From en.wikipedia.org:
[1988 film by Michael Lehmann] [the film] [date=January 2025] [date=November
2022] {{Infobox film | name = Heathers | image = Heathers (1989).png | caption
= Theatrical release poster | director = Michael Lehmann | producer = Denise
Di Novi | writer = Daniel Waters | starring = {{Plainlist|
- Winona Ryder
- Christian Slater
- Shannen Doherty
}} | music = David Newman | cinematography = Francis Kenny | editing = Norman
Hollyn | studio = Cinemarque Entertainment | distributor = New World Pictures
| released = [1988] (Italy)[1]{{film date|1989|1|21|Sundance|ref1=<ref name
="hicks">[last1=Hicks]|1989|3|31|United States|ref2=[2]}} | runtime = 103
minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 102:59-->[3] | country = United States |
language = English | budget = $3 million[4] | gross = $1.1 million<ref
name="mojo"/> }}
_HEATHERS_ is a 1988[5] American teen dark comedy crime film written by Daniel
Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film
debuts.[6][7] The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty,
Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, and Penelope Milford. The plot revolves around four
teenage girls—three of whom are named Heather—in a clique at an Ohio high
school, one of whose lives is disrupted by the arrival of a misanthrope intent
on murdering the popular students and staging their deaths as suicides.<ref
name="maslin"/>
Waters wrote _Heathers_ as a spec script and originally wanted Stanley Kubrick
to direct the film, out of admiration for Kubrick's own black comedy film _Dr.
Strangelove_. Waters intended the film to contrast the optimistic teen movies
of the era, particularly those written by John Hughes, by presenting a cynical
depiction of high school imbued with dark satire.[8]
Filmed in Los Angeles from February to March of 1988, _Heathers_ premiered in
Milan, Italy, in the fall of 1988[9] before making its way to the Sundance
Film Festival on January 21, 1989, then New World Pictures theatrically
released the film in the United States on March 31, 1989. It went on to win
the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, and for his screenplay,
Waters received the Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.[10] It has
since become popular and is regarded in polls as one of the greatest
coming-of-age films of all time.[11][12][13] _Heathers_ has since been adapted
into a musical and a television reboot.
** Plot
At Westerburg High School, in the fictional Sherwood, Ohio, Veronica Sawyer is
part of a popular-but-feared clique that includes three wealthy and beautiful
girls with the same first name: Heather Duke, Heather McNamara, and the
ruthless queen bee, Heather Chandler. Tired of the clique abusing its power,
Veronica longs for her old life with her kinder but less popular friends. She
becomes fascinated with new student Jason "J.D." Dean after he pulls out a gun
and fires blanks to scare football-player bullies, Kurt and Ram. Outsider
J.D., whose mother committed suicide, has a strained relationship with his
explosives-obsessed demolition mogul father.
Veronica goes with Chandler to a frat party at the fictional Remington
University, where she refuses to have sex with one member, unlike Chandler,
who is coerced into performing fellatio. When Veronica drunkenly vomits on
Chandler, Chandler vows to destroy Veronica's reputation in retaliation.
Later, J.D. breaks into Veronica's house through her bedroom window, and they
have sex, expressing to each other their mutual hatred of Chandler's tyranny
after.
The next morning, Veronica and J.D. break into Chandler's house, planning
revenge by using a fake hangover cure to make Chandler vomit. Veronica mixes
orange juice and milk into a mug, but mistakenly serves Chandler a mug full of
drain cleaner poured by J.D., which kills her. Veronica is horrified by the
accident, but J.D. urges her to forge a dramatic suicide note in Chandler's
handwriting. The community regards Chandler's apparent suicide as a tragic
decision made by a troubled teenager, making her even more respected in death
than in life. Duke uses the attention surrounding Chandler's death to gain
popularity by going to many different news stations, feeling the need to be
the clique's new leader.
McNamara later convinces Veronica to go with her, Kurt, and Ram on a double
date. J.D. finds the four teens that evening in a field, and Veronica leaves
with him as Kurt passes out, while Ram rapes McNamara. The boys spread a
false rumor about Veronica performing oral sex on them, ruining her
reputation. J.D. proposes that he and Veronica lure the boys into the woods,
shoot them with tranquilizers, and humiliate them by staging the scene to look
like they were lovers participating in a suicide pact.
In the forest, J.D. shoots Ram, but Veronica's shot misses Kurt, who runs
away. J.D. chases Kurt back toward Veronica, who, realizing that the bullets
are in fact lethal, fatally shoots him in a panic. At their funeral, the boys
are made into martyrs to homophobia. Realizing that J.D. is intentionally
murdering students he dislikes, Veronica is horrified and breaks up with him.
