Clueless: a classic adaptation of a classic

There are plenty of movies that are based on books. Sometimes they change a lot of things, sometimes only a few. Sometimes the project works, sometimes it doesn’t. Clueless is an example of a movie that was successful in adapting it’s source material, Emma by Jane Austen. There was a major setting change from Regency England to 1990’s Beverly Hills, but a surprising amount kept true to the original novel.

Emma Woodhouse is a young woman who is smart, beautiful, well-liked, and rich.

She has spent her whole life in a happy bubble and is totally clueless to what goes on outside of it. Like Cher, Emma lives with her widowed father. Both fathers have great pride in their daughters. While Mel is a hard driving corporate lawyer, Mr. Woodhouse is an old fusspot. A man “older in ways than years”. Who always worries about how the food or the weather will affect his (and everyone else’s) health. Emma looks after him and soothes his anxieties, which have only gotten worse since the recent marriage of Miss Taylor.

Miss Taylor, now Mrs. Weston, is the Dionne to Emma’s Cher.

Formerly Emma’s governess turned best friend and confidante. Mrs. Weston may not have Dionne’s style or energy, but as a friend there are none better. Emma takes credit for fixing her up with the likeable Mr. Weston. Mrs. Weston’s departure from Emma’s house leaves the clever young woman with time to pour her attention into someone new.

Harriet Smith is Emma’s new project.

She is the illegitimate daughter of an unidentified person and boards at the school that she formerly attended. Emma wants to make her into a lady and sets about giving her a makeover, encouraging Harriet to follow her lead. Harriet, much impressed with Emma, eagerly plays along. Soon she draws the attention of Mr. Martin, a local farmer. Emma shuts it down, just as Cher does with Tai and Travis, because she thinks that Mr. Martin is not good enough for her friend.  Emma pushes Harriet towards Mr. Elton, oblivious of the fact that he has his sights on her. Emma refuses him outright and Harriet is crushed.

Emma has very little interest in marrying at all. Her one spot of self-awareness is the fact that she is fortunate enough to have no need for a husband. She has all the money, security, and status that she could ask for. Emma would only marry for love.

Emma gives some consideration to Frank Churchill, the son of Mr. Weston. He spends the first part of the story absent, similar to Christian’s split custody situation. Mrs. Weston and Emma anticipate his arrival after hearing many good things about him. He is handsome and stylish, traveling all the way to London just to get his hair cut and quickly becoming the life of the party. Emma feels that she may have feelings for him, but something holds her back. It turns out that he is secretly engaged the whole length of their acquaintance. Making Christian gay was a creative and groundbreaking spin on unavailability, especially 20+ years ago, and also useful because most high school students aren’t getting engaged.

The non-high school student in Emma’s life is Josh, her former step-brother.

Emma has Mr. Knightley, her brother-in-law (their siblings are married to each other). Mr. Knightley lives nearby and visits Emma and Mr.Woodhouse almost daily. He alone in Emma’s circle is willing to challenge her and her schemes. “Mr. Knightley loves to find fault in me” she says. While not the cause-based do-gooder that Josh is, Mr. Knightley does warn Emma that playing with other people’s emotions doesn’t lead to anything good. He has long harbored feelings for Emma, but kept them to himself. When Emma realizes that she too has feelings for him, it hits her hard. She finally sees how her behavior has affected others and seeks to set everything right, which she does.

Clueless is an adaptation that while changing the outward appearance of the book it’s based on keeps much of the inner themes intact.

Letting the people that you love be themselves and being true to yourself are always the best choices. Here are some moments that came straight from the book (or close to it)

-Leaving the Val party Cher tries to maneuver Tai into Elton’s car. Emma deliberately tears her shoelace to get Harriet and Mr. Elton alone together.

-Josh dances with Tai when nobody else will. Mr. Knightley does the same thing even though he doesn’t usually dance.

-Tai has keepsakes from her “relationship” with Elton, which she burns when she gets over him. Harriet does this too, although not in a remote controlled fireplace. 

-Christian comes to Tai’s aide when she is threatened by some guys at the mall. Frank Churchill rescues Harriet when she is accosted on the road.

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