Vamps (2012)
Directed by Amy Heckerling
Written by Amy Heckerling
Starring Alicia Silverstone, Krysten Ritter, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Stevens, Richard Lewis, Wallace Shawn, Justin Kirk
Release Date November 2nd, 2012
Published November 5th, 2012
I could watch Krysten Ritter in just about anything. As the star of ABC's under-appreciated sitcom "Don't Trust the 'B' in Apartment 23" Ritter's acerbic wit sets the series apart from other shows that wish they could be as edgy and funny. Ritter has a fearlessness that never feels like an act. It's the same fearlessness Ritter brings to her role in the modest but pleasant living dead comedy "Vamps."
Don't Trust the Vamp
Goody (Alicia Silverstone) and Stacy (Ritter) seem like any other nightlife loving New Yorkers. The only difference is that they've loved the nightlife for a great deal longer than the kids they party with. Goody and Stacy are vampires; Goody for more than 100 years and Stacy since the 90's. The same 'Stem' Vampire played with devilish wit by Sigourney Weaver turned both.
"Vamps" turns on an unexpected and inconvenient romance. Stacy falls in love with Joey (Dan Stevens), a slightly tragic circumstance because Joey happens to be Joey Van Helsing, heir to the vampire hunting legend currently held by his father, played by the brilliant Wallace Shawn. In the course of events, it is revealed that Stacy could return to human form, thus offering her the chance to be with Joey, if her stem vampire is killed.
Alicia Silverstone and Richard Lewis?
Circumstances are much more complicated for Goody. You see, if the stem vampire were killed the girls would return to their real ages. For Stacy that means her early 40's. Goody however is over 100 years old and thus will herself die. There is also a complex romance for Goody who stumbles on a former lover played by Richard Lewis with a sad tale of his own.
Don't worry fans of director Amy Heckerling, the proceedings of "Vamps" are not nearly as bleak, or dramatic as my last paragraph makes them seem. "Vamps" maintains a lighthearted tone throughout and while I won't say the film is wall to wall laughs, it is as consistently amusing as you would expect from the director of "Clueless."
Hopping the Vampire Bandwagon
Many critics have accused Heckerling of jumping the Vampire bandwagon, citing the popularity of the 'Twilight' franchise as the inspiration for "Vamps." There is an element of truth to that but "Vamps" has enough juice in it's own story to stand well apart from the glum, goofy characters of Stephanie Meyers' money train.
Heckerling may be forcefully attempting to capture the zeitgeist but she also invests in this story, in both the laughs and the difficult choices her characters have to make and the unlikely dramatic circumstances they find themselves in. Also, let's credit Heckerling with her faithfulness to classic vampire lore, unlike the shiny ones of 'Twilight,' these "Vamps" avoid sunlight.
"Vamps doesn't approach the wit or charm of Heckerling's twin teen comedy masterworks, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" or "Clueless," but it has an ease and good humor that many modern comedies can't muster. Add to that a terrifically game cast, especially the radiant Ms. Ritter, and you have a movie more than worth a stop at the Redbox.
