‘Clueless’ or — But Seriously Smart?
“Ms. Stoeger, my plastic surgeon doesn’t want me doing any activity where balls fly at my nose.”
“Well, there goes your social life.”
Watching ‘Clueless’ (1995) for the second time in a month last night gave me the chance to figure out why I love this film so much (and I do love this film). Is it the sharp and incredibly funny script? That’s certainly one of the reasons. Is it the fact that Cher has an actual character arc? She undeniably grows and develops as a human being here which you can’t say for all movies (she’s automatically more interesting as a person than, say, Travis Bickle or Don Corleone). Or maybe it’s the structure and pacing which, like the stitching for an Alaïa dress, is immaculate? Well, the decision to update ‘Emma’ to a privileged high-school was certainly an inspired stroke a genius.
Yet for me, last night, it was not only all the above but also one specific aspect in particular — the tone. ‘Clueless’ is funny, sharp and clever as hell but it’s the tone, the way it perfectly balances scathing putdowns, brutal zingers, savage retorts and bitchy barbs with real tenderness and compassion that grabbed, moved and impressed me. These are all, potentially, deeply unsympathetic people (imagine if this film was made today… and by a man!) yet you can tell the film genuinely loves them all.
This is, not surprisingly, best represented by Cher herself. She is totally clueless, and eventually realises this herself, but that’s because she’s simply young, naive and never had to worry about anything in her life (this is why setting it amongst the elites is important) but there’s not a shred of malice or spite in her. At the start she has humourous, vaguely endearing in their immaturity (this is why setting it in a high-school is important), world views but you can also sense her testing and pushing the boundaries of the adult world around her and learning when her beliefs and reality clash. This makes her a rounded human being.
Treating the characters with respect and honesty this way is one of the reasons the humour works so well here. You can feel everyone has license to call each other out on their own shit or nonsense and that it won’t lead to catastrophe; the movie feels psychologically healthy despite all the sociopathic behaviour on display. Confrontation is not just a necessity but it can also be fun and the entire film is an argument that ridicule can be an intensely deep form of love.
The way ‘Clueless’ skillfully juggles all this means the movie never becomes bitter, nasty or judgmental… despite all the judging on display (or, as Murray would say — it’s a movie with mocking, but not necessarily misogynistic overtones)… but, instead, manages to combine wit and heart with a real sharp sense of controlled bite. We can feel this film has teeth but we know it won’t recklessly break skin. I think it was this sense of respect and care for these characters that meant I was tearing up a little by the end this time. Hey, it’s a sweet movie!
Apparently writer/director Amy Heckerling had an unusual experience when she showed the film to the execs at Paramount — they loved it so much she didn’t receive a single studio note. I can understand why because ‘Clueless’ is pretty much perfect. It’s also funny as hell.
