Vamps
Written and Directed
by: Amy Heckerling
Starring: Alicia
Silverstone, Krysten Ritter, Richard Lewis, Sigourney Weaver, Wallace Shawn,
Justin Kirk, and Malcolm McDowell
Director of Photography: Tim Suhrstedt, Editor: Debra Chiate,
Production Designer: Dan Leigh. Original Music: David Kitaygorodsky
The
wondrous Amy Heckerling can be a coy writer and director, as especially seen in
her latest film Vamps. A horror
comedy about two vampires who are trying to live forever in their twenties (like
actually literally), it is so easy to dismiss the broad comedy for its own inconsequentialness.
But such a texture is essential to Heckerling’s approach to this and other
films like Clueless or Fast Times at Ridgemont High. No need to
shove themes or ideas down one’s throat just let them glide by, as vampires are
wont to do.
And
thus Vamps is a charming film about
growing up and getting in line that (excuse me) nails the coffin in the rest of
our current vampire metaphor culture. Its humor is silly, but Heckerling sells
it all with an energetic wit, even when it’s the image of Alicia Silverstone
drinking the blood from a rat by a straw. Silverstone, who starred in Clueless, joins with the always adorably
mesmerizing Krysten Ritter to play the vampires Goody and Stacy in present day
New York. Goody isn’t just a bit older than she looks—she was actually changed
back in the 1840s, but lies to her bestie Stacy about, who got turned in the
1980s. The two have vowed off human blood and attend AA-style meetings with
other vampires in between their nights of clubbing and sex with the texting
generation with no end in sight.
If
Vamps goes all over the place, its
cast is filled with ridiculously fun characters that liven the forever dead.
Wallace Shawn plays vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing through his usual rambunctious
energy. Richard Lewis plays a sad sack liberal named Danny who fell in love
with Goody in the 1970s. Justin Kirk appears as a Ukrainian bloodsucker who
exudes his own sexuality. And Sigourney Weaver plays a villainously sexual head
vampire with a lot of zest for Spanish dancers.
Heckerling
meanders through her plot without much gusto or real aim, which is perfect for
her approach. Goody falls back in love with Danny, while Stacy pursues a
romance with Van Helsing’s adorable son. Both must hide their vampire ways,
which leads to Heckerling’s own amusing spin on some of the classic jokes, as
when Stacy tries everything possible to make herself more tan, or Goody freaks
out when a cute boy gets a small nosebleed after doing some coke. It’s all
played with appropriately C-grade special effects and even sillier comedy, but
it all congeals in Heckerling’s own unique way of never giving the film too
many stakes (!) beyond the feelings of its central characters (the biggest
threat is cleverly subdued during a delightful montage set during an eclipse).
Ultimately,
Vamps is about the same theme that
many classic films are set: growing up, moving on, and finally maturing because
what else is there? The film might be called slight, but its slightness is
essential to its appeal in getting its themes across. Goody and Stacy can’t
live with people addicted to their phones forever—there’s a world out there
beyond what those with high hormones do, and Heckerling plays along and around
it, making Vamps delightfully sweet,
even if it can be quite bloody.
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