I know this DVD has been out for a while (in 2005 to celebrate the 10 year anniversary) but it is one of my favorite movies. Some people laugh but come on, this was a slick satire and from what I learned from the behind-the-scenes stuff from the DVD--it was hard to pitch and for studios to get. Well, here I am going to break down the movie at my favorite parts. First of all, kudos to the production designers because that computer screen (picture above) at 12 years old doesn't look that out dated!
One of my favorite scenes is where Cher passes a stop sign and says, "I like totally paused." Hiralous! I use that a lot. Well, if you know me, all my friends say I talk like a valley girl. Lots of critics say how this movie has no plot but I disagree. Who cares? It is loosely based on
Emma and I rented the Gwyneth Paltrow version back when and fell asleep.
What is now famous is that director/writer Amy Heckerling says that Alicia Silverstone mispronounced "Hiatians" and she told the crew not to correct her. The story is getting old on me but when I first saw it I was like 12 and I didn't understand what country she was talking about. As for her squeals, on the features they say that that was all Alicia.
Cellphones in schools is common throughout the country now, not only Beverly Hills. The size of the phones in the movie there aren't as big as the ones from the 80's. One of my favorite characters is Summer, the Asian girl--she doesn't have a lot of lines or scenes but she was always so cheery. What made this movie authentic, even though not completely cemented in reality, was the interactions between the students and their habits. I also like it how Dionne was sincere but also had a bit of attitude--Cher asked her, 'Would you call me selfish?' and Dionne said, 'Not to your face.' without turning to her.
One of my favorite lines there is where 'Amber-ular' says she can't have balls flying across her face and Dionne says that there goes her social life. I hate that they cut that out of some TV airings and the movie isn't the movie without Thai's constant use of the word shit. A funny scene is also when Tai says she never had straight friends before and Dionne and Cher just look at each other puzzled. Now, that could be a double meaning--that she never had friends that were sober and/or lesbians.
Above is practically the only scene where Sean Holland appeared in and he was all over the TV series spin-off. The funniest thing of pure irony is that originally the movie was thought of as a television series. What I also liked was that the movie was a spoof but it didn't treat the audience like idiots and was upfront about what teens really did. They went to parties, did drugs occasionally, planned events, spoke about and had sex candidly.
Her gunpoint scene was funny but I nearly forgot about it by the end of the movie. As for Josh (Paul Rudd)'s girlfriend--what the hell was she talking about? The only part I understood was the Hamlet-Mel Gibson exchange.
What I liked about the sex talk scene in the restaurant was that even though Cher was treated as the leader and know-it-all, sometimes her inexperience was brought in light. When Tai said she didn't like when a 'guy's thing' is crooked, Dee tells her not to scare Cher. This comes back later when Dee asks Tai for sex advice. It came to reality how even though they considered Tai 'toe' up' but she had more experience than any of them had.
One of the scenes I remember from the trailer is where Cher's scary father (they wanted to get someone scary that she would just consider 'daddy') asked her who said that was a dress and she said CK. Anyway, what was even more funny is that he said to cover it up and she got a see-through jacket. That scene is also evidence on how Josh starts falling for Cher. Also classic is when Christian says 'your dad is scary' and she's like 'isn't he?' all dream-like and flattered. Do I have to even mention the funniness when he asks her if she likes Billie Holiday and she says that she loves him.
The first clues to Christian's sexuality is when he rebuffs a girl and Cher thinks is because he is a gentleman. But if you hear closely, he is saying 'what am I going to do with that?' and the waiter says, 'I don't want it.' Also, Josh notices that Christian is more interested in dancing with a guy and Cher is of course title-conscious.
Now looking at the film again, I notice the painting in the background on the picture to the left. Everyone talks about how the Tony Curtis movies Christian chose are a clue to his sexuality but there are more clues. I guess everything else is way too subtle like the homoerotic painting.
One of my all-time favorite scenes is the Freeway scene. Donald Faison (now known for "Scrubs") says that when he first read the script, he was like 'what's the scary?' I first saw this I was 12 so my dad was like, 'it is that scary.' I live in Miami and it isn't that bad but I have never driven on the L.A. highways.
