Cast: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater

Director: Michale Lehmann

Screenplay: Daniel Waters

Running time: 1 hr 59 mins

Genre: Comedy/Drama



CRITIQUE:


Late 1980s, the American high school genre was reigned supreme by John Hughes and every teenage film either starred Matthew Broderick or Molly Ringwald, and the teen archetypes were set in iron-cast mould: the cheerleader, the geek, the jock, the rebel and so on. See The Breakfast Club or Pretty in Pink if you’re quite dubious. Barely anything broke the trend. Kudos, then, for Heathers for primarily having the balls to smash the conventions. In a time when teenagers were pigeonholed to the various strata of social hierarchy in high school, Heathers turned the entire sweet and sugary genre around on its head and crafted a lean, mean satire that viciously whips school-ass with biting dialogue and surreal sequences. In Westerburg High School, reality is heightened; even the opening sequence nails this, three ultra-privileged girlie clique (read: queen bitches) dressed up in day-glo blazers, playing croquet with Winona Ryder’s head as the goal. It is also quite notable for completely redressing the stereotyping of the nerdy, social-outcast girl, as Ryder’s Veronica is easily the lowest rung in the ladder of the queen command but definitely a rebel-with-a-cause, despising her social clique with ferocious intelligence, sharp wit, a diary and a monocle. Even Christian Slater’s JD is certainly less a jock figure than a James Dean malcontent, pulling off a character arc of literally blowing up an entire school just because no one loves him. The characters shine here, but sadly many other sequences don’t live up to expectations. The hyper-violent Bonnie and Clyde undertones are present, dismantling the neat and tidy morals of high school life (which this film had apparently faced an appalling reaction by the public) – and it’s rather a jagged, grim affair. The suicide theme was just pushing the boundary and the murder scenes truly disturbing, except for Veronica’s faked suicide (genius!). One could wonder where Mean Girls, Clueless and Juno would be without Heathers.


VERDICT:

Heathers is at its best when satirising the now-stereotyped high school hierarchy, most vicious with its cynical and biting dialogues, but weakest when it’s trying to put a message forward. Still, a devilish watch.



RATING: B