Heathers

Starring: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Frank, Kim Walker, Penelope Milford, Glenn Shadix
Directed by: Michael Lehmann
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
1989

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A teenager (Winona Ryder) teams up with her new boyfriend (Christian Slater) to kill the cool kids who are causing stress in her life.

Review:

Tim: I missed Heathers in the 1990s (I was too young) and didn't watch it until 30 years after it was released. It was hard to evaluate this movie. In 2019, a movie about high school kids killing other kids isn't cool. That's an undeniable fact of our reality, and it's at a larger scale and more frequent than anyone could have imagined. However, this movie didn't come out in 2019, it came out in the relative innocent of 1989. You have to look at the film in that context. When you do that, this movie feels fresh, edgy, and unexpected. That still doesn't mean I loved the movie (I did not), but it's a good film.

You can kind of see how this movie would appeal to the generation of high school students in 1989. You didn't see movies like this- two students decide they're going to kill the cool kids, who are running the school and causing havoc to people not in their clique. It's a fantasy many high school students have had- murdering the annoying "cool" kids to save the day. You get to live out that fantasy here. That's dark and twisted, but it's a reality for many people. It's hard to watch it today, because so many kids who were outcasts or isolated have actually taken those steps to kill others and ruin their own lives. I didn't like that aspect of this movie, although I can see why it would be appealing in 1989.

Winona Ryder and Christian Slater are definitely highlights. Ryder gives a likeable performance, always maintaining a connection with the audience, even when she does heinous things. She was believable in the role and was able to show off a range of different emotions. Slater worked well, too. He had a bit of loner charm and charisma, but he absolutely had a dark, disturbing streak to his character. I liked how this felt like it built throughout the film. There's some well-placed hints that he's not all there throughout the early stages, which makes his eventual descent into a sociopath more believable. Ryder and Slater worked well together. They capture something inherently true about many early-life relationships- they think they are good for each other, yet have no awareness of how destructive the relationship is. This is obviously taken to extreme heights here, but the underlying principles are true. That aspect of the film was quite worthwhile and I'm glad it was showcased.

The story itself is fine- it moves along at a decent pace. I never felt bored, although things do slow down a bit from time to time. The movie was probably the right length. One thing I didn't like was how certain scenes were portrayed. A number of times, I was confused as to whether I was watching something actually happening, or a fantasy. Some of the fantasy sequences are obvious (like the funeral one), but others, I wasn't quite sure until the scene was over. Perhaps this was done intentionally- it definitely gives the whole film a dreamlike, surreal quality. However, it didn't make for an enjoyable viewing experience. It created some disconnect with the audience. Things do pull together for a fairly entertaining and climactic conclusion, even if it's not always completely believable.

Heathers is a good movie and it's probably one that is beloved by the target demographic who saw this when it was first released. I was too young (7 years old) when it was first released, and I never watched the film during my angsty high school years when I probably would have related to the feelings in the movie more. So, I don't have any nostalgia for this film. It's a good movie and I can see how certain people might hold the movie as personally influential or important to them. I didn't love the film, but it's a good movie and it gives you a lot to think about.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



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