Adolescence is easily one of the most confusing and
frustrating periods in many of our lives. It is a time when we begin to
question the world around us, even as we continue to question ourselves. It is
little wonder that this confounding period full of drama, heartache, and conflict
has earned its own genre in cinema; the teen flick. This week’s review turns
the spotlight onto a film that takes the familiar teen drama beyond its genre
trappings into darker territory; the 1989 satire Heathers.
With a plot that explores murder, suicide, and school bomb plots with a wicked
wit, Heathers is easily one of the most twisted and relevant teen films in
cinema history.
 |
| Sociopathy never looked so sexy |
The story begins with geek gone popular Veronica (Winona Ryder)
playing dumb to maintain her wavering place in her school’s in-crowd. Veronica
owes her status to her association with, and willingness to perform the dirty work
of the school’s most notorious mean girls, Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk), Heather Duke (Shannon Doherty), and
Heather Chandler (Kim Walker), collectively known as ‘the Heathers’. While Veronica enjoys
the privileges of being an honorary Heather, she also continues to question the
value of the school hierarchy and begins to resent her supposed friends. Just
as Veronica reaches her breaking point, she meets and is instantly attracted
rebellious transfer student J.D (Christian Slater). The two outsiders band together and concoct
a plan to teach the Heathers and their cohorts a lesson that quickly spirals
out of control, setting the stage for one of the darkest tales in teen cinema.
While Heathers
explores such familiar topics as bullying, cliques, and the high price of social
acceptance, it stands out from the plethora of teen films released during the
1980’s and 1990's through its darkly satiric approach. Rather than merely portraying the
archetypal tale of a teen losing their sense of self in pursuit of popularity, Heathers takes a cliché of teen
disillusionment and portrays it to its logical, if absurd, end. Instead of
struggling to belong, as most protagonists in teen films do, Veronica and J.D.
not only reject, but attempt to literally annihilate the school hierarchy, beginning
with its top members. The film extends its social critique to modern media and
pop culture as the ‘suicidal’ Heathers are portrayed by the local media as
martyrs and their vindictive behavior is excused as part of a greater ‘societal
problem’. In a twist that plays off of the both teen fads and media frenzies,
as the school’s most popular students continue to perish their classmates begin
following suit with genuine suicides. Even parents and administrators aren’t
immune to the script’s scathing wit as the adults in the film cling to the mass
media hype and fail to recognize the ‘suicide’ epidemic for the killing spree
that it is. While the plot packs a powerful punch decades later, the script
deftly manages to walk the line between biting satire and tasteless humor through
its sympathetic portrayals of supporting characters such as bookish Becky and
outcast Martha. The script also succeeds in its complex portrayal of conflicted
Veronica as she battles her own weaknesses and insecurities to finally stand up
to both J.D. and the Heathers. The script also commendably makes an effort to
portray J.D. as a villain rather than glamorizing his violent behavior. Through
its razor sharp wit Heathers ushered
in a new era of the teen film, paving the way for such later films as Jaw Breakers and Mean Girls.
 |
| What's your damage?! |
Heathers’ cutting comedy soars through the work of its
stellar cast. Kim Walker is the meanest mean girl this side of Regina George as
queen bee Heather Chandler. Lisanne Falk captures a vulnerable charm
as the delightfully ditzy Heather McNamara. Shannon Doherty aptly portrays the
insecurities that drive social climbing Heather Duke. In spite of an excellent
supporting cast, the film belongs to Christian Slater and Winona Ryder as
lovers gone loco J.D. and Veronica. Ryder imbues Veronica with a vulnerability beneath
the sardonic sass that makes Veronica an everywoman with an edge. As J.D. Slater exudes an effortless cool that makes him an endlessly watchable
foil to the uncertain Veronica.
After decades of tired teen clichés, Heathers marked the start of a new era
in teen films. Part social satire and part thriller, Heathers is a film that continues to defy genre classification.
With its razor sharp writing and engaging performances the film remains a
gruesome good time for both teens and adults. For a killer comedy, take a seat at
the lunch table with the Heathers.
No comments:
Post a Comment