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Heathers

post #1 of 33
8/11/09 at 10:57am
Thread Starter 
Seeing this for the first time last has effectively lowered my estimation of every single other high school film I've ever seen. It's done for high school films what seeing Apocalypse Now for the first time ever this year has done for my perception of war films. It's kind of a worthless genre, unless this is the bar you're attempting to reach, and far fewer films even get close.

Moreover, except for the timely, dreadful clothing and hair, the movie doesn't seem dated. Actually, it's strange how it dates us, that now so much of this is horrifyingly hilarious as opposed to simply hilarious as I imagine it must have been for years pre-Columbine.

It's also now on my short list of "What if?" films, now that the special features brought up how bad everyone wanted Kubrick to direct. I'd give up a testicle to see what that man would've done with this.
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post #2 of 33
8/11/09 at 11:00am
Rath mentioned this as a movie ruined for his generation by things like Columbine. Loved this movie in theaters. "I love my dead gay son!"
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post #3 of 33
8/11/09 at 11:04am
I never cared for this one. It was either the lame performances from Slater and Ryder, the way it tried too hard to be edgy or the bullshit ending. I've always thought people who were impressed with it were suckers.
But I do love that "dead gay son" line.
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post #4 of 33
8/11/09 at 11:10am
Count me in as a fan of this film. I saw it during my teenage years so that probably helped. I spent months afterwards saying "Greetings and Salutations" to everyone I met.
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post #5 of 33
8/11/09 at 11:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
I never cared for this one. It was either the lame performances from Slater and Ryder, the way it tried too hard to be edgy or the bullshit ending. I've always thought people who were impressed with it were suckers.
But I do love that "dead gay son" line.
A lot of it was too on the nose and forced (calling him JD, "corn nuts", etc.), but what do you expect from the pen that spewed out Batman Returns, Hudson Hawk and Ford Fairlane? It had a wobbly tone that paid off in certain moments and killed momentum in others. But I think time's probably been kind to it.
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post #6 of 33
8/11/09 at 11:20am
I caught it for the first time about a year ago and my opinion of it was the same as Justin's. Not only has it barely dated, but it actually puts the majority of high school movies and black comedies to shame.
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post #7 of 33
8/11/09 at 11:20am
Reminds me that I need to grab a copy of Massacre at Central High now that it is out on DVD.
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post #8 of 33
8/11/09 at 11:29am
This movie cemented my love of black comedy.

In the original ending, Veronica agreed with JD and allowed him to blow the school up. The final scene was a prom in heaven where all of the dead students finally came together as one: nerds dancing with popular kids, stoners dancing with metal heads, etc.

I've always been a fan of "Fuck me gently with a chainsaw", but there are a million Heathers quotes that are part of my repertoire.
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post #9 of 33
8/11/09 at 11:30am
My favourite -

Veronica: All we want is to be treated like human beings, not to be experimented on like guinea pigs or patronized like bunny rabbits.
Veronica's Dad: I don't patronize bunny rabbits.
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post #10 of 33
8/11/09 at 11:33am
I didn't like this quite as much as I expected to, but I still agree that it's better than most contemporary high school movies and black comedies. Ryder and Slater are fun.
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post #11 of 33
8/11/09 at 11:52am
I watched this for the first time a few years ago and I remember liking it a lot. It really does kind of kill most other teen movies. I need to see it again though.
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post #12 of 33
8/11/09 at 2:02pm
So many great, great lines in this.
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post #13 of 33
8/11/09 at 2:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Abbott & Prospero View Post
Reminds me that I need to grab a copy of Massacre at Central High now that it is out on DVD.
ding ding ding ding ding!
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post #14 of 33
8/11/09 at 2:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattioli View Post
I've always been a fan of "Fuck me gently with a chainsaw", but there are a million Heathers quotes that are part of my repertoire.
Yup. I pretty much spoke in all Heather quotes during middle school.

"You were nothing before you met me. You were playing Barbies with Betty Finn. You were a Bluebird. You were a Brownie. You were a Girl Scout Cookie."

"How very."

"Dear Diary: Heather told me she teaches people "real life." She said, real life sucks losers dry. You want to fuck with the eagles, you have to learn to fly. I said, so, you teach people how to spread their wings and fly? She said, yes. I said, you're beautiful. "
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post #15 of 33
8/11/09 at 2:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diva View Post
"Dear Diary: Heather told me she teaches people "real life." She said, real life sucks losers dry. You want to fuck with the eagles, you have to learn to fly. I said, so, you teach people how to spread their wings and fly? She said, yes. I said, you're beautiful. "
Absolutely. And I say, "You're beautiful" all the time.

More fun stuff: The high school is called Westerberg High because Winona Ryder was obsessed with the Replacements at the time.

Even more fun stuff: the name twinning. Betty Finn. Veronica Sawyer. Betty and Veronica. Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.

Oh, and "Our love is God. Let's get a slushie."
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post #16 of 33
8/11/09 at 2:59pm
"ESKIMO!"

