Clueless (1995)

I never cared much about high school flicks, not even when I was in high school —Easy A is the exception since I love that movie—, so I never bothered to check out Clueless. Then I learnt there's a (young) Paul Rudd in it so of course I watched it. 

The story follows Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone), a superficial, materialist, rather stupid, spoiled 16-year-old who only cares about herself and being the most popular kid in high school and does not believe in high school boyfriends. She also enjoys playing the good Samaritan so, after orchestrating a relationship between two of her teachers to improve their moods and get better grades without studying, she takes awkward tomboy Tai (Brittany Murphy) under her wing and decides to find her a boyfriend. Which only makes her realise she wants a boyfriend but finding the Balwin of her dreams turns out to be a much more difficult task than anticipated.

As I had anticipated, the plot, or whether the film is trying to pass as such, is very clichéd and predictable, and there are many subplots that feel like they don't belong as they add nothing to the story. In addition, it delivers several messages that are just wrong —virginity is bad, and you need to change yourself in order to make others like you.

The characters are terrible too. First, they act extremely mature for their age; second, most of them are plain stupid and unlikeable. Cher is about the most annoying character I've seen in a teen movie —actually, no, that would be Sierra Burgess—, she is quite a bitch and couldn't sympathize with her nor care about her, not even for a second. Tai, at first, is quite interesting but eventually, she turns into yet another dumb character who differentiates from Cher only because she is more experienced, sexually. Cher's best friend Dionne is just as shallow, and her boyfriend who doesn't nothing other than calling her "woman" and pissing her off is quite annoying. There are a few characters I liked, Travis the stoner and Cher's step-brother, Josh, but unfortunately there's not enough of them in the film.

I didn't find Clueless particularly funny either. Despite all, the film still is slightly enjoyable and the credits entirely go to the cast. While I found her voice very annoying —I felt the same about each actress in here though, maybe they had problems recording high pitched voices, I don't know—, Alicia Silverstone does a pretty good job as the clueless, spoiled brat, and her cuteness and sweetness make the film more bearable, and she has great chemistry with Stacey Dash which makes the friendship between Cher and Dionne very believable. It's Paul Rudd though that absolutely steals the scene with a charming performance as the sweet, sensitive and hard-working Josh.

8 Mile (2002)

I was about eight when I first heard of Eminem and fell in love with his music. I didn't understand the lyrics as I didn't speak English at the time, but I loved them nevertheless. So I was pretty excited when 8 Mile aired on TV a year later —no way my parents would bring me to see this. Also, I doubt my tiny town showed this— and I loved it. I rewatched it many times over the years, I rewatched it now and I still love it. 

Set in 1995 Detroit, the story follows Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem), a young, unhappy white blue-collar worker who, after breaking up with his girlfriend (Taryn Manning), returns to his mother's (Kim Basinger) trailer park home and her young boyfriend (Michael Shannon). While struggling in every single aspect of his life, he tries to make a name for himself in the African-American dominated underworld hip-hop world. 

There's no secret that this is a loose adaptation of Eminem's rise from the ghetto of Detroit as there are many parallels between the rapper's roots and aspirations and that of Jimmy. That said, it's still a fictional story, an interesting, compelling and rather inspirational one about dreams and hard work and not settling for what you can have because it's easier but fight for what you want. It still has its flaws as it's pretty formulaic and predictable and the romantic subplot involving Brittany Murphy doesn't really go anywhere, but overall it's gripping and enjoyable. 

The characters, on the other hand, are a bit of a letdown. In fact, while Jimmy is decently written and comes across as a decent, regular guy who is trying to survive and make his dream come true, and his alcoholic, miserable and abusive mother, Stephanie, has more humanity and likeability than expected and their crumbling relationship is quite compelling, the rest of the characters are one-dimensional stereotypes with no development whatsoever —the member of the rival gang led by Anthony Mackie's Papa Doc are completely devoid of personality. Brittany Murphy's Alex does have a bit more dimension and depth but the way they developed the character is awful. Also, it makes no sense for Jimmy's ex-girlfriend, Janeane, to be in the film.

Universal Pictures

As for the performances, Kim Basinger gives a solid performance as the white trash mother, and Michael Shannon kind of steals the show as Stephenie's lazy boyfriend, but the standout, believe it or not, is Eminem. While it's not an Oscar-worthy performance as he's basically playing a fictionalized version of himself, he gives the character depth and complexity and makes him likeable.

L.A. Confidential director Curtis Hanson does a nice job as he infuses the film with a gritty, dark atmosphere and the cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto enhances it and gives the film more authenticity. The soundtrack, which includes Oscar-winning "Lose Yourself", is fantastic —but of course, you have to like the genre to enjoy it.

Girl, Interrupted (1999)

I don't know the reason —it was probably on some list somewhere, probably on BuzzFeed— but many years ago I decided to check out Girl, Interrupted, and I ended up loving it. It's been ten years since then so I figured it was time to rewatch it.

Based on Susanna Kaysen's memoir —which I've been meaning to read for years but still is on my to-read list— the story follows Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder), a neurotic and volatile 18-year-old who is admitted to a mental institution after she attempts to commit suicide. In the confined borders of the institution, Susanna befriends the other troubled girls in her ward, including the seductive, manipulative and dangerous Lisa (Angelina Jolie).

The kind that doesn't really have a beginning, a middle or an end, Girl, Interrupted's story is really nothing new, it's often predictable and clichéd, and the pacing is quite slow, and yet it's compelling and really draws you in as Susanna's story unfolds before your eyes. It's a story that deals with mental illness and, while its portrayal is quite simplistic —this is a mainstream movie from the 1990s after all—, it does provide an insight on the subject in a respectful way without being melodramatic or overly sentimental. It's also an honest portrayal of friendship and makes a commentary, although pretty superficial, on the Vietnam War.

It's the character though that really stuck with me about Girl, Interrupted as Susanna Kaysen is the first character I've seen in a movie to whom I could relate and still can relate. She is a victim of great expectations, confusion and uncertain future, someone who is trying to understand the meaning of life and find a place where to fit in. She doesn't really understand her condition and this angers her. Winona Ryder does a wonderful job in the role as she effortlessly carries the movie and delivers the character's pain in such a way that you feel sorry for her.

Columbia Pictures

The supporting characters are quite the stereotypes —there's the pathological liar (Clea DuVall), a teenager with the intellect of a child (Elizabeth Moss), a ballerina with an eating disorder (Angela Bettis), a sexually abused young woman who cuts herself and has OCD, a psychotic bitch (Angelina Jolie)— and most of them don't have much of an arc, and yet they are interesting as the cast give great performances, the standout being Angelina Jolie whose portrayal of Lisa earned her an Oscar. She is charming and menacing at the same time, friendly and aggressive, and really brings you inside the head of a sociopath.

The cinematography is nothing extraordinary but it's very natural and helps to draw you into Susanna's world. The score is lovely and the songs are great. Sure, this is not a perfect movie as the script has many flaws, but overall director James Mangold crafted an interesting, tender and non-judgemental film.