Teen Flicks

"Heathers" may be one of the blackest of high school satires. Forsaking the long held myth that the teen years are the happiest time of one's life, the film paints high school as a veritable hell where the only way to alleviate suffering is by making others suffer more. It does not concern itself with puppy love, school girl crushes, or unsatisfied sex drives. It is quite literally about surviving high school. Taking a darkly satirical spin on such subject matter as teen suicide and murder, the film pushed the envelope further than any teen film before or since and remains to this day a highly relevant commentary on the cutthroat world of high school and the ways in which human tragedy can be exploited for personal gain.
With the state that American teenage life is in now since Columbine and many other high school shootings, "Heathers" may be more pertinent than ever before. Ironically, it is a film that would likely never find backing from a major studio today. Its comedic use of violence was always difficult for some people to swallow, and the film's shock value has probably grown since its 1989 release as our society has become increasingly sensitive toward depictions of high school violence. It remains, however, one of the greatest high school movies ever made. With its unapologetic bleakness and ferocious sense of humor, it is a film that is as smart as it is entertaining, and it keeps us laughing against our better judgment.