Despite being one of the beloved classics of the 1990s, the relationship between Cher and Josh in Clueless remains an awkward part of the movie’s legacy. Loosely based on Jane Austen’s Emma, Alicia Silverstone stars in Clueless as Cher, a modern, wealthy high school student who discovers she has a talent for matchmaking. However, as she begins to meddle in the relationships of those around her, she also begins to question when she should focus on her own love life.
Clueless has cemented itself as one of the best teen movies of all time, with its legacy still going strong. Part of the reason it remains so beloved is the incredible cast of Clueless. This includes an early breakout role from Paul Rudd as Josh, Cher’s more mature older stepbrother. However, it is the decision to make Cher and Josh love interests in the end that has become a controversial aspect of the movie, and still has fans debating about how problematic it is.
Cher & Josh Being Step-Siblings Instantly Made It Weird
Clueless Could Have Easily Avoided This Awkward Dynamic
Despite the movie’s best efforts to gloss over the problematic aspects of their relationship, Cher and Josh being step-siblings makes their Clueless romance feel very off-putting. Initially, the explanation for how they are related attempts to remove any weirdness by claiming Cher’s father was “hardly married” to Josh’s mother years ago, technically making them ex-step-siblings. However, that is undone by how much their relationship is presented as a sibling dynamic at first. They bicker and tease each other the way an older brother and younger sister do, with Josh even referring to himself as Cher’s brother.
Another option could have been simply avoiding the romance aspect altogether, as it is the least interesting point in their relationship.
It is a strange choice for the movie to make, as there were seemingly several ways that they could have created a similar relationship between the characters without there being a step-sibling dynamic to work around. Josh is shown to be very involved with Cher’s father’s business, explaining why he is always around. It could have been that he was simply a family friend who went down a more serious path as Cher was embracing the materialistic world that Josh criticizes her for in the movie. Their romance in the end could have been a sign of Cher’s growth.
Paul Rudd revealed he initially wanted the role of Murray in Clueless, which ended up going to Donald Faison.
Another option could have been simply avoiding the romance aspect altogether, as it is the least interesting point in their relationship. Rudd and Silverstone have great chemistry when they are in a more antagonist relationship, but the romance angle seems to come out of nowhere, making it even stranger. Had they simply been siblings who shared different perspectives on the world but found mutual admiration for each other, it would still have been satisfying. Instead, the step-sibling romance puts a weird cloud over the story, which will be interesting to see how it is handled in the Clueless TV show.
The Bigger Problem Is Cher & Josh’s Age Gap
Paul Rudd’s College Student Character Had No Business With A High Schooler
While the step-sibling dynamic between Cher and Josh is weird, their relationship is made much more problematic by the age gap between them. Clueless not only makes it clear there is a familial connection between the love interests, but it also constantly reminds the audience that Josh is a college student while Cher is a 15-year-old high school student. However, it is the step-sibling dynamic that the movie seems to be tiptoeing around much more than the age gap.
However, the step-sibling dynamic between Cher and Josh seems to have distracted most people from what was really wrong with their romance in Clueless.
It is true that in the classic Jane Austen novel Emma, the central romance ends up being between 20-year-old Emma and her 40-year-old love interest. While it is a much larger age gap, that was a relationship between two adults in a time when such age gaps were relatively normal. However, there is simply no reason why Emma having a romance with an older man should have been adapted into Clueless, as the movie makes so many other changes to the source material.
There are plenty of other movies from the 90s that feature romances that have aged poorly, like Chasing Amy and Never Been Kissed. However, the step-sibling dynamic between Cher and Josh seems to have distracted most people from what was really wrong with their romance in Clueless.
