Jane Austen discussion

I know that the film Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd, is based off of Emma, but I'd like to know how people see the different scenes relate to the events in the book, etc.

For me, Clueless is on the whole very true to Emma, in both the characters and the sequence of scenes. One of the main differences is that Cher has a close friend and a “crew” of buddies from the start, while Emma is more isolated at the beginning, giving her a stronger emotional reason for taking up with the Harriet Smith character. For years I hated Emma and adored Clueless because it so cleverly updated the novel, and because I find Cher more likable than Emma. I’ve learned to appreciate Emma over the years, but still love Clueless, which is very true to my own childhood.

I like Clueless as a satire of contemporary 90s culture. I didn't know it was a Jane Austen update at the time. I think the film succeeds because it's not a scene by scene update but an interpretation of the novel. I haven't seen Clueless in a long time. I think Clueless removes some of the snobbery of Emma and by making the characters American high school students, gives the relationships between the characters a different connotation than in the novel.