I first saw this movie on the telly and to tell the truth, I was actually oscillating between a popular Hindi soap and this movie. Finally, due to some quirk of fate, (mebbe in that episode they were showing the bahu doing more ‘ghar ke kamkaaj’) - I decided to watch ‘Clueless’.
And boy, wasn’t I happy to see this movie! This movie brightens the atmosphere considerably. While I was simply bowled by the protagonist’s shopping spree (and her wardrobe), I was also amazed to see such well defined characterization for a ‘teen movie’. (Critic speak – Now, I am not the one giving this term, but this is how this movie is typically classified. Actually, this movie is for all ages, if not for all genders).
Clueless is about a teenager, Cher who is a modern day ‘Emma’ (Jane Austen’s heroine). Alicia Silverstone plays Cher and I guess, this must have been the role that pushed her into limelight (she was also in a music video earlier). She looks a natural in this role – a ‘spoilt Beverly Hills teenager’.
Cher is ably assisted by her friend ‘Dionne’ (“We were both named after famous singers of the past, who now do infomercials”). Cher may seem shallow, but she has her charms. After her initial success at matchmaking (2 teachers in her high school are paired off by Cher and Dionne), she decides to do something even better.
A ‘wannabe’ new girl in school, ‘Tai’ is selected as a ‘new project’ by Cher. ‘Makeovers’ is an interesting trick among film makers and they have used this very successfully in the past. Are we all not waiting for a makeover on plain Jassi? And, there was our own simpleton Rekha who transforms into a gorgeous supermodel in ‘Khoon Bhari Maang’. I guess, we should have a mouthshut category on ‘Best makeovers’.
To come back to the plot, a makeover is done on Tai and she becomes popular and almost steals the thunder from our heroine. Cher’s next caper is her affection for the art loving, literature reading, well dressed, good looking boy in class ‘Christian’. Well, his affections lie somewhere else…(hint hint – read the adjectives again) and poor Cher has this to say “He does dress better than I do. What would I bring to the relationship?” Finally realization dawns on our dear girl that she has been completely clueless about love and recognizes that her true love has been living in her house all the time.
Well, this movie is not a suspense thriller, so all you guys reading this cannot blame me for almost giving the whole plot away. This movie is a comedy and is a definite commentary on teenage life. (Critic speak: even grown ups can watch and smile at Cher’s antics). There are some very popular mannerisms exhibited by the girls, which do not look affected at all. (‘As IF’, ‘whatever!’, …). Then, there are some wonderful quotes, like during a practice tennis exercise routine, one of the girls says “My plastic surgeon doesn’t want me doing any activity where balls fly at my nose”. The retort “Well, there goes your social life”.
A ‘must not miss’ part of the movie is the Tardies Acceptance Speech. (“All this would not have been possible without….I want to thank my mom, dad…”)
So, should you watch this movie? Ok, It did not win the Oscars but it did win some comedy award for the main actress and the screenplay.
Go ahead watch ‘Clueless’ - it surely packs in a lot of ‘feel good’ factor.