Alicia Silverstone reprises Clueless role (and that yellow plaid jacket) for Super Bowl ad: 'It felt really good'

Don't bug, Cher Horowitz is back.

In the years since she starred in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone has "sporadically" referenced her iconic performance as Cher. Especially since joining TikTok in 2021, Silverstone has recreated scenes from the 1995 teen comedy with her son Bear, and even reunited with costar Stacey Dash, who played Dionne in the film. But now, Silverstone is paying her most extensive homage yet by stepping back into some of Cher's classic outfits for Rakuten's Super Bowl LVII commercial in which she recreates the movie's debate scene.

"It felt really good," Silverstone, 46, tells EW of playing Cher again. "The clothes were lovely, but even more than the clothes, just getting to be her again was so fun."

Silverstone continues, "I thought to myself, 'How do I prepare for this?' I had no idea if I could do it or not, but I just went for it. And I had fun. Cher is so confident and bossy — but passionate — and believes so clearly in what she's talking about. She has a huge heart. There are a lot of fun things about her, and they make her really happy."

This isn't the first time an actor has reprised a past role for a Super Bowl ad. Back in 2019, Jeff Bridges and Sarah Jessica Parker brought their characters from The Big Lebowski and Sex and the City together for a Stella Artois commercial during the big game. But Silverstone felt like Rakuten, a shopping platform that offers cash back on purchases, was a particularly appropriate match for Cher.

"She's one of film's most historic shopaholics," Silverstone says. "So the idea that she would be able to use this app would be the greatest hack ever. Getting cash back on all your shopping? I just feel like she'd want everyone in the world to know that."

Cher's classic wardrobe (like the yellow plaid skirt-and-jacket combo Silverstone reprises here) was the work of Clueless costume designer Mona May. Silverstone, who insisted on collaborating with May again on several of her post-Clueless films, recalls getting to celebrate her work at a screening in L.A. years ago.

"I saw it with my son when he was 5. It was at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on a huge screen," Silverstone remembers. "Something like 4,000 people came to watch it. So I went and saw that and presented it to the crowd. That was amazing because when I saw it that time, I really saw the costumes. Even though I'd seen them however many times before, this time I brought Mona May to see it with us, and whenever a costume came out I kept smacking her like, 'Oh my God, look at that one!' They really make entrances, those costumes!"

As for why Clueless continues to resonate years after it first took a snapshot of '90s youth culture, Silverstone defers to director Amy Heckerling.

"Amy says it well: This character is really optimistic, she really sees the brightness and lightness in most things," Silverstone says. "So even though she's walking around saying 'whatever' and 'as if' and judging the stoners or whoever else she's judging at that moment, her heart is big and she radiates joy. People like feeling that!"

Watch the full ad above, catch it during the commercial breaks for this year's Super Bowl on Sunday, and remember that it does not say RSVP on the Statue of Liberty.

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