JENNIFER'S BODY

Screenplay by Diablo Cody
Directed by Karyn Kusama

Megan Fox
Amanda Seyfried
Johnny Simmons
Adam Brody

Premiere date: September 18, 2009
R for sexuality, bloody violence, language and brief drug use.

Small town high school student Jennifer is possessed by a hungry demon. She transitions from being high school evil - gorgeous, stuck up and ultra-attitudinal - to the real deal: evil-evil. The glittering beauty becomes a pale and sickly creature jonesing for a meaty snack, and guys who never stood a chance with the heartless babe take on new luster in the light of Jennifer's insatiable appetite. Meanwhile, Jennifer's lifelong best friend Needy, long relegated to living in Jennifer's shadow, must step up to protect the town's young men, including her nerdy boyfriend Chip.

Now I Feel All Bad And Stuff

Over the past week I've been taking great joy in Jennifer's Body's lack of box office clout. I was quite pleased with the fact that Megan Fox's first starring venture didn't prove too successful. I was hoping studio execs wouldn't be as quick to cast her in the future.
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But today the new issue of Entertainment Weekly reached my mailbox. Jennifer's Body screenwriter Diablo Cody is a columnist for the magazine, and this week she talked about how disappointing it was to have written a flop.
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"You see, Jennifer's Body, or as I like to call it, "J-Bod," was essentially DOA at the box office. And since I both wrote and executive-produced this future (I hope) cult favorite, I wasn't feeling so grand the next day. In fact, I felt like drawing a hot bath and dragging a razor across my Achilles tendons. Granted, a lot of my favorite movies tanked their first weekend out, but when it's happening to you, in the moment, well, it stings."

Well, dang it. I guess I hadn't stopped to think about all the people besides Fox who worked hard and had their hopes dashed. I wouldn't normally care, because bad movies deserve to be panned. I'm aware that plenty of people are down on Cody, but she'll always have at least a small piece of my heart for writing Juno, a film I adored despite the too-hip-for-words vibe it elicits.
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She goes on in the column to say that Toni Collette's unexpected Emmy win for Cody's show, "The United States of Tara" came at just the right time and lifted her spirits, but all the same I can't imagine how disappointing it must feel to have something you created and loved met with such indifference. I almost feel bad enough to rush out and buy a ticket, but I guess I have to remind myself that rejection and discouragement are part of showbiz.
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Better luck next time, Diablo.

TIFF: Jennifer's Body

Last night was the Midnight Madness debut of Jennifer's Body, screenwriter Diablo Cody's follow-up to the massive success that was Juno. There are quite a few reactions hitting the web today, and the response seems to be mixed to bad.

Anne Thompson of indieWIRE reports that the movie is scary-fun, saying:

"Jennifer’s Body is great fun. It’s exactly what it sets out to be: an unpretentious send-up of coming-of-age horror movies with a delicious lesbian edge. Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried strike just the right tone as two best buds, one hot and popular, the other nerdy and cute."

Todd Gilchrist from Cinematical feels differently:

"Jennifer's Body substitutes hipster credibility for emotional currency, confuses pop-psychology insight with substantive social commentary, and measures terror on a scale that ranges from the word boo to a dead spider; in short, Jennifer's Body just does not work."

Lots of varying takes, but for me it's looking like a miss for Cody and company here, certainly not helped by Megan Fox's complete lack of talent, though I think people should keep in mind this was probably not a film that anyone, including its makers, were taking too seriously.

What do you think? Are you planning to catch Jennifer's Body?