The iconic 1990s TV series Alicia Silverstone wanted nothing to do with: “There’s no reason”
Alicia Silverstone has made bold choices throughout her career, for better or worse.
Although there were a plethora of 1990s comedy films that attempted to revive the high school genre, Amy Heckerling’s sharply written masterpiece Clueless stands as the greatest of them all, perfectly translating Jane Austen’s Emma into a modern context, and setting new trends in fashion, music, and culture.
It was the rare high school film that didn’t talk down to its audience, and was generally entertaining enough that it could be enjoyed by those who were far beyond their own days as teenagers, so it clearly had a lot going in its favour, but it was undeniably Silverstone’s performance that helped make it a phenomenon. As Cher Horowitz, she played a character who was snappy, sincere, and wise beyond her years, making her perspective a valuable one, clearly proving herself to be a movie star in the making.
Thus, she rejected the notion that she should star on a television show, even turning down an offer to be a part of the highly popular young adult series Beverly Hills, 90210, but turned it down. “There’s no reason to get locked into a television show when you might be able to do a movie with somebody like Al Pacino,” Silverstone said.
Her logic was sound for a time when television had not quite reached the place it has today, where it is considered to be a medium that is equal, and at times even superior to film. While there were a few outliers of prestige ministries like Lonesome Dove and a national sensation like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, Silverstone was savvy enough to realise that being on Beverly Hills, 90210 on a weekly basis would make it less special whenever she decided to star in a film.
However, the one thing that television jobs offered was consistency, as those who had contracts for a show had a guarantee that they’d be working for as long as a show ran (or until their character was written off), something Silverstone decided to gamble with by choosing to star in a potential blockbuster, but it instead rendered her unemployable for a few years.
On paper, it made sense for her to sign on to play Barbara Wilson in Batman & Robin, the character who would become Batgirl, with the franchise being consistently popular, such that even its most recent instalment, Batman Forever, was a smash hit despite earning mixed reviews.
Silverstone’s character was also guaranteed to be in additional sequels, as Warner Bros and Joel Schumacher had already started to develop plans for a fifth film, titled Batman Unchained, but unfortunately, Batman & Robin was destroyed by critics and detested by audiences, as Schumacher’s decision to turn the once-gritty franchise into a campy spectacle in the vein of the original Batman television series starring Adam West and Burt Ward was not popular. While none of the actors in the film came off looking respectable, Silverstone got the worst reviews and even won the Razzie Award for ‘Worst Supporting Actress’.
While in hindsight, Silverstone might have been better off in Beverly Hills, 90210, her status as a cult movie star has at least allowed her to have some nostalgic power on moviegoers of a certain age, and has slowly been creeping back into films with brief roles in The Lodge and Bugonia.
