Original Theatrical Release: March 31, 1989
Director: Michael Lehmann
Veronica (Winona Ryder) despises school and all its politics. To have any semblance of normalcy, you must be popular, and a trio of girls, all named Heather, have inducted her into their ranks. However, Veronica hates the games and cruelty, eventually falling for J.D. (Christian Slater) a sociopath who leads her down a dark rabbit hole of hate, unintentional murder and suicide.
We all hated high school. I think I can say that with some confidence and still mean that everyone, even the popular kids, hated it.
I watched this movie again recently mostly because Christian Slater started coming into my workplace and sort of, by proxy, reminded me of all his films. I think this is one of his better roles. Also, for all her flaws in real life, Winona Ryder is actually a very great actress and she is in fine form here.
The movie is a great commentary on high school life (even if this takes place in the late 80’s/early 90’s….the politics are mostly the same nowadays) and is especially poignant in these times after all the recent school shootings like Sandy Hook and others.
Dark, twisted, funny, sad…Heathers has a lot of different facets but is ultimately a gem of filmmaking that was probably a bit ahead of its time. I think its message holds up very nicely, though.
After watching this, I dare you to try not spouting lines from the movie for days.
JOE Rating: ★★★★★
Movie Trailer For Heathers
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