35 Years Later,HeathersHas Been Often Imitated, Never Duplicated

heather was release in theaters March 31 , 1989 , capping a ten of adolescent motion picture more delimitate byJohn Hughes comedies(The Breakfast Club , Ferris Bueller ’s Day Off ) thanwickedly acidic sarcasm . Other high school - centric films in 1989 included Say Anything , Dead Poets ’ Society , andBill & Ted ’s Excellent Adventure — wildly different motion picture that all apportion a sure sincerity . heather mixture , meanwhile , looked at its audience , rolled its center , and asked , “ What is your damage ? ”

Though Heathers has lived on ina musical(which play Off - Broadway in 2014 ; and London ’s West End in 2018 ) and a TV series ( which run one season in 2018 on the Paramount web ) , it ’s the original moving-picture show — written by Daniel Watersand directed by Michael Lehman , both making their feature debuts — that still makes the most impact . It remain a vituperative indictment of the cruel gamey - school day caste system in an era before societal media , and its incisive estimate are couched in an almost ridiculously repeatable script ( “ have intercourse me gently with a chainsaw ! ” ) that ’s just as entertaining as it was in 1989 . That enjoin , some constituent have n’t aged as well as others ; the form is 95 % lily-white , and the homophobic jokes — which do serve a level purpose and derive only from the mouth of clamorous idiots and hooligan — are a bit jarring to hear in 2024 .

Beyond that , though , there ’s a timelessness to Heathers that owe a good deal to its whole tone , a unequalled blend of wry , weary despair—“teen angst shit ” ( to quote Winona Ryder ’s character)—and sly intelligence , wrapped up in product purpose that puts a heightened vibrance on high - schooltime mode and place setting . Few teen flick have ever made such careful use of color , famously coding each croquet - playing Heather character with a hue that not - so - subtly reflects her personality . There ’s Heather Chandler ( Kim Walter ) , the original Mean Girl , enclothe in diabolical red ; Heather McNamara ( Lisanne Falk ) , whose xanthous choice represent her cautious , “ what ’s everyone else doing ? ” approach to life ; and Heather Duke ( Shannen Doherty ) , whose green - with - envy kit morph into red when she shoot Heather Chandler ’s place at the top of the pack .

Screenshot: New World Pictures

Somehow also in this group is Veronica ( Ryder , who ’s just 16 and anchors the film with world - weary excellence)—a fan of blue , unremarkably match with black — whose bearing among the Heathers is never full explained , beyond Heather Chandler snapping a reminder that “ You wanted to be a extremity of the most powerful clique in school . ” We have a go at it that Veronica has less snobby friends in her recent past , and early in Heathers she forms a relationship that will work mayhem on the cautiously constructed boundaries at Westerburg High School : go down for bad - male child fresh kid J.D. ( Christian Slater ) , who ’s all too happy to help Veronica make full on her furious contract — write in her diary , and read to the consultation as voice - over recital — that “ I must stop Heather . ”

Scots heather shifts from snarky gamy - school comedy to pitch - black comment on company at turgid once J.D. and Veronica commit their first slaying . They cover up their crime by staging Heather Chandler ’s demise — which is whole their fault , though whether Veronica really specify to kill her frenemy is somewhat disputable — as a self-destruction , help along by Veronica ’s convenient power to copy anyone ’s script . As their body counting rises , Veronica is horrified by the response in her suburban Ohio town . Her paté - get laid parents , whose pastime in her scarcely strays beyond who her promenade date might be , are as out of touch as Westerburg ’s teacher , who treat the “ self-destruction cluster ” in their thick as either an incommodiousness or something to exploit for publicity . The local cops are similarly portrayed as out - of - touch sensation sucker , and J.D. ’s wild - eyed founding father is too infatuated with his construction - wipeout business enterprise to offer any variety of reasonable guidance .

In this world , teens are exit to their own gadget — or to call in to a talk radio show , Hot Probs , which dispenses questionably useful life advice — and it ’s no surprise so many of them have spud into toxic human beings . “ Chaos is what belt down the dinosaurs , darling ! ” J.D. says gleefully to Veronica , all while plotting to place off a dud during a pep mass meeting that will be justify by a “ suicide note ” signed by the intact schoolhouse . ( Another one of his bon mots is “ The extreme always seems to make an effect . ” ) It ’s startling to take in Heather ’s last human activity knowing that just 10 years later , Columbine would forever change our perception of how terrific existent - life school violence can be — in fact , it ’s impossible not to think about it , even as Veronica manage to save her schoolfellow from aggregated destruction .

Screenshot: New World Pictures

Screenshot: New World Pictures

At the last of the movie , Veronica informs Heather Duke “ there ’s a new sheriff in town , ” and there ’s hope that mayhap Westerburg will become a kinder , more inclusive place now that the most democratic and/or most homicidal students have been eliminated . But heather mixture also entrust viewer with a final admonition . Though its in - universe composition is pop ditty “ Teenage Suicide ( Do n’t Do It ) , ” Heathers set about and cease with dissimilar version of the same song : “ Que Sera , Sera ( Whatever Will Be , Will Be)”—which admonish us that “ the time to come ’s not ours to see . ” Things could get better , or they could revert to awful again , and that feel like an ending that ’s both true to life and to Heathers ’ own worldview . To quote Veronica : “ Lick it up , baby . Lick . It . Up . ”

Heathers is teem onPrime Video .

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Screenshot: New World Pictures