Clueless (1995)
What can be more comforting than watching a bunch of comically over-privileged American high schoolers slowly figure out an improved perspective? Clueless is like cinematic candy floss – it has no nutritional value to speak of, and is light on substance, but it provides a most enjoyable sugar-high that really just brightens your day.
Written and directed by Amy Heckerling (Fast Times At Ridgemont High), Clueless is a loose, modernising adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, and has the distinction of being one of those rare movies that play out entirely without cynicism or meanness. Though the lead character, Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is initially somewhat manipulative, this trait is never portrayed as being cold or calculating – but rather is developed from a genuinely misguided, if deeply condescending, attempt to help others ‘improve’ themselves. This makes the conclusion all the more satisfying, when Cher comes to realise that it is she herself that needs some work.
But it is the romance that makes Clueless a real guilty pleasure – taking us back, as it does, to the days of innocent crushes and first kisses. The young actors of the piece – Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Donald Faison, Breckin Meyer, Justin Walker, and Jeremy Sisto – all rotate through complex attempts at wooing and flirtation, until true connections rise to the surface. Their emotional machinations are reflected in the older characters – notably Wallace Shawn and Twink Caplan – who dance around romantic liaisons of their own. The tone these relationships create make Clueless one of the most enjoyable guilty pleasures available.
