Film Review: Jennifer’s Body
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Studio: Fox Atomic
Release Date: September 18 2009
Directed by: Karyn Kusama
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Megan Fox, Johnny Simmons, JK Simmons, Adam Brody, Amy Sedaris, Kyle Gallner
Review by: Britt Hayes
Let me preface this by saying that Jennifer’s Body isn’t the horror film you think it is. It’s more of a dark high school coming-of-age comedy. With blood. Don’t be fooled by the marketing, which I think did little to serve this film justice or convey the tone to viewers. This film also isn’t about Megan Fox and how awesome she is (however, during her last scene in the film, there was an audible “Awww, nooooo,” from a guy in the back of the theater, which only serves to further validate her aesthetic currency.)
Jennifer Check (Fox) and Needy Lesnicki (Seyfried) have been friends since their sandbox days. Jennifer has always been the stereotypical hot girl, while Needy has been the reserved – kind of a dork – mousy girl. Jennifer is, predictably, the high school merry go round, and Needy is sort of the antithesis to that. Needy has an adorable boyfriend named Chip (Johnny Simmons) who she’s totally in love with, while Jennifer just sort of fucks anything in the town as long as it benefits her in some way. Example: screwing Roman (funny cameo from Chris Pratt), a soon-to-be police officer, so she can get away with whatever she wants. I’m not sure that Jennifer really gets her way as much as she acts like it, but her self-righteous bitch routine is enough to make you think she does, which intimidates the people around her enough to lay off when she wants them to.
One night, Jennifer drags Needy to a local bar to see indie band Low Shoulder (complete with guy-liner and ties!) play. In the midst of their first song, the bar bursts into flames, killing everyone inside, except for Needy and Jennifer, and the band, of course. Lead singer Nikolai (Adam Brody) convinces Jennifer to go with him and his band in their van. A satanic ritual virgin sacrifice goes awry, and Jennifer returns to Needy newly-possessed and ready to consume boys.
And Jennifer does consume. She doesn’t just kill boys, or castrate them as some might figure, but she actually mauls them in this fierce, animalistic way. Jennifer taunts the boys, making sure they’re frightened, before she finally eats them. The interesting thing here is the correlation between teenage girls coming of age and dealing with hormonal imbalances, and the transformation of Jennifer. It works on a few different levels. When Jennifer hasn’t eaten, she’s weak. She becomes grouchy and less attractive. Sort of how women are when we’re in full-tilt PMS mode or we need to get laid. The film plays on these stereotypes of women without making them feel contrived; instead, Diablo Cody’s script and the great performances from Seyfried and Fox serve to elevate the dynamic of these two teen girls to something above satire. Because Jennifer is such a bitch, her transformation just seems to empower her more. Jennifer becomes not just some over-sexed hot girl, but a hungry, carnal demon. This is probably why no one in the school, except Needy, really notices the changes in Jennifer. Her transformation into this demon has only amplified who she already was.
Diablo Cody’s script is quite clever. There’s been a lot of hate toward Cody, especially after her Oscar win for Juno. I’m not sure what this seemingly irrational hate is all about. Cody is a total wordsmith, and her dialogue for Jennifer’s Body is pitch perfect. It doesn’t come off as unbelievable because this is a world with teenagers. Teenagers have a dialect of their own filled with inside jokes and phrases they’ve coined or taken from pop culture. The world of a teenager is heavily saturated with sarcasm and their own immature understanding of wit. I’m a big fan of Juno, and even more so, I think, of Cody’s Showtime series, The United States of Tara. With Tara, Cody isn’t just writing teenagers, she’s also writing adults, and she does so quite well. I think the hate for her dialogue is an extension of hatred for things immature and young. With Juno and Jennifer’s Body, she’s writing dialogue for mostly teenagers, and I think her understanding of that world is exceptional.
The problem I had with Jennifer’s Body was that it felt a bit rushed. This isn’t a gore fest, and I was in no way under that impression, but I think to really grasp the concept of Jennifer’s feedings, the camera should’ve been more unflinching. There were times that felt like Karyn Kusama held back or second guessed herself in these moments; however, there were also moments where I felt like she made choices that might come off to some as stylistic, but instead felt oddly honest and bare. When Jennifer first becomes a demon, she goes to Needy’s house and is aggressive, slightly sexual, and mostly unashamed. She looks at Needy and smiles with blood on her teeth. When she does these animalistic things, like eating a chicken from Needy’s fridge and then vomiting black spiky bile on the floor, she acts so natural about it. There’s no dismissal or freak out on her part. She just is what she is. There are moments throughout the film where Jennifer is doing these sort of disgusting things but she does them in a way that is almost unnerving because of her non-chalance. Kusama doesn’t come with quick, choppy edits as expected with most stylish horror. She just turns her camera to Jennifer and lets it linger. Never the less, where Jennifer was more unashamed of herself, I think Kusama could’ve taken a lesson and been a bit more unashamed in the more violent sequences.
