Sure, it's easy to watch Clueless and pick on all of the oh-so 90s elements that date the film and occasionally keep it from retaining the status as a "timeless classic." But underneath the baggy pants, Coolio songs, and frequent "whatevers," there is a sharp wit and endearing lack of self-seriousness that never gets old. Also, it presented Paul Rudd to the world. So it will always have that going for it. Clueless is the brainchild of Amy Heckerling, who you might remember as the name behind the aforementioned Fast Times At Ridgemont High. You'd be hard-pressed to find many similarities between the two films, but there is a certain intangible that transforms what might be considered trite material into something really special. Each character is a bit of a hypocritical dichotomy: Cher fancies herself a do-gooder who shows extreme flashes of selfishness, Dionne is a loyal friend right up until a new, more exciting comes along, and Tai is so naive it hurts, but still wields the ability to slice her friends up with razor-sharp dickishness. That doesn't make these characters two-faced, by the way, it just makes them normal, evolving teenagers. Such is the beauty and authenticity of Clueless.
