Heathers (1988)

Written by Daniel Waters, Directed by Michael Lehman Starring: Wynona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Dougherty, Lisanne Falk, Penelope Milford, Glenn Shadix, Lance Fenton

In this black comedy set in suburban Ohio, we have a trio of pretty girls who make up the most powerful clique in school, and who are all named Heather. They decide that Wynona would be an exellent addition to their group, despite her name. Alas, Wynona disappoints the head Heather during a social event, and is to be expelled.

She and her new ally Christian, a recent arrival and a rebel, go to see the ailing Heather before she can announce her decision, and under the guise of a hangover cure, Christian poisons her and leaves an embarrassing fake suicide note. Wynona is accepted by the survivors, and the dead girl is now thought to have been much more sensitive and caring than she was in real life due to media hype and the town`s histrionic reaction.

Christian loves the results, and arranges more fake suicides with ironic subtexts-gay football players and the like. Wynona goes along at first, but rebels. He uses the other Heathers as pawns for his revenge against all who are talented and popular, and to keep Wynona away.

Christian`s plans for the destruction of society begin with a scheme for a school-wide "suicide" during a pep rally-the ultimate irony! Wynona foils his plan, ends up killing him, and uses the power of the Heathers for socially constructive purposes.

Trivia: YMP heard that the original ending planned for the film had Christian seducing Wynona into embracing the Dark Side and helping him complete his plan, then travelling to other towns to repeat the same pattern. The black humor here really is bitter, and this seems truer to the feeling overall of the film than the lame happy ending tacked on at the last minute. Littleton was born here, and nowhere else.

Click Back to Return Next Movie in Plot Category or Index