Will the TV reboot of the 1995 film Clueless be a success? As if!
In 1995, one of the best modern adaptations of a classic novel was released: Clueless. Based on Jane Austen’s Emma, the movie was a camp 90s coming-of-age comedy filled with hilarious lines that are still being quoted 30 years later.
The film focused on a spoiled teenager named Cher Horowitz who lives a privileged suburban life and learns over the course of the movie to become less selfish and understand and appreciate the people in her life.
The movie had a huge cult following, earned millions in the box office, and has continued to have a legacy as one of the most beloved teen movies of all time.
This impressive status probably means that it is unsurprising that a Clueless TV series is being developed by Peacock.
The series is set to be written and produced by the same people behind Gossip Girl, with the movie’s original writer-director Amy Heckerling and producer Robert Lawrence also executive producing.
Alicia Silverstone, who played the iconic character of Cher in the original movie, is also set to return to fill the big shoes left by herself three decades ago.
Given that I’m a huge lover of the 1995 movie, you’d think that I’d be delighted that there’s a reboot, but I’m not. If anything, I’m buggin’.
The movie is filled with tired stereotypes and just wouldn’t work today.
For example, Christian, the film’s gay character, is referred to as ‘a cake boy. A disco-dancing, Oscar Wilde-reading, Streisand ticket-holding friend of Dorothy, know what I’m saying?’
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The main narrative of the film mocks Cher as a spoiled and manipulative ditz who creates chaos in her wake, with little to no consideration for the people around her.
Her ‘direction’ in life is simply towards the mall, and she can quote Shakespeare but can only attribute it to ‘Cliff Notes’.
Her character was image-obsessed and proudly showed her friend Dion how to lose weight by cutting up her fat-free lunch ‘really small’. This diet culture was a fixture of the 90s, but how would this translate to a new, likely younger audience who wouldn’t have the same hang-ups as the viewers of the original film?
The movie was a parody and an ironic look at teens in California who were more concerned about their nose job than ever getting a real job. While this may have been acceptable in the last century, it’s tough to see how this characterisation would work for Cher 30 years on?
Silverstone is now 48, and having her character portrayed in this way would be not only offensive but nonsensical. By the end of the film, Cher had managed to take steps to grow. Would a remake undo all of her personal growth for cheap laughs and to build a story?
The 90s fashion was another key part of the movie, and decades on, I fear it would fall into the same trap as And Just Like That, the Sex and the City reboot that gained a following but failed to exemplify some of the most fabulous fashion moments that the original series nailed.
Paul Rudd was completely dreamy as Josh in this series, but it’s still a bit icky that at the end of the movie, Cher ends up dating her older, former step-brother.
Of course, this was an attempt to remain faithful to the original story as Emma ended up with Mr. Knightley, whose brother is married to Emma’s elder sister, Isabella.
Still, the brother-sister relationship they established in the first half of the movie makes their romance a little bit gross – and while Rudd would most definitely add excitement to the reboot, understanding his character’s place 30 years down the line is tricky.
Brittany Murphy played Tai, the new girl at school who is befriended by Cher in the hopes that she can improve her with a makeover.
Her character said one of the most famous lines from the show – ‘You’re a virgin who can’t drive’ – Sadly, the star died in 2009, and the loss of Murphy’s character would be a sad aspect of the reboot.
Reboots of beloved films and TV series are so frequently overhyped and end up under-delivering.
Typically, the shows end up clinging to the past without moving the story forward or making anything meaningful.
Bringing back the original cast for a story 30 years later just doesn’t feel like the strongest idea when the characters were introduced to the audience as 15-year-olds.
Nobody is the same person they were at age 15, and what would be the point of the reboot unless the characters were recognisable to audiences?
Some things are best left in the past, and while I loved the original movie, I think a reboot runs the risk of tarnishing its legacy by peddling worn-out jokes and trying to recreate the magic of the first movie, which was made in a totally different time.
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