“No. I mean, she’s actually evil. Not high school evil.”
Needy Lesnicky
Jennifer’s Body paired Girlfight director Karyn Kusama with writer Diablo Cody, fresh off her debut hit in Juno. Although critically panned, the duo plainly set out to create something different within the exploitation horror genre and the result has gained cult status over time even if it remains deeply flawed. Pairing Megan Fox with the more talented Amanda Seyfried only serves to highlight her acting limitations, though for the most part Fox is required simply to be sultry and unrepentant. The witty teenage dialogue that felt natural in Juno (aided immeasurably by Elliot Paige’s delivery) here sounds stilted, as if Diablo Cody is trying too hard to be youthfully cool. Jennifer’s Body may be tongue-in-cheek but its overt humour rarely lands. A pointed scene intercuts Jennifer’s seduction of a victim, stylised in the usual Hollywood fashion and softly bathed in candlelight, with Needy’s first time, brightly lit and awkwardly fumbled like a genuine and healthy teenage sexual experience. Yet, since the script ultimately still leans heavily on genre tropes, it has little fresh to say, save perhaps that Jennifer’s promiscuity had nothing to do with her becoming evil.
4/10
