People in the Movie: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater
Director: Michael Lehmann
Pigeonhole: Black Comedy / Drama
The Basics: High school teen angst, with a body count. I heard that once as a tag-line for this movie and had to put it here because of how fitting it is. Veronica (Ryder) seems to be in limbo; she is part of the most popular clique in school, yet she doesn’t seem to fit in with them. Her life takes an interesting turn when J.D. (Slater) transfers there. After these two get together, the results turn out to be fatal.
Recommendation: I highly recommend this film especially if you are a fan of dark comedy. A must see for anyone who went to a suburban high school, especially in Ohio. ‘R’ rating is for language and violence.
My Take: J.D. is a rebel-without-a-cause sort, who wears a black trench coat and rides a motorcycle. Veronica comes from a yuppie household, and is a member of the Heather clique of four at Westerburg High School
**spoiler alert** This movie is great on so many levels; it has awesome dialouge, good costuming (you will see what I mean upon viewing), and pulled off serious subject matter in a very darkly comic way, without being tasteless or completely absurd. The thing that attracts me most to this film was its similarity to my own high school. While the director made sure to include many stereotypes, the message was clearly laid out.
Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty), Heather Chandler, and Heather McNamara patrol the halls of their high school looking down on everyone. They bully other students, and won’t even speak to anyone who is not on their income level, or a jock. Veronica is considered part of the crew, and willingly participates in their antics, but the audience sees that she does have some moral dilemma going on in her head about their definition of “fun”. J.D. shows up at the school, a transfer student, and quickly makes a name for himself by pulling a gun on two football player friends of the Heathers who were attempting to bully him in the cafeteria on his first day. Veronica is seemingly impressed by his disregard for the established pecking order at the high school.
Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty), Heather Chandler, and Heather McNamara patrol the halls of their high school looking down on everyone. They bully other students, and won’t even speak to anyone who is not on their income level, or a jock. Veronica is considered part of the crew, and willingly participates in their antics, but the audience sees that she does have some moral dilemma going on in her head about their definition of “fun”. J.D. shows up at the school, a transfer student, and quickly makes a name for himself by pulling a gun on two football player friends of the Heathers who were attempting to bully him in the cafeteria on his first day. Veronica is seemingly impressed by his disregard for the established pecking order at the high school.
After unwittingly embarrassing Heather Chandler at a college frat party one Friday night, Veronica wants to “get even” with her by attempting to make her puke her guts out as Veronica had done at the party (causing said embarrassment). J.D. has other plans, however. Instead of stopping him, Veronica lets him serve Heather a coffee cup full of drain opener which quickly kills her. The two promptly stage her death as a suicide, and get away with the crime. What is surprising is how everyone reacts to her death, and the inner monologue comments at her funeral might be one of the best all-time dark comedy scenes.
On the heels of Heather Chandler’s demise, J.D. and Veronica lure Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeny (the two football players who attempted to “scare” J.D. on his first day) into the woods behind the school to shoot and kill them both. They stage the scene so the two football players appear to have been in a homosexual relationship, and decided to commit suicide, as a result. It is at this point Veronica decides she has had enough killing, where J.D. has gone off the proverbial deep end, and wants to blow up their school to make a “statement”, so Veronica has to finally stand up for herself.
The ending is definitely one to remember, but I also recommend checking out the special features on the DVD versions for the writer’s original vision for the movie ending. While it would have taken the movie to the “too far” side of appropriate, and might have brought the film down a notch as far as respectability, it was still interesting to think about.
Final Thought/Extras/For Fun: Seeing young Slater, Ryder, and Doherty in this movie is definitely entertaining for me… Two of the supporting actors later died as they had comically mocked in the movie (see earlier Little Known Facts posts about Heathers on this blog)… This, along with Ferris Bueller is one of my most quotable movies…
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