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Some critics have said that Diablo Cody and her writing talents may have been limited to
writing the story of Juno and thus categorizing her as a one-hit wonder and they may have
been right and that “maybe” is only a slight “maybe”. I say that because the story, albeit
not too highly original, had its moments of witty and sharp dialogue delivered by the boner-
inducing Megan Fox, playing the role of Jennifer Check, drop-dead gorgeous small-town girl
that is ever so eager to be with the popular crowd and stay in that category which is how
our Jennifer gets to become a demon that must maintain its sustenance on the tender flesh,
blood, and organs of teenage boys. Well, apart from director Karyn Kusama trying to give
the film a none-too-glamorous “indie” look, along with a soundtrack fit to boot, the film left
me feeling something, but not exactly knowing what that something is: emptiness, perhaps?
The film tries a bit too hard at being cool, at being funny, and at being sharp, that
sometimes the core elements of the film, that of Jennifer Check being possessed by a
demon through ritual that her captors performed, not exactly knowing what they were
doing and to whom they were doing it to, that turns badly. Jennifer’s best friend, Needy
Lesnicky (Amanda Seyfried), was the driving force of the film, along with her boyfriend,
Chip (Johnny Simmons), and kept me reminded that there was some memorable
performances that went beyond Megan Fox and her succulent sexuality that seeped across
the screen every time that she came into the camera’s shot.
If we are going to be cock-teased by Fox at every giving moment, then I, for one, want no
part of it. The film’s trailers suggested that there was going to be some scenes of demon-
dining delicacies, but there was nothing but sparse appetizers littered throughout the film
here and there. Was the mouth-watering Megan Fox going to finally let Eve go to the apple
tree and taste the forbidden fruit, enveloping her soul and spirit with no forms of inhibition?
- another big no. Nothing that I wanted to see occurred in this film and I felt extremely
cheated. I even thought that the quickly rising storytelling of Diablo Cody was going to win
me over again like her charmingly witty and bitterly sarcastic dialogue and story that Juno
delivered with knockout success.
Instead, I watched a dark comedy that had hints of sexuality in watered-down form that
only slightly whet my appetite for some blood and gore, guts and carnage, violence and
terror-I feel as though I am the one that has had my soul lifted from my body and not
Jennifer. I believe the hype that went into this film was nothing but smoke causing some
confusion and intrigue and once one views the film, they will understand what professionals
the advertising campaign were and how they hoodwinked the audience into seeing a film
based on the sex appeal of one Megan Fox, who is nothing more than cute face with an
appealing body that may have peaked as far as her acting skills in Transformers, if at all.
Jennifer’s Body, in some bizarre way, reminded me of how I felt after I finished watching
Twilight in the theater. I was left with a strange and utterly vapid sense of bewilderment
and loss. Just as though my soul and intellect had been siphoned out of my brain and skull,
then slowly squirted back in just as the end credits began to roll down the screen. Films that
rape one’s intellect only are allowed to do so if the end purpose is greater than the damage
caused. I do not know what end purpose Jennifer’s Body had, if even one at all. I think if
Diablo Cody teamed up with Quentin Tarantino to make a chatter-driven film with Tarantino’
s usually endless and ever banal female banter, there might actually be a masterpiece made
with minimal flaws and periods of drawn out tongue-lashings (Just a thought).
The soundtrack to Jennifer’s Body is one that may be found playing on the overhead
speakers of the trendy, beatnik, poetry on Wednesday nights-type of coffee shops, but it
was the high-point of the whole movie. The film had an overall style that was pleasing and
consistent to the rest of the characters and script, but just not enough guts and hardiness to
win me over more than what I actually enjoyed.
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