The SmarK DVD Rant – Clueless
“I’ve got a .45 and a shovel. Believe me, no one’s gonna miss you.”
- Cher’s dad lays down the law, although he needn’t have worried.
This is the Blu-Ray redo of the “Whatever Edition” of the movie, which came out on DVD in 2005. The movie itself is very much a product of the 90s, as star Alicia Silverstone is pretty much the defining star of that decade via her Aerosmith videos. And yet the movie pulls off a neat trick, being both incredibly dated (everyone has cell phones! How CRAZY!) and yet timeless in the humor because it’s not based on any actual trends.
Originally conceived as a TV series and then changed into a movie by director Amy Heckerling after things didn’t pan out with the network, Clueless is very loosely based on the novel Emma by Jane Austen. Given that it was originally intended to be a shorter series of 22 minute episodes, the plot is structured much differently than your standard teen comedy. The story centers on Cher (Silverstone), the spoiled daughter of a California lawyer, and her collegiate stepbrother played by Paul Rudd. Rudd, astonishingly, looks exactly the same at 20 as he does today. Faces that are now familiar abound here as unknowns, including Breckin Meyer as a burnout skateboarder, Scrubs’ Donald Faison as a wannabe gangsta, and Brittany Murphy in her first big role as Cher’s makeover project Tai.
What charmed me so much, though, was that this is a very smart movie about people who are kind of dumb, or at least clueless at times (see what I did there?). And it’s really funny. I had never seen this movie before reviewing it, although it’s one of my wife’s all-time favorites, and I can see why. It’s endlessly quotable, and witty without being pretentious. For example, Cher is dating the hottest guy in school, Christian, and the movie slowly drops hints about his true nature in remarkably patient fashion until someone finally comes out and explains it for Cher (and anyone else in the audience who didn’t get it once he started bringing Tony Curtis movies over to her house to watch). And the script is awesome (“So how I feel about the Rolling Stones, is how my kids are gonna feel about Nine Inch Nails” and “I left my Cranberries CD out in the quad” are just wonderfully delivered lines, to name two off the top of my head). The movie is more or less broken down into Pilot Episode (introducing the cast of characters, Cher tries to marry off her teacher), Party Episode (Cher and friends sneak out to a party in the valley and Cher tries to match up two friends), Cher & Christian (Cher tries to find love with her dream guy, in what turns out to be the funniest segment) and finally Cher Learns To Drive (also hilarious, especially when she learns that there’s some things you can’t bullshit your way out of.)
To sum up: Witty, hilarious script? Check. Alicia Silverstone at her hotness peak? Check. Quotes out the wazoo? Check. Easy points with the wife/girlfriend/one night stand? CHECK. An easy recommendation, well worth watching if you’ve never seen it before.
Audio & Video
This is a rare case recently where the Blu-Ray dump of a previous release actually features a better looking video transfer than before! What a concept! The picture is now crystal clear and looks like an HD movie made today, with bright colors and great contrasts. Either that or the original DVD was really spectacular, but given Paramount’s previous history with this stuff (like Airplane and The Naked Gun, two lazy untouched DVD transfers to Blu Ray last year) I’m just glad it’s such a great-looking BD. Audio is not quite as impressive, although it’s a teen comedy so you get what you get. A great job on Paramount’s part, regardless.
Bonus Features
As noted, this is the exact same content as the “Whatever Edition” from 2005, so you get a variety of interesting featurettes (like a “10 years later” series of interviews, a look at the driving sequences from the perspective of people from New York trying to drive in LA, and other fun stuff) and HD versions of the trailers. A good selection of stuff.
The Pulse
I requested this one mostly for my wife, and I was pretty surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Don’t be thrown off by the pink cover and dated trappings, it’s a shockingly hilarious take on teen movies, witty and self-aware without being precious and annoying about it. Big thumbs up.
Superbly random Scott, but great stuff, I've always loved this movie and still break it out every now and then for some 90s nostalgia. Plus the soundtrack is ten kinds of awesome. They did actually turn it into a TV show eventually but they replaced Alicia Silverstone and it wasn't very good.
ReplyDeleteWas this Paul Ruud's first real mainstream movie?
ReplyDeleteSee, that was my problem with Wayne's World, and especially Wayne's World II. A good chunk of the humor is making fun of pop-culture [TV shows, movies, commercials]. Hell, I saw Wayne's World II a few weeks ago and there was a good amount of jokes I didn't really get because I had no idea what pop-culture thing they were referencing. Thankfully the first one doesn't fall victim to that, really.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy Clueless, always felt like it was Beverly Hills' version of Boyz N The Hood. And I love that Stacy Dash is, I believe 30 years old in this.
