Heathers directed by Michael Lehmann

• Plot summary: Veronica is stuck in a group of Heathers--that is, the most popular girls in school who are ruled by Heather Chandler. Veronica thinks she's just going to lose it if she has to carry on one more mean prank again her high school peers. Veronica and her lover JD concoct a hangover remedy for Heather Chandler after one heinous night of partying, only one cup was full of toilet bowl cleaner while the other contained a juice/milk mixture. On a dare, Heather Chandler drinks the household cleaner and falls to the floor as the liquid courses through her body. Veronica wanted Heather out of her life, but not like this. JD and Veronica write a suicide note to prove their innocence and end up making a martyr of Heather. Even after death, she rules the school, and this is most certainly not what Veronica wanted. And though Heather Chandler is gone, their are two other Heathers to step up and take her place as the reigning queen of cruel jokes. Veronica wants to stop--she can see that there will be no end of the popular monsters that deserve to be punished, but JD has other plans. Unable to stop him, Veronica follows allow blindly never knowing when the "suicides" in her high school will stop.
• Critical evaluation: This is a quintessential teen movie, one that I had never experienced myself growing up, but one that has seen a resurgence among today's teenagers, including my sister and her group of friends. Veronica sees the deaths of her popular peers as unfortunate, but she is not motivated like JD to continue devising ways to eliminate them from their high school. She knows that there will never be an end to the dichotomy of high school popularity, and in the end, she shows JD that he can't continue on his vengeful path to cleansing the school of it's bullies. Though the storyline is a bit tragic, it is told in a humorous way so the audience knows the actions of the story are highly dramatized and meant to be the elements of a dark comedy.
• Reader's annotation: Veronica always thought it would be nice if Heather Chandler stepped down as the reigning queen of the popular crowd, but she never thought it would actually happen.
• About the director: Michael Lehmann is a director of television and film, including True Blood, Big Love, and 40 Days and 40 Nights.
• Genre: Dark comedy
• Curriculum ties, if any: None
• Reading level/interest age: This film is rated R and intended for people 17 or older, however I think this might appeal to people 15 and up.
• Challenge issues: Violence, sexuality, underage drinking, profanity
• Why was this item included? This is an quintessential teen movie who's popularity continues among teens today two decades later.