Clueless

What a let down! I was so excited to learn of the existence of the television series 'Clueless'. I loved the movie with Alicia Silverstone and was looking forward to weekly installments of Cher's life. The television series pales in contrast to the movie. It lacks the same zest as appeared in the screen version. Rachael Blanchard can't quite carry it off the way Silverstone as is the case with Doug Sheehan who plays Mel. Overall, this series is really a Monet; alright from afar but up close it's just a big ol' mess.

The T.V. series "Clueless" takes off right where the extremely funny film left off. Here we find the character of Cher Horowitz portrayed by newcomer Rachel Blanchard, but the rest of the cast remains in tact. Minor characters like Ty and Josh have been removed (which makes sense because their "stories" were neatly wrapped up in the film) and instead we focus on the day to day adventures and teen-struggles of Cher, Dionne, Murray and Amber. The series takes the sardonic outlook of 90s teens that made the movie a success and expounds on it with great effect. The expansion of the Amber character to be a double edged uber-villain-cum-confidant is beneficial and often makes the episodes so enjoyable.

I actually like the sitcom better than the movie. I don't know why so many people weren't that into this. One thing that makes this show great is it's more wholesome than the movie was. (Most episodes of the TV series are rated G, the movie was PG-13) As for the comparison between Alicia Silverstone and Rachel Blanchard, come on the two of them look almost exactly a like. If you stood them next to each other, could you honestly tell the difference? I'll bet the two of them are somehow related. The only problem I have is when they replaced Michael Learner with Doug Sheehan as Mel Horowitz. The two of them have nothing in common whatsoever. Other than that, this is a great show.

It's a mistake to compare "Clueless," the sitcom, with "Clueless," the moved on which it is based. A more apt comparison is with "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." Although separated by decades, the shows share a sharp writing style and great supporting roles (compare William Schallert and Wallace Shawn). Rachel Blanchard (no relation) was well-suited for the starring role; her portrayal of Cher was more like a high school student than Alicia Silverstone's in the movie. That said, "Clueless" the sitcom started strong, peaked, and began its declines all in its first season. Subsequent episodes seemed strained and self-conscious.

The first season of the TV version of the hit movie reassembled a good chunk of the movie's cast, plus the movie's director Amy Heckerling as executive producer. So why was it such a pale imitation? Two words: Rachel Blanchard.

Blanchard took over as lead character Cher from Alicia Silverstone (who understandably had other things to do at the time). Though Blanchard was physically right for the role, her flat performance makes you realize how perfect Silverstone really was for the role, with her fizzy, lighthearted, charismatic performance. Blanchard, by contrast, was dull as dishwater, with no spunk or charisma or anything. She pulled the whole series down. They should have hired Christine Taylor (Marcia in "The Brady Bunch" movies) instead.

The second season got even worse. Moving to a smaller network (from ABC to UPN) necessitated budget cuts, so Heckerling was gone as well as movie vets Wallace Shawn and Twink Caplan. "Very special episodes" started to creep in as well. Ugh.

Skip this one and rent the movie again instead.