Cher Horowitz, the central character in Clueless, is one of the most irritating heroines in the history of movies. She’s a rich, slim, beautiful Beverly Hills princess obsessed with parties, boys and clothing brands. According to her, the world’s problems can easily be settled by using the solutions she applied to the seating plan at her dad’s birthday dinner. But Cher is also a creation of genius because she draws us into her life and makes us understand the raw, damaged reality that lies behind her superficial perfection. She’s not a privileged brat. She’s all of us.
At the start of this musical remake, Cher takes us on a tour of her luxury home. ‘The Greek columns date all the way back to 1975,’ she says. At school, she befriends Tai, a geeky newcomer from New York, and she fosters a romance between Tai and her friend, Elton. Cher is already in love with her stepbrother Josh but she can’t see that. Meanwhile she develops a crush on the chic, fashion-loving Christian who has no interest in women. He’s gay. But Cher can’t see that either. And because we know more about Cher than she knows herself, we feel concerned and protective towards her. We’re desperate for her to be happy and we get anxious and scared if her life goes awry.
It’s a brilliant psychological trick by the movie’s author Amy Heckerling, who also wrote the dialogue for this pacy, stylish update. Everything you loved about the movie is here. The fashions, the hairstyles, the brand names, the cheesy slang. All the great dialogue is preserved too.
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