Article written by Michelle Contarino and Dylan Bell.
Now, you may have probably heard the rumour that there is a televised series of the cult classic film Heathers soon to be released. My reaction, as Heather Chandler would say: "F**k me gently with a chainsaw."
If you are like me and have a deep-rooted obsession with the film adaption, then you're no doubt questioning the unfortunate reality: there are people out there who thought forcing the series into playing cat and mouse with political correctness would be a good idea. When faced with this sad, unshakeable prospect we are drawn to what allowed such an opportunity to be put in arm's reach.
That is, of course, the original film.
Heathers (1990) is an American Black Comedy film that is almost, quite essentially, a step-by-step guide on what not to do in high school. It's packed full of dark little goodies: three blonde mean girls, a girl who doesn't fit in, and a bad boy love interest who may or may not be a psychopath. Sound like a film worth enjoying? No? Well, you're in luck because there's a musical for those who prefer stage performance over screen production.
I'm Michelle from the film department, the girl who has watched the film many upon many times and can provide insight on the film's qualities as well as Christian Slater and Winona Ryder's on-screen chemistry. Here with me is…
Dylan, also from the film department, who has a deep love for everything musical. I am here to compare the Heathers film adaption to the 2017 musical stage performance.
The characters of Heathers are iconic, from the main characters, Veronica and J.D., to the title characters and antagonists, the Heathers; Heather C, Heather D and Heather M. Each of these characters are compelling, morally ambiguous and relevant in popular media to this very day.
Unquestionably, the largest difference between the film and its musical counterpart is the singing, which is the best part of the musical. The songs range from the upbeat and menacing Candy Store to the dark and foreboding Our Love Is God.
Now, when songs are added to any story it takes time away from the actual storyline, so you may be wondering if the songs hurt the story in any way. In my opinion, no. The songs help to emphasise and convey more feeling and emotion then the film did. In some instances, songs convey different emotions than the film. This is most evident with Heather M.
In both the film and the musical, certain events take place causing Heather M to drift away from Heather D, growing closer to Veronica. The difference here is interesting and worth noting. In the film, Veronica and Heather M are shown to be closer but that’s all. However, in the musical it shows them uniting together against Heather D and becoming extremely close, even at the end of film. A difference, I believe, is not only best for the characters and the story but is displayed exceptionally well through song.
The film, although lacking in areas the musical fills, is still significant for its portrayal of Veronica and J.D. The film depicts Veronica and J.D. better than that of the musical – well, that's my bias opinion.
Christian Slater's performance is remarkable, chilling yet seductive. He plays the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks stereotype to a tee. Wynona Ryder's performance reaps the rewards, too. Her portrayal of Veronica is the typical neurotic wannabe who eventually discovers her true identity: a strong, independent character who is not afraid to stand out as the 'weirdo'.
Put these two characters together and you get a romance that is… problematic, to say the least.
The iconic scene where Veronica and J.D. first lock eyes across the high-school cafeteria is where it all begins. From here, we get to witness the slushie scene where Veronica innocently chews a Twizzler while J.D. looks at her in… Yep. Lust. Infatuation. Desire. You name it.
As the film progresses, we see a darker side to this couple. While there are numerous scenes where J.D. manhandles Veronica, the cigarette scene still manages to creep me out more than the lack of consenting touches. Veronica burns herself with a car cigarette lighter and J.D. uses her hand injury to light the cigarette in his mouth. Although we've seen J.D. murder others throughout the film, he remains kind to Veronica. This is one of the very first scenes where we get to see J.D.'s violent personality change direction.
As for the musical's depiction of Veronica and J.D., I would say it is equal to if not slightly below the film, only because we get all the same themes in the musical. You get the songs to help convey heavy amounts of emotion in a smaller amount of time. During the song Our love is God we can feel the emotion and love these two characters feel for each other, but when the song is reprised later in the musical by just J.D. the emotions are flipped. J.D. is menacing yet sorrowful and Veronica is terrified.
These are emotions that add to both characters, which improves the story in my opinion. What holds it back from being perfect are the actors playing Veronica and J.D. They don’t have amazing chemistry. It’s good, and they do perform exquisitely, but I must admit the film version's Veronica and J.D. are better in terms of chemistry.
However, the portrayal of the Heather characters is far superior in the musical. This is because the addition of the songs, as well as the superb acting by all the Heathers, provide more insight into just how cruel and manipulative the Heathers are. When Heather C is killed, she appears as a ghost to talk to Veronica. We side with Heather not only because it’s the right thing to do but because we feel for Heather. She is undeniably a terrible person, but she didn’t deserve death. Although the film does well to portray the Heathers, I personally find the musical version of the Heathers to be far more convincing.
Whichever version you eventually end up watching, you'll find the characters and their performances refreshing and hopefully pleasing. Something, by what I have heard and seen, I can't say for the televised remake. If you have to pick something to watch on a cold winter's night, we would both eagerly suggest either one of these timeless and original productions.
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