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In a decade that birthed the entertain
ment industry’s largest blunders, like hair bands and second-rate teen angst surfer flicks, it’s refreshing to find a film that captures the extremity of the high school social order that came from the ‘80s. Heathers won’t exactly jerk any tears. It may even disgust certain viewers. But for the rest of us, this dark, savage comedy will delight from beginning to end.
Winona Ryder gives the best performance of her early career as the chronically cynical Veronica Sawyer, a former high school outcast climbing her high school’s social ladder.
That climb led her to the ranks of an exclusive society of vindictive pre-debutantes also known as the Heathers, described by Veronica as “a pack of swatchdogs and Diet Cokeheads.”
Christian Slater plays the stereotyped rebel role of J.D. However, the character manages to keep a few interesting twists, like a tendency for toting guns and faking the suicides of fellow students. His bizarrely intimate relationship with Veronica, comprised of midnight strip-croquet interludes and convenience store slushee runs, leads to the turning point in the plot, when he tries to include her in his psychotic scenarios.
Where Heathers could have became another generic movie-of-the-week stalker flick, it becomes an engrossing web of deceit and murder that somehow manages to blend in comedy as well. Veronica begins a crusade to make her high school a better place, starting with the death of the queen of the Heathers, Heather Chandler.
A cycle is shown through the killings. Once one negative element of the high school environment is removed, another grows back in its place. More cynical high students will recognize the carefully crafted characters, appearing both in the form of students and teachers.
The glib dialogue is possibly the best feature of the movie. It shifts from snide character interactions to ridiculous ’80s slanguage — “It’ll be very,” to the occasionally wise or meaningful sentiment like, “If you were happy every day of your life, you wouldn’t be human. You’d be a game show host.”
This is not a nice, wholesome film. But with such well-developed characters, great acting and snappy dialogue, who cares? If you want to be entertained without being at least slightly shocked, go rent Bambi. If you want to be truly entertained, however, rent Heathers. |
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