23 Comments

  1. This does sound like black comedy! I like the notion of the interchangeable Heathers.

    Thanks for joining the blogathon with this (new to me) 80s flick. The next time I’m jonesing for a Mean Girls kind of movie, I’ll search for this.

  2. Heathers is one of my favorite films, so thanks for the nice jog down memory lane.

    I think my favorite part of the movie comes during the dorm montage where Heather Chandler spits at the mirror. It’s one of the few private moments any of the Heathers get away from Veronica’s perspective. It’s also a scene that encapsulates all of Heather Chandler’s own fears– leaving high school where she’s the queen and having to start back on the bottom of the social ladder– that really illustrates why she’s such a cruel and callous bitch to her peers. It’s her entire character, who is a cartoon to everyone else, explained in two shots.

    Cheers!

    • It’s true. She has so much anxiety about proving her worth to college guys that it’s painful to witness. All of a sudden all of that effort to brush up on their “conversational skills” earlier makes sense. The film does have remarkable economy in its character development, one of the reasons it’s so compelling. Even minor characters are distinctive.

  3. Great choice, there’s no real life villain like mean girl at that age (actually these girls verge on the inhuman!) I liked this movie a lot back when, it was so funny, and I need to revisit it, as I see from your post I’d pick up a lot more as an adult. Thanks for covering this one for the event!

  4. Such a classic! This movie’s always so much darker than I remember—I think I’m always initially distracted by all the scrunchies and pastels, which I’m guessing was part of the point 🙂

    Awesome write-up!

    • Thank you. It’s true! That opening scene with all the colors and the seemingly sweet croquet game (at least at first) doesn’t prepare you for what you’re going to get…but isn’t that true of high school? (or for some of us, middle school instead)?:)

  5. TCupp

    When JD lights his cigarette off her hand. Oof.

    Usually I am irritated by characters who speak so quickly and cleverly (ie Gilmore Girls), but this movie is fabulous. Its darkness is what does it for me. Fuck me gently with a chainsaw….

    • And that’s the line that made me laugh out loud:) I agree with you about the dark tone. I enjoyed GG briefly, but I reached my limit quickly. There are only so many fast, clever talkers I can take in one show…

  6. I was so happy to see you were covering this film as it’s one of my all time faves. That red scrunchie was responsible for a lot of dubious 90s hairstyles and sometimes – if I’m stuck for style inspiration – I’ll consider double-breasted plaid (fun fact: I once went to a fancy dress party as Heather, with double shoulder pads)
    I’ve often thought that this film has an interesting feminist message – the fact that she ends up saving the school – and of course, it really paved the way for much more interesting female characters.

    • It’s true that Veronica is a feminist; I love that she won’t cave to Heather’s demands to impress college boys she doesn’t like, and finally manages to break out on her own without J.D./the Heathers holding her back–dubious as some of her steps along the way might be! That’s hilarious that you went to a party dressed as Heather. I love it.

  7. mercurie80

    I have always loved Heathers. It is a truly funny black comedy, and one that has some truly great villains in the form of the Heathers and J.D. The movie is perhaps part of the reason I have always thought Mean Girls was just “okay”. After having to seen what the Heathers will do, any other “mean girls” seem like rank amateurs!

  8. Uh, I didn’t know this film! Is it anything like Clueless?
    I’ve never imagined how important “sense of furniture” is for adulthood! LOL
    Thanks for the kind comment!
    Le

    • It’s a high school comedy, like Clueless, but much darker, and with some cruel characters. It’s closer to Mean Girls or Easy A than Clueless in terms of tone and approach. But I find all of them funny:) Thank you for commenting!

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