Clueless

Genre- Drama, Romance, Comedy


What typically occurs in a teen film?
Fights between friends, bullying issues, relationship problems or new relationships and family problems.


Where are teen films usually set?
Mostly high schools and the main character's house.


5 Teen films I've watched:
- Mean Girls
- The Breakfast Club
- She's the Man
- St Trinians
- Clueless


About the characters:
Cher- Cher is a 17 year old, blonde, high maintenance girl. She has a father and a step brother named Josh. When she was younger, her mother died. Cher was the major character in the film. She was manipulative, self-absorbed, shallow, popular, untruthful, childish, a flirt and she always had to have her own way. Her relationship life was very difficult as first she wanted to hook up with Christian before she found out about his sexuality and then later on in the film, she found out that she was actually in love with Josh and ended up with him in the end. In most of the film, Cher's attitude was selfish, childish and manipulative but in the end she wanted to change her attitude and she became a thoughtful, caring person.


Dionne- Dionne is Cher's best friend and she is 16 years old. Dionne was probably the second major character as Cher was more of a main character. Dionne had the same mannerisms as Cher, but she was more mean and shallow. She has a boyfriend named Murray who is one of the most popular boys at the school. Her attitude is mean and seriously shallow.


Tai- Tai was a new girl that Cher and Dionne took under their wings and made her into a totally different person by giving her a makeover. Tai was a major character as she became one of Cher and Dionne's friends. Tai was a very kind person but after the makeover she started to change and become like Cher and Dionne, forgetting who she really was. Tai was all over the place with relationships because Cher was introducing her to different boys. The first person Cher tried to set her up with was Elton, but this failed as Elton liked Cher. Then Christian, then she moved onto Josh, which Cher wasn't happy with, but the person that Tai wanted to be with all along was Travis.


Josh- Josh was Cher's step brother that ended falling for Cher. Josh was more of a minor character because the story didn't include him as much as the others. Josh was quiet, he was caring and he also stood up for others. In the end of the film, he went out with Cher. His attitude was caring.


Murray- Murray is Dionne's boyfriend and he is one of the most popular boys in school. He was a minor character. Murray was more of the independent type as he always hung around his friends at school and not Dionne, and he also did what he wanted to do without Dionne's permission such as shaving his head. Murray is in a relationship with Dionne. His attitude is popular and independent.


Elton- Elton is one of Murray's popular friends that Cher tried to get Tai with, but he actually liked Cher instead of Tai. Elton is a minor character rather than a main character,  and in the end he didn't end up going out with anyone.


Travis- Travis is a boy that likes to skateboard and has a thing for Tai. He was a minor character and he was a skateboard freak. At the start of the film when he first met Tai, he immediately fell in love with her and through the film, the relationship between them developed. His attitude was relaxed and he just wanted to have fun.


Mal (Cher's dad)- Mal is the father of Cher and is a widower as his wife passed away when Cher was little. Mal was a minor character. In his family is Cher, Josh, and himself. he is also not in a relationship as his wife died. Mal was a strict and protective father.


Mr Hall- Mr Hall is Cher's teacher. He was a minor character that was strict and didn't give in to manipulation. He was tricked by Cher in getting together with Miss Geist in order to get Cher's grades up, which in the end he ended up marrying her. His attitude turned extremely happy after he started dating Miss Geist.


Miss Geist- Miss Geist was another one of Cher's teachers. She was a minor character that was nice and gave into Cher's manipulation. She was also tricked by Cher into getting together with Mr Hall, and she ended up marrying him. Her attitude was also extremely happy.


How the characters developed over the text:
Cher- Cher started out as a popular, self-absorbed, manipulative person. But in the end she realized she needed to change her attitude so she turned into a thoughtful, caring person.


Dionne- Dionne was also a popular, self-absorbed person but as the story goes on, and even though Cher changes, Dionne stays the mean, shallow person she is.


Tai- Tai was the new person that "didn't have a sense of fashion" so she got a makeover which changed her personality. She used to be a nice, average student but then turned into a boy crazy, popular student.


Josh- Josh was Cher's step brother that always looked after Cher and stood up for her. He developed from a best friend, into a boyfriend.


Characters' costumes:
Cher- She wore very fashionable but smart clothing, her hair was always out and straightened and she also wore makeup.


Dionne- She wore a top with a vest like jumper, and always wore a skirt. Her hair was out and straightened but in a few points it was in plaits, she too wore makeup.


Tai- She first wore a checkered long sleeve shirt with jeans when she first arrived at the school but then after the makeover she wore skirts and fashionable shirts. She wore makeup and her hair varied from being out and being tied back.


Josh- He wore a shirt and jeans and his hair was short.


Murray- Murray dressed like a rapper. He wore his cap backwards and he wore very baggy clothing.


The plot of Clueless:
Clueless is about a popular, typical teenage girl named Cher who likes to trick people into getting together and is boy crazy.  


Where the film is set:
- The main setting is Beverly Hills
- The sub settings were;
- A High school
- A party
- The street


The kind of music that was featured:
- The music that was popular back in 1995
- The genre of the music was rock/pop and disco for the parties
This music was chosen because it suits the theme of the film and is suitable for what is happening in the scenes and what the emotion of the characters are.


The issues and themes raised in the story:
- Love- Elton wanted Cher instead of Tai when Cher wanted Tai to get together with him and another example of love is Cher and Josh, Dionne and Murray, and Tai and Travis.
- Popularity- When Tai was telling everyone about her near death experience.
- Change- When Cher turned into a better person.


How this film was similar/different to other teen films:
This film was similar because it showed the different types of people at high schools such as popular people, Gothic people, nerdy people and other stereotypes. They also show a theme of love and relationship.


Film review for Clueless:
"CLUELESS"
Clueless is a teenage film about a 17 year old girl named Cher. Cher is a blonde, self-absorbed, manipulative teenager that likes thinking that she is a matchmaker by tricking two people into thinking that they are in love with each other.
As I am not very fond with teen films, this film didn't appeal to me, but others may differ as it is good entertainment. The things that the film did well was the relevant teenage music, the stereotypes of the characters and the background characters, and also the the storyline. The film also showed great humor, love and drama as the story went on.
The thing that the film could have done better was the acting of the main characters because it seemed like they were over acting, but for others this might be a good thing because it is more entertainment.
The characters in the film that were students at the high school, were very stereotypical because there were "labelled people" such as the popular people, the nerdy people, the Gothic people and more, which I thought gave it a real feel of what it is like to be in high school.
Overall, knowing that I am not very fond of teen films, I thought this film was enjoyable and it is worth seeing. My rating out of 5 is 3.