Clueless Details

Would you believe a loose adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma plonked down squarely in Beverly Hills 90210? Well, that's the setting for this screamingly funny satire-cum-put-on, which perfectly captures the inanities of contemporary teen America. Alicia Silverstone is a delight as Cher, the chic but dippy blonde who's devoted to improving the love lives of her Rodeo Drive-shopping high-school girlfriends, even though she can't sort out her own. Together with her best friend Dionne (Stacey Dash), Cher indulges in the trials and tribulations of designer-label animosity and MTV promiscuity, while her lawyer father (Dan Hedaya) and intellectual stepbrother (Paul Rudd) look on in total bemusement. Like Heathers before it, director Amy Heckerling's smart satire sharpens its comedic scalpel on the manners and mores of self-centred fashion victims. A quick note about the Clueless lingo: “majorly” means very, “do-able” means sexually attractive, a “hottie” is a do-able babe and a “Baldwin” is a gorgeous hunk. While mainly aimed at teens, like all fine comedies it will appeal to anyone with a wicked sense of humour and taste for the ironic. It's also one of those rare comedies which remains funny even when not delivering great one-liners. Examples? “What did you do in school today?” “Oh, I broke in my purple clogs”; “What's the point of learning to park when every place you go to has a valet?”; “My plastic surgeon doesn't want me doing any activity where balls fly at my nose.” You'll have to watch the movie to hear the hilariously vulgar riposte to the latter.

A surprisingly successful comedy about a girl who loves to shop, an activity that satisfies when all else fails. The dialogue is witty, the performances are smart and the tone is one of affectionate amusement touched with a little irony; the result is gre