Review: Heathers (1988) · 2:52am Aug 18th, 2015
Heathers stands as one of the most diabolically insightful and venomous black comedies I've ever seen, that takes the standard self-righteous teenage comedy/drama that John Hughes and his ilk produced and brutally deconstructs it in a fantastically demented way, and I love it so much for that.
This is held together by Daniel Waters' acerbic and darkly comic screenplay, that takes on almost every single aspect of the 80s pop culture zeitgeist and runs it through a meat grinder, picking it apart to not only completely destroy the image of high school being anything less then a completely wasteland of humanity, but also holding a mirror up to human nature itself, and our obsession with death, popularity and materialism. Those aren't his only targets though. Waters also takes a sledgehammer to the concept of teenagers as some sort of wellspring of wisdom, instead showing them as what they are: immature, selfish, and mean spirited creatures that's sole goal is to simply achieve whatever badge of popularity or acceptance, while destroying any and all who come in their way. Almost every line these teenagers spout is an intentionally obtuse block of slanguage, taken up to an eleven to highlight the sheer ridiculous nature of their belief in their own knowledge. It's so wonderfully refreshing to see something like this, as more often then not, teenagers are always shown as misunderstood rebels, or as having some sort of insight on humanity. But nope, they're just as sick and demented as adults, just without any of the responsibility, leading them to be even more petty and immature.
This aura of rightful derision extends to Michael Lehmann's direction, which takes the same visual tropes of your standard 80s high school film, and then ramps it up to an eleven. From the costumes to the hairstyles to the homes the characters inhabit, everything is intentionally over the top, playing up a deliberate level of kitch and cheese, which continues to underline and highlight the sheer absurdity of the high school culture, and by extension, the films that supported it.
The acting is also great, with Winona Ryder playing her character, Veronica Sawyer, to a T. In any other movie, she'd be shown as the longer smart alec with the moral superiority. Here, she's within the very group of Alpha Bitches that form the school's clique, and engages in it's activities. Everything she does is impulsive, and immature, and leads very nearly to her own destruction, until she herself realizes that this is all completely insane, and willfully abandons her selfishness, and reaches out to the overweight girl who was picked on earlier. It's telling that her moment of kindness towards the outcast of the school is one of the scenes the film plays straight, and allows to be geniunely sweet. Why? Because it's her first act of genuine kindness towards another, and therefore is given the treatment it deserves.
Christian Slater does a great job channeling Jack Nicholson as the ambiguously demonic JD, a kid who, again, would otherwise be the hero of a John Hughes type film, but here, is a demented sociopath who wants to blow up the school as part of his extreme nihilistic belief system. His obsession with death is played as the dark and disturbing thing that it is, once more destroying the image of the cool loner with a leather jacket.
The rest of the cast also do great jobs, playing the exact kinds of stereotypes that one would expect in this film, only mocked and deconstructed with abandon.
And that's why I love the film so much. In this age of constant adulation of the teenager, and just the general aura that so many high school/teen dramas have, it's so great to see a movie that strips that veneer away to reveal the ugly little monster underneath. God bless you Heathers.
5 out of 5 stars.
Ironically, the only John Hughes movie I ever saw was Ferris Bueller's Day Off two years ago, and although I loved it, I took a look at all the other movies he made and none of them interested me. Hell, the only reason I actually watched Ferris Bueller was because it was part of film class.
3328417 I hate Ferris Buller.
That smug little asshole
3328452 To each his own.
Okay now I have to watch this. Sounds like my kind of movie.
3328452
Agreed.
The only thing I liked about Ferris Bueller's Day Off was Doctor Insano ripping it a new one.