There is hardly a doubt in my mind that Heathers is one of the best films of the 1980s, if not included in a list that names all the essential films of movidedom. The movie is about Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) who is fed up with her role and association with the cruelest and most popular clique in Remington High. The three other members (appropriatley named Heather and identified by their last names 'Duke', hobbies 'Cheerleader', and position '#1') are the dominant members of the school and take pride and joy in other's suffering. It isn't until Veronica meets a loner named Jason Dean (Christian Slater) that she finally has an outlet to vent her frustration about her life. Eventually JD and Veronica murder the leader of the clique and are forced to cover it up with a suicide. This leads to a horrificly dark satire of the teenage suicide epidemic of the eighties. After JD's rage continues Veronica must ask herself the question: Is she on the way to the prom or to hell? The movie is brilliant acted by Ryder, but the show is stolen by Slater. His Nicholson-esque performance is eerie and he gets my vote as one of the top villains of all time. The supporting roles are done well enough with the standouts being Dean's creepy father and Paula Fleming, the guidance counselour. Lehman directs the movie with a brilliant mix of colors that range from lighter at the beginning of the movie to darker at the end, as the tone changes. Although both Lehman and Waters would never match their previous success (they were actually quite bad after Heathers) this film proves that they did at one time have something to offer the world of cinema. While the story may seem like an ordinary black comedy and satire of the 1980s teen films it has a very simple message underneath: Be your own person. We have always been told in our lives to "not do something just because it's cool". So many teens reflect that, but there is also the other side of the coin "don't do something just because it's uncool" which Veronica tries with JD. So many teens conform to unconformity which doesn't make them individuals at all, this was really the first film to satire that other side of the argument. Be your own person does not mean rebel against the popular people or to join them, it just means be yourself and I think by the end of the film the viewer shares with Veronica's journey.
