of her youthful cast, beginning with Silverstone , who's not only adorable but possesses a real comic flair. Though her choice as the MTV Movie Awards' newcomer of the year seemed like something of a joke in 1993 ("The Crush" was a rather reprehensible movie), she certainly lives up to that promise here." -Lowry
"Tech credits are also superb, down to the outlandish costumes, carefully chosen song score and opulent Beverly Hills estates -- gaudy enough to make even the Clampetts and the brats on "90210" eat their collective hearts out." -Lowry
"Clueless" is best enjoyed as an extended fashion show (kudos to the costume designer, Mona May) peppered with amusing one-liners, most of which Ms. Silverstone gets to deliver. On television violence: "There's no point in taking it out of shows that need it for entertainment value!" - Maslin
"Not Cher who won the Oscar. Cher, the heroine of this movie. A little later, she explains that she and her friend Dionne "were both named after great singers of the past that now do infomercials." (She adds, "She's my friend because we both know what it is to have people be jealous of us.") "Clueless" is a smart and funny movie, and the characters are in on the joke. Cher (Alicia Silverstone), who lives in a mansion and looks like Cybill Shepherd, is capable of lines like, "Why learn to park when everry place you go has a valet?" But she puts a little satirical spin on them." -Ebert
"The only child of a widowed corporate lawyer (played with gruff charm by Dan Hedaya), Cher finds there are few situations she can't talk her way out of, down to manipulating her teachers into a romance to mellow them out enough to get better grades.
Cher's big project, however, is Tai (Brittany Murphy), a fashion victim who clearly needs a clue. Taking it upon herself to elevate the new kid into the popular elite, she begins a wholesale makeover that eventually leads her in a small way to examine her own persona, including her relationship with Josh (Paul Rudd), the son of her father's ex-wife by a former marriage. (That means the two aren't related at all, though the distinction was clearly lost on some members of the preview audience.)" -Lowry
“While Miss Silverstone guides Cher through the witty costume changes that serve as character development, she's backed up by a solid supporting cast. Ms. Dash is especially appealing as Dionne, Cher's true soul mate, who upon finding someone else's hair extension in her boyfriend's car is most offended because the hair is polyester and looks cheap. Dan Hedaya is enjoyably gruff as the father whose litigation practice subsidizes Cher's expensive habit, and who has even bought her a car that she hasn't learned to park. "What's the point?" she reasons. "Everywhere you go, you've got valet." - Maslin
Subjective evaluation of the film
"Heckerling walks a fine line between satire and put-on, but she finds it, and her dialogue could be anthologized. You have to like a movie with lines such as: "Searching for high grades in high school is like searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie." Or this excuse in P.E. class: "My plastic surgeon doesn't want me doing any activity where balls fly at my nose." The answer to that, which cannot be printed here, may be worth at least a third of the price of admission, all by itself." -Ebert
""Clueless" does stumble a bit toward the end. It's hard to maintain such manic energy, and the story seems to have little idea where it's going before settling on a rather pat conclusion." -Lowry
“Despite its literary quasi-pedigree, "Clueless" doesn't have much more than these scattered gags to keep it going.” - Maslin
The film’s level of ambition
"The movie is aimed at teenagers, but like all good comedies, it will appeal to anyone who has a sense of humor and an ear for the ironic." -Ebert
"Even so, the movie emerges as a breath of fresh air in a summer where most of the comedy has been formulaic." -Lowry
“Some of "Clueless" is actually lifted from Jane Austen's "Emma," with Cher a mind-bendingly up-to-date version of the novel's matchmaking minx. Ms. Heckerling (who also wrote the film) deserves extra credit for doing that homework, but some of the modified Austen situations become a little improbable here.” - Maslin
Words you found interesting.
"Satirical." -Ebert
"Flair." - Lowry
"Delectable." -Maslin
Relationship to film movements/genres/ relation to other filmmakers’ work.
"She is one of the most totally self-absorbed characters in a movie since the heroes of "Wayne's World," and yet she isn't a victim, and we get the idea she willl grow up tough and clever, like her dad (Dan Hedaya)." -Ebert
"Clueless" carries on the tradition of movies "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Dazed and Confused" in skewering the social strata of teen life, here taking advantage as well of the exaggerated rich-kid setting, where spoiled teens call each other on cellular phones as they parade down the halls." -Lowry
"Taking her (uncredited) inspiration from Jane Austen's novel "Emma," writer-director Amy Heckerling (who also directed "Fast Times") has a dead-on ear for the updated "Valley Girl" dialogue with a Beverly Hills-Westside twist." -Lowry
“But it's true that the tirelessly helpful instincts of Austen's Emma have been nicely translated into a contemporary idiom. "God, this woman is screaming for a makeover!" Cher decides about a dowdy teacher. "I'm her only hope." - Maslin
Ebert, Roger “Clueless” Rev. of Clueless, dir. Amy Heckerling Refn. Chicago Sun Times 19 July 1995
Lowry, Brian. “Drive” Rev. of Clueless, dir. Amy Heckerling Refn. Vaiety16 July. 1995
Maslin, Janet. “Clueless (1995) FILM REVIEW; A Teen-Ager Who's Clear on Her Priorities” Rev. of Clueless, dir. Amy Heckerling. The New York Times 19 July 1995
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