Such a funny movie. It had a great collection of young talent (and Stacey Dash who is still hot despite being 98 years old). I still can't believe Silverstone didn't become a bigger star. A funny hot blond who can act (well enough)?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love both Wayne's World flicks. Unabashedly.
ReplyDeleteIt was and his next big movie was Romeo and Juliet in which he made a cameo in.
ReplyDeleteUnless you count the "Halloween" movie he was in.
ReplyDeleteGood lord, the '90's sucked so hard. Grunge, X music, ska, swing/big band revival, boy bands, teenie boppers (Spice Girls, Britney)... ugh. Not a single charming thing to be found.
ReplyDeleteIs this Brittany the dead one (Daniels vs. Murphy)?
Murphy.
ReplyDeleteI don't argue that the Woodstock revival was the epitome of terrible '90s.
ReplyDeleteBut, don't forget, we also got the Chicago Bulls, SCSA, the Rock, Bill Clinton, still hot Britney Spears, the debut of the Sopranos, DVDs and the Internet out of it. I will look back fondly on the '90s.
Please don't lump the boy bands and teenie boppers into the 90s. While the Spice Girls were like 97, Britney and Backstreet Boys and the rest of that garbage were more the tail end of the 90's, into the first couple years of the 2000s. Let that shitty decade and millenium have them.
ReplyDeleteI seriously doubt anyone else thinks Alicia Silverstone is the defining star of the decade.
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely look fondly upon the 90s, of course I grew up in the 90s so of course that music is better than anything else out there lol. I'll always remember the Bulls, 1997 WWF, R&B, Rise of GOOD Hip Hop, among others.
ReplyDeleteI can see how ska wouldn't be for everybody, but there's some good stuff out there - admittedly, most of it released before or after the 90s. Reel Big Fish will always be one of my favorite bands, however, for reasons even I can't explain.
ReplyDeletestill hot Britney Spears
ReplyDeleteShe was like 15!!!!
I dunno... I was working in a record store off and on from '97 through '99, and Britney, BBoys, etc. were all pretty prominent there.
ReplyDeleteAlso, can't believe I forgot to include shitty Nu-Metal as well as stuff like Marilyn Manson.
Oh, absolutely our music was better. Kids today with their stupid dubstep don't even realize how much greater nuMetal was. Who doesn't miss Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit, Tool or Staind? lol...does Ozzfest still exist?
ReplyDeleteJust to be clear...I honestly believe I'm correct about this. But realize it MIGHT be a case of EXTREME bias.
ReplyDeleteAlong the lines of R&B and hip hop, though, I remember everyone and their mother having rap albums out, usually on Master P's label. They all were housed in these funky jewel cases that instead of having clear plastic were solid and had the front and back either printed on or a piece of paper glued on. And the inserts were nothing but ads for other albums the label. I worked at Blockbuster Music (the big one that used to be on Peachtree in Atlanta) and we would open up CD's for people to take a listen to, so I saw my fair share of those CD's in the process.
ReplyDeleteThis was the era where radio stations had No Doubt, Bosstones, Sublime, etc. on all the time.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah no doubt there was a lot of cringe worthy music/albums that came out back then, especially from the Master P Empire, but I'll always remember the 90s for Biggie and Tupac, the rise of Jay-Z, Bone Thugs N Harmony, a not yet insane Mariah, Mary J Blige, Jodeci, Brandy, Aaliyah (RIP), Monica, etc. To this day, I'd rather listen to my collection of 90s music from them than 99% of what's out there today.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, when the movie first came out, of course I wanted nothing to do with it because it seemed stupid. but, a lot of hot girls in the movie, so I checked it out. I thought it was fairly funny, but nothing really too memorable other than WHATEVER. But I think I grew a new appreciation for it when it started to come on cable and I saw it a few other times, it's a pretty damn funny movie that if I come across it on tv, I'll generally watch the rest of it or most of it.
ReplyDeleteAmen. The 90's was a God send when compared to the 2000's. The 2000's was absolutely nothing but shit. It was the death of all things great.
ReplyDeleteA what store?
ReplyDeleteAnd SO hot.
ReplyDeleteI think it was the stroke mouth that finally sent her packing.
ReplyDeleteOMG when he says "Little, Yellow, Different" I LAFF AND LAFF AND LAFF.
