Heathers

            Heathers was one movie this semester I had not seen that I was very much looking forward to. I've only known that it's a teenage 80's cult classic, but I didn't realize how dark and sharp it really was. I absolutely loved it and it's brand of dark and disturbing subject matter portrayed in such a black humor.  I thought the cast was excellent, Winona Ryder was hilarious and a good protagonist to root for, even though she was setting up suicides.  I also really enjoyed Christian Slater and the way he introduced chaos to the school and Veronica's life.  It's definitely not a film that could be made today, because it would be far too controversial in a post-Columbine and Sandy Hook America.
           The article makes a good point about Heathers never being made today, so for that reason it's safe from the remake trend in Hollywood.  It takes the stereotypical high school tropes and tosses out the rule book.  J.D. even pulls a gun in school and fires blanks with practically no repercussions.  Over and over as the teens start dying off in supposed suicides, each funeral is portrayed with camp and humor, until it gets to the football players sister crying and Veronica realizes she's not the only one hurt, she is causing pain.  The way the film transitions from being laugh out loud at how shocking some scenes were and being able to make you feel sorrow for the little sister, or Martha when she gets to the point of attempting suicide herself, it is able to balance the dark humor with the dark subject in a though provoking manner.
            One thing I noticed I agreed with the article was it's mentioning of the football players funeral and how the father declared that he loved his gay son.  It's definitely something that I think carries more weight today when you watch that scene.  Given all that has happened in recent years with gay rights, bullying, and it's portrayed in more serious ways in shows like Glee.  Here it's humorous, darkly like the rest of the movies jokes, but it makes one think more on it now I would imagine than movie goers would have back when the film was released.
             The film could work nowadays like it mentions in the cyber age, but it would hit too close to home for many, and would have so many organizations protesting it I would imagine.  Heathers is a movie that belongs to the 80's.  It was a time when bullying wasn't as big a problem or maybe as serious as it is today.  It's portrayal is a topic that is universal and everyone can put themselves back in the high school days, and laugh at the morbid idea of blowing up the school in the name of a suicide pact.