Ugh As If! uncovers the complex layers beneath the glossy surface of the 1995 classic film Clueless. Litt investigates not just the Austen satire but the film’s deeper ethical questions about femininity, innocence, bias, and inequity.

“Litt’s lively, original Ugh! As If! uses the brilliant teen movie Clueless as a lens to examine the broader cultural landscape with playfulness and depth.” — Emily Nussbaum, Pulitzer Prize winner, author of Cue the Sun!

We are majorly, totally, butt-crazy in love with Clueless. In Ugh! As If!, Veronica Litt argues that this seemingly fluffy teen romp is the quintessential thinking woman’s movie, one in which audiences are asked to seriously consider the beauty and power of femininity and naïveté. Cher Horowitz, our wealthy, gorgeous, and frequently hapless protagonist, embodies the kind of privilege that no one expects to find endearing. Yet her gradual pivot from oblivious it girl to burgeoning activist is a powerful reminder that even the most unlikely people can change for the better and contribute to their communities. In this bright, shiny film, pursuing a more just society isn’t just possible — it’s enjoyable.

This fun, unabashedly girly movie is a counter-narrative to ’90s-era nihilism, a sunny refusal to give in to cynicism, hopelessness, and passivity. Almost without viewers noticing, Clueless teaches Cher, and us, how to become better. Like the film it examines, Ugh! As If! nudges even the most jaded viewer into feeling hopeful about the future.

About the Pop Classics Series

Short books that pack a big punch, Pop Classics offer intelligent, fun, and accessible arguments about why a particular pop phenomenon matters.