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Heathers
Long before Tine Fey created Mean Girls, movie audiences were introduced to Heathers, a dark and mean-spirited black comedy that takes an on-target, if often unflattering, look at the war for high school popularity, but gets a lot uglier than the viewer expects it to.
Veronica is an intelligent and vivacious high school student who wants to change her good girl image by becoming part of the school's #1 clique, the Heathers, a bitchy trio of girls, who all happen to be named Heather, who rule the school with vicious pranks and a general disdain of the entire student body. Veronica has had enough of the Heathers, but feels trapped until she meets a moody young James Dean-type, appropriately named JD, who actually convinces Veronica that the only way to get away from the Heathers is to rid the school of them...permanently.
Screenwriter Daniel Waters (Batman Returns) has crafted a multi-layered story that starts off as a bitingly funny look at what teenagers go through in high school for the sake of popularity, but sends some really squirm-worthy messages along the way. There is a degree of discomfort with any story that suggests that murder is a way out of being ostracized in high school. The way that JD seems to enjoy what he and Veronica are doing and the way Veronica is so easily manipulated by him are also squirm-worthy. On the other hand, there's no denying that Water's dialogue is surprisingly smart and funny. Love the scene where Veronica and JD are constructing Heather's suicide note.
The other troublesome element of this story is actually rooted in the film's backstory. It's never made clear why it's so important to Veronica to be part of The Heathers. From their first moments onscreen together, it is clear that Veronica is morally repulsed by everything that the Heathers stand for, but for some reason doesn't hesitate to do their bidding. Nothing that happens in the course of this story would have happened if Veronica had just walked away from the Heathers and we're never really told why she doesn't.
All this in mind, the movie still provides uneasy entertainment, mounted with care by director Michael Lehrman and a pair of terrific movie-star performances by Winona Ryder as Veronica and Christian Slater as JD. Film editing and art direction are to be applauded as well and aid making this film viable, if slightly troubling entertainment. Re-thought as a TV series in 2018.
Long before Tine Fey created Mean Girls, movie audiences were introduced to Heathers, a dark and mean-spirited black comedy that takes an on-target, if often unflattering, look at the war for high school popularity, but gets a lot uglier than the viewer expects it to.
Veronica is an intelligent and vivacious high school student who wants to change her good girl image by becoming part of the school's #1 clique, the Heathers, a bitchy trio of girls, who all happen to be named Heather, who rule the school with vicious pranks and a general disdain of the entire student body. Veronica has had enough of the Heathers, but feels trapped until she meets a moody young James Dean-type, appropriately named JD, who actually convinces Veronica that the only way to get away from the Heathers is to rid the school of them...permanently.
Screenwriter Daniel Waters (Batman Returns) has crafted a multi-layered story that starts off as a bitingly funny look at what teenagers go through in high school for the sake of popularity, but sends some really squirm-worthy messages along the way. There is a degree of discomfort with any story that suggests that murder is a way out of being ostracized in high school. The way that JD seems to enjoy what he and Veronica are doing and the way Veronica is so easily manipulated by him are also squirm-worthy. On the other hand, there's no denying that Water's dialogue is surprisingly smart and funny. Love the scene where Veronica and JD are constructing Heather's suicide note.
The other troublesome element of this story is actually rooted in the film's backstory. It's never made clear why it's so important to Veronica to be part of The Heathers. From their first moments onscreen together, it is clear that Veronica is morally repulsed by everything that the Heathers stand for, but for some reason doesn't hesitate to do their bidding. Nothing that happens in the course of this story would have happened if Veronica had just walked away from the Heathers and we're never really told why she doesn't.
All this in mind, the movie still provides uneasy entertainment, mounted with care by director Michael Lehrman and a pair of terrific movie-star performances by Winona Ryder as Veronica and Christian Slater as JD. Film editing and art direction are to be applauded as well and aid making this film viable, if slightly troubling entertainment. Re-thought as a TV series in 2018.