Step 1: Enjoy some quirk with your blood splatter. While certainly not the most innovative of horror comedy flicks, Jennifer’s Body still has some pizazz, thanks to Diablo Cody’s pen.
Step 2: Bust that Body right. Seriously, if you’re a demon looking to possess someone, snagging Megan Fox’s bod has to be considered a major coup. She plays the title character, a small town high school sex kitten, who inexplicably is still BFF’s with her nerdy childhood pal Needy (Amanda Seyfried). They make it work, mostly because the insecure Jennifer can push the adoring Needy around. Needy also has a boyfriend, Chip (Johnny Simmons), which complicates matters. But things get really wonky when Jennifer takes off with a small-time rock band in their van for a little excitement one night, leaving Needy behind, and comes back possessed by a demon who craves human boy flesh. So now, what’s a girl to do when her best friend wants to snack on her boyfriend? Exact some tough love, that’s what.
Step 3: Realize Megan Fox is no Ellen Page. Juno‘s Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody can dish out the cool banter like it’s nobody’s business, but to make it really succeed, you need the right actress to deliver the goods. Fox does an OK job, but she’s not quite adept at zinging the lines with ease, like Page. Big Love‘s Seyfried could probably have done it better, but she is saddled with being the less quippy, more human of the two. The O.C.‘s Adam Brody stands out as the rock band’s callous lead singer, looking for a way to make it to the top and deciding sacrificing a virgin to Satan is the PERFECT solution. Also good is the impeccably brilliant J.K. Simmons, as a high-school teacher helping the kids cope with all the murder and mayhem.
Step 4: Admire Cody’s gift for the gab. Jennifer’s Body reminds me of the 1988 Heathers, taking high school conventions and flipping them on their wild, murderous side, all while the cool kids talk the talk. But Cody is wasting her talents on the horror genre. While her Juno combines snark with a very sweet sensibility, Jennifer’s Body isn’t as successful, neither scary nor a comment on social norms. Blame could also be on its director Karyn Kusama’s lack of experience, having done just a few things before, such as Girlfight. Still, I can see where the appeal might come in, what with Fox’s smoky hotness and lesbian tendencies in the film. In fact, in the theater with me at 10:45 am were mostly young 20-something males. And me. What does that mean?
Level of difficulty in watching Jennifer’s Body: Not half bad. Let’s just say, it’s infinitely better than watching Sorority Row.