We’re Glad We Never Had To See Fox’s Version Of Clueless
Paramount Pictures By Lyvie Scott/Feb. 18, 2022 4:14 pm EST
It’s been almost 30 years since its release, but “Clueless” is still considered to be one of the best Jane Austen adaptations out there, if not the most accessible. Austen’s tongue-in-cheek novel “Emma” served as loose (and I mean loose) framework for director/writer Amy Heckerling’s own comedy of manners. It turns out that a story of wealth, privilege and naivete works as seamlessly in 19th-century England as it does in mid-90s Beverly Hills; even Austen’s titular heroine seems perfectly suited to the lifestyle of Cher Horowitz.
“Clueless” is more than a cult classic. In fact, it was an almost-instant success when it premiered in 1995, a certified sleeper that eventually bagged $56.6 million in the U.S. and Canada. It was a high school rom com that completely resurrected the genre, and was the first to revamp a piece of classic literature for a modern, younger audience — films like “10 Things I Hate About You,” “She’s the Man” and “Easy A” would help carry that trend into the early aughts. But before “Clueless” became a cultural phenomenon and a box office win for Paramount, the film and its director were trapped in development purgatory at another familiar studio, and their vision for the film had Heckerling, like, totally buggin'.
We’re Glad We Never Had To See Fox’s Version Of Clueless
Paramount Pictures
By Lyvie Scott/Feb. 18, 2022 4:14 pm EST
It’s been almost 30 years since its release, but “Clueless” is still considered to be one of the best Jane Austen adaptations out there, if not the most accessible. Austen’s tongue-in-cheek novel “Emma” served as loose (and I mean loose) framework for director/writer Amy Heckerling’s own comedy of manners. It turns out that a story of wealth, privilege and naivete works as seamlessly in 19th-century England as it does in mid-90s Beverly Hills; even Austen’s titular heroine seems perfectly suited to the lifestyle of Cher Horowitz.
“Clueless” is more than a cult classic. In fact, it was an almost-instant success when it premiered in 1995, a certified sleeper that eventually bagged $56.6 million in the U.S. and Canada. It was a high school rom com that completely resurrected the genre, and was the first to revamp a piece of classic literature for a modern, younger audience — films like “10 Things I Hate About You,” “She’s the Man” and “Easy A” would help carry that trend into the early aughts. But before “Clueless” became a cultural phenomenon and a box office win for Paramount, the film and its director were trapped in development purgatory at another familiar studio, and their vision for the film had Heckerling, like, totally buggin'.
“Clueless” is more than a cult classic. In fact, it was an almost-instant success when it premiered in 1995, a certified sleeper that eventually bagged $56.6 million in the U.S. and Canada. It was a high school rom com that completely resurrected the genre, and was the first to revamp a piece of classic literature for a modern, younger audience — films like “10 Things I Hate About You,” “She’s the Man” and “Easy A” would help carry that trend into the early aughts.
But before “Clueless” became a cultural phenomenon and a box office win for Paramount, the film and its director were trapped in development purgatory at another familiar studio, and their vision for the film had Heckerling, like, totally buggin'.
Let’s NOT do a makeover
Paramount
That “Clueless” was so “female-oriented” actually became its strongest asset. Not only did it revive and later revolutionize a then-defunct sub-genre; its influence trickled into fashion and music, and even helped coin a few choice slang terms. It gave a voice to so many young girls who were discovering exactly who they were in the most formative years of their lives. “Clueless” taught them — and the generations since — that it’s okay to be silly, and to make mistakes, too. Will this film ever lose its timelessness, or (more importantly) its status as the quintessential chick flick? As if!
