Clueless Senior Year

Story by Amber Benson & Sarah Kuhn
Art by Siobhan Kenan
Published by Boom! Studios

Clueless Senior Year follows Cher Horowitz and her friends Dionne and Tai almost immediately after the first film ends. Cher's relationship with Josh has been put on hold while she's struggles to find herself before graduation. Dionne has gotten fed-up with how boyfriend Murray has been treating her. So she decides to run for class president against him. Meanwhile, former ugly duckling Tai must choose between her dream of going to art school or running her aunt's apple farm after she inherits it.

Living in the 90s

The movie Clueless debuted in 1995. At the time, Clueless was hailed as an accurate portrayal of high school life for that generation. I graduated high school in 1996. Without all the excesses of life in Beverly Hills, my experience was pretty similar to Cher's: Nobody knew what in the hell were they going to do with their life.

By 1995, the rules had changed on members of Generation X. We had been told for years to A) graduate high school B) get a degree and C) find a job. However, the job market got tougher as the previous generation before us started getting masters and doctorates. As a result, my generation was told that the 3-point plan we had been sold on wasn't going to cut it anymore. Thus, even more school was on the table if we wanted to achieve our dreams.
Like Cher, many of those in Generation X kinda got burned out with the whole situation. The best way to deal with our problems was to shop them away. If we happened to find love while on a quest to fulfill our consumerist impulses that was all the better. Ah, 90s life!

Not How I Remember It

Reading this sequel to Clueless was really odd because this isn't the 90s I remember. Senior Class just felt dated and no longer relevant. Writers Amber Benson and Sarah Kuhn claim in the book's extensive production notes section to have studied up on mid-90s vernacular and pop culture. But peppering a story with slang and numerous Fresh Prince references isn't enough to capture the giant pain in the butt being a teen in the 90s was. I feel like the story has been updated with millennial problems flavored with 90s era teen angst. That just doesn't work for me.

It's getting to be a big deal to bring back the 90s. Almost every other show scheduled for next TV season is a reboot of a 90s sitcom. While you can argue how originality is dying in the TV medium, that's not the point I am trying to make. At least for these reboots, they're going to deal will the characters living in 2017. But this sequel has Cher and friends still in the 90s. Yes, they dealing with problems like gender rights, the environment, and LGBT relationships. But their responses to them aren't typical for a Clinton Era teen. Okay, I'm playing the historically inaccurate card here. But I can- because I lived it!

Fitting Into the Franchise

Another issue I have with this book has more to do with the Clueless franchise as a whole. Why do we need this book as a sequel when there was a Clueless TV series? For 3 seasons, the adventures of Cher and Dionne continued on after the film. In fact, several actors from the original movie reprised their original roles such as Stacey Dash and Donald Faison. So does this book eliminate the series? Is this a supplement? Did the folks at Boom! Studios forget that part?

Another thing Boom! seemed to have forgotten is what the original cast looked like. All of these characters look like friends of Ken and Barbie. The representations of the characters by newcomer Siobhan Keenan are pretty generic. If this wasn't based on an established property, I wouldn't be opposed to the artwork. But I am one of those in the camp of characters need to look like the actors who portrayed them. One thing I can't excuse is the coloring and inking of the book. It looks like someone used magic markers and gives the series a coloring book feel to it.

Sweet Vibes

I will give some praise where praise is due. This book comes with a soundtrack. Before each major scene, the writers provide you with snippets from each character's collection of mix-tapes. If you happen to be able to play the songs while reading this, it actually adds to the 90s vibe. It's in my opinion one of the few things the writers got right!

Clueless Senior Year would be a great read if it wasn't trying to fit into the Clueless franchise. But since it does, just like Cher, this book can't find it's true self.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.