J.D. blackmails Duke into getting every student to sign a petition that,
unbeknownst to her, is intended to act as a mass suicide note. Martha, an
overweight girl who is a frequent target of bullying, attempts to kill herself
by walking into traffic. She survives but is badly injured and mocked by her
peers who believe she was attempting to copy the popular kids. McNamara calls
a radio show to discuss her depression. Duke tells the entire school about
the radio call, leading to McNamara being bullied. McNamara attempts suicide
by overdosing in the girls' bathroom, but Veronica intervenes.
Veronica returns home, where her parents inform her that J.D. stopped by,
proclaiming that he is worried she will attempt suicide. Realizing that J.D.
plans to kill her, she fakes her own suicide by hanging. J.D. finds her and,
assuming she is dead, gives a monologue revealing his plan to blow up the
school pep rally and frame it as a suicide pact.
J.D. plants dynamite in the gymnasium equipped with remote detonators. He
proceeds to the school's boiler room to place dynamite with a countdown
detonator. Veronica confronts J.D. in the boiler room and shoots him,
resulting in him accidentally cutting the wires to the detonator with his
switchblade. Veronica goes outside, and J.D. follows her with a bomb
strapped to his chest. He offers a personal eulogy and detonates the bomb,
killing himself. As students and faculty rush to see what happened, Veronica
walks back inside, disheveled and covered in soot from the explosion. She
confronts and condemns Duke, then invites Martha to spend prom night watching
movies together.
** Cast
<!--- MOS:FILMCAST WP:NOTDATABASE - cast and order per Main Cast Motion
picture credits#Opening credits, roles per closing credits scroll ---> {{cast
listing|
- Winona Ryder as Veronica Sawyer
- Christian Slater as Jason "J.D." Dean
- Shannen Doherty as Heather Duke
- Lisanne Falk as Heather McNamara
- Kim Walker as Heather Chandler
- Penelope Milford as Pauline Fleming
- Glenn Shadix as Father Ripper
- Lance Fenton as Kurt Kelly
- Patrick Labyorteaux as Ram Sweeney
- Jeremy Applegate as Peter Dawson
}}
** Production
*** Development
Daniel Waters began writing the screenplay in spring of 1986, while he was
working at a video store.[14] He wanted the film to be directed by Stanley
Kubrick,[15] not only out of admiration for him, but also from a perception
that "Kubrick was the only person that could get away with a three-hour film".
The cafeteria scene near the start of _Heathers_ was written as a homage to
the barracks scene which opens Kubrick's _Full Metal Jacket_. After a number
of failed attempts to get the script to Kubrick, Waters approached director
Michael Lehmann, whom he met through a mutual friend.<ref name=":0" /> Lehmann
agreed to helm the film with producer Denise Di Novi.
In the original version of the script, J.D. successfully blows up Westerburg
High, and the final scene features a surreal prom gathering of all the
students in heaven. Executives at New World Pictures agreed to finance the
film, but they disliked the dark ending and insisted that it be changed.[16]
Some reviewers have discussed similarities between _Heathers_ and _Massacre at
Central High_, a low-budget 1976 film.[17][18] Daniel Waters has stated that
he had not seen _Massacre at Central High_ at the time he wrote _Heathers_ but
that he had read a review of it in a Danny Peary book about cult movies and
that the earlier film may have been "rattling around somewhere in my
subconscious".[19]
*** Casting
Many actors and actresses turned down the project because of its dark subject
matter. Early choices for Veronica were Justine Bateman and Jennifer
Connelly.<ref name="Markovitz" /> Winona Ryder, who was 16 at the time of
filming and badly wanted the part, begged Waters to cast her as Veronica, even
offering to work for free.[20] Waters at first did not think Ryder was pretty
enough, and Ryder herself commented that "at the time, I didn't look that
different from my character in _Beetlejuice_. I was very pale. I had
blue-black dyed hair. I went to Macy's at the Beverly Center and had them do
a makeover on me."<ref name="Markovitz" />
Ryder's agent was so opposed to her pursuing the role that she got down on her
hands and knees to beg Ryder not to take it, warning her that it would ruin
her career.<ref name="Markovitz" />[21] Eventually, she was given the role.
