90s

Clueless – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1995 film Clueless.

Story

The story is pretty faithful to what I vaguely remember of its inspiration (Emma by Jane Austen) with more slang and 90’s aesthetic than a you can shake a brick-sized cell phone at. It’s cringe and nostalgia all in one, but at its core, it’s sort of sweet.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The characters are mostly nice to each other, which surprised me. I expected mean girls level fighting. So they’re not mean, but they really are clueless. Completely privileged and so very young.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

There’s a lot of iconic slang in this and lots that I think they invented, but there’s a lot of what was terrible about the 90’s. Diet culture and disordered eating is laced throughout, homophobia, classism, and more than a little racism. Some of which is shown to be bad, but a lot of it is shown as normal.

I did really enjoy how the characters said dumb things smartly and smart things in a valley accent.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

There’s a little weird shaky cam at the start and some strange angles, but overall it’s pretty well shot and each frame has a lot of information it in.

The music is pure nostalgia and I loved it.

Score: 1

Fun

I both enjoyed and cringed at this movie. I think I would have loved it when I was a young teen, but now I see all the problems and roll my eyes at the drama of youth. (Whippersnappers!)

I did like the overall story though, and despite my angst, it was fun.

Score: 0.5

Overall

This is a dated classic that encapsulates everything that was wrong with the 90’s and captures its innocence.

Final Score: 3 Stars out of 5

Your Nostalgia isn’t an Excuse to be Jerk

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Hello Nostalgics,

Do you find yourself wishing you could go back to a time that was simpler? Do you wish life was like it was before? Do you want the things from your childhood?

I think we should probably rename us Millennials as the Nostalgics. Wanting to escape to our past isn’t a new concept, but wow have we rolled with it. Obviously a large part of it is the big corporations seeing the profit in reviving, rebooting, and re-imagining old properties.

I mean, I could do without the cold war coming back, but overall, nostalgia isn’t that bad.

Don’t get me wrong, as someone who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, they weren’t great. As much as I like Stranger Things, it’s not for the 80’s. It’s possible to capture the feel and joy of those movies in the modern day. (Finding ‘Ohana is a great example.)

There is nothing wrong with the comfort of media that we consumed at impressionable ages. It’s comforting, familiar, and fun. However, it’s important to be critical of it. You can’t love something so much that you ignore it’s faults. Ghostbusters is awesome, but there’s a lot of questionable ethics and uncomfortable moments.

This unquestioning devotion to a property is destructive.

Ignoring the overwhelming quantity of bigotry in modern fandoms, the strict adherence to a nostalgic perfection is the most messed up thing.

There isn’t a new version or movie that doesn’t get hit with constant complaints. Maybe it’s just the internet, but I watched the Star Wars Prequels with nerds when they came out. I think it’s a natural reaction to want to protect both the emotions and the preciousness of our favourite media. The most simple example is that everyone hates a cover unless it was the first version they heard or it’s done by an artist they like.

I mentioned it was destructive. It is. Not separating new and old means you get aggressive and frustrated. This leads to making the people who like the new stuff feel attacked. All of it ends in a polarization that is unhealthy.

Next time you see that they’re making a new version of your favourite media, remember that it won’t replace the original. Your feelings about the new one can and shouldn’t affect how you feel about the original. (No, they’re not ruining it. The original will not self-destruct.)

Spite isn’t a good look on anyone, especially not a fandom.

As for the bigots? They really need to shut up, but they are definitely the loud minority. If you find yourself agreeing with them, think about your position and decide if attacking your favourite media and its new fans is the best way to love it.

Loving something should never mean insulting, demeaning, mocking, or otherwise being a jerk to others.

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric

Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1994 film Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken.

Story

For a Disney animated show in the 90’s, it was groundbreaking. Looking at it through a modern lens, it’s predictable and slow paced.

As much as it was packaged as a movie, it’s not really a movie. It’s obviously a first episode to a television show.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The characters are iconic, not just because of the fantastic voice actors but because of the story arcs throughout the run of the show.

That being said, there are fat jokes that make me roll my eyes and very little development of anyone but Goliath.

I do have to give it it’s due in that it’s one of the most diverse casts of the 90’s.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The odd plethora of accents in the Gargoyles is weird. I wish they’d made a quick mention of why they weren’t speaking Gaelic or Middle English.

The introduction of slang was funny and well played.

Some of the lines were great, but there was a lot of dialogue that felt overly verbose for no reason.

I did appreciate how everything Xanatos said could be taken in multiple ways.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The animation was standard Disney television from the 80’s and 90’s. It was uneven with spots of brilliance.

The music was impressive for what it was. I’m very impressed with it.

Score: 0.5

Fun

This was a lot of fun. Both kids loved it (despite the 5yo not wanting to watch it to start with). I enjoyed it and the rest of the adults were long time fans.

Score: 1

Overall

Despite some uneven pacing and animation, the movie delivers an excellent introduction for the classic television show that follows, but it doesn’t stand on its own.

Final Score: 3 Stars out of 5