Heathers
Metascore
73 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
view
per page
  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    100
    It's shockingly funny - you don't sit there deciding to laugh. Your own laughter catches you by surprise. [14 Apr 1989]
    All this critic's reviews
  2. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Brad Laidman
    100
    This is an amazing black satire filled with vicious biting words that snap like firecrackers.
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    100
    Wickedly funny. In fact, Heathers may be the nastiest, cruelest fun you can have without actually having to study law or gird leather products. If movies were food, Heathers would be a cynic's chocolate binge.
  4. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    100
    More than just one of the best movies so far this year, it is a revolution in young-adult entertainment.
  5. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    90
    Lehmann isn't in perfect control - the movie gets off to a flat-footed start, and the conclusion is chaotic - but when Heathers hits its stride, it reaches wild and original comic heights. [2 April 1989]
    All this critic's reviews
  6. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    90
    Daniel Waters' enormously clever screenplay blazes a trail of originality through the dead wood of the teen-comedy genre.
  7. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    89
    Director Michael Lehmann made a stunning debut with this sharp satire of teen cliques.
  8. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    88
    It's a tough entry into the tough black-comic genre; don't be surprised if it becomes a classic. [31 March 1989]
    All this critic's reviews

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 2 out of 9
  1. Summersausage
    3
    Thsi movie was a whinny complaint about how everybody is mean, and then a dramatization of angry people doing stupid things. I do not want to see this over dramatic 80's dribble ever again. It was not smart it was people with a good head on their shoulders throwing it away because they are incompetent.… Full Review »
  2. Charles_Peterso
    0
    The story makes some telling points about adolescent life. But despite its oh-so-cynical mannerisms, it falls all over itself to flatter an allegedly self-absorbed and self-pitying teen audience.… Full Review »
  3. AwesomeReviewer
    8
    The movie starts simple enough, a bunch of high school girls in the cafeteria playing horrible pranks on innocent girls, just for laughs. However, it takes a quick dark turn, someone pulls a gun out and shoots two guys (luckily blanks) and quickly someone else gets killed. When it started off I thought maybe this was all in the head of the heroine, but boy am I wrong. As the movie progresses it becomes darker, but it retains it humor even in the more gruesome scenes. It becomes a movie about how society has one general leader and no matter how many times you kill this leader a new one grows in its place like a hydra. The film takes about the seriousness of suicide and pokes fun at how people react to it. It is a bold movie and the payoffs are well worth it. The film becomes a satire for our society in a high school setting.

    In the beginning I was a little disturbed when the movie took its dark turn, but when I caught on to what it was about, I was enjoying it very much. The director does a great job of creating the tension, but not forgetting the humor. The script is incredibly smart and it never feels as though as the movie is preachy or talking down to its audience. While it loses what its trying to in the middle and right before the climax, it rounds itself up fairly well near the end. I was creeped out by the movie towards the end and well after it was over.

    The characters are all lively and they poke fun at figures n society. From hippies, to rebels, to people who think they are better than everyone, to the average man, â    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »