Jennifer’s Body – Review (Jason’s Take)

20th Century Fox knows what boys like.
Diablo Cody knows what guys want.
They know what boys like.
Boys like, boys like Megan Fox.

I couldn’t resist spoofing that song by The Waitresses, which happens to appear in the Theatrical Trailer for the Diablo Cody vehicle Jennifer’s Body, starring controversial uber hottie Megan Fox. I do fall into the demographic that the studio is aiming for, so let’s find out if you should shell out $10 of your hard earned money.

We open with a mousy girl in an insane asylum named Needy (Amanda Seyfried), who tells the story of how her childhood friend Jennifer (Megan Fox) ends up a boy-munching succubus from the bowels of hell.

One night the girls decide to hit a local hick bar so Jennifer can try and hook up with a member of a small-time band named Low Shoulder – who look like Green Day imposters. Little does she know that they are looking for a virgin to sacrifice to beezlebub so they can hit the big time. After a fiery mishap that causes the bar to go up in flames, Jennifer is dragged into the woods and stabbed to death, but problems arise because she is not that innocent (Duh!), which brings forth a flesh craving demon that posseses her body.

After devouring a few of the townsfolk, Jennifer sets her sights on Needy’s boyfriend Chip (Johnny Simmons) and a battle ensues over who gets Jennifer’s Body.

The strongest aspect of the film is Diablo Cody’s hip, tweener dialogue that is something you would think was penned by a potty-mouthed male like Kevin Smith. Karyn (Aeon Flux) Kusama’s camerawork has a nice flow to the slick look the movie is going for. Megan Fox plays the high school cheerleader efficiently, and will have every guy (and some girls) playing pocket pool. She is quite ghoulish in a couple demonic close-up shots. In the end though, this is Amanda Seyfried’s movie with most of the plot points revolving around her relationship with Chip and the possibility that her feelings for the adventerous Jennifer are more than plutonic. From top to bottom this was one estrogen fueled genre film.

I’m sure everyone is wondering the obvious, do we get to see Megan Fox naked? Sorry to dissapoint you guys but what you saw in the previews is pretty much what you get. While it is sweet to see her in a cheerleader uniform, kissing another girl, and in her undies – it’s quite a hand-wringing experience when photos from the set were leaked showing a topless Megan coming out of a lake on the set. Diablo Cody admits this is a throwback to the 80′s style of horror, then why not take advantage of the R Rating and have a random shower scene involving extras who don’t have clauses in their contracts about going full monty? Skin and gore go hand-in-hand with this kind of lowbrow antics, and with high school as a backdrop there were plenty of opportunities to channel the spirit of the kind of movies that Hollywood doesn’t make any more. Talk about a prick tease.

Jennifer’s Body is worth the price of a matinee admission and will make a nice bookend to the similiarly-themed Tamara. Look for a brief cameo by the legend himself Lance Henriksen.

As an extra treat you can watch me get knocked around up by a bunch of teenyboppers at the pre-screening Q & A with the cast/crew.

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