Though I was born in the 1980s, I cannot say that I am a keen student of films of that era.  I did not see The Breakfast Club (1985) until well into my adult years, and Sixteen Candles (1984) came even later.  For better or worse, these two teen comedies/dramas typify the cinema of that decade, symbolizing years when teens were both consumer driven and rebellious.  That assessment is a discussion for another time, but it is an accurate description of the kind of content one can expect of these kinds of movies.  My tastes were more centered on historical dramas.  People rightly remember Matthew Broderick for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), but my first encounter with him was in Glory (1989).  These are two disparate examples, and yet they touch on either end of the emotional spectrum one gets with today’s entry, Heathers(1989).  It is a title I had heard about, being one of Winona Ryder’s early performances, and has a bit of a cult following.  I presumed this was more for the comedic side of things.  I was not prepared for what I got, and I will do my best to tiptoe through this minefield.

There is no tiptoeing through Veronica Sawyer’s (Winona Ryder) dreams as the Heathers play croquet in her backyard, using her head as the center peg.  The title young ladies are Heather Chandler (Kim Walker), Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty), and Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk), the three most popular girls at Westerburg High School, though Chandler is their clear, cold-hearted leader.  They have included the brainy Veronica into their group, which she accepts with mixed emotions, feeling trapped, hence the dream.  During lunch, Veronica’s loyalty is tested when she is asked to write a fake love letter to football player Ram Sweeney (Patrick Labyorteaux), saying it is from the overweight outcast Martha “Dumptruck” Dunnstock (Carrie Lynn).  Can you see the dynamic yet?  It is Chandler’s idea, which is noticed by another loner sitting in the corner, newcomer Jason “J.D.” Dean (Christian Slater).  Veronica eventually catches the eye of the darkly handsome J.D., exchanging a look before she is dragged away by Chandler.  Despite wanting to stay to talk more, Veronica is forced to leave so that they can get ready for a party later at the nearby college.  She is not enthused by this prospect, but is cheered when she encounters J.D. on the way.  Still, the night goes predictably horrible, having to fend off drunk college guys and throwing up in the process.  Instead of being supportive, Chandler laughs at her and says that she is going to tell the whole school how Veronica puked.  As Veronica furiously scribbles in her diary about seeing the demise of Chandler, she is visited by J.D.  They end up doing the kinds of things parents worry about their teenage children doing, so I guess they are now a couple.  In the afterglow, she voices her frustrations about Chandler, and J.D. suggests Veronica get revenge.  Thus, the next morning they go to Chandler’s house.  Veronica’s only intention is to also get Chandler to upchuck, using a mixture of orange juice and milk, but J.D. has something stronger in mind.  He finds rat poison, and putting it into a coffee mug, they take it up to Chandler and goad her into drinking it.  Upon keeling over dead, Veronica is shocked, but once again J.D. has the answer.  He convinces Veronica to write a suicide note, making it look like the girl took her own life.  Veronica is not happy about Chandler’s death, but she looks forward to more harmonious social interactions at school.  Instead, Westerburg makes a martyr out of Chandler, citing her supposed final words as proof that the only reason she acted cruelly was because she was misunderstood.  Otherwise, the student body is bummed that they did not get more time away from class in the wake of the tragedy.  As she is leaving the funeral, Veronica is approached by McNamara, who asks Veronica to double date with her and Ram that night, Veronica getting the dubious prize of going with fellow jock Kurt Kelly (Lance Fenton).  The evening ends with them in a cow pasture, the guys trying to tip over cattle and Kurt passing out in the mud.  Veronica is saved by J.D., but the next day she is informed that Kurt and Ram are claiming that she did sexually explicit things with the two football players.  Once more, J.D. claims that they should get vengeance.  This time, he tells her that he has bullets that fire projectiles that pierce the skin, but do no damage.  Luring the athletes to the woods behind the school, the rounds instead kill the boys.  It is at this point that Veronica realizes she cannot trust J.D., especially when he displays a lack of remorse for having misled her.  Though she breaks up with him, he remains obsessed with her.  As he sees it, the other two Heathers are the source of his problems.  The first person to take care of is McNamara, who J.D. tries to convince to commit suicide by getting her to read Moby Dick and emphasizing certain passages.  Veronica realizing what is happening before it is too late and prevents McNamara in the bathroom from overdosing on pills.  Meanwhile, J.D. turns to Duke to fill the power vacuum left by Chandler’s passing.  With Duke’s help, he gets the entire school to sign what they are told is a petition, but turns out to be a mass suicide note.  J.D. plans on blowing up the school during the next pep rally, a scheme he reveals to Veronica after sneaking into her room.  Figuring this might happen, she pretends to have hung herself, waiting for him to leave.  The following morning, she gets to Westerburg before him, and is able to stop his diabolical machinations, witnessing him detonate his bomb on himself.

After seeing a suicide explosion at the end of Heathers, the singed Veronica walks back into the school, wrests leadership from Duke, and invites Martha to her house to watch movies later that night.  This is supposed to demonstrate that she is a person of character.  However, you do not have to be a Catholic to understand that she got away with murder, which should not be celebrated.  The only slight argument one could make for a positive outlook on this awful behavior is that when one is young, one does foolish things, even if motivated by the notion of addressing an injustice.  Given the following this movie has, I am guessing there are some that would condone getting even with somebody who wronged you by means of homicide.  Us Catholics have a particular argument against such behavior with our pro-life, anti-capital punishment stance.  Certain people in this country celebrate the death penalty as proper retribution for criminals guilty of the most heinous crimes, forgetting that with God, redemption is possible and should be pursued.  It is ironic to say this about this movie because it is supposed to be about redemption for Veronica.  She misses her previous life when she was not as popular, but had kinder friends.  I also appreciate what she does for Martha in the final scene.  As somebody who has been the victim of bullying, who ate by himself at lunch throughout my elementary school years, it wounded me to see how Martha is treated.  The sad truth is that humanity is so broken, and this movie is proof of this fact.  It is not just the bullying, suicide, or teenage sex.  It is also found in the seeming fad that taking one’s own life becomes.  Because the most popular girl in school seemingly does it, everyone appears interested in potentially doing it themselves.  Of course, there is only one person responsible for it all: J.D.  He is evil, delighting in chaos and having no qualms about mass killings.  The film suggests that it is due to his own mother having once taken her life, but regardless, he is the kind of person society has made a stereotype of as being the “troubled kid.”  He even mocks God at one point, which is beyond the pale.  He clearly needs the kind of healing only God can provide, and we should all pray for such people.

The people in Heathers are fascinating, sociologically speaking.  The movie is not worth viewing, but you have the different cliques represented in it, providing a snapshot of American culture and society at that time.  This is also not a recommendation.  The movie is supposed to be funny, and I can recognize some clever writing in certain parts, but the material is questionable.  Get your lessons from other sources.