Then they like to remind the audience or convince them that Christian is indeed a 'cake boy,' Christian acts more feminine starting with the mall scene. What is also interesting is that in the same scene Christian is aggressive and macho, it is great that a minor character gets so much avenues. I was so pissed when Christian's character was cut out of the TV series, more proof to how water down the series was from the movie.
From when Tai says the famous line in the movie, 'You're a virgin who can't drive,' can you guys answer me why exactly Cher tells her not to burn the 'Rollin with the homies' tape? Tapes just burn right? There is no like gasoline effect, is there? And when exactly did she get the tape? Because I'm sure Cher told Tai about Elton not liking her the next day after the party.
What was also interesting was that even though Elton had one storyline in which Cher tries to set Thai up with him, he also had this annoying habit (gag) of asking teachers for a hall pass. Also, Breckin Meyer who played sweet stoner Travis, who was such a scene stealer, admitted he thought the role was going to be so. I remember that at the time NBC had a short-lived series called 'The Home Court' and advertised that Breckin was on the show and in the movie. Oh yeah, Travis was not in the spin-off either!
Then there is the scene where one of Mel's employees gets on Josh and Cher's case for fooling around. I always wondered, 'who the hell was this guy?' and why was he only in this one scene. It became a pivotal scene but you just have to forget that Josh and Cher were former step-siblings and still was a 'big brother-type.' Also I would like to mention that Cher wasn't always a bimbo. She was smart, how else would she make those witty remarks? She actually wanted to change. And she didn't change for a man. She just wanted to better herself. Sure, she set out to do this after she realized she loved Josh but it wasn't her main objective.
Then they cut to this scene of Ms. Giest getting married and I now realize that Mr. Hall isn't the guy standing next to her, but it is a man with hair. More on this below.
As for the extras, there is a 'Suck-and-Blow' tutorial and it is awesome how they have footage of the gang from back when. DVDs didn't even exist back then. Also cool was seeing Nicole Bilderback who played Summer, she is all over this tutorial but they don't have a recent interview with her, of course also her and Alicia who my second cousin went to school with.
What I like about the DVD is that it goes more in depth than the stupid E! True Hollywood Story they did on Clueless, it was like it was any other kids movie. Amy Heckerling, who looks more like Rita Rutner, doesn't strike as the 'bubbly girl' type but it is refreshing that she was the one who came up with the concept. She had trouble shopping the movie around too, she even had to switch agents. She hasn't done much since, only the spin-off series, the flop Loser and the upcoming I Could Never Be Your Woman--with Paul Rudd and Michelle P. She even did the 'Fast Times at Ridgement High' TV spin-off too. Bill Pope, who is now much more known for The Matrix, Spider-Man 2 and 3, and is why Trey and Matt got him for Team America: World Police, tells us on how Amy wanted a 'happy' look to the movie and he took a bunch of photos and laid them down and she told him which ones were happy and/or not.
Breckin Meyer has done a lot of stuff since, Road Trip and Garfield (rolls eyes).
Ms. busygirl Brittany Murphy even made time for this DVD. They got everybody except for Ms. S which is sad really, she hasn't had a real hit since and Brittany has had tons. Stacey Dash, who doesn't look a day over 40 and is, looks fondly about the movie---which to me is refreshing.
Amy Heckerling was at the end scene of the movie and contributed to pushing the girls around in where they fight for the bouquet. In the picture to the left, you can also see Paul Rudd there, proving that they did indeed got him to stand in for that scene to make you believe that Cher did get married to him but are we to ignore the blonde bridesmaid next to them?
What was also cool was the clothes. They have a whole Fashion 101 freaturette where they say that Alicia had more than 50 or 100 costume changes. And how the girls dressed wasn't exactly how teenagers were dressing at the time but it had its own style. What I can't believe is that they had Twink Caplan, who is married to Wallace Shawn in real life, to stand on that old fangle thingy to stay in the wedding dress.
One of my close friends really loves the soundtrack, I love it too, its classic. One of the best put-together ones. What is misisng from it is the song at the end-"Tenderness" which was also at the end of the movie
Weird Science. Also the lingo is also what stands out and is what everyone remembers. It also very similar to the lingo on "Buffy The Vampire Slayer." Sure, Buffy never uttered 'as if' but the teen pop-culture lingo comes to mind.
