A lot has changed since 1995. Cell phones got smaller…before getting bigger again (the iPhone 14 Plus has a near-seven-inch display!) Jeans got skinnier and skinnier…before a Billie Eilish-led movement brought baggy clothes back in style. Paul Rudd was a dashing, good-looking actor, and…well, he still is. Actually, not a lot has changed since Alicia Silverstone starred opposite Rudd, Brittany Murphy, and more in the iconic film, Clueless. Hence, it makes sense that she would return to the role for Rakuten’s commercial for Super Bowl LVII, one of the many highlights of the 2023 clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
As Patrick Mahomes found his way to another NFL MVP, Alicia — as Cher Horowitz — found her way back to the front of the class. “I used to be pretty clueless about shopping,” Cher said while debating Elisa Donovan’s Amber. The rest of the class looks on and…wait, is that Christian Siriano? “When I heard I could save by getting cash back with Rakuten,” continues Cher, “I was like, as if!”
“But, then I was like, ‘why didn’t I do this sooner?'” whines Cher. Cue the shopping montage, which shows all the places where Rakuten can help shoppers save money. “In conclusion, you would have to be butt crazy to shop without Rakuten.” And yes, Christian Siriano is giving Cher hearts in the front row. Amber tries to get a “rebuttal,” but Cher said it would be “re-brutal.” Someone then points out how Alicia’s Cher might be too old for high school. “What?” she says with a wink.
Cher’s win over Amber was more dominant than how the Chiefs got by the Eagles with a last-minute field goal, claiming the NFL Championship with a score of 38-35.
“It was pleasantly easy returning to the character!” Elisa said during an appearance on The HollywoodLife Podcast ahead of Super Bowl LVII. “I think Alicia and I both felt that way. It was just something that is so ingrained in me, that character. 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!”
By the way, if you’re clueless as to why Cristian Siriano is there, Rakuten engaged the award-winning CFDA designer to re-imagine Cher’s iconic yellow plaid suit, as well as three additional Clueless-inspired looks to be debuted on another meaningful stage: New York Fashion Week on Thursday, February 9, according to a press release. These four looks will be available for fashion lovers via a giveaway hosted on the Rakuten site. Christian also curated a shoppable “Not-So-Clueless” edit with Clueless-inspired garments and accessories. You can find that here.
Fans got their first taste of this Clueless nostalgia trip in Rakuten’s teaser. In the preview, a busy classroom – presumably at Bronson Alcott High School – is chatting before class starts. In walks a blonde wearing that instantly-recognizable yellow-plaid suit, carrying bags from a recent shopping spree. As the opening lines to Supergrass’s “Alright” play, Cher stands at the front of the class, just like she did in Clueless. “Don’t bug,” says Cher – a gorgeous Alicia Silverstone, who looks like she hasn’t aged a day – “Your girl is back.”
“Rakuten makes it easy to save while you shop,” Alicia told PEOPLE about the partnership with Rakuten, the shopping platform that offers shoppers opportunities to get cash back at hundreds of retailers, “and working with them to revive Clueless for the Super Bowl stage made sense with how much Cher loved shopping — no doubt she would have tons of Cash Back.”
The commercial, airing during Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12, will continue to tell viewers about how Rakuten is the leading shopping platform that offers cash back on purchases from all of your favorite brands. It’s free to use and offers cash back at thousands of your favorite stores like Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Net A Porter, Sephora, Intermix, Rag and Bone, Ulta, Shopbop, Glossier, Goop, SKIMS, Modcloth, Farfetch, and many others.
Alicia has been feeling Clueless lately. In November 2022, she reunited with Stacey Dash, also in the movie, to recreate a scene for a TikTok video. In mid-January, Alicia went into her closet to recreate another scene from the movie, the one where Cher was looking for her “most responsible-looking ensemble.” A frustrated Alicia said, “Where’s my white collarless shirt from Fred Segal?”
“Clueless was the first comedy I ever did,” Alicia told Vogue in an interview celebrating the film’s 25th anniversary. “I found Cher on the page to be materialistic and unappealing. And really annoying, to be honest. Just everything I sort of loathed. But I realized that was just me judging her, and once I started working on her, I found all the heart and all the love. She loves her daddy so much! And she’s trying to be a supportive friend, so I just sorta put all of my love and heart into this character with these other aspects that were cringeworthy.”
Alicia also noted that she’s always shocked “at the longevity of Clueless,” telling Vogue she thinks it’s “incredible that so many people love this film and not only continue to love it but continue to rediscover it. I’m sure I don’t look the same, but little kids will still come up to me asking Are you Cher? And I mean little little, you know? How cute is it that they’ve discovered Clueless because their parents are showing it to them? So many moms who were my age when it came out are so excited to show it to their sons and daughters now.”