Heathers (1989)

Truly Dreadful Film

I'll tell you why so serious

Best movie of this year hands down!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Honestly, out of all the movies I've ever watched, this movie has easily grown to be my favorite. The smaller things add to the plot, such as the colors of the Heather's choice of clothing, as well as the climax of the movie, and it's overall a great film. (*Slight* spoiler here) "Chaos is what killed the dinosaurs, Darling." That line itself would easily make the list of most memorable/significant lines of the movie, especially since it leads to the climax, and also shows great character development. Rambling aside, this movie is more than 10/10, and I'd recommend you set aside a day for the movie.

Heathers is directed by Michael Lehmann, and stars Winona Ryder as Veronica and Christian Slater as J.D. They're two school pupils that begin dating. Veronica is part of an elitist clique of friends and in order to break free, her and J.D joke about conjuring up the murder of the leader of the group. Only for J.D to go ahead and actually do It. After Veronica's initial shock they decide to make it look like a suicide. Only to go down a slippery slope of bumping more students off, as they try and restore a social equilibrium that goes to the extreme. The best way too describe this film would be, John Hughes with an added flavour of murder.Christian Slater steals the show every time he's in the frame, as the always alluring and unhinged rouge. Winona Ryder plays well of him, and they both great on screen chemistry together. Their relationship feels very real during all phases of the film.Heathers is a sharply written cynical satire on eighties high school sociology. Whilst also being a metaphor about the development from adolescence to adulthood, and that there isn't a whole lot of difference between the two. The films themes are also well thought out, it's a teen comedy that carries Important messages. The only downside I had with the film, was it did feel at times a bit too cynical and heavy handed for it's own good. This approach at times left me feeling cold and uncaring towards certain character resolutions.Overall Heathers is one of the best teen comedies to have come out of the eighties. Despite the craziness and ludicrous plot developments the film takes in the third act. It still remains a fascinating critique of the misanthropic structure of adolescent behaviour and high school sociology.

Heathers had a really, really well-timed appearance in my life. It came out when I was halfway through my first year of junior high at the end of the 1980s, and feeling utterly bewildered by these outlandish creatures around me: the eighties trendsetters. Their alien styles and feral egotism was captured perfectly in Heathers, depicting the way high school seems when seen through the eyes of a meek, unpretentious beginner. Veronica Sawyer (played by Ryder) is a girl like you, me and pretty much anyone that was ever a junior student, desperate to fit in. But not THAT desperate!The garish style of the characters in Heathers was never meant to be realistic... a fact that seems to have been lost on almost all viewers that were born after 1985. It was a brutal and massive send-up of everything that was hateful about the 1980s - and there was loads! But despite all the exaggeration, Heathers served up a very accurate reflection of way that the secondary school environment really seemed to my dazed, adolescent eyes. And yet shoulder pads were never *that* big, hippies were never THAT f*cked up in class and the bad boy never carried a gun (this was back in the days before the real high school shootings began). We all knew that Heathers wasn't meant to be realistic, at least not on a factual level. It was meant to be realistic on an emotional one, though, and it fully succeeded at that. It was a revenge fantasy flick with a heart: a satirical and strangely sensitive depiction of the awe and shame that all teens feel about their high school experience. Just when Heathers starts to seem like it's turning into a cartoonish, late-night stoner special, the murders begin. And then it gets dark... and awesome. Anyone who's been to a high school where they met their own 'Heathers' will feel alternately euphoric and disturbed about the events that follow. And that's what they should feel: it's a tale that's meant to make you reflect, and question your easy assumptions about the way 'everybody else' is. Even the "Heathers" in your life. It's a shame that Americans have stopped making films that really delve into the ugliest, funniest parts of being a teen the way that Heathers did. Subsequent generations of juniors could have really benefited from seeing more stuff like this. Teens generally have very few chances to really reflect upon their attitudes, and maybe even change them before setting off on a destructive (or self-destructive) warpath. Heathers gave me that chance and I was glad that I had it. Whatever your age, watch this film and you'll learn something that no school can ever teach you about being a teen... and have a laugh doing it.

Heathers (1988) is a pretty dark 80s movie. The acting is great. Winona Ryder, Shannon Doherty, and Christian Slater. Winona Ryder really does do very well with the role of Veronica Sawyer, and Christian is perfect for the starring psychotic role of J.D. I also really enjoyed Shannon Doherty here, she plays a supporting role, heather duke, but she still is great, and her role becomes pretty important to the plot at one point. This movie is rather dark, just because of the subject matter and plot summary. The movie handles this dark material well with great acting by the cast and with well written dialogue. There was one thing that I really didn't care for in this movie and that was the homophobic tone of some of the scenes and the dialogue. F** is used probably 5/6 times in the movie, given it was used by jerkish jock characters, but still the movie didn't seem to condemn the action, and there is some mocking/joking of the gay community at another point, so that was kinda disappointing. But other than that, Hearhers is a well made movie that is never boring and is layered with heavy material. If you enjoy an interesting dark thriller with some 80s flare, this one is perfect for you. 8/10 for heathers.