Alicia Silverstone’s Deanna Russo Cameo in Senior Year, Explained - Netflix Tudum
- As if!May 16, 2022
Spoiler alert! Below, you’ll find spoilers for Senior Year.
Alicia Silverstone spends less than two minutes on screen in Senior Year, but much like the character she plays, her legendary presence looms large. As Deanna Russo, longtime idol to protagonist and prom-queen wannabe Stephanie (Rebel Wilson), the former Clueless star delivers a healthy dose of reality about the dangers of settling for a crown and peaking in high school.
Though her identity isn’t revealed until much later, Deanna Russo has an almost mythical aura throughout Senior Year. Early on, the audience catches a glimpse of her when 17-year-old Stephanie (Angourie Rice) drives past a lavish suburban house with best friend Seth (Zaire Adams). Stopping short, she stares at the woman in the driveway, living a seemingly perfect life. Deanna, the audience learns, was a Harding High School prom queen who married her quarterback boyfriend and now lives in a beautiful home. Stephanie worships her and views her trajectory as the key to happiness.
Fast-forward a few scenes, and 37-year-old Stephanie wakes up from a 20-year coma following a cheerleading accident. With her entire life upended, she decides to pick up where she left off: Finish high school, win prom queen and live happily ever after. Of course, none of that goes quite as planned. In a moment of crisis, Stephanie suddenly finds herself in an Uber with a very familiar looking driver: Deanna Russo.
When Stephanie tells her that she’s a legend — “You won prom queen and had a perfect life!” — Deanna laughs bitterly. “I was divorced when I was 30, when my husband left me for a 21-year-old barista with two more abs than I had,” she says. “I was left with no credit, no job prospects. My advice: Throw that crown away now.” It’s a sobering moment for Stephanie, who finally realizes that she has to let go of her past in order to embrace her future. Her dream of becoming Deanna Russo was just that, a fantasy she concocted based on what she thought she was supposed to want.
Senior Year director Alex Hardcastle says he had Silverstone in mind to play Deanna from the start. “She was right at the top of my list,” he tells Tudum. “I thought that would have the most depth. It becomes really sweet and lovely rather than just funny and silly [stunt casting].”
He and Silverstone were friendly and had even worked together on the 2018 series American Woman. But would the star be willing to take on such a small part? “Honestly, heart of hearts, I thought she’d say no,” he says. “I thought she’d be like, ‘Another high school movie? I think we’ve been down that road.’ ”
Hardcastle saw the scene as a way for Silverstone to come full circle. After all, it’s been 27 years since the actor was first crowned as queen of high school movies for her performance as Cher Horowitz in Clueless. Coming from her, the speech takes on added meaning — after all, who knows what happened to Cher after ending up with Josh (Paul Rudd)? Does she go on to fulfill her potential? Or does she become an ornamental spouse who ends up regretting the decisions she made as a teen?
“I pitched it to her as a closure on her chapter of the high school [genre],” he says. “I love what she did in the movie. The message is, ‘Don't think the way you’re perceived at high school is going to in any way foreshadow what’s going to happen [in] the rest of your life because it almost certainly isn’t.”
Still, did he have a backup plan just in case she took a pass? “Drew Barrymore would have been really good, too, actually now that I think of it,” he says, adding, “Never Been Kissed was definitely on my radar when I made this.”
All About Senior Year
- Up CloseThe multi-hyphenate talent on Camp, Clueless and the high school memory that makes him want to throw up.By Marah EakinMay 23, 2022
- Up CloseCostume designer Salvador Pérez walks us through all of Rebel Wilson’s perfectly retro outfits.By Marah EakinMay 19, 2022
- Up CloseFrom the unbelievable to the emotional, they’ve been through it too.By Ariana RomeroMay 15, 2022
- GuideCan’t tell your “shiznits” from your “supes”? Get to know the lingo of Senior Year with our helpful glossary.By Tudum StaffMay 13, 2022
- ExplainerHere’s why it feels so right.By Anne CohenMay 13, 2022
- Up CloseYou won’t believe what her best subject was.By Olivia Truffaut-WongMay 12, 2022
- GuideGo back to high school with Rebel Wilson in this new comedy.By Marah EakinMay 11, 2022
- GuideRebel Wilson tries to rule her old high school in the new blast-from-the-past comedy.By Marah EakinMay 4, 2022
Shop Senior Year
Discover More Explainer
- ExplainerShowrunner David E. Kelley warns, “Beware the male ego.”By Christopher HudspethMay 3
- Explainer“It should leave you with hope and wanting more.”By Drew TewksburyMay 1
- Explainer“baby rein, thot u were rid of me??”By Christopher HudspethMay 1
- ExplainerCo-writer and director Zack Snyder explains why “healing and redemption is a big piece of Part Two.”By R.J. JohnsonApril 19
- ExplainerThe cryptic phrase is a threat to the human race.By Phillipe ThaoMarch 29
- ExplainerThe director and cast break down the adventurous fairy tale’s twist ending.By John DiLilloMarch 25
- ExplainerCan Eddie and Susie weed out the competition?By Ariana RomeroMarch 11
- ExplainerWater. Earth. Fire. Air. And only the Avatar can master them all.By Ariana RomeroMarch 5
Related Videos
- Up CloseBet you can’t guess what her best and worst subjects were.May 13, 20223:50
- Press PlayAnd it's definitely surprising!May 13, 20220:49
- Press PlayYou can't argue with science.May 13, 20220:27
- Press PlayBring out your inner Britney.May 13, 20221:31
- HomageShe’ll have you texting back ‘ROTFLMAO’ on your Sidekick.May 13, 20221:22
Latest News
Popular Now
- Deep DiveThe period drama from Sanjay Leela Bhansali follows the lives, loves, and tragedies of 1920s courtesans.By Ingrid OstbyMay 3
- New on NetflixWatch new episodes of Bridgerton, the live roast of Tom Brady, and more.By Erin CorbettMay 6
- Deep DiveRobert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall star in the legal drama that garnered Duvall his seventh Oscar nom.By Ingrid OstbyYesterday 12:26 am
- Netflix Is A JokeThe NFL GOAT didn’t wear a helmet, but he definitely got sacked.By Paul SchrodtApril 22