Brad Pitt read for the role of J.D. but was rejected.[22][23] Christian
Slater reports throwing a "big tantrum" and tossing his script in the trash
after assuming he'd bombed his audition.<ref name="Markovitz" /> He was signed
to play J.D. shortly after Ryder was cast, stating later that he channeled
Jack Nicholson in the film.[24]
Heather Graham, then 17, was offered the part of Heather Chandler but turned
it down due to her parents' disapproval of the film.<ref name="Markovitz" />
Kim Walker, who was dating Slater at the time, was offered the role instead.
Lisanne Falk, 23 years old at the time, lied and said she was in her late
teens during the audition. It was only after she was cast that she revealed
her true age.<ref name="Markovitz" /> 17-year-old Shannen Doherty wanted the
role of Veronica, but Ryder had been cast, so the producers asked her to
audition for Heather Chandler. Doherty was more interested in playing Heather
Duke and ended up giving an "amazing" reading as Duke, which secured her the
part. The producers wanted her to dye her hair blonde to match the other
"Heathers", but Doherty refused, so they compromised on her having red
hair.<ref name="Markovitz" />
*** Filming
Principal photography took place over 33 days beginning in July 1988, on a
budget of $3 million.[25]<ref name="Markovitz"/>[26][27] Although set in Ohio,
filming was done entirely in Los Angeles. "Westerburg High School" is an
amalgam of Corvallis High School, now Bridges Academy, in Studio City, Verdugo
Hills High School in Tujunga, and John Adams Middle School in Santa
Monica.[28] The gymnasium scenes were shot at Verdugo Hills High, and the
climactic scene on the stairs was filmed outside John Adams Middle School.[29]
The funeral scenes were filmed at Church of the Angels in Pasadena,
California, a location also used in _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ and _Just
Married_.<ref name="Film locations for 'Heathers'"/>
Michael Lehmann has called Doherty "a bit of a handful" on set, in part
because she objected to the swearing in the script and refused to say some of
the more explicit lines.<ref name="Markovitz"/> Falk stated that Doherty
"didn't have much of a sense of humor, and she took herself a little
seriously", and Di Novi said: "I don't think Shannen really got what
_Heathers_ was. And that worked for us. She made that character real."<ref
name="Markovitz"/> When the cast first viewed the film, Doherty ran out crying
because she realized the film was a dark comedy and not the drama she was
expecting.<ref name="Markovitz"/>[30]
** Soundtrack
The film uses two versions of the song "Que Sera, Sera", the first by singer
Syd Straw and another over the end credits by Sly and the Family Stone.[31] On
the film's DVD commentary, Di Novi mentions that the filmmakers wanted to use
the original Doris Day version of the song, but Day would not lend her name to
any project using profanity.
The song "Teenage Suicide (Don't Do It)" by the fictional band Big Fun was
written and produced for the film by musician Don Dixon, and performed by the
ad hoc group "Big Fun", which consisted of Dixon, Mitch Easter, Angie Carlson,
and Marti Jones.[32] The song is included on Dixon's 1992 greatest hits album
_(If) I'm a Ham, Well You're a Sausage_.[33]
The film's electronic score was composed and performed by David Newman, and a
soundtrack CD was subsequently released.[34]
** Release
*** Box office
_Heathers_ premiered in Milan, Italy, in the fall of 1988,[35] then was
screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 1989,<ref name
="hicks">[last1=Hicks] and was released to the U.S. public in March 1989, at
which time New World Pictures was going bankrupt.<ref name="Markovitz" /> The
film was considered a flop when it was released, earning $177,247 in its
opening weekend and ultimately grossing $1.1 million in the United States over
five weeks.[36][37][38]
*** Home media
New World Video released _Heathers_ on VHS and LaserDisc in 1989.[39] It
developed a cult following after being unsuccessful at the box office.<ref
name="Markovitz" /> It was released again on LaserDisc in September 1996, as a
widescreen edition digitally transferred from Trans Atlantic Entertainment's
interpositive print under the supervision of cinematographer Francis Kenny.
