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. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    89
    Director Michael Lehmann made a stunning debut with this sharp satire of teen cliques.
  2. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    40
    Succeeds at least in being offbeat, but its inanities and glib pretensions are so thick that it mainly comes across as tacky and contrived.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    63
    What sets Heathers apart from less intelligent teenage movies is that it has a point of view toward this subject matter - a bleak, macabre and bitingly satirical one.
  4. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    75
    The sheer outrageousness of its attitude is enough to make Heathers a very welcome relief in a field dominated by sanctimonious and second-hand virtue. [31 March 1989]
    All this critic's reviews
  5. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    50
    The flamboyantly filmed 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. [7 April 1989]
    All this critic's reviews
  6. Empire
    Reviewed by: Emma Cochrane
    80
    Michael Lehmann’s feature debut introduced the world to Christian Slater at his Jack Nicholson, subversive best and gave Winona Ryder a career-high role.
  7. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Brad Laidman
    100
    This is an amazing black satire filled with vicious biting words that snap like firecrackers.
  8. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Sheila Benson
    40
    Unfortunately, director Michael Lehmann's point of view is swivel-mounted: He doesn't have the courage of his cynicism. [31 Mar 1989]
    All this critic's reviews
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Elvis Mitchell
    70
    As snappy and assured as it is mean-spirited. Its originality extends well beyond the limits of ordinary high school histrionics and into the realm of the genuinely perverse.
  12. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Pauline Kael
    50
    Yes, it's a collection of barbs and sick jokes, but it's not fun, and it lacks a punch line...The young, inexperience director, Michael Lehmann, doesn't find the right mood for the gags. [17 Apr 1989]
    All this critic's reviews
  13. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    70
    If Michael Lehmann's direction were a bit more astute, the movie could be the classic genre mutation it aims to be: Andy Hardy meets "Badlands." [17 April 1989]
    All this critic's reviews
  14. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    70
    Dark, cynical, but deliciously funny, Heathers is a fascinating look not just at high school but at the way we look at high school.
  15. 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
  16. 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.
  17. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Julie Salamon
    80
    Heathers gave me the creeps but it also made me laugh. This bizarre variation on that Hollywood staple, the teen movie, is one weird original. [30 Mar 1989 p.A12(E)]
    All this critic's reviews
  18. 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.
  19. 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.

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 »