Clueless is a 1995 teen movie starring Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz, a spoiled Beverly Hills teen that finds purpose in conducting good deeds for those around her. It was a memorable teen movie in that it made us laugh, taught life lessons, and provided many relatable storylines throughout (and was originally based on Jane Austen’s Emma!).
Watching Cher navigate high school and life is one of those stories that will always be a significant part of pop culture, and Cher’s character is definitely a favorite of ours. But for all its ’90s style, it’s not all retro - in fact, many of its storylines were well ahead of their time.
Fashion
This is more of an honorable mention. Fanny packs and mesh clothing are things of the ’90s, but they’re coming back around in style. For that reason, we had to give Clueless a shoutout for its choices in fashion. Even Cher’s outfit of a yellow plaid skirt and blazer made a reappearance in Iggy Azalea’s music video for “Fancy.” Cher’s style is definitely trend-worthy, and she wears it well. She does have an endless clothing budget, which definitely helps with her options.
Cher’s Relationship With Her Dad
In a way, Cher’s relationship with her father, Mel (Dan Hedaya) is ahead of its time, given that instead of a typical teenage daughter, Cher cares for her father and has a good relationship with him. It may not be the parent-child relationship we see on Gilmore Girls with Rory and Lorelai, but all things considering, Cher and Mel understand and respect one another.
Cher ensures Mel remains healthy, and Mel encourages Cher to apply herself and to do her best in all that she does. With Cher’s mother gone, it seems to have strengthened their relationship, and it shows.
Risking Popularity
By the film’s end, Cher has fallen a few notches in popularity compared to what she used to have, but she doesn’t seem to mind so much. She’s supporting Travis (Breckin Meyer) at a skateboarding event, when she previously thought he was scummy and not worth hanging out with. She’s back to being friends with Tai (Brittany Murphy). She’s more open to hanging out with people she previously thought were below her, and she finds that having a variety of friends is a good thing, which turns out to be one of the greatest lessons of the film. It’s the kind of lesson that’s timeless and will continue to be an important message for generations to come.
Difference In The Portrayal Of College Students
Josh (Paul Rudd) is portrayed as more worldly and socially-conscious versus the partier, careless image of college students past in other films. With ’80s films like Revenge of the Nerds and Back to School, college students weren’t shown to care much for things outside of their own bubbles. Josh switches off Beavis and Butthead to watch world news, much to Cher’s annoyance, and he is shown to be intelligent and concerned for other causes, exploring the world for himself.
This was different at the time in the portrayal of college students, and it made a lasting impression. We can see why Cher ended up falling for Josh, not just because of his care for the world, but because he was a genuinely good guy, and not one of those “high school boys” that Cher abhors.
Tai
Tai was Cher’s make-over project, but when it comes down to it, Cher’s desire to help her comes from a good place. Tai was the new kid in school, obviously struggling to fit in, and Cher and Dionne (Stacey Dash) take her under their wing. They show her the ropes and get her to hang out with the right people, and down the line it does backfire on Cher, but she still manages to remain friends with Tai. Whereas they could’ve bullied Tai or ignored her given their popularity status, Cher and Dionne used it to better Tai’s life, which was a big deal. Helping Tai was an anti-bullying message of sorts, showing kids a better way to treat the new kid, or any kid others had deemed an outsider, in school.
LGBTQ Inclusion
Cher tries pursuing Christian (Justin Walker), whom she finds attractive and sweet. She tries and fails to seduce him, then wonders what is wrong with her. It’s not until Murray (Donald Faison) clues in Cher and Dionne regarding Christian’s sexuality that her eyes are opened, but she becomes great friends with Christian as they share a love of fashion and art.
The LGBTQ community was not as widely discussed or acknowledged in the ’90s as it is today, so this was a subtle but significant inclusion in the film’s overall storyline. It explains Cher’s and Dionne’s failure to understand Christian at first, and the fact that Cher becomes friends with him instead of shaming him or cutting him out of her life is another noteworthy aspect of the storyline.
Cher Doesn’t Entirely Conform To Her Stereotype
Cher may be a spoiled and clueless rich girl, but there’s more to her than what lies on the surface. Cher loves material things from shoes to clothes to make-up and more, but her love of doing good deeds in addition to her desire to change and be a better person makes her different. She’s not boy-crazy, she takes care of her father, she’s kind to the household staff (even though she gets cultural backgrounds mixed up), she tries to help others, and she discovers that there’s more to life than what she’s seen so far. Her portrayal of a rich girl is different given she doesn’t entirely conform to the stereotype, and that made her a character ahead of her time.
Phone Usage
This is one of the biggest aspects of Clueless that was ahead of its time. The teenagers are always on their phones, calling each other at all hours. Even Dionne and Cher were calling each other when they were merely a few feet apart in the school hallways.
Granted, phone usage is a bigger deal now, given the additions of texting, games, watching YouTube videos and everything else. In fact, calling is becoming less frequent given the popularity of texting. It seems Clueless predicted that technology would evolve into one of the main forms of communication.
Cher Had A “Me Too” Movement Moment
Cher, on her way home from a party, reluctantly takes a ride with Elton (Jeremy Sisto). Hoping to pair him with Tai, she doesn’t realize Elton wants her until he tries to force her to kiss him (as if!), and she gets out of the car. She stood up for herself and rejected Elton, and Elton left her alone, where she ended up getting robbed. Cher was having a bad night, but Josh came to her rescue. Still, Cher standing up for herself was a big deal, and it sends a positive message to viewers about being brave.
Finding Purposes Bigger Than Yourself
It’s not that uncommon to find someone involved in a cause that they’re passionate about. For Cher, finding a purpose bigger than herself meant helping others, and contributing something to the world, like applying herself to the Pismo Beach Disaster Relief efforts. Cher stepped outside of her high school and Beverly Hills bubble to find a greater purpose, and she becomes a better, and happier, version of herself because of it.
