I’ve been waiting so long to write a proper review of this documentary, “Beyond Clueless“. Last September I caught a screening when I lived in LA and enjoyed a lovely Q&A sesh with the director, Charlie Lyne. He explained how he spent months if not years watching hundreds of teen genre films from the 90s thru 00s. Now for someone like me who is a total cinefile, a doc profiling the teenage life through 200 films of the 90s/00s is a dream. It’s sometimes seen as a lost genre, but really shaped many of us now in the millennial generation.
The film is told in 4 chapters and an epilogue. “Chapter 1: Fitting In” for example, explains the journey that teens go through when entering and surviving high school. Imagine clips of Disturbing Behavior, The Craft, Clueless, etc. All narrated by Fairuza Balk. I’ll leave the rest of the chapters for you to discover on your own.
This French clip of the opening sequence gives you an idea of this turbulent spin through adolescence with splashes of lust, violence, and intrigue.
Upon the release of the film they made a limited run of 100 VHS tapes, which is amazing. See also the killer original tunes by Summer Camp.
Thankfully, Beyond Clueless is now streaming on Netflix, so definitely go watch it.
director, Charlie Lyne
-For more on Beyond Clueless-
