Heathers (1988)

A girl who half-heartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics.

Director:

Michael Lehmann

Writer:

Daniel Waters

Stars:

Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Winona Ryder	...	Veronica
Christian Slater	...	J.D.
Shannen Doherty	...	Heather (Duke)
Lisanne Falk	...	Heather (McNamara)
Kim Walker	...	Heather (Chandler)
Penelope Milford	...	Pauline Fleming
Glenn Shadix	...	Father Ripper
Lance Fenton	...	Kurt Kelly
Patrick Labyorteaux	...	Ram
Jeremy Applegate	...	Peter Dawson
Jon Matthews	...	Rodney
Carrie Lynn	...	Martha Dunnstock aka Dumptruck
Phill Lewis	...	Dennis
Renée Estevez	...	Betty Finn (as Reneé Estevez)
John Zarchen	...	Country Club Keith

Storyline

A regular girl, Veronica, tries to survive the social jungle of high school by sticking with the three most popular girls at school who are all called Heather. As she meets a sociopath named JD, her life spirals into a continuous cycle of hate, unintentional murder and indifference, as she exacts revenge on her enemies, also known as her best friends.

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Plot Keywords:

heather | suicide | high school | clique | murder | 

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Taglines:

Best friends, social trends and occasional murder.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fatal Game

Filming Locations:

Church of the Angels - 1100 Avenue 64, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$1,108,462 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New World Pictures, Cinemarque Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Westerburg High in reality is John Adams Middle School.

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Goofs

At Kurt and Ram's funeral, Ram, laying in his coffin, is breathing. (The football resting on his chest is moving up and down.)

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Quotes

J.D.: Let's pretend I blew up the school... all the schools. Now that you're dead, what are you gonna do with your life?

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Que Sera, Sera"
Written by Jay Livingston & Ray Evans
Published by Jay Livingston Music - St. Angelo Music
Performed by Syd Straw
Arranged by Van Dyke Parks

User Reviews

I'll admit it, I was a Veronica!

When this film came out, I didn't see it in the theater. I caught it in the video store. I walked into the video store and the funeral for the Football player was running. I stopped, watched, and laughed my head off. I immediately rented "Heathers" and fell in love with it.

"Heathers" is the realization of what almost every kid in high school was exposed to at one time or another. You were either a "Heather" or a "Veronica" or the spooky/mysterious new kid, or the jock, or the undesirable, or the cheerleader, or the kid who wanted "in" as a "Heather" or..or..or. The only thing is that "Heathers" goes on to show you what happens "if"...If you could get away with some of the things you were thinking of at the time!

The actions of the parents and teachers are to die for. When you're young you think you can figure out just about anything, or figure out what the adults are thinking and try to get around it. "Heathers" gets into it all, very darkly, and carries it off well. Although I thought the ending was a bit too...tidy.

If you're in High School, (over 17 of course) or in College looking back at High School, you'll identify with this film. If you're an adult, this may remind you of those days, but this is a nicely done dark humored film. Go rent it today, see it uncut.