"I like characters that are optimistic, even if there's no reason to be optimistic."
A little recommended reading
I am nothing if not a teen movie enthusiast. As far as I’m concerned, the end all be all of the genre is Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I love the frenetic energy of the mall. I love the caste system among the workers at the fast food joint. I live for a well done ensemble piece done…
I think that teen movies would be a lot different if it weren’t for the work of Amy Heckerling, who directed Fast Times and wrote Clueless. Today I’m recommending this NYT profile from back in ‘18 when Heckerling’s off Broadway adaptation of Clueless was about to premiere. Give it a read, tell me what ya think, watch Fast Times if you haven’t gotten around to it already in this lifetime!
Mainly what she was trying to do while writing Cher was to just spend time with her. It was the same way she felt about Jeff Spicoli, the slacker nonpareil in her 1982 directorial debut, “Fast Times.” Or Lorelei Lee in the novel, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” Or Emma. Or Patty. She was drawn to their sunniness. “I like characters that are optimistic, even if there’s no reason to be optimistic,” she said. “And I thought, what if there was a girl in high school …?