Heathers was a hot-button idea for a comedy back in 1989. Getting laughs out of teenage suicide, school shootings, closeted homosexuality, bullying and peer pressure might be unfilmable today. It’s not a film I think about as much, but that’s because I’ve gotten older too. Back then, I was glad to see a film that was at least bringing up these issues, and in a way like it was being made by cool kids and not parents wagging their fingers about how us teens don’t know how hard life is.
Director Michael Lehmann’s career flamed out almost immediately. Writer Daniel Waters, who invented his own slang for the dialogue, worked on a couple of Hollywood blockbusters, but has now also faded into obscurity. Christian Slater’s Nicholson impression of a performance has aged poorly, but not as much as the extra amounts of cringe in what used to be the most quotable dialogue. Again, I’ve aged out. Back in 1989, I wanted to work on a film that went on to become Heathers. This list would be incomplete without it.
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