“I actually have a way normal life for a teenage girl,” says Cher Horowitz at the start of Clueless. ‘Normal’ for Cher is a mansion, a maid, a digitally-collated wardrobe and a 4×4 Jeep for cruising Beverly Hills on a provisional licence. Cher’s life is other people’s wishlist, but no one was bitter when she made her debut in July 1995 as Clueless, a 90s interpretation of Jane Austen’s Emma, was a box office triumph.
On the street, Cher imitators wore knee-high socks with tartan mini skirts (Americans say plaid) as the soundtrack went platinum and “As if!” and “Whatever!” became common parlance. Clueless didn’t invent the sarky shortcuts for dismissal and indifference, but the film’s Jewish writer and director Amy Heckerling can be credited for getting them out there just as she launched the careers of Sean Penn and Jennifer Jason-Leigh in her first film, Fast Times at Ridgemont High in 1982. “I get them while they’re young,” chips Amy, who did the same 30 years ago for Paul Rudd, now Marvel’s Ant-Man, and our Clueless Life magazine cover star Alicia Silverstone.
Alicia in 1995
Pictured in signature Cher apparel for the Life cover, Alicia once stood outside the window of a New York high-rise for a Crunch mag cover shot at my behest, but at 48 she can still pull off cute in plaid, as can Emma Flynn, who is playing Cher in Clueless: The Musical at the Trafalgar Theatre.
Neatly synched with the 30th anniversary, the show’s music is by KT Tunstall and Amy, who has written the book for the musical, worked closely with lyricist Glenn Slater. She tells me: “The words had to reflect the dialogue and what I know the characters are thinking.” Reasonable Doubts is one of her favourites and the solo is sung by Josh (Cher’s law student ex step-brother and eventual love interest). Amy is in London for all the rehearsals and thinks Keelan McAuley is wonderful as Josh – “but I’d love to hear Paul Rudd sing the song”, she says of the actor who is also one of many of the faith in this film.
Director Amy Heckerling with Clueless: The Musical star Emma Flynn (credit Michael Wharley)
A Minyan and then some!
Born in the Bronx, Amy Heckerling grew up in a building filled with Holocaust survivors, including the parents of her two best friends. “Holocaust Remembrance Day is every day for me,” says the director, who strangely watches documentaries about Hitler and the Second World War when the world gets too much. “Sounds crazy, but they make me think things could be worse.”
Dan Hedaya as Mel Horowitz with daughter Cher (Alicia Silverstone)
In spite of her baked-in Jewish heritage, Amy has always denied that her Clueless protagonist is Jewish, saying: “I wasn’t thinking in terms of it being a Jewish story. I was just taking the plot of Jane Austen’s Emma and translating it into that world.” This has never washed with world Jewry as reinvented Emma Woodhouse became the spoilt but well-meaning daughter of a litigator Mel Horowitz (played by Sephardi actor Dan Hedaya), who has a mezuzah on the door of his mansion – pictured here
The door of the Horowitz mansion held open by Josh (Paul Rudd) for Christian (Justin Walker)
“Do you know any non-Jews with the name Horowitz?” I ask gingerly. Amy laughs. “Blame Wally Shawn,” she says. “He added Horowitz when we were shooting the registration scene.” So Cher was ‘surnamed’ by Jewish actor Wallace Shawn who, as her teacher Mr Hall, is manipulated by her into a romance with fellow educator Miss Geist played by Twink Caplan, also of the tribe and an associate producer.
Twink Caplan as Cher’s teacher Miss Geist
As mentioned, Clueless was heavy with Jewish talent, from Oscar-winning producer Scott Rudin (who took on the film when others declined) to newbies Breckin Meyer as skateboard stoner Travis and Brittany Murphy as his girlfriend Tai, the new pupil who becomes Cher’s project. Tai was Brittany’s breakout role and her death in 2009 at the age of 32 from disputed causes is the dark shadow over Amy’s joyful film. “When I met Brittany, I was like, ‘I love her. I want to take care of her’,” says the director, who kept the silver Doc Martins Tai wears to the dance as her only memento. “It is frustrating and sad, and I feel like we don’t really know the real answers. And the things going on with her at that time just made me crazy.”
