12 ’90s Movie References You Missed In Do Revenge

Right off the bat, Do Revenge sets the scene with the pastel green and purple Rosehill Country Day uniforms. The plaid-heavy outfits call directly back to Clueless and Cher Horowitz’s iconic yellow plaid outfit that has inspired many Halloween costumes in the years since its 1995 release.

Speaking of Clueless, Horowitz Hall at Rosehill Country Day is a direct reference to the beloved Cher Horowitz. Later in the film, Drea is even seen using a feathery pink pen which looks exactly like one from Clueless.

A direct reference, Drea and Eleanor openly discuss their twisted plan and laugh at the absurdity of it all by joking about harnessing their “Glennergy,” referencing Glenn Close’s iconic role as an obsessive stalker in the 1987 film Fatal Attraction.

No teen movie is complete without a makeover, and in Do Revenge Eleanor gets a head-to-toe revamp reminiscent of She’s All That and Jawbreaker. There’s even a tongue-in-cheek reference to the trope as Eleanor calls it “problematic” while Drea acknowledges she’s right, “but it’s so fun!”

Early in the film, Eleanor gets an overview of her new school from another student, Gabbi (Talia Ryder). The scene calls back to Damian and Janis explaining the school’s social structure to Cady, and when Michael gives Cameron the lowdown in 10 Things I Hate About You.

Of course, Do Revenge updates the language and references, classifying people as “Instagram witches” and “horny theater kids who tried to mount a mostly white production of Hamilton.”

As chaos ensues after Drea spikes the soup with mushrooms, a background character can be seen on the phone with their mom. “Mom can you come get me I don’t want to be here!” she says, which Mean Girls fans will recognize.

It’s not a teen movie without a romance plot, and Drea finds herself attracted to the blue-haired Russ whom she meets while trying to get close to Eleanor’s bully Carissa. Drea and Russ have a paintball fight midway through the movie, mirroring the one that Kat and Patrick have in 10 Things I Hate About You.

If you listen and look closely, Eleanor’s arc is similar to Cady’s in Mean Girls: as a farce, she gets a makeover, befriends the popular clique, and tries to bring them down from the inside.

The only difference is that instead of Eleanor forgetting Drea’s birthday just like Cady forgot Janis’s, the script flips the two.

While Do Revenge doesn’t have a Burn Book, Drea still manages to unleash havoc on the school when she reveals her ex-boyfriend Max’s texts and exposes him as a serial cheater. The entire sequence — from printouts taped to lockers, a fire in the trash can, and Drea standing arms-crossed watching it unfold — is a direct homage to Mean Girls and Regina George.

Drea visits Carissa, the girl that Eleanor accuses of outing her, in rehab after it’s exposed that she’s the one harvesting mushrooms at the school’s garden. At rehab, Carissa is playing croquet, a nod to the iconic scene from Heathers.

Robinson told Netflix’s TUDUM that Romy and Michele was “a huge touchstone” for the film — especially for the costumes. “We definitely talked about Romy and Michele a lot,” she said. “I wasn’t directly inspired by Romy and Michele, but that was a movie we spoke about a lot in terms of finding the visual language and the vibes for the costumes.”

Robinson said that Gellar’s appearance as the headmaster in Do Revenge was very Cruel Intentions. “I wanted her character to feel like Kathryn from Cruel Intentions is the headmaster of the school,” Robinson told BuzzFeed.

Not quite a 90s movie reference, but close listeners will hear Eleanor channeling Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” interlude.

“The Old Eleanor can’t come to the phone right now,” she says. “Why?” Drea asks, playing along. “Because she’s dead,” she quips.