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Clueless is jam-packed with pop culture references to everything from Pauly Shore and the “way existential” Ren & Stimpy to Billie Holiday (“I love him”) and Spartacus (or “Sporaticus,” as Alicia Silverstone‘s Cher calls it).
In the 20 years since it hit theaters, Clueless itself has been name-checked in movies, TV shows and elsewhere in pop culture. In honor of the anniversary of the beloved film’s theatrical release, The Hollywood Reporter looks back at five pop-culture tributes to Clueless.
Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”: Arguably the most famous Clueless tribute, Iggy Azalea did a shot-by-shot remake of the movie for her “Fancy” music video. Azalea plays Cher, complete with her yellow plaid outfit and fluffy pencil, with Charli XCX playing post-makeover Tai (Brittany Murphy). The video features many of the movie’s memorable scenes, including the classroom debates, Cher and Dionne (Stacey Dash) walking the halls talking on their phones, the frightening freeway scene and the party in the Valley. According to a behind-the-scenes video, Azalea and Co. filmed the video at the same high school used for the 1995 film.
The Golden Girls MTV Movie Awards parody: Nearly a year after Clueless was released it went into the 1996 MTV Movie Awards nominated for four awards, and winning two. The awards show paid tribute to the already-beloved film by recreating some of its scenes with the stars of the Golden Girls dressed up to look like Clueless characters, staging a mini-reunion of the hit sitcom. Estelle Getty played Cher, Betty White played Dionne and Rue McClanahan played Tai. The parody features a number of the film’s memorable lines, including a pretty faithful rendition of the restaurant scene in which Dionne tells Tai that Cher’s a virgin because she’s “saving herself for Luke Perry,” along with some updates to reflect the Golden Girls stars’ advanced age.
Scream reference: Just months after Clueless hit theaters, its dialogue was already so recognizable that the horror movie Scream referenced it. When Billy (Skeet Ulrich) shows up at the movie’s big party to make up with girlfriend Sidney (Neve Campbell), they head up to Stu’s (Matthew Lillard) parents’ bedroom, leading Jamie Kennedy‘s Randy to bemoan, “There goes my chance with Sid.” Stu says, “As if, that’s all I’m going to say, as if.” And Randy shoots back “Oh really Alicia?,” a reference to the Clueless star after Lillard’s character uttered one of her character’s most memorable phrases.
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Epic Movie reference: 2007’s Epic Movie parodied a number of hit films including the X-Men trilogy. The movie also includes a quick Clueless reference. Carmen Electra‘s Mystique, a student at the film’s Mutant Academy high school, rejects fellow student Peter’s homecoming invite by saying, “As if.”
Alicia Silverstone and Jeremy Sisto’s Suburgatory reunion: In 2012, Silverstone and her Clueless co-star Jeremy Sisto, who played Elton in the 1995 film, reunited for four episodes of Sisto’s ABC sitcom. After Sisto’s George meets Silverstone’s Eden at a farmer’s market, she treats him to a healthy smoothie, where he says “I’m clueless when it comes to this health crap.” Eden and George quickly become romantically involved, a development that “upsets a few people,” Sisto told THR ahead of Silverstone’s arc. He added of their on-air reunion, “When [creator] Emily [Kapnek] first brought up the idea, I was just excited to see Alicia and hang out with her again after so many years. I’ve seen the pictures in the magazines and I went and did a little ADR so I’ve seen some of the scenes, it was exciting to see us together again.”
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“Present Day Clueless” Twitter account: Recently Clueless was revived on social media with a “Present Day Clueless” Twitter account, which uses the movie’s memorable dialogue to comment on news and social-media trends. Written by Bustle senior editor Jessica Blankenship and Ella Ceron, who handles social media for New York magazine’s The Cut, the account has more than 28,000 Twitter followers. Recent tweets include “I must give @Cailtyn_Jenner snaps for her courageous fashion efforts.” and “Cher: I’ve got an idea. Let’s blow off seventh and eighth, go to the mall, have a calorie fest and see the new Magic Mike.”
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