ReplyDeleteVery ahead of its time movie. Perfectly executed for what it is. ****.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Sublime, I had this conversation with a friend the other night. Sublime was like, our top band back in high school when they were cranking out music videos after Brad died.
ReplyDeleteNow though, we both agreed that Sublime is one of those older bands that could still be good, if you could just manage to get the fuck away from them for more than a week. I swear I haven't managed to make it ten consecutive days since 1998 where I didn't hear a Sublime song at least once.
Those guys are SOOOOO fucking overplayed at this point, especially when you consider everything we hear from them is really off only two albums.
An iMac? Surely you mean a Gateway PC (see they're cool and hip because their boxes have cow markings on them!)
ReplyDeleteIt was a sad adult moment when I realized that nothing ever changes in society, they just take off the letter X and replace it with a small case i and act like it's a different product.
Yeah, I think of Cobain way before her. She had a good two-year window.
ReplyDeleteI'm 30 and I'll take dubstep over Puddle of Mudd any day of the week.
ReplyDeleteGang Starr, Black Star, Warren G all hit big in the '90s, too/
ReplyDeleteSo was I! haha. "Still hot" implying that she was hot back then but not now.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Eminem.
ReplyDeleteI'm 28 and strongly disagree. haha
ReplyDelete"Like 15" conveying that she was FIFTEEN and you called her hot.
ReplyDelete"Why don't we sit down and talk for a moment?" : P
Like he said, "still hot Britney Spears".
ReplyDeleteApparently a lot of grown men around here are into 15 year old girls
ReplyDeleteAt first I agreed but then I tried thinking of an actress that was hotter with the 18 year old demo and I can't think of anyone. As weird as it is...maybe Applegate?
ReplyDeleteI think you're pretty much right, I dunno, maybe Tiffani Amber Theissen (sp?) or maybe one of the 90210 girls (not me personally, but from what a lot of people say), but Cristina Applegate was just about the standard for the 90s.
ReplyDeleteI think more like Married With Children on my Zenith tv, with a Compaq displaying an AOL Browser using Windows 98 :)
ReplyDeleteEverything's not as good as it used to be!
ReplyDeleteWell, yes, but I was also 15 at the time so I think it's an acceptable assessment based on vague childhood memories!
ReplyDeleteAs David Spade's dad once (supposedly) told him, "18's legal, 17 with consent, 16 with a note, 15 if her dad's in the room."
ReplyDeleteHaha, Scott reviews a semi-iconic classic from the '90s and then everyone just comments on music in general for the decade.
ReplyDeleteThis movie ruled, though- the gay subtext was WAY too subtle for teenage Jabroniville, but it's probably super-notable now. This movie has great characters (part of what allowed the show to succeed on the TV series after this movie came out- just with a new Cher), great dialogue and really fit it's own era, while not hitting you over the face with up-to-the-minute references.
Best piece of dialogue: (about playing dodgeball) "My plastic surgeon says I'm not supposed to be in a position where balls fly at my FACE." "There goes your social life."
Not I.
ReplyDeletebtw: this is SOOO weird because they where nowhere as large here in Europe than they were in the US. here hardly anybody knows them.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I had a huge crush on Lacey Chabert when she was (about) the same age as me on Party of Five. OMG PEDO KID~!
ReplyDeleteReading that Scott had never seen this before the review pretty much shocked the hell out of me. This is one of the best comedies of the mid-90s, specifically because of the dialogue and how well it gets delivered by everyone.
ReplyDeleteYou're missing the general age of the people posting, myself included. I was 14 when she was 15 (I think). And yes, she was incredibly hot.
ReplyDeleteDid she do anything of note AFTER the Aerosmith videos though? Because that was around the same time. I think to be a defining star of a decade you have to be either active or at least talked about (since obviously Kurt Cobain didn't do anything after 1994) for the majority of that decade. I have trouble seeing her as the #1 celebrity of the 90s.
ReplyDeleteSublime are probably one of my favorite bands of all time. I actually drove 5 hours to Rochester to see them with Rome. I'm not a big fan of the new album because, while Rome is a decent enough vocal imitator of Bradley, he's nowhere near the talent of songwriter.
