As a bit of an Austen purist, my copy of 'Clueless' has been left on the shelf for quite a while until I decided to watch it this week. I was pleasantly surprised by, despite the American high school setting, the faithfulness to the original novel.
Emma Woodhouse becomes Cher (Alicia Silverstone), full of ego and a dumb blonde caricature, as insecure as those she aims to help, such as the geeky Tai = Harriet Smith (Brittany Murphy). She makes bad choices in love - throwing herself at the preening Christian (= Frank Churchill) while ignoring the steady Josh (= Mr Knightley), and this is as much a growing-up fable in the teen drama standard as it is an attempt to make a classic novel relevant to a new generation.
Although 'Clueless' is a bit dumb and squarely aimed at a younger audience, it does have some pleasures for those familiar with the book it takes as inspiration - and for those who do not know their Austen and so are ignorant of the parallels. Silverstone makes an endearing heroine and Murphy is convincing in her depiction of a girl moving from geek to glamourpuss (shades of Grease and Sandy here as well).
Like other adaptations it is worth a look simply to see how different directors and writers handle the subject.
Emma Woodhouse becomes Cher (Alicia Silverstone), full of ego and a dumb blonde caricature, as insecure as those she aims to help, such as the geeky Tai = Harriet Smith (Brittany Murphy). She makes bad choices in love - throwing herself at the preening Christian (= Frank Churchill) while ignoring the steady Josh (= Mr Knightley), and this is as much a growing-up fable in the teen drama standard as it is an attempt to make a classic novel relevant to a new generation.
Although 'Clueless' is a bit dumb and squarely aimed at a younger audience, it does have some pleasures for those familiar with the book it takes as inspiration - and for those who do not know their Austen and so are ignorant of the parallels. Silverstone makes an endearing heroine and Murphy is convincing in her depiction of a girl moving from geek to glamourpuss (shades of Grease and Sandy here as well).
Like other adaptations it is worth a look simply to see how different directors and writers handle the subject.