CLUELESS
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 5.7
United States, 1995 U.S. Availability: wide release 7/19/95 Running Length: 1:38 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Double entendres, profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Dan Hedaya, Wallace Shawn, Twink Kaplan Director: Amy Heckerling Producers: Scott Rudin and Robert Lawrence Screenplay: Amy Heckerling Cinematography: Bill Pope Music: David Kitay U.S. Distributor: Paramount Pictures
As appealing as Alicia Silverstone is (and she possesses that ethereal "star quality" which is sadly lacking in many of today's up- and-coming performers), her presence can't rescue this aptly-titled movie. Part pop satire and part teen comedy, CLUELESS shows its unevenness early, runs out of steam about midway through, then sputters to a conclusion that takes an eternity to arrive at. Like THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE, this film contains some amusing moments, but not enough to justify a feature-length running time. Charm this thin doesn't take long to wear off.
Silverstone (THE CRUSH) leads the cast as ultra-Valley girl Cher -- a 16-year old with a very rich daddy (Dan Hedaya, best known as Carla's ex on CHEERS) who uses a computer to assist with her wardrobe selection and would rather argue with her teachers for better grades than do assignments to earn them. Cher loves to talk, as is amply demonstrated by a series of endless voice-overs that occur throughout the film. Her best friend, Dionne (Stacey Dash), is equally as superficial, so it's not hard to understand why the two get along so well. CLUELESS looks at a number of Cher's "escapades": her attempts to turn a sweet-but-uncool schoolmate (Brittany Murphy) into the epitome of popularity, her matchmaking between two teachers (Twink Kaplan and respected character actor Wallace Shawn), and her search for true love. Essentially, nothing much happens -- the film is an excuse to plunge into the life of a caricature that Silverstone makes more appealing than one might reasonably expect.
Much of the humor is sophomoric. Moments of inventive comedy (such as an unexpected ride on the freeway) are far between. Writer/director Amy Heckerling creates a tone so light that it borders on vapid. On the other hand, some of the dialogue is clever, and there are a few memorable lines. Ren and Stimpy are described as "way existential". In the spirit of political correctness, female virgins are called "hymenally challenged". And Cher likens her hopeless quest for a high school boyfriend to "searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie."
Overall, though, that's all CLUELESS amounts to: a group of modestly amusing, satirical vignettes tied together by one-liners. The picture doesn't offer any big laughs, and there's never any character identification -- Heckerling's FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, a top-level teen picture, worked in large part because the protagonists seemed real. In that case, Cameron Crowe's script aimed for fun and feeling. Here, the latter is sacrificed for the former, and the result doesn't leave much of an impression. In part because the film is so inoffensive (no sex, nudity, or violence), it has no edge. CLUELESS is the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy: certainly not unpleasant, but unsatisfying despite the sweet taste.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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