Gets a little preachy towards the end, but that first hour is pretty much perfect.
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post #17 of 33
8/11/09 at 3:05pm
The eskimo suicide note is the greatest thing ever.
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post #18 of 33
8/11/09 at 5:06pm
People actually like this film? I won't say I couldn't finish it, because I probably would have done if I hadn't had to stop and do something important, but I wasn't exactly heartbroken to be interrupted. Stupid, stupid waste of time film. I was expecting a thread full of snark. I'm disappointed, Chud.
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post #19 of 33
8/11/09 at 5:14pm
Does not compute.
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post #20 of 33
8/11/09 at 5:15pm
She meant to type "disappointing."
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post #21 of 33
8/11/09 at 5:15pm
Seriously, Cleo?

You're probably just bitter because no one here will let you play their reindeer games anymore.
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post #22 of 33
8/11/09 at 5:19pm
Nice.

Not that age should be a factor, because quite frankly this film transcends its time, but Cleo's profile says she was born in 1990. *shakes head* Kids these days, wouldn't know good if it bit them in the ass. :P
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post #23 of 33
8/11/09 at 5:23pm
I was a teenager when it came out and I'm with you, Cleo! Stand strong!
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post #24 of 33
8/11/09 at 5:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cleo View Post
People actually like this film? I won't say I couldn't finish it, because I probably would have done if I hadn't had to stop and do something important, but I wasn't exactly heartbroken to be interrupted. Stupid, stupid waste of time film. I was expecting a thread full of snark. I'm disappointed, Chud.
Gosh, we're disappointed that you're disappointed...
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post #25 of 33
8/11/09 at 5:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
I was a teenager when it came out and I'm with you, Cleo! Stand strong!
You watched the whole movie, Bob. You may hold the talking stick.
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post #26 of 33
8/11/09 at 5:45pm
Another fun fact, the director Michael Lehmann was the cousin of Ray Lehmann who used to post here as Cosmic Ray. At least that's what Ray told me...

I love this movie so much that I'd go far enough to say there was no black comedy that could touch it until Observe & Report. The people who don't like it, I'd be curious about their opinions of black comedy in general (because it's certainly not for everybody's taste). This movie is scathing, and so on point with so much of what it's saying.

Kurt Kelly: Hey Ram, doesn't this cafeteria have a "No Fags Allowed" rule?
J.D.: Well they, uh, seem to have an open door policy for assholes though, don't they?
Kurt Kelly: What did you say, dickhead?
J.D.: [He sighs, stands, and pulls out a gun] I'll repeat myself.


-------------------------------------------


Officer Milner: My God, suicide. Why?
Officer McCord: [holds up bottle of mineral water found next to one of the bodies] Does *this* answer your question?
Officer Milner: [appalled] Oh man! They were fags?
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post #27 of 33
8/11/09 at 9:45pm
As horrible as Columbine was for my generation, it makes me like Heathers more.
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post #28 of 33
1/15/10 at 11:13pm
This would make a pretty good double feature with Mean Girls.

Officer McCord: The Quarterback buggering the linebacker, what a waste
Officer Milner: Oh the humanity

Not as funny as I remembered.
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post #29 of 33
2/14/10 at 2:19am
Whether to kill yourself or not is one of the most important decisions a teenager can make.

I still love this film to death. It plays even better for me today.
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post #30 of 33
2/14/10 at 2:34am
If I'm gonna watch a Christian Slater high school movie, I'll pick Pump Up the Volume 9 out of 10 times over Heathers, but I still really enjoy it. Heathers' worst sin is probably that it drags mightily at times.

The saving grace is the dialogue. It's pretty evident from a fair number of posts that this movie lives on in its quotability and I'll totally admit to being part of that. I've used "Fuck me gently with a chainsaw" in conversation for a few years now. More notably, I brought this one with me to the last Thanksgiving get-together my family had and we all ended up watching it. Come Christmas time everyone was millin' about asking each other "What's your damage?"

With alcohol came the lament of all our dead gay sons.
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post #31 of 33
2/14/10 at 7:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by NathanW View Post
This would make a pretty good double feature with Mean Girls.
Sorry Nath, but no - it wouldn't. Mean Girls would have to blow up the quad while the entire popular crowd was bitching to be half as good as Heathers, I honestly can't stand when it stes name dropped with Heathers as its a pale pulled punch compared to it in my estimation.

Having grown up with great black comedy, Heathers was THE iconic teen film for me and the reason I feel most of the genre sucks as a whole - cause they just don't have the testicular fortitude this does. Sure, Christians in hyper-Nicholson mode, but the film is so fucking quotable, so beautifully black, and such an unflinching look at the high school lord-of-the-flies world I myself have experienced that it'll always have a deepy beloved place in my heart.

At the beginning of my community radio show, to this day I can't help but welcome my listeners with "greetings and salutations".
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post #32 of 33
2/15/10 at 12:03am
Just got the blu-ray a few weeks back for 7 bucks. This is a classic 80's movie.
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post #33 of 33
2/19/10 at 5:01am
I agree with Mr. Coombs. There are parts of Heathers that are as funny and biting as a teen film gets, but I just don't like the pacing.
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