Hallmark is celebrating Jane Austen this month, with a block of “Loveuary” movies based on the famous romance novelist and her work. It just so happens that one of the best movies of the 1990s was also inspired by Austen, with Clueless being amongst the most popular adaptations. The teen comedy about Cher on a mission to enrich the lives of those around her got a shout-out in the new Hallmark offering Love & Jane, and I spoke with the movie’s star Alison Sweeney about Alicia Silverstone’s take on Emma and why she thinks that movie remains so beloved today.
In Love & Jane, a delightful comedy that premiered on Hallmark on February 10, Alison Sweeney plays Lilly, who leads a Jane Austen book club. As president of the Jane Society, Lilly announces to its members that one of the forthcoming topics will be why Clueless is such an underappreciated Austen adaptation. However, when Sweeney sat down with CinemaBlend, it was clear the actress has tons of respect for the 1995 movie. She said:
It’s such a great movie. It was such a perfect movie for my childhood, you know as a Gen-Xer, and I loved that the heart of the character is at the root of what makes that story so successful too, right? That she’s oblivious and she decides she knows what’s best for everybody, and yet she’s totally oblivious to what’s best for her, and also maybe she’s not right about everybody else either. But her heart is in the right place. It is truly sincere what she’s feeling, and she’s trying to help.
The idea of thinking we know what’s best for others but being “clueless” about ourselves is pretty timeless, and the fact that Cher had the best of intentions is what makes the movie — and Jane Austen’s Emma — still relevant today. In fact, Alison Sweeney credits Austen for creating the female hero that we see in so many of the movies that have been passed down to the next generation. She continued:
It was such a great movie for the time, and I just really love it, and I love that my daughter loves it now. I mean, that’s a true sign of a movie that stands the test of time, you know, that a whole new generation of girls are watching Mean Girls and watching Clueless and appreciating it just as much as we did. I love that. I think honoring Jane Austen is sort of the origin story of so many of these female heroes in literature. Like she invented that.
In Love & Jane Alison Sweeney’s character gets to pick the brain of the author herself, when Jane Austen magically appears to give Lilly a personal and professional boost — with hilarious results. Love & Jane is one of four Austen-themed movies premiering on Hallmark this month, along with Paging Mr. Darcy (which debuted February 3 and will air again at noon ET February 17), An American in Austen (8 p.m. ET February 17) and Sense & Sensibility (8 p.m. ET February 24).
You can see Alison Sweeney in Love & Jane when it re-airs on Hallmark at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, February 11, and check Hallmark’s listings for more showings. Then, if that gets you craving Alicia Silverstone’s hit from 1995, Clueless is available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription.