MovieChat Forums > Speak (2004) Discussion > They made Heather look worse than she re...

They made Heather look worse than she really was...

posted 15 years ago by shrilltrills
4 replies | jump to latest

Yes, in the book too Heather was a clueless little brat who cared more about being popular than anything else, including the one person who had really been her friend from the beginning. And yes, it was pathetic that she would blow Melinda off the way she did and then expect Melinda to help her with her little project the moment the Marthas started dissing her. But let's be honest - they were only 14-15 years old, and a lot of people are like that at that age. High school is such a sink-and-swim place in terms of popularity, and if you don't have friends, it can be absolutely miserable (I am speaking from experience - I was the girl who ate lunch alone every day and never talked to anyone ever). Just because someone is like that at that age doesn't mean s/he is a bad person. It's more immaturity than anything else. Now, if they were 10 years older and Heather was acting like that, THAT would be a problem, but at 14? I thought the movie purposely made us see Heather as the biggest loser in the world and a total b*tch, which wasn't necessarily fair.

I will say though, when she told Melinda that she didn't want to eat lunch with her anymore and basically blew her off because she was depressed - THAT was harsh. A real friend would actually care that you're depressed and try to help you, not just ditch you for superficial reasons.

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[–] ARH 15 years ago

I thought she came across better in the film than in the book. In the book she is so self-absorded. Yeah, I know everyone is, but she was REALLY dense about it.

[–] jenni_doll_1 14 years ago

How is it that the movie "purposely made us see Heather as the biggest loser in the world and a total b*tch"?
Honestly, I think the movie very much portrayed Heather the way you describe, a bit of a jerk and a sheep but seemingly because of typical naive teenage immaturity. I don't think she was overly portrayed as a bad person and I agree she would probably learn in time, but I think what made Heather really look uncomplimentary was that she seemed to want to be Melinda's friend ONLY when it was to her own advantage and convenience.
Who wants a fair weather friend at any age? If you think you're too good for someone, fine, be that way, but Heather seemed to think Melinda should be her lap dog, playing with her until she got tired of her, then ignore her for awhile, then expect her to come running back as soon as she patted her leg. I think Melinda was right to tell Heather off in that scene in her room. Heather may not have been the worst person ever, but Melinda didn't trust her anymore and had no reason to want to hang out with her again. Heather ditched Melinda, who was nice to her, when she started getting in with the snobby Marthas, then when Heather realized her new friends weren't so nice, she just assumed her fall back friend would just be waiting in the wings for her. I think even an unenlightened teen should be able to see it's not right to treat people like that.

[–] PhantomPhan101888 13 years ago

I thought the movie made Heather look alot worse...She was terrible in the book. I couldn't stand her.

And that depression speech at lunch...Memories

[–] cheedo 13 years ago

Yes, but people are narrow minded and don't like to forgive characters for any reason. They just hate her because it's easy to hate her, like Paris Hilton or Justin Bieber or whatever. Stupid reasons.

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