The sound was mastered from the magnetic sound elements. The film was
released on DVD in March 1999, in a barebones edition.[40]
In 2001, a multi-region special edition THX-certified DVD was released from
Anchor Bay Entertainment in Dolby Digital 5.1.<ref name=":3" /> The DVD
contained an audio commentary with director Michael Lehmann, producer Denise
Di Novi and writer Daniel Waters, as well as a 30-minute documentary titled
_Swatch Dogs and Diet Cokeheads_, featuring interviews with Ryder, Slater,
Doherty, Falk, Lehmann, Waters, Di Novi, director of photography Francis
Kenny, and editor Norman Hollyn.[41] The DVD was released in the United
States, Canada, Australia, and Europe, and achieved high sales. Each release
included a different front cover featuring Veronica, J.D., Chandler, Duke, and
McNamara.<ref name=":2" />
The Anchor Bay DVD was also released in a "Limited Edition Tin Set" of 15,000
copies.<ref name="Qnet" /> The Tin Set included a theatrical trailer,
screenplay excerpt, original ending, biographies, 10-page full-color fold-out
with photos and liner notes, an 8-inch "Heathers Rules!" ruler, and a 48-page
full-color yearbook style booklet with rare photos.[42] The film was then
re-released on Blu-ray by Image Entertainment in 2011 as a barebones edition,
two years after Anchor Bay.<ref name=":3" />
In July 2008, a new 20th anniversary special edition DVD set was released by
Anchor Bay to coincide with the DVD of writer Waters' new film _Sex and Death
101_.<ref name=":3" /> The DVD features a new documentary, _Return to
Westerburg High_.<ref name=":3" /> In November 2008, Anchor Bay released a
Blu-ray with all the special features from the 20th anniversary DVD and a
soundtrack in Dolby TrueHD 5.1.[43]
Arrow Films released _Heathers_ in the United Kingdom on Ultra HD Blu-ray on
August 5, 2018, and in cinemas on September 10, based on a new 4K restoration
of the film.[44][45] In November 2019, Image Entertainment released a 30th
anniversary steelbook edition on Blu-ray.[46] This release did not utilize
Arrow Films' 4K restoration and featured new and previous special features.
** Critical reception
*** Initial reviews
Writing in April 1989 for _The Washington Post_, journalist Desson Thomson
wrote that it "may be the nastiest, cruelest fun you can have without actually
having to study law or gird leather products. If movies were food, _Heathers_
would be a cynic's chocolate binge."[47] _Chicago Sun-Times_ film critic Roger
Ebert gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4 and wrote that _Heathers_ "is a morbid
comedy about peer pressure in high school, about teenage suicide and about the
deadliness of cliques that not only exclude but also maim and kill." While
conceding its ability to provoke thought and shock, Ebert questioned how the
mixed sensibility as a dark murder comedy and "cynical morality play" led to
difficulty in understanding its point of view, while remarking that,
"Adulthood could be defined as the process of learning to be shocked by things
that do not shock teenagers, but that is not a notion that has occurred to
Lehmann."[48]
*** Retrospective responses
[[score]] [72]
Academics have likened _Heathers_ to other films popular during the 1980s and
early 1990s which characterized domestic youth narratives as part and parcel
of the "culture war".[49][50]
Teen film scholar Timothy Shary posits _Heathers_ as influential for the
subsequent satirical engagement with the trope of popularity: "Heathers turns
the otherwise serious high school business of popularity into a farce, and
that is exactly what films of the '90s continued to do with the roles of
popular female school characters. _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ (1992),
_Clueless_ (1995), _Jawbreaker_ and _Election_ (both 1999) all feature popular
school girls who are at once dedicated to maintaining their accepted image but
who struggle (or fail) to recognize the contradictions and ironies of their
position. The films thereby become parodies of popularity, although only
_Clueless_ and _Election_ offer the same wide social scope as _Heathers_."[51]
Waters created a specific set of slang and style of speech for the film,
wanting to ensure that the language in the film would have "timeless" quality
instead of just reflecting teen slang at the time.[52] [2014], the film was
among the most cited in the _Oxford English Dictionary_.[53]
** Related projects
*** Possible film sequel
On June 2, 2009, _Entertainment Weekly_ reported that Ryder had claimed that
there would be a sequel to the film, titled _Heathers 2_, with Slater coming
back "as a kind of Obi-Wan character".[54] However, Lehmann denied development
of a sequel, saying, "Winona's been talking about this for years—she brings it
up every once in a while and Dan Waters and I will joke about it, but as far
as I know there's no script and no plans to do the sequel."[55] In 2024,
Daniel Waters revealed that he had concocted a story for the sequel where
Veronica becomes a page for a presidential candidate named Heather, who would
have been played by Meryl Streep. The film would have ended with Veronica
assassinating her and getting away with it.[56]
*** Musical
[Heathers: The Musical] In 2010, _Heathers_ was adapted into a stage musical
directed by Andy Fickman.[57] Fickman also worked on the musical _Reefer
Madness_,<ref name="musical" /> a parody of the anti-cannabis movie of the
same name which was turned into a feature film. _Heathers: The Musical_,
which opens with a number depicting Veronica's acceptance into the Heathers'
clique, received several readings in workshops in Los Angeles and a three-show
concert presentation at Joe's Pub in New York City on September 13–14, 2010.
