Jennifer's Body (2009)

Director:

Karyn Kusama

Writer (WGA):

Diablo Cody (written by)

Release Date:

18 September 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

She's evil... and not just high school evil.

Plot:

A newly possessed cheerleader turns into a killer who specializes in offing her male classmates. Can her best friend put an end to the horror?

Plot Keywords:

Fire | Virgin | Blood | Best Friend | Cheerleader

Awards:

3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Sept. 10

9:00 PM

HBO

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Megan Fox	...	Jennifer Check
Amanda Seyfried	...	Needy Lesnicky
Johnny Simmons	...	Chip Dove
Adam Brody	...	Nikolai Wolf
Sal Cortez	...	Chas
Ryan Levine	...	Mick
Juan Riedinger	...	Dirk
Colin Askey	...	Keyboardist
Chris Pratt	...	Roman Duda
Juno Ruddell	...	Officer Warzak
Kyle Gallner	...	Colin Gray
Josh Emerson	...	Jonas Kozelle
J.K. Simmons	...	Mr. Wroblewski
Amy Sedaris	...	Needy's Mom
Cynthia Stevenson	...	Chip's Mom

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, bloody violence, language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

102 min | 107 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44717) | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | South Korea:18 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Australia:MA | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Hong Kong:IIB | Argentina:16 | Brazil:16 | Germany:18 (nf) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Mexico:B15 | Germany:16 (extended version) | Singapore:M18 | Ireland:15 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:16 | Japan:PG12 | Malaysia:18SG

Filming Locations:

Devil's Kettle Falls, Minnesota, USA

Company:

Fox Atomic

Trivia:

Colin invites Jennifer to "Rocky Horror at the Bijou," a reference to a student-run movie theater at the University of Iowa. Diablo Cody graduated from the University of Iowa.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Nikolai is about to stab Jennifer, there is a distant shot where he says, "We have to make a really good impression on him," Jennifer isn't crying and her mouth is closed.

Quotes:

Chip Dove:[Needy is changing] Those jeans are hella low. I can almost see your front butt.
Needy Lesnicky:It's a rock show. This is my rock look.
Chip Dove:Well, I can see, like, your womb, so...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Live from Studio Five: Episode #1.109" (2010)

Soundtrack:

New In Town

Feast and Famine

Winning an Oscar for a first film is a perilous position for a screenwriter to be in, for with adulation comes high expectation, and with high expectation comes hype that is almost always self-defeating. Such is the case with "Jennifer's Body," the sophomore script from Diablo ("Juno") Cody, which takes an uncomfortable union of concept, content, and direction (by Karyn Kusama), and transforms it into a film I really WANTED to like, but in the end couldn't. Marketed as a hip, self-aware horror flick, it never delivers much beyond the norm of the genre (it follows firmly in the tradition of Kevin Williamson, who gave us "Scream" and "The Faculty" over a decade ago), and passages of heartfelt emotion are shortchanged for ridiculous horror segues (an indie band sacrifices a virgin to make a pact with the Devil, for instance) and Cody's own contrived linguistic quirks. The quirks worked for "Juno," which told a dramatic story populated by fully realized characters and peppered with moments of bittersweet humor. "Jennifer's Body" almost succeeds based on the strength of its central duo: the titular cheerleader (Megan Fox) and her bespectacled, dorky BFF, Needy (Amanda Seyfried), who undergo serious issues when Jennifer becomes a literal man-eater; the bond between them is so palpable and effective that it almost saves the film when it goes off into the realm of bloodshed and digital trickery. If Cody's script can't find a balance between the horror, the humor, and the pathos, director Kusama steers the film even more erratically, resulting in a tone that remains unsettled until the very end. Ultimately, "Jennifer's Body" has its share of visually arresting moments and fine performances (particularly Seyfried's), but it has much less to offer than its obvious (and far superior) influences: Jacques Tourneur's (and Paul Schrader's) "Cat People" and the "Ginger Snaps" trilogy (which took the metaphorical monstrosity of puberty and its own clever dialog into much more exciting territory).