The 90s and noughties were truly the golden years for romantic comedy films. Many of them have managed to stand the test of time and still entertain today, making us laugh, cringe and cry all these years later.
But there’s one in particular that became an absolute cult classic, and is considered the third best romcom of all time by Vanity Fair. Clueless, released back in 1995, isn’t your typical teen drama. It’s a very clever adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic ‘Emma’, but with a fresh modern twist that’s still hugely fun to watch today.
The film stars Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz, a ditzy but lovable teenage girl living in Beverly Hills.
Joined at the hip with her best friend Dionne (Stacey Dash) she seemingly lives a perfect life of partying, hanging out with friends and, of course, shopping.
Far from being your typical spoiled airhead, Cher loves nothing more than to help people out, including her cranky and protected lawyer father – sadly widowed since the death of her mother when Cher was a baby.
But she has a real job on her hands when new girl Tai, played by Brittany Murphy, shows up at school in desperate need of a makeover.
The film is heavy on the comedy, with iconic scenes such as a flustered Dionne almost getting the gang into a car crash, Tai passing out after getting hit in the head with a lamp at a party, and Cher narrowly escaping death when she refuses to co-operate whilst getting mugged.
“You don’t understand, this is an Alaia! It’s, like, this totally important designer,” she wails to her attacker. “And I will, like, totally shoot you in the head,” he retorts back.
And of course, it wouldn’t be a romcom without a love interest or two. When Cher tries and fails to seduce a boy in her class, it’s Josh – played by Paul Rudd – who she turns to, albeit not without some competition from her protegee Tai.
They say that opposites attract, and this is most definitely true for Josh and Cher. If you ignore the fact that his mother was married to her father very briefly, they’re almost the perfect couple.
With those iconic checkered outfits, an incredibly catchy soundtrack and a star-studded cast, it’s no wonder that Clueless is still one of the best-loved romcoms even 30 years after its release.
If you’ve got Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ you can stream it for free right now.