Jennifer’s Body is a cautionary tale of promiscuous teenage girls… well it could have been since the dilemma surrounding the importance of one Jennifer Check’s (Megan Fox) body is provoked by such actions. However, the emphasis of the film is loud noises, overtly punchy one liners, and indeed ogling of her curves.
Needy (Amanda Seyfried) is a homely girl living in the small town of Devil’s Kettle. Her best friend is Jennifer captain of the flag team, and thus the most popular girl at the high school. That’s correct; she’s not head cheerleader. This little quirk is but one of many from Academy Award winning writer Diablo Cody of Juno fame. This means that we are also bombarded with spur of the moment catchphrases, but more on that later.
When rock emotional band Low Shoulder visits town, Jennifer recruits Needy to head over to the local bar to watch the performance and assist her in pursuing the lead singer. Little did the two know that the night would forever change their lives. After being separated by a blaze, Jennifer undergoes a transformation making her a real life maneater.
If the above description sounds outlandish, trust in me that I left out the twists which make it preposterous to discuss. One of those twists is the awkward framing of a narrative, which makes the conclusion of the focal story predictable. Any elaboration on the process that transforms Jennifer into a demonic killing machine, is rage inducing. I seriously can’t see past the shortsighted process behind it. It may seem that I’m calling out Ms Cody, and I am. Her knack is zingers. She loads her characters with them. In Juno this made reactions between characters impossibly quick-witted. Still many people liked the style of that film for being refreshing. In Jennifer’s Body much of that is restrained, but there are far too many of these cutesy lines to establish a consistent tone. I couldn’t tell is something was funny or terrifying. When I deciphered that what I was watching is intended to be humorous, it often times wasn’t.
Cody isn’t alone. Jennifer’s Body is directed by the bard of feminism: Karyn Kusama (Girl Fight, Æon Flux). Her stylization is evident, and I’m thinking of a questionable choice to illustrate Needy’s eavesdropping prowess by compositing a close-up of her face over another image. What the two minds behind the film do bring is creativity. Even if it’s unchecked, the movie offers some entertainment value and doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. Cody even manages to bring aboard one of her hit makers: J.K. Simmons, whose role as a one-armed teacher (could be principal) is delightfully understated. Jennifer’s Body was probably not an enticing idea on paper and you can attribute this to its Fox Atomic label and the fact that Megan’s infamous swim photos have been floating around the web for well over a year. Jennifer’s Body is curvaceous enough to peep on, but too quirky to command a studious gaze. **
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