Amy Heckerling has been developing the habit of making movies about once a generation that perfectly encapsulates the zeitgeist of current youth culture. In the early ’80s, it was her film Fast Times at Ridgemont High that gave high school kids all over the world the idea to have pizzas delivered to their classrooms and made that one Cars song be forever linked with Phoebe Cates taking off her top. In the mid-’90s she brought us Clueless, which introduced the world to how cute Paul Rudd is when he sheepishly grins and finally asked a lost generation to pull up their pants and stop looking like trashballs.
So now that it’s 2012 and Heckerling has written and directed a new film, you have to ask yourself if it’s going to be another one of those generation defining moments in movies, or if it’s just going to end up being another Look Who’s Talking? Her new project is called Vamps, and seeing as it’s a little late to cash in on the vampire crazy, its chances of becoming a big thing are already looking kind of dicey. That doesn’t mean it won’t be fun though, because it has a completely ridiculous cast, and a plot that sounds tailor-made for getting everyone’s girlfriends to squeal.
In addition to reuniting Heckerling with her Clueless star Alicia Silverstone, Vamps also stars Krysten Ritter, who’s been getting a lot of press in recent years both for her involvement in Breaking Bad and for her annoyingly titled new sitcom Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23. They play a couple of gal pal vampires living in New York City who start going to “Sanguines Anonymous” meetings in the hopes of curbing their bloodlust. Killing people is so not trendy these days when you’re trying to be a politically correct Extended Life Form (or ELF). Also, new love manages to creep into each girl’s life, somewhere in between all of their support group attending, clubbing, and Sex and the City cosplay. These new relationships are said to put the girls in a situation where they have to make choices that could jeopardize their immortality, and more. A press release from Anchor Bay, who has just picked up the film for North American release, says that the film “combines the fun of the classic hit Clueless with the tremendous popularity of vampires.”
Reading that quote without shuddering a bit is kind of a challenge. But, despite how annoying to my manly ears Vamps story sounds, it’s still impossible not to be intrigued by its crazy supporting cast. In addition to its two stars, Vamps also features roles for genre legends Sigourney Weaver and Wallace Shawn, legendary comedian Richard Lewis, old school names like Malcolm McDowell and Marilu Henner, and even one of the guys from Downton Abbey (Dan Stevens).
It’s near impossible to imagine what sort of crazy story would need to assemble all of those random names into one film, and the idea of watching such an eclectic cast come together has to be at least a little intriguing to anyone with a pulse. We’ll have to wait until Halloween to see how the film turns out though, because Anchor Bay is shooting for a holiday-themed release. [via Indiewire]