‘Clueless’ Director Holds Good Credentials
For anyone surprised by the box-office success of “Clueless,” here’s a clue: Amy Heckerling directed it.
She’s one of the few women to sustain a successful commercial career behind the camera in Hollywood, starting with 1982’s well-received “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” which gave many of us our first look at Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Judge Reinhold.
Some critics heckle Heckerling for concentrating on characters who have yet to earn their high school sheepskin. But a video retrospective of her ouevre yields lots of laughs, though some might come under the category of “guilty pleasure.”
“Johnny Dangerously,” her 1984 followup to her debut, undeniably qualifies as that.
Starring Michael Keaton as a mobster whose brother (Griffin Dunne) is the D.A. and whose moll (Marilu Henner) just wants to settle down and have babies, this film can be as silly as “Airplane!” or anything with Leslie Nielsen in his dotty dotage.
Typical of the movie’s humor: Joe Piscopo’s character, who fancies himself the toughest of the tough guys, keeps talking about how various people did something that irked him once, then emphasizes: “Once!”
Next came “National Lampoon’s European Vacation,” a sequel not up to the original.
But the Griswolds’ intrepid trip across the pond has its moments, including when Dad (Chevy Chase) gets caught in a London traffic rotary and, trying to make the best of it and entertain the kids, keeps pointing out: “Big Ben! Parliament! Big Ben! Parliament!”
The 41-year-old Heckerling kept her brow low with her next two efforts, writing as well as directing “Look Who’s Talking” and “Look Who’s Talking Too.”
There’s no arguing that these films, featuring cute babies with adult thoughts voiced by the likes of Bruce Willis, are about as contrived as you can get. Still, they had people toddling into theaters.
The first got much more respect from critics, though the second grabbed audiences by adding the voices of Damon Wayans and Roseanne.
And both films offered a clue that John Travolta was capable of the bigtime comeback he enjoyed with “Pulp Fiction.”
With “Clueless” raking in more than $10 million in its opening weekend (second only to the still soaring “Apollo 13”), Heckerling has confected another hit - and seemingly come full circle.
It’s uncanny how some of what’s been said about her latest film echoes comments about her first movie 13 years ago: that it has goofy or stupid or self-absorbed characters who easily can be mocked but still manage to be endearing.
So to bone up for your GED in Heckerlingology, the best homework is “Fast Times.” By the time class is dismissed (and class has little to do with it) you can give your own grade to any fool trying to be cool in school.
Or you can take the attitude expressed in “Clueless” - “Searching for high grades in high school is like searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie.”
xxxx WHAT’S NEW TO VIEW Available this weekend “Brady Bunch” (Paramount), “Miami Rhapsody” (Touchstone), “Vanya on 42nd Street” (Columbia TriStar), “3 Ninjas Knuckle Up” (Columbia TriStar), “Born To Be Wild” (Warner), “Demon Knight” (MCA/ Universal), “In the Mouth of Madness” (New Line). Available Tuesday “Just Cause” (Warner), “Higher Learning” (Columbia TriStar), “Bye Bye Love.”