"I didn't put in rollers, I'm going to have coffin hair tomorrow". Hmmm...probably about a decade ago that joke might have been funny, but Amy Heckerling appears to be stuck in a comedy time warp. The director behind such seminal teen comedies as Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Clueless hasn't done much of note since, and judging by the trailer for her vampire comedy Vamps it's apparent why.
Basically looking like Clueless with more fangs and less smarts, Vamps stars Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter(She's Out of My League) as two undead social butterflies navigating the New York City dating scene. Silverstone and Heckerling obviously have a pretty good track record together, and Ritter makes for a fun, snarky supporting character in small doses. But this film just looks woefully outdated, and the weak attempts at supernatural humor show its clearly not a Heckerling strength. If you want a clue how bad this film is, beyond just this laugh-free trailer, figure out why a film by such a director can't muster a national release. It opens for a single day on November 2nd before hitting DVD/Blu-Ray the very next day. Kinda sad, right?
With Sigourney Weaver, Wallace Shawn, Justin Kirk, Kristen Johnston, Dan Stevens, and Richard Lewis co-starring it's always possible Vamps turns out better than it looks. Doubtful, but we'll find out in a couple of months....
