The Good

A movie that I only thought was "so-so" seems to have gotten better with age.

The Bad

Does an Alicia Silverstone movie really need more than one DVD release?

I knew that Clueless had reached critical mess when I was driving with a bunch of guys that were a good 4 to 5 years younger than me, and they were quoting lines from the movie and singing the songs as well. I was shocked, taken aback and as someone who loves writing screenplays, envious that I could not write a movie that would endear itself to so many people. Supposedly a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s novel “Emma,” I know it is déclassé to say, but I would much rather watch Clueless than watch or read Emma any day. I am sorry, but I just find those period pieces in which American actors try and show their acting chops by acting British, to just be an exercise in B-O-R-I-N-G.

Alicia Silverstone plays Cher, a girl who helps everyone out with their problems and love life's, while not making any time for herself. A pretty simply story and while I don’t remember liking this movie that much, there was a charm that I found it had screening it 10 years later. Also, who would have ever thought that Brittany Murphy as Tai would go on to be bigger than both Silverstone and Stacey Dash (Dionne). I am just amazed about that because I don’t think Murphy can act her way out of a paper bag. Either way, Clueless plays without any pretense of what it is. It’s a movie about young people that only certain young people will probably find relatable.

Features

The Class of '95; Creative Writing; Fashion 101

All the featurettes on the Clueless - “Whatever” Edition DVD are very easy and lighthearted. The “Class of ‘95” looks at the cast of the movie then and now. We see what has happened in the careers of people like Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd, and we also get to see what happened to Alicia Silverstone, among others. These things are my favorite part of the DVD just because it’s like getting to see the results of people’s lives instantaneously. In “Creative Writing”, Amy Heckerling shows us how she came up with the Clueless world. We get to see how she took the initial ideas from Emma, and just modernized them for the story she was telling. “Fashion 101” (my least favorite of all the extras), looks at the fashions of the movie. Okay, maybe I am just out of it, but other than the really refined look of the Cher character, I just think a lot of the clothing the characters wear looks ridiculous. This style influenced people? Completely over my head.

How To Play the "Suck 'n Blow" Game; Driver's Ed; We're History

Just what I have always wanted a tutorial on, “How to Play the ‘Suck and Blow’ Game” from this movie. While I am sure that some adults will enjoy this, as it will be a reminder of their youth (when they first watched this movie), I didn’t even remember this from when I saw the movie back in 1995. I honestly don’t really know what to say about this feature, other than that I think this will make the kids of the parents who screened this in the theater happy. “Driver’s Ed” and “We’re History” gives us more information about Clueless. The cast and the crew illuminate things about the movie (and behind the scenes) that the viewer may or may not know. I think that maybe they could have combined these two featurettes into one big one, but maybe for compression purposes they felt the need to keep things separate?

Video

Widescreen. This DVD is colorful. That is one thing that I will give this movie is that it looks really good. Heckerling and company have really managed to capture that time in people’s lives when they are adjusting from being “kids” to “adults.” I say this because when I think about my youth, I remember there being a lot more colors. As you get older, a lot of people it seems, sort of hide that part of themselves and blend in. Well, when you blend in the colors oftentimes mix in such a way that they all look uniform. Clueless very much captures that aspect of the transition. While there isn’t anything about this film that I feel is cinematically unique, I do find the overall “look” of the film to be interesting.

Audio

English Dolby Digital 5.1. English and French Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround. This is a movie made by a girl, starring girls and at the end of the day... it’s a girls movie. How does this play into my review of the Clueless - “Whatever” Edition DVD sound? The music is girl music. Not in a bad way. Not in a way that I am putting down or making fun of it, but this is chick stuff across the board. There is also ambient music which is supposed to bring us into Cher’s head a little bit, and the soundtrack employed here very much does all of that. As with the sound for most movies, they haven’t really made it another character in the film and it doesn’t stand out that much. It is primarily used to drive and underscore the story, and in that regard the audio really works.

Package

Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash and Brittany Murphy are in the forefront of this pink cover talking on their cellphones. They are all encased in a heart shaped, diamond bracelet. The back of this case features some pictures from the movie, a description of what Clueless is about, an “Extra Features” listing, a cast list and some technical specs. This cover is pretty standard, and other than the “Extra Features” on this “Whatever Edition,” there really isn’t anything too special about this 10 year “Anniversary” release. I am sure fans of the movie (of which I know there are many) will be thrilled to own this.

Final Word

You gotta love Amy Heckerling. Anybody who can direct Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Johnny Dangerously and European Vacation back to back, is the kind of Director that I want to spotlight in the “Final Word” section of my DVD review. I just have an affinity for people who make movies like this. I feel this way because I think these movies are good, unique and that Heckerling has very much put her own stamp on all of these projects. While they aren’t up their with 2001 or anything, they are the kinds of movies you watch again and again with your friends and loved ones.

Clueless - “Whatever” Edition was a lot better the second time around. Maybe I have lowered my standards? Maybe I am open to more things? Or, maybe, just maybe it’s because of Amy Heckerling?

Clueless was released July 19, 1995.