Heathers (1988) Directed by Michael Lehmann. Starring  Winona Ryder, Christian Slater and Shannen Doherty. Here are my 5 Favorite Things about Heathers:


5. Christian Slater. With a pretty face and the swag of a young Jack Nicholson, Christian Slater was a shoe-in for Heather’s resident bad boy, JD.  Slater definitely made being a calculated sociopathic killer rather charming.


4. The Fashion. To do this list I wanted to re-watch Heathers (as if I needed a real reason to) to get a more defined list, and it occurred to me I could not make this list and not mention the clothes.  From head to toe, Heathers is totally 80’s, from the bright colors to the swatch watches and let’s not forget the shoulder pads (which I would argue was the fifth “Heather.”)  The 80’s left its mark on the film.  Plus kudos to the costume department for giving all the character’s their own signature colors; Heather Chandler (Boss) was red, Veronica was bluish green, and JD the “Dark Horse” was always dressed in black.


3. Winona Ryder: I just love what Winona represents in this movie.  She’s Veronica, an extremely smart, reluctantly popular girl who really doesn’t like her friends; she sees the status quo for what it truly is and simultaneously goes along with it and mocks it, noted by how she says “You’re Beautiful” after she hears something extremely stupid from her peers. Winona’s characters (Veronica and Beetlejuice’s Lydia) always stood in opposition to any one of Molly Ringwald’s 80’s characters; they were dark, edgy , and had depth to spare.


2. The Dialogue/Language/Quotes.  As much as I enjoy the actors’ performances in Heathers, it didn’t take much to bring that script to life. The writing was superb.  I can’t think of one movie before it that worked in so many pop culture references.  The greatest thing about the film isn’t that they captured how teens were talking, but also added to the lexicon as well, “What’s your damage?” and “fuck me gently with a chainsaw” are ones that I still use to this day.  Along with colorful uses of language, Heathers has some of these funniest one liners, namely “I love my dead gay son!” Classic.


1. The Legacy:  This favorite thing is a little abstract because it doesn’t necessarily take place in the context of the film. Any high-school based dark comedy owes its inception to Heathers.  Before this movie the high-school experience on film was handled in a very particular way: boy meets girl, some type of status quo keeps boy from girl, boy overcomes obstacle and boy and girl live happily ever after (or at least ’til graduation). Heathers throws that out the window and sets the blueprint for future high-school comedies to follow.  If there wasn’t a Heathers, there wouldn’t be a Jennifer’s Body, Jawbreakers, or Mean Girls.

What are some of your favorite things about Heathers?