The Clueless family
Amy created more than a film; she created a family 30 years ago – and that they stay in touch is unusual in an industry where “it’s a wrap” means The End. Amy and Alicia bonded when the director spotted her in the Aerosmith video Cryin’ and knew she was Cher. Alicia was married to musician Christopher Jarecki and they have a son, Bear, who will be 13 next month. For her, Amy will always be “the brilliant writer and director who captured something so special and fun – it’s just a really good movie”.
When I last met Alicia, she was surrounded by dogs in Central Park, including her own rescue, the late Samson. The strident animal rights campaigner wanted to highlight homeless pups and asked for a pack to be brought from New York’s Animal Haven for the Crunch shoot. Rolling on the ground with the dogs, Alicia was the sweetheart then that she is now as an author and founder of thekindlife.com, where she promotes saving the planet, health, animal welfare and veganism, although admits in her pre-vegan days she loved the gefilte fish served at her California synagogue Shabbat dinners in San Mateo.
Alicia as Cher, Brittany Murphy as Tai and Stacey Dash as Dionne
Alicia still makes movies – the most recent is comedy Krazy House – and she voiced a snake in Gracie and Pedro, Pets to the Rescue. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved what I do as I have a great life,” she told me. “But it’s mind-boggling to me that anyone would spend their time obsessing about movies when there is so much suffering in the world. Don’t people have hearts?”
Towards the end of Clueless, self-obsessed Cher thinks the same way, sets up a school fundraiser and gives away her clothes, then realises she loves her geeky Jewish ex-step brother, who just happens to look like Paul Rudd.
Emma Flynn as Jewish American Princess Cher Horowitz
Back at rehearsals for Clueless: The Musical Amy is kvelling (as Dionne says in the film) over smiling leads Emma Flynn and Keelan McAuley – ”they’re adorable together,” she says and I ask if she thinks young people were happier in the 90s. “In a lot of ways,” she replies. “Maybe they had a better reason to be happy. I mean, I find these very troubling times and back then there was a sense of hopefulness. At least in America.” Perhaps the new musicals, including her own, will lighten the mood as happy films are now rare. “Yeah, I just watched a slew of filmsup for Oscars,” she says. “I didn’t find myself chuckling a lot.”
Clueless delivers chuckles, but would Jane Austen find it funny? “It would make me very happy if she saw it,but it probably wouldn’t make sense to her,” thinks Amy. “I love all her books but have a soft spot for Emma who Jane thought was a character no one but herself would like. I don’t think she could have been more wrong.”
For tickets to the musical visit cluelessonstage.com
FASHION FOOTNOTE
Thirty years on and there are still Clueless tributes to the costumes on Instagram and that’s because of the ingenious and resourceful talent of Mona May. Every girl whoever adopted Cher’s togs has Mona to thank as she unearthed the Jean Paul Gaultier yellow plaid mini suit; the ultra feminine Austen-inspired cap sleeve dresses and those essential mobile phones on chains later replicated on fashion runways.
Mona May the magical costume designer
Mona came up with it all – and with no budget and no internet. “It was the 90s and there were only books and swatches,” says Mona, who is doing her own fashion book on the film. “I was also dressing a cast of unknowns and hundreds of extras without help and there were no boxes of clothes from PR’s like they got sent for Sex and The City. The PR’s sent nothing. I had to find it all.” Mona has been speaking to all the cast for her book and had just spoken to Paul Rudd for his memories. “We talked about how happy we were to have that job, to be the cool kids. Amy’s love for the clothes turned the film into a fashion show as she was easy about everything – even when I put the actors in hats which covered their faces. A lot of directors hate that, but not her. Without Clueless my career wouldn’t have been the same. ”
