Heathers 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didnt Age Well)

Heathers: 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didn’t Age Well)

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A cult classic, Heathers is an ’80s teen movie with a pitch-black sense of humor. While still biting, some of this Winona Ryder film has aged poorly.

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Heathers 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didnt Age Well)

Content warning: the following article contains discussions/depictions of teen violence, bullying, suicide, and homophobia.

While most movies reflect the time period in which they’re made, teen movies in particular have a lot to say about society. The 1989 film Heathers is much darker than most in the genre. It tells the story of Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder), who is in a group of popular girls all named Heather. When attempting to teach Heather Chandler (Kim Patton) a lesson, Veronica and J.D. (Christian Slater) end up killing her.

Like other teen movies that don’t get that much attention at first, Heathers became a cult classic, and while fans love its depiction of high school life and how it talks about subjects that other movies don’t, there are definitely some problems with it. While much of Heathers is still relevant today, other parts bring up some issues.

10 Holds Up: The Desire To Be Popular (And To Rebel)

Heathers 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didnt Age Well)

Many teen movies talk about wanting to be part of the popular crowd, and both Clueless and Mean Girls explore wanting to be well-liked. Popularity is a big theme in Heathers and the reason why Veronica’s rebellion begins.

Heather Chandler, Heather McNamara (Lianne Falk), Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty), and Veronica Sawyer are all considered the most beautiful and cool girls at school. While the Heathers seem good with this, Veronica wants something more. She starts to rebel when she meets bad boy J.D., and she realizes that her so-called best friends are actually horrible people. These elements hold up today, as it’s easy to get caught up with the popular group and it’s also relatable to want to break free.

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9 Didn’t Age Well: A Very Casual Depiction Of A Serious Subject

Heathers 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didnt Age Well)

When J.D. and Veronica accidentally kill Heather Chandler, they make it seem like she took her own life, which leads to everyone talking about suicide.

The movie doesn’t treat this subject in a respectful manner, with characters making glib statements about it. The movie feels problematic now because it makes light of something so serious, attempting to shock audiences instead of depicting an important issue with care.

8 Holds Up: Honest Discussion Of Emotions And Mental Health

Heathers 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didnt Age Well)

While Heathers does have some problems, it’s a movie that talks about having sad feelings, negative thoughts, and admitting that mental health is something that many people deal with.

In one scene, Veronica Sawyer says, “If you were happy every day of your life, you wouldn’t be a human being. You’d be a game show host.” This isn’t something that many teen movie characters say, and it’s relatable, as everyone has tough days and rough periods in their life.

7 Didn’t Age Well: Treats Bullying Like No Big Deal

Heathers 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didnt Age Well)

While Heathers is a movie about bullying, it treats this subject like it’s no big deal and like it’s an inevitable part of high school life.

If a movie is going to be about bullies and the horrible things they do to their peers, there should be some adults that get involved and a resolution that makes sense. Instead, Heathers becomes more and more violent, and the ending doesn’t solve anything or move the story in a more positive direction.

6 Holds Up: Veronica And J.D.’s Unhealthy Connection

Heathers 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didnt Age Well)

Unlike other teen movies with great love stories, Veronica and J.D. definitely shouldn’t be together. He’s a terrible influence and brings her into his world of murder and violence.

At first, Veronica thinks that J.D. is cool and rebellious, and she’s attracted to the person she can become when she’s with him. But she soon realizes that he’s dangerous and that she has to get away. This part of the movie holds up, as it’s understandable that after being part of the popular crowd for so long, Veronica would want to meet someone new.

5 Didn’t Age Well: Disturbing Depictions Of High School Violence

Heathers 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didnt Age Well)

The Heathers reboot didn’t work out because of the disturbing high school violence storyline, and that’s another reason why the original movie doesn’t hold up.

J.D. wants to bring a bomb to school, and he has a lot of dark and terrible ideas about how he wants to hurt his fellow students. At the end of the movie, Veronica shoots J.D. and then he dies by suicide. This scene is really tough to watch, and it’s hard to say that the story really needs so many violent images, especially since it’s set at a high school.

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4 Holds Up: Being In A Toxic Friendship

Heathers 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didnt Age Well)

Many TV dramas talk about female friendship, from Firefly Lane to Sweet Magnolias, and some depict the toxic situations that can develop.

Heathers does one thing very well: it shows that Veronica had a very unhealthy friendship with the three Heathers. They didn’t like each other or really understand each other, but they continued to hang out. In one scene, Veronica says, “She’s my best friend. God, I hate her.” From competition to envy, there are many reasons why high school friendships can be difficult, and Heathers does a good job with this topic.

3 Didn’t Age Well: Pretending Two Football Players Were Gay

Heathers 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didnt Age Well)

After Veronica and Heather McNamara went on a double date with a couple of football players, Heather and the guys spread a rumor that Veronica gave both jocks oral sex.

J.D. came up with a plan for Veronica to pretend that Ram and Kurt were gay, and she staged a fake double suicide scene, making people think they’d taken their own lives because they wanted to be together. This is definitely offensive and awful, and it’s hard to imagine a movie doing this today.

2 Holds Up: The Tricky High School Landscape

Heathers 5 Things That Hold Up Today (5 That Didnt Age Well)

One hallmark of teen movies and TV shows is showing different cliques. The beginning of 10 Things I Hate About You shows all the social groups hanging out outside the school, and the teens in Mean Girls are strict about who they eat lunch with.

Heathers shows the tricky high school landscape and how people don’t like to go out of their way to be nice to someone who isn’t in their specific friend group. This is an unfortunate reality of this time in life.

1 Didn’t Age Well: The Dialogue Is Very Harsh

Many teen movies have memorable quotes and while Heathers has some smart dialogue, there are a lot of quotes that are pretty intense.

Veronica employs a graphic catchphrase about a chainsaw, which is definitely a shocking piece of dialogue. These statements distract from the main story and seem unnecessary. While some of the lines are products of the ’80s, it seems like the movie could have tone down some of the dialogue and still gotten its point across.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/heathers-teen-movie-still-holds-up-aged-poorly/

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