ReplyDeleteI think the original question is more focusing on female defining star of the decade, when it comes to male, I could think of Cobain, or Seinfeld, maybe Will Smith, but female, Applegate or TAT (personally I give the edge to TAT, she was pretty damn hot in 90210 especially)
ReplyDelete.I am shocked at the number of people who love this movie as much as I do. I thought this was funny and a lot of fun, and the high school they went to seemed like a richer version of my high school. To think, I allowed myself to get man-shamed into selling this out of my DVD collection. Of course, I can quote pretty much the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteThere are certain movies that - I believe - are above being man-shamed about liking. This is definitely one of them. (Princess Bride and 10 Things I Hate About You are two other ones for me)
ReplyDeleteIf the movie is good and you have fun watching it, there's no shame in it at all.
I'm 32 and I don't know what either one of those things are.
ReplyDeleteSo when you were a teenager, you thought all the girls in school were mere children, not to be considered sexually?
ReplyDeleteWhatever gets you through the day I guess, but that was certainly not my high school experience.
Apparently the concept of a grown man lusting after a 15 year old is lost on some people.
ReplyDeleteI'm not talking about someone lusting after someone else his own age. I'm talking about a grown man in 2012 (not that man in 1997 when he was a fellow 15 yr old) saying that a 15 yr old Brittany is hot.
Are you saying that back then you thought she was hot? OK, that makes sense. You were the same age.
But if you're saying that you as a grown man in 2012 find her as a 15 yr old to be hot; i.e., if she was 15 today you'd find her hot, then maybe we should call Chris Hansen.
When Harry Met Sally is mine.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought: I don't see what this has to do with Brock Lesnar at all.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I get what you're saying, I just think you're being a bit touchy about it.
ReplyDeleteLet's see how this comment thread plays out.
ReplyDeleteHe probably thinks Alicia Silverstone was hot then too.
ReplyDeleteI know someone in his late 20's who way too quickly, way too frequently makes lecherous comments about girls that age, and it just really is a bit bothersome and head-scratching, which is why I wanted to get my point across.
ReplyDeleteApplegate and Silverstone were very similar in the way they were represented - blond, ditzy, witty, etc. - so I kind of think of them as 2 sides of the same "defining female" coin.
ReplyDeletePretty much every Meg Ryan romantic comedy in the '90s. I freaking love You've Got Mail.
ReplyDelete10 Things I Hate About You is on my list too
ReplyDeleteThat's true, but obvously Jennifer Aniston has had a nice career outside of Friends, so while I was never a huge Friends viewer, I remember her for that, but I'd imagine a lot of people might remember her even more for her movie career. When I think of female characters that teenagers/young kids would have a crush on in the 90s, and who are pretty much known for their 90s work, I think of Silverstone, Applegate (although she's done some pretty decent stuff lately) and Tiffani Amber Theissen (she's done some pretty decent stuff too after Saved By the Bell).
ReplyDeleteDefinitely - I've seen "10 Things" probably about twenty times, and "Clueless" a number of times, as well. Definitely more man-friendly than the usual "chick" movies.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know who Stacey Dash was, so I looked her up - ok, she played Di, she was hot as hell. Still is (and she's only 46).
ReplyDelete"She is, literally, the Polaroid of perfection... She has everything, and she'll give it to you in a second..."
ReplyDeleteHOW DO I STILL REMEMBER THAT???
Oh, and I definitely thought Rachel Blanchard was hotter than Alicia Silverstone.
How did Tool get lumped in there?
ReplyDeleteHow did Tool get lumped in there?
ReplyDelete(500) Days of Summer is mine.
ReplyDeleteBut why is "girl who teenagers would have a crush on" the same as "defining star of a decade"?
ReplyDeleteJust a note on the soundtrack.
ReplyDeleteThis soundtrack, after maybe Pump Up the Volume, became an odd template for teen movies where it was one of the first mainstream films to attach a "cool factor" to underground, indie bands. Sure, you had Beastie Boys, Counting Crows, and Radiohead (just as they were peaking), but damn, the rest of that soundtrack is strange. Luscious Jackson and Velocity Girl still boggles my mind, and I'm used to faux-indie pandering films like the bullshit that was Nick & Norah. It's hard for an indie kid to imagine a Slumerland Records (Velocity Girl) band getting hype on a movie as big as this. But this was also a year after Cobain's death when everyone was still trying to find the successor to grunge, so everything from Britpop to noise rock was getting airplay.
For as much as people want to give the '90s shit for bad music (and post-grunge deserves almost all of that scorn), you had at least had this weird time period from like between '91-'96 where the guys programming radio stations had no fucking clue what was going to be a hit so you'd get some really weird bands scoring minor hits. I understand that radio now is irrelevant to everyone except the radio stations, but I'm just barely old enough to remember how influential those stations could be. The '00s were such a shit decade until torrenting and faster connection speeds became affordable because all those cool alternative stations began to die or change format since indie hadn't hit the heights its seeing now.
