Heathers (Deep Focus)

John Ross Bowie. Soft Skull Press, $12.95(128p) ISBN 9781593764067

The cult classic teen film Heathers is the subject of the latest release from Soft Skull's series of film criticism, Deep Focus. Bowie begins by describing his own high school experience, his first viewing of the film, and what it meant to him (bonus points for having seen it with a girlfriend named Heather). His interviews with screenwriter Daniel Waters and director Michael Lehmann provide trivia, deleted scenes, and alternate endings. Bowie examines the implications of the film's many layers, describing it as "a fluffy black comedy, brightly lit confection…and an eerily timeless morality play." He points out the cultural significance of the names, colors, and props that appear in the film. For example, Veronica Sawyer and Betty Finn were an amalgam of characters from Archie Comics and the literature of Mark Twain. Veronica's black and blue wardrobe is shown in stark contrast to that of the Heathers, "to remind us of her sadness…and the walking bruise she is." Bowie veers off-topic in the final chapter, tying in recent anti-bullying campaigns to the film's message, but he clearly means well. Fans of the film will be delighted with this book, which like the film, is fun, irreverent, and wickedly intelligent. (June)