Megan Fox is no Ellen Page, and Jennifer's Body is no Juno. The crisp, biting dialogue screenwriter Diablo Cody wrote and Page so effectively delivered in Juno won that film numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Cody tries to replicate the hip, 'I've got a comeback for everything' lines she crafted for Page as an independent, outspoken, pregnant high school student in Juno in Jennifer's Body, her first attempt at a horror film. But this time around those same sort of lines trip awkwardly out of Fox's pouty mouth. They're in no way believable.
Not one line of dialogue sounds as though it came from Fox's brain. Cody's script and Fox's inability to act the part combine to make Jennifer's Body DOA.
A chief complaint of Juno's detractors was that the dialogue was so stylized, so tight, that no normal teens who didn't have a camera turned their way would ever engage in the conversations Cody concocted. I actually loved the script, the acting, the directing, and just about everything else about Juno. Sure, the dialogue was too smart, but it worked because all the elements of the piece melded and merged, combining to make it one of the most entertaining films of 2007. Screw with any one ingredient and Juno would have snuck quietly and quickly in and out of theaters. It needed the complete package to be firing on all cylinders. Meanwhile Cody's follow-up project, Jennifer's Body, is a misfire from the get-go. Wrong lead actress, a tone that's all over the place, and a plot that's so simplistic and silly as to be completely laughable - except in the parts where it was meant to be humorous.
A 'horror' film without any scares, Jennifer's Body is a female-centric piece (starring, written by, and directed by females) that does nothing to move women-driven forward. I expected more from Cody's script. Jennifer's Body is too self-consciously clever and tries too hard to impress.
Not one line of dialogue sounds as though it came from Fox's brain. Cody's script and Fox's inability to act the part combine to make Jennifer's Body DOA.
A chief complaint of Juno's detractors was that the dialogue was so stylized, so tight, that no normal teens who didn't have a camera turned their way would ever engage in the conversations Cody concocted. I actually loved the script, the acting, the directing, and just about everything else about Juno. Sure, the dialogue was too smart, but it worked because all the elements of the piece melded and merged, combining to make it one of the most entertaining films of 2007. Screw with any one ingredient and Juno would have snuck quietly and quickly in and out of theaters. It needed the complete package to be firing on all cylinders. Meanwhile Cody's follow-up project, Jennifer's Body, is a misfire from the get-go. Wrong lead actress, a tone that's all over the place, and a plot that's so simplistic and silly as to be completely laughable - except in the parts where it was meant to be humorous.
A 'horror' film without any scares, Jennifer's Body is a female-centric piece (starring, written by, and directed by females) that does nothing to move women-driven forward. I expected more from Cody's script. Jennifer's Body is too self-consciously clever and tries too hard to impress.
The Story
Narcissistic cheerleader/all around witch Jennifer wants to go to a concert to see some pretty boys playing their instruments while wearing guy-liner and gothic duds. Dragging her nerdy best friend Needy (you can tell she's a nerd because she wears glasses) along to a roadhouse, Jennifer venomously attacks anyone who dares to approach her - if they're not with the band.
Of course the guys in the band notice her, and of course they're interested. But what Jennifer doesn't know is that these guys are looking for a virgin to sacrifice in order to became famous musicians. When they ask if she's had sex, she thinks it'll turn them off if she says yes so she claims to be untouched - exactly the wrong thing to say in this particular instance. Sacrificing a non-virgin to whatever dark force they're trying to get in good with only leads to their victim turning into a demon. In this case, a demon who likes to eat high school boys.
Meanwhile Needy slowly realizes there's something seriously wrong with her BFF. Hello! She spits up black fluid and looks like death warmed over when she hasn't feasted on her new favorite food. Why does it take her so long to put two and two together? Don't glasses on teenage girls in Hollywood movies signify intelligence as well as nerdiness? Anyway, she figures it out and then has to come up with a way to stop Jennifer from off'ing any more members of the opposite sex.
Narcissistic cheerleader/all around witch Jennifer wants to go to a concert to see some pretty boys playing their instruments while wearing guy-liner and gothic duds. Dragging her nerdy best friend Needy (you can tell she's a nerd because she wears glasses) along to a roadhouse, Jennifer venomously attacks anyone who dares to approach her - if they're not with the band.
Of course the guys in the band notice her, and of course they're interested. But what Jennifer doesn't know is that these guys are looking for a virgin to sacrifice in order to became famous musicians. When they ask if she's had sex, she thinks it'll turn them off if she says yes so she claims to be untouched - exactly the wrong thing to say in this particular instance. Sacrificing a non-virgin to whatever dark force they're trying to get in good with only leads to their victim turning into a demon. In this case, a demon who likes to eat high school boys.
Meanwhile Needy slowly realizes there's something seriously wrong with her BFF. Hello! She spits up black fluid and looks like death warmed over when she hasn't feasted on her new favorite food. Why does it take her so long to put two and two together? Don't glasses on teenage girls in Hollywood movies signify intelligence as well as nerdiness? Anyway, she figures it out and then has to come up with a way to stop Jennifer from off'ing any more members of the opposite sex.
The Cast
At no time during Jennifer's Body do you ever forget this is Megan Fox and believe she's a real high school student who just happens to have been taken over by a demon. Pouting and posing your way through scenes is not acting, and Karyn Kusama's direction requires little more of Fox than just that. We get it - she's hot. But come on now...adding a little umph to scenes by relying on something other than looks would have gone a long way in making Jennifer's Body at least sufferable. The contrast between what Fox does with a scene and what her 'ugly duckling' co-star Amanda Seyfried is able to do with the same material is like night and day. Seyfried's dialogue and storyline is no better written or fleshed out than Fox's, yet Seyfried brings her best to the game, elevating the acting from junior high talent show level.
The Bottom Line
Too forced, too trite, too everything, Jennifer's Body doesn't have a clue what it wants to be. Or, wait, maybe there was a goal in place at the beginning, but it was lost somewhere between the initial concept and hiring on the cast and director. What's this movie supposed to be? Whatever it was aiming for, it fell far short of its target. There's hardly any scares, very few laughs, and a gratuitous kissing scene between Fox and Seyfried that's not as hot as you'd imagine and feels like it was forced into the story just to make some fanboys happy. Jennifer's Body is pretty to look at, but there's nothing of substance there. Other than Fox's good looks (and no, she doesn't get naked), there's nothing to see in Jennifer's Body.
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