Stacey Dash's eyes always caught my attention, plus her voice, for some reason.
ReplyDeleteAnd I always remember a scene from Mo' Money where someone (prob. Damon Wayans) says something like, "I think you're pretty" and she answers with "And I think you're fresh!" (as in , trying to get fresh with her).
It's not. This is being viewed through a very specific lens.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to Rachel Blanchard?
ReplyDeleteTotally forgot about that one. Add that to my list, too.
ReplyDeleteShe was on "7th Heaven" for a while, playing a cop. I think she was also in that movie about the cheerleaders that robbed banks while wearing Nixon masks, but I could be completely wrong, I never saw it.
ReplyDeleteIf you guys haven't already, go seek out Annie Hall. It's essentially 500 Days of Summer by Woody Allen in the '70s. Great movie.
ReplyDeleteSugar and Spice. She played the goody-goody. She was also Breckin Meyer's long-distance girlfriend in Road Trip. Haven't really seen her much this past decade.
ReplyDeletePrincess Bride is shameful for men? Say what?
ReplyDeletePshaw, Tonedeff, Immortal Technique, Hopsin, Kidneythieves, CunninLynguists, The Sword, La Roux, all musicians from the 2000s, all great.
ReplyDeleteFiona Apple, Garbage, the Prodigy, Veruca Salt, Faith No More, the Cardigans and RATM are bad bands? Okay there. Never mind the rise of good rap, that could be it's own fucking post.
ReplyDeleteSee, with the exception of FNM, I don't like those other bands. At all. And since they were so prominent, they're simply indicative of things I don't care for from that era.
ReplyDeleteWell, Fiona Apple had a great voice, but stuff like Garbage, Prodigy, RATM... not my bag, man. *shrug*
Rachel Blanchard was also on Peep Show (one of Britain's funniest sitcoms) and was on a few episodes of Flight of the Conchords as the 'most beautiful girl in the room.'
ReplyDeletelol, I can't tell if this is a backhanded compliment or not. Annie Hall is one of the best movies ever --- calling it "the 500 Days of Summer from the 70's!" is like referring to MASH as the Big Bang Theory of its time.
ReplyDeleteThe 90's was a fantastic decade for music just as long as ignore most of the so-called "90's artists," i.e. the people you'd immediately include on a VH1 Hey Remember the 90's show. Then again, I thought Nirvana were godawful, so my musical taste may not be the best radar.
ReplyDeleteStacey Dash is just ridiculously attractive, at any age. Brittany Murphy was never attractive, at any age or weight.
Agreed, although Big Wreck, Econoline Crush, Garbage and Drain STH were my favorite 90's bands.
ReplyDeleteI will say I'm happy as hell Big Wreck finally got back together and I will take even the worst 90's music over Katy Perry, Nickelback, and Justin Bieber any day of thec
^This. I've always had a crush on Tia Carrere, loved the Wayne's World movies, True Lies, Relic Hunter, Hollow Point, Showdown In Little Tokyo, My Teacher's Wife, hell I even love that godawful Pauly Shore movie Jury Duty because of her performance.
ReplyDeleteWhile Alicia Silverstone, Christina Applegate, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen might be som
Agreed...I worded that really poorly.
ReplyDeleteWell that's fair enough, different strokes and all, but I personally count most of those bands as some of my favorites of all time. I mean, I'm not a gigantic fan of nineties music (I think most grunge sucks, with the exception of Alice In Chains), I do love some stuff.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to talk about a shitty decade, let's go 70s, seriously, yeah there were some good acts in there, but mostly that was an awful time for music. Captain and Tennille? Blaugh.
I, personally, don't think so, but I've had to defend myself from time to time. It's usually from people who haven't seen it, because of the "princess" and "bride" parts of the title.
ReplyDeleteUsually, by the time I finish saying Andre the Giant is in it, I've won my argument.
There are people who don't know what Princess Bride is? What bizarre country do you live in? Kuwait?
ReplyDeleteShe was the Paris Hilton-esque character in Snakes on a Plane.
ReplyDeleteUmm this little thing called Punk wants to talk to you about that.
ReplyDeleteI totally forgot she was on Peep Show. That really is one of the funniest damn television shows ever created.
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be harsh, but it needs to be said.
ReplyDeleteMost Punk music is morons that can't play their instruments. Like...99% of it. Yeah it was popular, but so was Pat Boone, he sucks too.