Almost 30 years after its release, the stamp Clueless has on society remains! That’s why Rakuten requested the help of Elisa Donovan and Alicia Silverstone to reprise their characters for an epic Super Bowl commercial! “This was such a great opportunity, and it was so fun and cute and just really, really clever,” Elisa, who played mean girl Amber in the cult classic film, explained on the HollywoodLife Podcast. “Rakuten is just the perfect marriage for Clueless. It’s a shopping app where you receive money back when you buy things. I mean, Amber would be all over this, all over it!”
In the ad, Alicia’s Cher and Elisa’s Amber recreate the epic debate scene, arguing whether “fiscally responsible shopping” is an oxymoron. Cher, of course, wins the war of words by highlighting the ease of earning Cash Back when shopping with Rakuten, and Amber famously tosses up a ‘W’ with her fingers, when she’s not given time for a rebuttal. “It was pleasantly easy returning to the character!” Elisa admitted. “I think Alicia and I both felt that way. It was just something that is so ingrained in me, that character.”
The iconic redhead added,”I did have to go back and look at clips from that scene to make sure that I was not inventing in my mind what I remembered, though!” She recalled how the set almost identically resembled the Clueless classroom set from the ’95 film, and Rakuten also brought on the film’s originally cinematographer Bill Pope to shoot. “That was a really, extra special piece that he was a part of it,” Elisa gushed, calling him being like a “father figure” to her when they shot the original movie.
This mini Clueless reunion comes just a few months before Elisa, Alicia and Stacey Dash will join forces for a panel at ’90s CON in March. “There’s such a love for and a nostalgia for the ’90s right now, and the three of us have certainly not done anything like this together before so, it’s going to be so fun,” Elisa said on the podcast, before praising the longevity and variability of the movie. “It’s just an incredibly well made film. The script is so brilliant and so funny, but so good-spirited and smart. Every area of, of the film came together so beautifully from the costumes to the set deck to do everything and the cast.”
She continued, “I think when you do something that touches into this universality of being a teenager and tapping into it in a way that is without harsh judgments, it’s really just bringing to the table exactly what it’s like. There’s something I think that everyone could connect to. I think that those things just stick with you.”
A :30 spot of the Rakuten Clueless commercial will play during the big game on February 12, so keep an eye out for the ad starring Elisa and Alicia! Plus, from February 10th to February 20th, Christian Siriano’s yellow plaid set look he re-designed from Rakuten’s Big Game spot, along with his three Clueless-inspired runway, looks will be part of the “Christian Siriano x Rakuten Giveaway” available exclusively for Rakuten members. Rakuten will be giving away one of the four iconic looks to four lucky winners, via a giveaway hosted on the Rakuten site.
Listen to our full interview with Elisa Donovan on the HollywoodLife Podcast!