EileenZ19

I'm perplexed by all of the high ratings for this movie. I'm no stranger to old films - I love musicals and comedies from the 1930s and 40s, and I've enjoyed movies from the Superman time period, like the original Star Wars Trilogy, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and the Black Stallion, which is one of my favorite movies ever. Superman really just didn't do it for me. Being about a superhero, I expected it to have a decent amount of action. Not as much as action movies from the 2020s of course - movies from the 70s are slower paced - but watching this I felt like NOTHING was HAPPENING. Maybe at 2.5 hours it was just too long, I don't know. But I kept zoning out, I couldn't pay attention. I didn't feel a connection to superman, and the other characters felt phony. I didn't care about any of them or about the plot. I stopped watching 2/3 of the way through, I couldn't take it anymore. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 is because the score is excellent. John Williams is unparalleled. The music is beautiful and powerful. I'd forget about the movie and just listen to a recording of the soundtrack, which is a must-listen.

I was surprised by how many low ratings this movie got in various places - I actually liked this better than the Princess Bride. Note that I've never even heard of the book, nevermind read it, so I have no idea how faithful it is. But as its own entity, I really enjoyed the movie. It's about 2 girls who are best friends and growing up with significant but different life struggles. One day, they're suddenly whisked away to the School of Good and Evil, where they discover that things aren't as they seem on the surface. One of the main themes is role reversal, and I think this conveys the message well, because it really highlights what the societal problems are. I really liked Agatha's character because I relate to her, and I think the actress did a good job. The costumes and sets are pretty elaborate, and I thought the special effects were good. I didn't find this movie to be overly predictable either - I had an idea of the direction it was going, but there were still some surprises. I do think the execution could have been better at times, and there were some moments where the script could have been improved. I also did not like Tedros' character and found Agatha's and Sophie's attraction to him perplexing. But other than that, I thought this was a fun fantasy that's a bit different than the typical prince-rescues-damsel-in-distress. I'd watch it again in the future.

This movie was a little before I was in high school, and High School Musical was a little after. I hated High School Musical, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about Clueless. I wouldn't watch Clueless again, but I was surprised that I did kind of enjoy it. It's basically about a shallow rich girl who starts to realize what's actually important. It stays surface-level though, it's not a deep movie. Even though Cher is pretty clueless, I also found her to be likeable because she does mean well even if her priorities are off. Honestly, I feel like her shallowness is a reflection of her upbringing rather than a personality fault, which is reflected in her interactions with her single lawyer father. He values arguing to get what you want rather than earning it.

What I didn't like about it was that the movie didn't really go deeper. While Cher progresses, I didn't feel that she "came of age" or had a true transformation. It's more like she started to realize there are other things that are important than popularity, and the movie ends on that note.

But I did enjoy the 90s nostalgia. I wasn't in high school yet when this came out, but I remember a lot of trends shown in this movie - the fashion, slang, etc. It was fun to see that. There are also some important lessons depicted through interactions between characters, like not making assumptions about people, giving others second chances, and being open-minded.