The Comedy Hall of Fame- Clueless

Thirty years ago today, the teen comedy made a most-unexpected comeback in the form of Aerosmith babe Alicia Silverstone and approximately 48 outfits. I admit, this did not look like the poster to a film that my sixteen-year old self would enjoy. To my total shock, it was better than "Batman Forever", which I spent a year eagerly anticipating. This is back when MTV really had the power to launch a movie(think Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and "Dangerous Minds" that very same summer), and they made sure every young person in America had an awareness of Cher Horowitz that July. Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Keri Russell, Tiffani Thiessen, and Alicia Witt were considered. "The Crush" was a minor hit in '93 that won Silverstone the part, and "Clueless" came with a level of hype that no 19 year old could realistically live up to. "Excess Baggage", Batgirl, and "Blast from the Past" brought her back down to earth before the "American Pie" kids entered the conversation. Still, she's terrific as Cher and deserved a Best Actress nomination.

Legend has it that Amy Heckerling, inspired by Jane Austen's 1815 novel "Emma", spent a month at a Beverly Hills high school and came away with the impetus of a highly-quotable screenplay. The Bronx-born writer-director was at her best with real-world inspiration as evidenced by her 1989 megahit "Look Who's Talking"(hello, Harold Ramis!). She found the lingo, and "teenage girls in a constant state of grooming". But Twentieth Century Fox didn't like the idea of a female protagonist and almost killed the project. Producer Scott Rudin believed in Heckerling and helped set her up at Paramount in the fall of '94 with a $12 million budget and a 40 day shooting schedule(wow). It's hard to believe there was ever any doubt- "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" was on TBS CONSTANTLY during this period, and Amy finally had the answer to Sean Penn's surfing stoner Spicoli. She defined the genre in two decades and should be more famous for it(her three best films all became TV shows. Heckerling had modest success with UPN's 1996-99 version of "Clueless").

I CANNOT BELIEVE the longevity of this phrase. Much cooler than "I'm sorry", it may be the film's most lasting contribution to the culture. But who really invented it? "My bad" may have been the result of broken English spoken by Sudanese NBA star Manute Bol, as an admission of minor playing offenses. His late '80s Golden State Warriors teammates dug the phrase and started repeating it, to the amusement of the press. Heckerling put the hip expression in her script, Silverstone said it, and the rest is history.

The 2009 death of a 32 year old Brittany Murphy remains incredibly sad. She more than holds her own with Silverstone("You're a virgin who can't drive"), and actually eclipsed her in the 2000s before personal issues derailed a promising career. We can only wonder what might have been. Murphy leads an oddly-perfect supporting cast that includes Stacey Dash, Dan Hedaya, Donald Faison, Breckin Meyer, Elisa Donovan, Jeremy Sisto, Wallace Shawn, and Twink Caplan. Of course, the biggest name in the movie is Paul Rudd. Nobody could've predicted that. From Judd Apatow to Ant-Man, the ageless hunk was here to stay. Heckerling leaves viewers on a high with a triumphant kiss and General Public's "Tenderness", continuing her excellent taste in mood music. Is it THEE comedy of the '90s? Maybe, just don't tell Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, or Mike Myers I said that. Would "Legally Blonde" and "Mean Girls" exist without it? I doubt it. A sequel is rumored to be in development, but we need that about as much as we need to see Ferris Bueller in a soul-crushing corporate job. Growing up isn't that funny, and neither are most comedies from the past fifteen years. Long live Bronson Alcott High's Class of '95.

Great Movies- Back to the Future

Forty years ago,

guitar

James Tolkan falsely accused Al Pacino of homosexuality in "Serpico"(and ran 'Numbers' for him in "Dick Tracy"), antagonized Tom Cruise in "Top Gun", and lived to be 94 years old. There are no small roles, only small actors, and Principal Gerald Strickland was the peak of a character acting career that began in the '60s. He made the most of his minutes in all three films. With zero encouragement from the bald bastard, Marty loudly and unsuccessfully auditions with his band The Pinheads before an unamused Huey Lewis, an inside joke.

At least Marty has a hot girlfriend(Claudia Wells) to make him feel better, and the local aerobics girls just remind him how badly he want to go camping with Jennifer by the lake for the weekend. Ahh, young love. But his mother never did anything like that when she was his age. Bob Gale's airtight screenplay has often been held up as something for young writers to aspire to. The enthusiastic clock tower collection lady() drops in with a flyer and some important exposition. She gets a quarter. Most movies have to choose between a soundtrack and a traditional score. Thanks to "The Power of Love", we get the best of both worlds.

Crispin Glover had appeared in the fourth "Friday the 13th" and a season 2 episode of "Family Ties"("Birthday Boy") with Fox when he landed the role that's sure to be mentioned first in his obituary. We'll get into the quirky actor's complicated relationship with "Back to the Future", but he's fantastic as George McFly. Tom Wilson recently called his performance the heart of the film. Marty's milquetoast dad just isn't good at confrontations(or much else it seems), even when his lifelong frenemy Biff Tannen borrows his car and totals it.

A boozy 47 year old Lorraine recalls her unlikely high school courtship with George. I love that Marty only has one line at the dinner table("Uncle Jailbird Joey"), letting Lea Thompson have the stage for some important exposition, under a convincing Ken Chase make-up job. Wendie Jo Sperber("I Wanna Hold Your Hand") and Marc McClure("Superman I-IV") make the most of their limited screentime as Marty's siblings Linda and Dave. George's legendary laugh caps off three minutes of character-building- "The Honeymooners" was heavily syndicated for decades.

Pepsi-Free foreshadowing.

Here we have Michael J. Fox's first week of work(mid-January 1985) as Marty McFly in the parking lot of the Twin Pines Mall which was actually the Puente Hills Mall in City of Industry, California. We all know the story- Zemeckis filmed with Eric Stoltz for seven weeks in November-December 1984 and had 70% of the film in the can before making a dramatic and unprecedented decision days before Christmas. Stoltz and his young Method intensity("Call me Marty") wasn't funny. With Spielberg convincing Sid Sheinberg, a desperate plea was made to "Family Ties" boss Gary David Goldberg to reconsider the availability of Alex P. Keaton. A 23 year old Fox was willing to endure sleep deprivation and juggle both roles for three months in one of the most consequential casting calls of all time.

It's interesting how Marty's wardrobe completely changed for Fox. Eric's talents can be seen in "Mask", "Some Kind of Wonderful", and "Pulp Fiction". It would be nice to see his McFly footage released someday. Let's go, Bob Gale. How about the 50th anniversary?

Huey Lewis and the News released a #1 album called "Sports" in September 1983. How cool is that?