History Film / Clueless

Later inspired a TV adaptation that ran for three seasons (first on Creator/{{ABC}} and [[ChannelHop later]] on Creator/{{UPN}}) featuring much of the same cast as the film, with the notable exceptions of Silverstone (replaced in the lead by Creator/RachelBlanchard), Murphy, and Rudd, who all went on to have successful film careers after the original was released.

A JukeboxMusical adaptation had a short run off-Broadway from December 2018 through January 2019, but was poorly received. A new musical adaptation, featuring original music by Music/KTTunstall, is opening in the West End in 2024. A series of graphic novels based on the film (co-written by Creator/AmberBenson), ''Senior Year'' and ''Our Last Summer'', were released by Creator/BoomStudios in 2017 and 2018.

A JukeboxMusical adaptation has been [[http://hellogiggles.com/clueless-the-musical/ rumoured to be in the works]] since 2015, while a series of graphic novels based on the film (co-written by Creator/AmberBenson), ''Senior Year'' and ''Our Last Summer'', were released by Creator/BoomStudios in 2017 and 2018.

* AdaptationalAngstDowngrade: The scene in which Cher carelessly offends Lucy with her "I don't speak Mexican" comment and is chided by Josh is a loose, and much less serious, equivalent to the pivotal scene from ''Literature/{{Emma}}'' in which Emma publicly insults Miss Bates and is sternly reprimanded by Mr Knightley. However, numerous other events, such as failing her driving test and her fight with Tai, combine to send Cher into the same inner turmoil that the events at Box Hill induced for Emma.

* AdaptationalAngstDowngrade: The scene in which Cher carelessly offends Lucy with her "I don't speak Mexican" comment and is chided by Josh is a loose, and much less serious, equivalent to the pivotal scene from ''Literature/{{Emma}}'' in which Emma publicly insults Miss Bates and is sternly reprimanded by Mr Knightley.

* AdaptationTitleChange: ''Clueless'' is loosely based on ''Emma''.
* AdaptationalAngstDowngrade: The scene in which Cher carelessly offends Lucy with her "I don't speak Mexican" comment and is chided by Josh is a loose, and much less serious, equivalent to the pivotal scene from ''Literature/Emma'' in which Emma publicly insults Miss Bates and is sternly reprimanded by Mr Knightley.

* CompletelyOffTopicReport: Cher summarizes Haitian/American relations for her class debate this way:

* SettingUpdate: Of ''Literature/{{Emma}}''. Most of the plot stays the same, except it gets rid of some of the ValuesDissonance of the Creator/JaneAusten novel, such as the marriage focus (having the Frank Churchill stand-in, Christian, turn out to be [[AdaptationalSexuality gay]] rather than secretly engaged, for example) and the class issues. Cher lampshades the former difference when her [[spoiler: RelationshipUpgrade moment and kiss-fest with Josh]] flips straight to a wedding where she says "As if! I'm only 16!" and reveals it to be Miss Geist and Mr. Hall's wedding.

* NotDistractedByTheSexy: To his credit, the street criminal who robs Cher doesn't even look down when she shows him her dress explaining that it's an Alia.

* BirdsOfAFeather: Tai and Travis.

* BrainlessBeauty: Cher, undoubtedly and her friends to lesser extent.

* EntitledBastard: Elton, who's ''a snob and a half''.

* FlirtyStepsiblings: Cher and Josh. It helps that their parents are no longer married.

** In his introductory scene, Christian stands in front of a sign saying "End Discrimination." In the scene where Cher is packing for her father and is surprised by Christian's call, he is at a museum; the painting behind him is of two men affectionately in an embrace, another foreshadow of his sexuality.

** The moment Cher declares high school boys "not boyfriend material", Christian walks in.

%%* ItsFakeFurItsFine: "It's faux!"

* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Downplayed with Heather, who misquotes Shakespeare ("To thine own self be true") only to be corrected by the thus-far ditzy Cher. The irony is that she was quoting ''Hamlet'' in order to back up her (rather vocal) opinion on a subject.

* LiteralMinded: Cher apparently thinks the rule to "pause" at intersections is about mentally pausing.

