 Revisiting Heathers is
a simultaneously pleasurable and horrific experience. It’s
a darkly funny, surprisingly insightful comedy that manages
to tackle almost everything you’ve ever hated about attending
high school and that means between the laughs, you’re
forced to a re-live all those painful moments.
Kicking off with sledgehammer symbolism – nothing
says “subtle” like a character buried up to her
neck - we’re introduced to Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder),
the newest inductee into the infamous “Heathers” clique.
The group is populated by the most beloved girls in Westerburg
High, all named Heather: the cute but mopey bulimic Heather
Duke (Shannon “High-Eye” Doherty), the instantly
forgettable cheerleader Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk), and
queen-bee socialite Heather Chandler (Kim Walker, who was
so adept at playing the character, I wouldn’t be surprised
if crazed film fans cheered for her brain tumor).
Veronica,
being a few rungs down the social ladder and yet still part
of the group, spends her high school life bowing to the various
whims of the Heathers, especially Heather Chandler, who treats
Veronica more like an assistant than a friend. But Veronica’s
salvation comes in the form of Jason Dean (Christian Slater),
whose introduction gets his
bad-ass image across in no uncertain terms when he fires
a gun full of blanks in the school cafeteria. It's a scene
that might come across as shocking to today’s audiences,
but remember that such activities were popular, even encouraged
by any school staff back in 1989. God, I miss those days.
Not mature enough to differentiate between coolness and
sociopathic behavior, Veronica quickly latches onto Jason
and their friendship provides welcome respite from her Heather-induced
anxiety. In fact, their mutual distain for Heather Chandler
quickly goes from morbid jokes about killing her to murder,
when the contents of a harmless prank consisting of orange
juice and milk (seriously, haven’t these guys ever had
a creamsicle? That shit’s delicious) gets mixed
up with a cup full o' drain cleaner. With swollen tongue
and a last ditch request for corn nuts, Heather Chandler
crashes into a conveniently placed glass table and dies.
 Concerned
that having a murder on their permanent record will foul
up their chances to get into a good party college, Veronica
and Jason forge an ambiguous suicide note which, rather than
throwing the authorities off their scent, catches the attention
of the entire school. Things get even messier when Jason,
full of confidence concocts a plan to do away with a few
jocks in a scheme that suggests a homosexual suicide pact.
Fearing her boyfriend’s newly revealed homicidal
tendencies, Veronica breaks up with Jason, leading him to
create a devious master plan worthy of a super villain to
blow up the entire school and stage it as the ultimate suicide
convention. What a jerk.
Originally planned as a three-hour film to be directed by
Stanley Kubrick, cut down by half of its proposed running
time - I’d love to see that original script - and directed
by Michael Lehmann (Hudson
Hawk, Airheads), Heathers manages
to hit every note nearly perfectly. The film plays out in
a state of heightened reality, starting off as a typical
teen comedy with snappy dialogue (“phlegm globber” being
the only bit that manages to come off slightly embarrassingly).
But as the story takes a nightmarish turn, the visuals also
become darkly foreboding, showing a palpable Kubrickian influence,
even though he was never directly involved in the production.
Funky angles and asymmetrical framing work together to support
a surreal look that never condescends to the audience.
 An excellent script and solid directing from Michael Lehmann
wouldn’t mean a thing if the cast wasn’t able
to deliver a certain gravitas to the proceedings. In fact, Heathers is
one of the few “cult” films that aren’t
embraced ironically. That’s because the straight-faced
cast manages to deliver dialogue that’s simultaneously
dense and absolutely ludicrous. Performances are excellent
across the board. Winona Ryder, who was 15 at time of filming
delivers a particularly noteworthy turn. Even Christian Slater’s
Jack Nicholson shtick that eventually unceremoniously landed
him in Uwe Boll films is frighteningly full-tilt in Heathers.
Avoiding the conventions of a genre that was well established
by 1989, Heathers concentrates on concepts
and ideas that are timeless. Hair and clothing styles expose
the film’s era, but the harsh message remains unchanged:
left unprovoked, Winona Ryder can and will kill you.
 Presentation
New World Pictures was never really known for high production
values (their association with Roger Corman should tell you
a lot), but Heathers manages to overcome
its shoestring budget. The transfer is mostly satisfactory.
While a few shots come off a tad grainy and soft, the colors
are excellently balanced – important in a film where
color is used as a story telling technique - and the source
film elements look very clean with scratches and specks seldom
marring the image. The audio is lacking in wide dynamic range,
as to be expected from a talky comedy and the subwoofer and
surround channels don’t have much to do. Given that Heathers’ low
budget means low expectations, the presentation is excellent
though I do have to wonder if another spit-shine re-release
would do the movie good. Anchor Bay has worked wonders on
many similar films in the past. Even though I’m
thankful that I haven’t had to buy another copy of Heathers,
I would, and I’d be happy to do so.
 Extras
First off, there are several different versions of Heathers on
DVD. There’s the original non-anamorphic version, which
you can disregard completely, and there’s this special
edition, originally released with a number of variant different
covers. There’s also a limited edition set,
which comes in a tin case. The differences between the now
out-of-print box and the current special edition are negligible.
The only extra content you get with the limited edition tin
is a 48-page color photo booklet, fold out liner notes,
and an eight-inch “Heathers Rule!” ruler.
It’s bulky and unnecessary, but it’s easy to get
a hold of and relatively cheap if you feel the need to own
it.
The on-disc extras, common to both SE and LE releases include
an audio commentary with Director Michael Lehmann, Producer
Denise Di Novi and Writer Daniel Waters. The participants
are in good sprits on the track. Daniel Waters dominates the
discussion, explaining the script and pointing out the differences
between it and what ended up on screen.
 While padded with many clips from the film, the documentary Swatch
Dogs And Diet Coke Heads feels more balanced in comparison
to the commentary. With a running time of about thirty minutes
there is some overlap with the commentary, but the feature
benefits greatly from the participation of the cast, who
are candid when talking about both the film and their own
real-world high school experiences.
Most interesting is the inclusion of an alternate ending.
Never filmed, the feature is presented in script format and
covers the final 20 minutes of the movie. Nixed as being “too
dark” for teen audiences, it’s a fascinating but
not necessarily better conclusion.
The extra features end with the obligatory theatrical
trailer and talent bios. Woo?
Overall
I’m biased – Heathers is my favorite
teen flick of all time. Anchor Bay’s special edition
DVD is a worthy addition to the collection of anyone who ever
went through the burden of high school. If you’re still
in that stage of your life, don’t worry – things
get better. If you’re years past the experience, I hope
you’ve learned your lesson.
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