Heathers

"Heathers" is a dark, hip comedy that will emerge as one of the best remembered films of its' decade. Alternately hilarious and disturbing, the film details the exploits of a young couple knee deep in high school politics and murder. Slater's Nicholson persona originated here and only adds to the offbeat charm. Smart and filled with more heart than anyone ever gave it credit for. It's like a CBS Afterschool special as directed by Wes Craven.

from the moment it begins with the three heathers playing croquet, you know that you will be in for an odd, cruel, and un-john hughes alike teen film. It's black as coal, and as sour as lemons. Although Christian Slater is jack nicholson with a facelift, it's still the most memorable performance in the movie. And winona ryder is also appealing as the lost and complex veronica. Some fantastically witty lines, humurously sick set pieces, and some truly great/cack 80's music make this a classic, more of a classic cult movie.

Unlike many of the teen movies that have enjoyed enduring appeal, "Heathers" survives not due to nostalgia, but because of its intelligence and searing, midnight-black wit.

Winona Ryder is Veronica, the disillusioned popular girl who falls in with a dangerous loner - Christian Slater as the malefic J.D. The two attempt to right their high school's social wrongs and end up on a killing spree.

Released on the cusp of the 1980s, the film feels strikingly prescient and more disturbing than ever today.

I can recall only a few times that movies have genuinely shocked me, not with a plot twist in a mystery or thriller, but with pure audacious, in-your-face moments. Those moments make an impact. They don't bruise; they scar. They brand an image or a quote into my memory that rests there forever. Heathers delivers a handful of these moments within its first 20 minutes. You can attempt to describe this movie anyway that you like, be it satirical, provocative, hilarious, wild, etc. One thing is certain about Heathers, you will not forget it.

Heathers is a disturbingly dark comedy dripping with hyperbolic satire about high school life. Every character is exaggerated. The kids are either sadistic or secretly psychotic or both. All the adults are clueless, so of course they handle each conflict with incompetence. Yet somehow the plot makes the characters appear by comparison, which is say that things get pretty crazy.

This drastically sensationalized world of high school (littered with great quotes) makes Heathers a genre-defying classic.

Boldly exploring the world of teen social life in a way for more daring and original than "16 Candles" or "The Breakfast Club" (oh, these kids are more than just their stereotypes? I never knew), Heathers takes us behind the scenes of the most popular clique in school, called the Heathers. The three founding members, all named Heather, insist on referring to each other by first name only which creates some cute confusion in the opening minutes. The film takes an abrupt dark turn shortly afterward.

The leader, Heather Chandler, needs only to utter a few sentences to reveal herself as one of the most shockingly cruel and timelessly quotable teen characters in cinema history. So shocking are her lines that they still drop jaws in 2016. I wouldn't dare spoil the great quotes from Heather or the ones from Heather or any quotes for that matter, but suffice it to say that you will never think about mineral water, brain tumors or chainsaws the same way again.

As we witness the appalling ways of Heather as she mentally mutilates the less popular, we also observe the apathy with which her actions are met. Only Veronica seems phased by how her best friend (who she hates) treats people. Since she's the only sensible character in the movie, Veronica comes up with the only sensible way to solve the Heather problem: kill her. "Accidents" ensue leading to a perceived suicide epidemic throughout the city. In death, the tormentors become martyrs celebrated for the giving lives they did not actually lead. Despite the phony praise passed onto the dead, virtually everyone's reactions to the suicides are laughably deadpan or selfish. Some seek attention by accepting blame. Others worry only about canceling school. The school's lower class students notice the glorification of suicide and view it as their best chance at popularity.

The comical take on murder/suicide is dicey. But viewers should understand it as an attempt to mock the allure some bestow on suicide. Even if this bold effort ruffles some feathers, the film presents a moral statement: all people should be treated with decency.

With Heathers, director Lehmann has done more than create a movie. He has successfully created an escape for any student not deemed popular by their local school scene. Although the clothes and hair can be linked to a certain era in history, the truths explored within 'Heathers' are universal, and transcend time. A film that treats high school students as capable, intelligent beings who recognize a copy of 'The Bell Jar' lying on the ground in the same breath it treats them as moronic jocks who think with their . well not their brains, is destined for controversy. If controversy was what Lehmann and writer Daniel Waters were looking for, they found it in spades. Not only was it unconventional, showing the demise of the 'popular' kids, but it dealt with teen suicide in a comical way. Not something America was ready for at the time of release, causing many problems initially with simply getting the film shown in theaters. Luckily it has found its niche market now, and is now starting to be recognized as the powerful film that it is. Almost any store rents this movie, so there's no excuse for you to not watch it. Next time you're at the store pick this one off the shelf and give it a spin, even if you don't understand it fully you will be treated to a fantasy that almost every 'unpopular' kid has had at one time. Rating: 33/40