Heathers |
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Most of my favorite films are
considered "cult" films. While I consider it
the fault of society that people don't see more diverse
movies, cult movies are known to have a small, yet
obsessive group of devotees(hence, "cult").
Heathers is a fine example of a "cult classic,"
and a classic in it's own rite that may have been
overlooked in the glut of the 1980's sappy and crappy
teen comedies. Let me start out by saying that Heathers is not a movie that could be made today, and it was only by a stroke of luck that it was made in back in the late eighties. Veronica Sawyer(Winona Ryder) is a teenage girl that's fallen in with the wrong crowd. By the "wrong crowd," I'm not talking about burnouts, stoners, and alcoholics(although some of the outfits in the movie lead me to doubt this), but rather the brainless fluff chicks of her school(all appropriately named Heather). Beneath their soft exteriors lurk the hearts of vultures, and Veronica is quickly learning the downside of being popular. Enter J.D.(Christian Slater), the bad-boy loner with absolutely no tolerance for B.S. After a chance meeting with Veronica, the two become friends and their contempt for humanity leads to a string of murders set up to look like suicides. As Veronica tries to find a way out of a web of lies and murder, J.D. is planning something big. With the entire school cashing in on the teen suicide prevention craze, Veronica tries to escape the madness with her sanity intact as well as her life. All of that explanation makes Heathers sound like a thriller, eh? Well, in reality, Heathers is a very black comedy as well as a very biting satire on high school life. Daniel Waters, who is no relation to John Waters(though Heathers could very well be a John Waters film), creates a very original plot and avoids many of the cliches that are so prevalent in teen movies. However, Heathers is very different from the teen movies of yore. Waters has an ear for dialogue, and it's a shame he hasn't worked on anything that original since Heathers. It reminds me of a Kevin Smith movie in a way, where the characters speak in a realistic but highly stylized(talk about an oxymoron) manner. When people talk about their favorite eighties teen movies, most people mention The Breakfast Club. These people have obviously not seen Heathers. While The Breakfast Club is a fun movie, it's been labelled as "the" teen movie, something to which I highly object. Like I said, it's fun to watch, but it's about a group of two dimensional stereotypes that all have the same problem : their parents. Before I slaughter any more sacred cows, I'd just like to mention that Heathers does feature stereotype characters, but they are mainly secondary and the reason they are so two dimensional is to fit their roles as status symbols in a biting satire teen society. Performances in Heathers are, on the whole, pretty average. I may be biased, considering that Winona Ryder is my favorite actress, but she absolutely shines in her performance of Veronica. Even at such a young age, she shows the acting chops and subtlety that would land her even bigger roles in the future(although she's been in a few stinkers as of late). Christian Slater's performance, as mentioned in the featurette, is one you will either love or hate. I was torn on this one, because although he is very charismatic and chaotic, some of his dialogue produce some cringe-worthy moments. Some have said that he is simply a pale Jack Nicholson imitation, but that's really how the man talks and acts, so I'll choose not to be too hard on him. Heathers is not the movie to end all movies, however. While not the fault of the film-makers, many aspects of Heathers seem really dated. The wardrobe is absolutely soaked in the eighties, with most of the female characters looking like demented pastel ringmasters(what can I say, shoulder pads scare me). The biggest laugh on the commentary is when Denise Di Novi calls the wardrobe "contemporary" and also says that it stands the test of time. I'm not sure if Di Novi's blindness has been cured as of yet, but it would be best to ignore her on this comment. Also, the slang, which was partly created for the movie, caught on in real life but now sounds horribly archaic. Once again, not the fault of the film-makers, but rather just the following of current trends of the time. There are also some pacing issues, with the last half of the film becoming much more of a suspense/chase movie than the satire it previously was. Anchor Bay is know to give quality treatment to underlooked films, and their treatment of Heathers is no exception. The most noteworthy extra is "Swatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads," a thirty minute featurette on the making of Heathers. All of the stars of Heathers tell their stories about the making of the movie, along with a few members of the crew. Funny and informative, and also a little strange since I had no idea Winona Ryder loved this movie so much. It was great to see of few of the interviews from when the film was released along with the current ones, to see how well the movie has aged to those who took part in making it. Also included is a commentary featuring writer Daniel Waters, director Michael Lehmann, and producer Denise Di Novi, which I am guessing is from a previous laserdisc release. Although Di Novi seems to be clueless about a few things, the Heathers commentary is informative and not just a "describe what's happening on the screen" track. Daniel Waters is very witty, and he and Michael Lehmann tell some great stories about making their first major movie together. It would have been nice to get Winona Ryder in on a newer track(her passion for this movie is really amazing), but what exists is a very entertaining commentary. Finally, the original ending is included, and although Heathers has sort of a "feel-good" finale, it would have been much more surreal to see the original ending. Heathers has an anamorphic transfer, and looks better than any previous release. It still has that grain that clearly shows the film's age, but overall the transfer is really sharp. Even the featurette is anamorphic, which shows that lots of care went into making this disc. With all the care put into this disc, the packaging could be a little better. For those who haven't seen the movie, I'm not sure that a picture of Christian Slater ripped out of Teen Beat would sell them on Heathers. Then again, I like to complain about things that most people don't even think about, so I guess my packaging qualms don't really matter. Heathers is an excellent social satire as well as being sort of a thriller. It's original in the fact that it tries to do what most movies haven't done, or won't do. It's worth at least a rental, especially if you're one of those kindly folk that didn't fit in during high school(I think we film reviewers all fit into this category). If you're already a fan of the movie, this is the best treatment Heathers has received so far, and definitely worth it for the extras. - Bob Mackey |
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