In many ways, Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) is anything but clueless. She can put together a totally kickin’ outfit — with the help of a computerized closet organizer, of course. She knows exactly how to convince a stubborn teacher to raise her grade — help him fall in love, obviously. And she has a talent for making snarky comebacks — “Shouldn’t you go to school on the East coast? I hear girls at NYU aren’t at all particular.”
In other ways, however, the California teen lives up to the title of Amy Heckerling’s 1995 film. Aside from mispronouncing “Haitians” and calling Billie Holiday a “him,” Cher is totally clueless when it comes to boys. She has no idea that Elton (Jeremy Sisto) has his eye on her instead of Tai (Brittany Murphy), she cannot tell that Christian (Justin Walker) is gay and, even though it’s obvious, she does not seem to realize that her former stepbrother, Josh (Paul Rudd), is falling in love with her.
Not that anyone could blame him. As Cher narrates her privileged life in sunny Beverly Hills, it’s hard not to love her. Well-meaning and hilariously oblivious, her insights are the best thing about the romantic teenage comedy. Loosely based on Jane Austen’s novel, Emma, Clueless is a modern twist on a classic tale.
To bridge the 180 years between the two stories, the estates of rural England become the mansions of suburban Beverly Hills. Other details are also changed to better resonate with a young American audience growing up in the 1990s. The unfit suitor is not a farmer, but a stoner. The older, protective love interest is not a neighbor, but a former stepbrother. The mysterious newcomer is not secretly engaged, but secretly gay.
Despite such modernizing elements, the moral of the story remains unchanged. Cher, like Emma, learns the perils of meddling and the joys of discovering her true feelings. If it sounds cliché, that’s because it is. Clueless is the best kind of cliché, however, because it does not pretend to be anything else.
The script may not be deep, dramatic or thought-provoking, but it is engaging, clever and, most importantly, funny. The cast is young, fresh and talented. The music is sunny and high-energy. The costumes are wonderfully over-the-top. The lingo is never bogus — as if! In other words, Clueless is the ultimate teenage comedy about love, friendship and growing up.
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