Clueless: The 90s In 90 Minutes

"I'm gonna feel this way
Til I'm six feet underground
Crazy as it sounds
I need you around"

Clueless is a dash of satire, mixed with a scosh of parody, blended with social commentary. In other words, its, like, totally rad!

Amy Heckerling is no stranger to ensemble high school comedies. She defined two decades between the 80s and the 90s by framing the adolescent experience against her protagonists.

Even so she manages to keep her approach to the latter film fresh and imaginative. Clueless resists falling into the trap of repeating the vicissitudes of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, although Breckin Meyers' stoner dude Burkenstock echoes Spicoli.

There is a lot of heart and depth to the world and characters. Dan Hedaya shows a commitment to family as Cher's father and some of the romantic plots come from genuinely surprising places, despite knowing this is based on the classic novel Emma.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the series) was heavily influenced by this - I can see shades of both Cordelia and Buffy in Cher; some Willow outfits can even be seen in this movie worn by Brittany Murphy.

Watching the movie brings back memories, as this was one of the first times I specifically sought to see it in theatres. The soundtrack was on constant playback during my teen years. Back when we had CDs instead of playlists.

I found myself singing along with many of the selections and I was pleasantly surprised to find that a jukebox musical was made of Clueless (with a book by Heckerling, no less) utilizing the songs in the original soundtrack.

As I recall some critics at the time decried the shallowness of Cher and her companions, complaining that it showcased LA excess. But a review of Rotten Tomatoes shows that more recent revisiting of the film by critics is positive and realizes the satirical bent.

The language of the film does require an understanding of the references, somewhat like how Alex and his droogs use their made-up vocab in A Clockwork Orange.

And let's just talk a moment about Donald Faison stealing just about every scene he's in. I couldn't help but see his character as a young Dr. Turk and kept expecting him to show up in surgical scrubs.

The beauty of Clueless is that it's one of those movies that changes as you revisit it throughout one's ages. When you see it in your teens it means one thing. You get caught up in the parties and the flashiness and fashion of it.

Then when you revisit it in your twenties you start to understand the satire and social commentary and appreciate how the characters really care about each other.

Then in your 40s nostalgia hits you but not enough to make it depressing; you come back around to enjoying it for the fun of it.

And at the end of the day that's what Clueless is all about - having fun and still making a statement about the world around you. Perhaps that is why it has endured.

The Big Sleep: Howard Hawks Sets the Stage for Lynch

The Big Sleep is a surreal fever-dream, reflecting a nightmare landscape of a Los Angeles underworld, surely an inspiration for the likes of David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, and many others.

The outcome of the case is unimportant, the details leading nowhere. It's full of rich mahogany mansions, blind dark alleys, and illicit gambling houses, as any good noir film should be.

What makes this a quintessential, proto-noir piece is the fact that it's not about the outcome, it's about the process of investigation.

It doesn't help that the 1946 release version, with re-shuffled and re-shot scenes is somehow even MORE incomprehensible than the original 1945 version - which by the way sat in the Warner Bros. vault for a year and a half.

When asked by director Howard Hawks who shot a particular character, writer Raymond Chandler famously replied that he had no idea.

Every time Bogey tugs on his ear the story veers off in a wildly different direction. I think, after many viewings of this film, I have finally discovered the key to the story. When Bogart rubs his ear it's not just a character affectation; it's a signal that the plot is changing direction.

Each scene is so well-written in its own right, the dialogue so crisp and tight that it's entertaining simply as a collection of vaguely connected moments. Usually this would be a mark against a film but in this case, it elevates the material.

One does not watch The Big Sleep and attempt to follow the plot; that is impossible. Therefore one can only watch it and enjoy the ride. Also, realizing there is no spoon also helps.

And what a ride it is!