Gay Best Friend: Christian (Justin Walker) in "Clueless" (1995)

A series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope

You had me at "nice stems."Clueless is a perfect movie. The more time passes, the more the film is solidified as a bona fide classic.  Writer/director Amy Heckerling turns Jane Austen’s Emma into an addictive and heartfelt tale of high school relationships and finding one’s impact on the world around them. Alicia Silverstone’s Cher is a pitch perfect heroine whose big heart is only outmatched by the size of her closet. Heckerling’s loving wit doesn’t just apply to our leading lady. The entire high school is filled with big personalities (and bigger wallets). One of my favorite characters has always been Christian (Justin Walker), an old soul who becomes the first (and likely not last) gay man that Cher falls for. 

While mostly a supporting player, Christian isn’t solely defined by his sexuality. He gets to be a fully rounded connoisseur who seamlessly moves from a romantic interest to a gay best friend...

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Clueless @ 25: The Best Costumes!

by Cláudio Alves

As previously mentioned in my "Emmas of Yore" miniseries, Clueless is one of the best cinematic adaptations of a Jane Austen novel. By modernizing the core narrative of Emma and stripping it of historical detail, Amy Heckerling was able to create a teen movie classic whose biting satire exists hand-in-hand with a sense of overwhelming affection for every character on-screen. Humor and romance are well-balanced, with the comedic element always taking precedence over the love story – as it should be when tackling one of Austen's prickliest and funniest novels.

That being said, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Clueless' release, we're not going to focus so much on its genius screenplay or how it updates Regency-era social commentary to the Beverly Hills of the 1990s. Fashion is our concern this time around or, more accurately, we're exploring the costume design of Clueless. Since 1995, Mona May's colorful stylings have become as iconic as the screenplay's witty dialogues and, in a fair world, they might have even won the designer some well-deserved Oscar gold… 

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The Emmas of Yore: "Clueless"

To celebrate the release of Emma, let's revisit the novel's previous iterations in film history. First up, the case of Amy Heckerling's Clueless (1995)

by Cláudio Alves

From 1940 to 1995, no motion picture was made with a screenplay based on any Jane Austen novel. There were some negligible low-budget miniseries along the way, but nothing major. Then came the 90s and everything changed. In 1995 alone, the world got to enjoy the pleasures of Roger Michell's Persuasion and the lavish TV adaptation of Pride & Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. Most importantly, Clueless happened, effectively showing that Jane Austen was cool and igniting the Hollywood trend of filming great tomes of classic literature reimagined as modern teen movies…

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Would You Rather

Time for a favorite celebrity social media game. Pictures after the jump to help you decide your answer.

Would you rather...

... go to Disneyland with Michelle Dockery?
...snuggle with Bianca Del Rio & Latrice Royale?
...smush faces with Juliette Lewis & Alicia Silverstone? 
...or pay homage to George Takei with Westworld's Leonardo Nam? 

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Silverstone and Suvari

Kieran, here. It was recently announced that Alicia Silverstone and Mena Suvari will headline TV Land’s new comedy pilot “American Women”. The project, produced by John Wells (“Shameless”) is set in the 1970s against the tumultuous and backdrop of the sexual revolution.  Silverstone and Suvari will play best friends navigating marriage, divorce and motherhood.

Alicia Silverstone and Mena Suvari’s careers have sort of mirrored each other’s, which makes the almost the perfect pair of actresses to headline a vehicle. Both came out of the 90s, with charismatic turns in a high profile role that put them on the map (Clueless and American Beauty, respectively). Sadly, neither actress was able to find a film to match the attention and success of their star-making vehicles, though both have continued to work since their breakthroughs (Suvari more so). 

Suvari, billed as the true lead of “American Women” especially could do a lot to change the perception of her and truly give her a front-and-center showcase for her talents. Though mileage varies for everyone where all things American Beauty are concerned (who’s MVP? how poorly or not does the film age?) Suvari absolutely nailed her BAFTA-nominated role (seriously. Look it up) as the flinty, deeply insecure suburban teenager, Angela.

And what of TV Land? It’s true that the network hardly conjures thoughts of quality and prestige television.  However, the same could have been said just two short years ago about Lifetime before “UnReal”. Word is TV Land has been looking for a project for some time that will change the face of their network in a similar fashion. In this early stage where we know very little, “American Women” seems promising enough. Plus, it’d be great to see these two actresses get an interesting second act to their careers.

Are you excited for “American Women”?