The cast of the Joe's Pub concert included Annaleigh Ashford as Veronica,
Jenna Leigh Green as Heather Chandler, and Jeremy Jordan as J.D.
The musical played at Off-Broadway's New World Stages with performances
beginning March 15, 2014, and an opening night on March 31.[58] The original
cast of the Off-Broadway production included Barrett Wilbert Weed as Veronica
Sawyer, Jessica Keenan Wynn as Heather Chandler, Ryan McCartan as J.D., Alice
Lee as Heather Duke, and Elle McLemore as Heather McNamara.[59] It closed on
August 4, 2014.[60]
An Off West End production of _Heathers_, directed by Andy Fickman, played at
the Other Palace in London with performances between June 19 and August 4,
2018. Its cast included Carrie Hope Fletcher as Veronica Sawyer, Jodie Steele
as Heather Chandler, Jamie Muscato as J.D., T'Shan Williams as Heather Duke,
and Sophie Isaacs as Heather McNamara. It transferred to the West End in
September 2018, playing in Theatre Royal Haymarket, London. A high school
production of the musical is the focus of the "Chapter Fifty-One: Big Fun"
episode of _Riverdale_.[61] In 2021, _Heathers_ returned for a limited run at
the Haymarket with Christina Bennington playing Veronica Sawyer and Jordan
Luke Gage as J.D. The three Heathers were played by Jodie Steele (Heather
Chandler), Bobbi Little (Heather Duke), and Frances Mayli McCann (Heather
McNamara). It then went on to play at The Other Palace until 3 September
2023.
In 2025, it was announced that the Off-Broadway production of _Heathers_ would
play June-September at New World Stages in Manhattan, New York.[62]
*** Television adaptation
[Heathers (TV series)] In March 2016, TV Land ordered a pilot script for an
anthology dark comedy series, set in the present day, with a very different
Veronica Sawyer dealing with a very different but equally vicious group of
Heathers. The series was written by Jason Micallef and Tom Rosenberg, and
Gary Lucchesi was the executive producer[63] In January 2017, the _Heathers_
TV show was ordered to Series at TV Land.[64] Shannen Doherty, the movie's
Heather Duke, makes a cameo appearance in the pilot.[65]
In March 2017, it was reported that the series was moved to the then upcoming
Paramount Network.[66] Selma Blair has a recurring role in the series.[67] A
trailer for the rebooted series was released in August 2017.[68] The series
stars Grace Victoria Cox as Veronica Sawyer, James Scully as J.D., Melanie
Field as Heather Chandler, Brendan Scannell as Heather Duke, Jasmine Mathews
as Heather McNamara,[69] Birgundi Baker as Lizzy, and Cameron Gellman as
Kurt.[70] The series was set to premiere on March 7, 2018.[71] On February 28,
2018, it was announced that the premiere would be delayed in light of the
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.[72]
** See also
- List of cult films
** References
[Reflist]
** External links
[Wikiquote]
- [IMDb title]
- [Mojo title]
- [AFI film]
- [TCMDb title]
[Michael Lehmann] [Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature]
[DEFAULTSORT:Heathers] Category:1988 films Category:1988 black comedy films
Category:1988 directorial debut films Category:1988 independent films
Category:1980s American films Category:1980s coming-of-age comedy films
Category:1980s English-language films Category:1980s feminist films
Category:1980s high school films Category:1980s satirical films Category:1980s
teen comedy films Category:1980s vigilante films Category:American black
comedy films Category:American coming-of-age comedy films Category:American
high school films Category:American films about revenge Category:American
independent films Category:American satirical films Category:American teen
comedy films Category:American vigilante films Category:Edgar Award–winning
works Category:English-language black comedy films Category:English-language
independent films Category:Films about school bullying Category:Films about
eating disorders Category:Films about murderers Category:Films about
poisonings Category:Films about school violence Category:Films about suicide
Category:Films adapted into plays Category:Films adapted into television shows
Category:Films directed by Michael Lehmann Category:Films produced by Denise
Di Novi Category:Films scored by David Newman (composer) Category:Films set in
Ohio Category:Films shot in Los Angeles Category:Films with screenplays by
Daniel Waters (screenwriter) Category:New World Pictures films