Aside from my issue with some of the directing choices, the rest of the film is directed beautifully. There are a few scenes, especially near the end, that are almost magical to watch, without being too flamboyant. Kusama is a great director who I think made a poor choice with Aeon Flux, but I don’t blame the badness of that movie on her.
The cast is on point. Johnny Simmons as Needy’s boyfriend Chip is just ridiculously adorable and naive. He isn’t playing a type, he’s just being a teen boy. Some of the other boys in the film are easily tossed out or dismissed and forgotten. There’s no real reason for Jennifer choosing them in particular aside from her need to eat. Kyle Gallner (The Haunting in Connecticut) plays the prettiest goth boy I have ever laid eyes on. His mannerisms are perfect, and although his part is small, he’s quite effective. Adam Brody has to be my favorite douche bag ever. As lead singer Nikolai of Low Shoulder, he’s got this smarmy quality – totally attractive in his guy-liner, but a complete dick. The award for best use of Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309 (Jenny)” goes to Brody and his cohorts in this movie.
Amanda Seyfried works well as the mousy Needy, struggling to accept what her friend has become. Needy has to evaluate her friendship with Jennifer, on many levels, and now has to make the difficult decision on what to do with the boy-hungry Jennifer. Fox’s portrayal of Jennifer would seem like a no-brainer, but surprisingly, she too has her moments in the film. Usually Fox comes off as product placement. She’s just there to look pretty and make you buy a ticket. Here, she’s given some room to shine, and I think she does well. JK Simmons gets a small part as a high school teacher with a hilarious toupee and a hook hand. The few moments he’s on screen are gold, as always.
The soundtrack in the film is done by record label Fueled by Ramen, famous for producing Panic! at the Disco’s albums. The music fits in with the teen aesthetic perfectly. And make no mistake, this movie is teen horror, but with an adult dark comedy twist. One song, “Through the Trees” is played by Low Shoulder and used by the town ad nauseum as their ballad to overcome their personal tragedy – the bar burning down. It’s the sort of song that you love at first, but as the characters grow to hate it, so do you. By the end of the movie, I never wanted to hear this song again.
Without the clever dialogue and the perfect cast, this film would be any other bullshit movie you’d watch with a six pack of beer and bash with your friends. What elevates the movie is all of these little ingredients brought together and cooked at just the right temperature. Although it feels rushed at times, and some things (like Jennifer’s feeding) don’t feel expanded upon enough, the film works for what it is.
I think Fox handled the marketing for this film rather poorly. It’s not outright horror, and it’s not an obvious comedy, either. The adjectives I would use to describe it seem contradictory: fun, deep, layered, humorous, dark. Diablo Cody and Karyn Kusama have crafted a truly genre-bending film. While there are facets of this film on the surface that will undoubtedly attract even the most pedestrian movie goer, there’s also a deeper commentary on the life of a teen girl, and the not uncommon issues they face coming into their sexuality and dealing with the dynamics of friendship and high school. It seems to me Fox is betting high on using Megan Fox’s looks to attract the male audience, while using the cattiness of Fox’s character and how she eats boys (think revenge for the ladies) to attract women. I just hope enough intelligent people walk into the movie and understand and appreciate what it does and what it says. And there’s a lot to be said. The aforementioned word crafting from Diablo Cody isn’t just clever and witty: it rings true. I felt alone in the theater in a sense. There were many lines (like when Jennifer takes a boy’s pants off and says, “Nice hardware, Ace.”) that I found myself laughing out loud to alone. The audience seemed to laugh at many of the obvious jokes, but there were plenty of times where I was the only one giggling during the more clever and subtle ones.
Jennifer’s Body is a great film. It’s not perfect, but I think it’s an original film that will work on some level for everyone. In an age where studios are so scared to put up any money for something original, it’s always refreshing to see something different, and more importantly, good.
Brutal As Hell Rating: 4 out of 5
