BeforeShannen Dohertyreceived her breakout role as Brenda Walsh in theteen drama seriesBeverly Hills, 90210, Doherty co-starred in the 1988 teen black comedy filmHeathers, in which Doherty plays Heather Duke, a mean-spirited teenage girl who belongs to a tyrannical self-titled high-school clique with two other girls named Heather, along with a fourth member, Veronica, played by Winona Ryder.
Veronica’s growing disapproval of the clique’s cruel behavior leads her into a diabolical relationship with a rebellious new student, J.D., played by Christian Slater. After Veronica unwittingly poisons the clique’s queen bee leader, Heather Chandler, with a cup of drain cleaner, Veronica realizes that J.D. intends to kill their school’s most unlikable students and make their deaths look like suicides.
Needless to say, whenHeatherswas released theatrically in North America in March 1989, after receiving a cursory release overseas in October 1988, audiences weren’t prepared for a film about two renegade teenagers who embark on aBonnie and Clyde-style questto rid their school of its most popular students. Accordingly, the film,which grossed just over $1 million at the box office, became a flop.
However, through the influence of cable television and home video,Heathersgaineda cult followingin the ensuing decades while also shaping pop culture. By daring to portray teenage life as it really is, the film laid the groundwork for future teenage movies and television shows to emulate its honest and merciless approach. Over 35 years after its limited theatrical release,Heathershas become one of the most influential teen films in history.
WhenHeatherswas first released in North America in 1989,its dark subject matter, specifically its portrayal of school violence and teen suicide, seemed so untethered from everyday reality thatmany critics classified it as a teen horror film and a dark and twisted satirical comedy.
However, given the countless school shootings that have taken place over the past 35 years and the increased focus on teen suicide,Heathersnow seems as prophetic and relevant as any film of its era. While the image of a teenager brandishing a gun and planting a bomb inside a school, referring to the actions of anti-hero character J.D., provided the basis for satire in the late 1980s, this would be completely unacceptable in 2024, where these actions have become a sickening reality.
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WhileHeathersis grounded in its scathing deconstruction of the cruel and cynical social structure that defines thehigh-school experience, the film is also highlighted by its willingness to satirize inflammatory subjects, such as homophobia, religious fundamentalism, and suicide, as they apply to the eternal teenage quest for acceptance and popularity.
After clique leader Heather Chandler is murdered and her murder is made to look like a suicide, Chandler becomes more popular at her high school, even among those students who previously feared her. After J.D. and Veronica murder two popular football players and make their deaths look like a gay love suicide pact, the loathsome football players become martyrs of homophobia. At the joint funeral for the players, the father of one of the players expresses acceptance and love for his “dead gay son,” which leads J.D. to wonder if the seemingly conservative and religious man would feel the same way if his son were alive.
The Ultimate Anti-John Hughes Teen Comedy
WhenHeatherswas first released, the teen film genre was in a state of upheaval, especially after teen film iconJohn Hughes left the genrefollowing the release of his last teen film, the 1987 teen comedy-drama filmSome Kind of Wonderful, and transitioned into suburban comedy films. The writer ofHeathers, Daniel Waters, envisioned the film as being the antithesis of the nostalgic, rosy Hughes teen films and more similar in style and tone to the films of Stanley Kubrick, specificallyKubrick’s black comedy filmDr. Strangelove.
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Indeed,Heathersrepresents a stinging rebuke of Hughes’ sugary teenage vision. There are no fist-pumping moments of triumph, referring to thefinal scene inThe Breakfast Club. There is no possibility of seeing Molly Ringwald, or a teenage girl of her fairytale princess type, arriving at her prom in a pretty pink dress.
The generic conflicts that define the Hughes teen films were replaced inHeatherswith an assortment of dark and previously unexplored themes, from homophobia to murder to suicide, which are presented with a level of darkness, subtlety, and wit that didn’t seem possible beforeHeathersand hasn’t been matched since.
Heathers Changed How Teens Are Portrayed in Pop Culture
The enduring influence ofHeatherscan perhaps best be measured by imagining how different the teen-oriented film and television universe would be today without the film. WithoutHeathers, pointed satirical teen comedy films likeClueless,Election,Juno, andMean Girlsmight not exist, at least in their current forms, which were clearly shaped byHeathers.
WhileShannen Doherty’s deathhas brought renewed attention to her memorable performance inHeathers, the influence of the film is also seen in the television seriesBeverly Hills, 90210, in which Doherty appeared for the show’s first four seasons. Within its teen soap opera format,Beverly Hills, 90210followed the example ofHeathersin terms of exploring topical issues, including date rape, homophobia, and suicide, while later shows likeGleeandGossip Girlemulated.
The extent to whichHeathershas transitioned from the realm of fantasy to realityover the past 35 years is perhaps most evident with the ill-advised2018Heatherstelevision reboot, which ended up in a compromised, truncated form, ostensibly due to the 2018 Parkland school massacre. The only true link between the film and the reboot is Doherty, who appears as J.D.’s mom in two of the show’s 10 episodes.Heathersis streaming onTubi.