* LoveEpiphany: "Oh my God, ''I'' love Josh!"
* LoveTriangle:
** Travis/Tai/Elton
** Tai/Elton/Cher
** Cher/Josh/Tai

* TheMakeover: Two: One for Tai, and one for Cher after she tries to smarten up.

** "Ooh, ''Snickers''..."

** Cher also lampshades how she and Dionne are named for Music/{{Cher}} and Dionne Warwick.

* UnlimitedWardrobe: Given the type of characters that star...
* ValleyGirl: Several main characters are Valley Girls.

* YouNeedToGetLaid: "What this man needs is a good healthy boinkfest!"

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Amber's mom.

* DaddysGirl: Cher (just like in the movie) and Amber.

* HollywoodToneDeaf: Cher, although this is [[ReVision revised]] later on.
* IdleRich: Every single student of Bronson Alcott High. Too many of them seem to have some serious RichInDollarsPoorInSense tendencies as wall.

* TeenPregnancy: "PG Seventeen".
* TwoTeacherSchool: Mr. Hall & Ms. Geist as well as Coach Stoger.
* ValleyGirl: Cher, Dionne and Amber.
** Interestingly, in one episode, Cher had to [[SlummingIt act and dress as one]] to get an after-school job in the Valley in order to buy her father his birthday present with her own money, so people from her neighborhood and also her Beverly Hills-hating boss, who happened to be her crush, wouldn't find out. Also, according to Cher and Dionne, Valley girls are unfashionable and outdated when it comes to style.

* SettingUpdate: Of ''Literature/{{Emma}}''. Most of the plot stays the same, except it gets rid of some of the ValuesDissonance of the Creator/JaneAusten novel, such as the marriage focus (having the Frank Churchill stand-in, Christian, turn out to be [[AdaptationalSexuality gay]] rather than secretly engaged, for example) and the class issues. Cher lampshades the former difference when her [[spoiler: TheyDo moment and kiss-fest with Josh]] flips straight to a wedding where she says "As if! I'm only 16!" and reveals it to be Miss Geist and Mr. Hall's wedding.

** Cher narrates on how she compares Dionne and Murray's volatile relationship, "I think they've seen [[Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt that Ike and Tina Turner movie]] way too many times."

** Cher mockingly asks Amber if she prefers to be called "assemble challenged".

* RipTailoring: While making Tai over, Cher does this to her shirt to [[BareYourMidriff bare her midriff]].

** The films that Christian watches on video with Cher, Some Like It Hot (1959) and Spartacus (1960), provide clues to his sexual orientation. The first movie deals with cross-dressing men (who are escaping from a mob hit). The second includes the famous scene where a Roman master (Laurence Olivier) tries to seduce his male servant (Tony Curtis).
** The book Christian is reading during class, "Junky" by William S. Burroughs, is another clue and indication of his sexual orientation, as its author had strong homosexual desires.

* InstantlyProvenWrong: The moment Cher declares high school boys "not boyfriend material", Christian walks in.

Later inspired a TV adaptation that ran for three seasons (first on Creator/{{ABC}} and [[ChannelHop later]] on Creator/{{UPN}}) featuring much of the same cast as the film, with the notable exceptions of Silverstone (replaced in the lead by Rachel Blanchard), Murphy, and Rudd, who all went on to have successful film careers after the original was released.

** The films that Christian watches on video with Cher, Some Like It Hot (1959) and Spartacus (1960), provide clues to his sexual orientation. The first movie deals with cross-dressing men (who are escaping from a mob hit). The second includes the famous scene where a Roman master (Laurence Olivier) tries to seduce his male servant (Tony Curtis). Both these movies also include Tony Curtis.

* RelatedDifferentlyInTheAdaptation: An unusual case in which the characters are technically no longer related. In ''Literature/{{Emma}}'' (upon which ''Clueless'' is loosely based), George Knightley is Emma's brother-in-law (her sister is married to his brother). In this film, Cher is an only child and the Knightley analog Josh is her ex-stepbrother (her father has since divorced his mother) who hangs around because he still has a good relationship with her dad.

''Clueless'' is a 1995 teen comedy of manners, written and directed by Amy Heckerling.