Lazy Sunday Review: Jennifer's Body (2009)

This movie was adorable. Hillarious. High-school sexy. I loved it.

Megan Fox stars as flesh-eating demon/gorgeous teenage cheerleader Jennifer Check. Sweet and spunky (and also gorgeous, in my opinion) Amanda Seyfried plays Needy Lesnicki, Jennifer's nerdy lady-in-waiting.

Spoiler alert! (Dan insists I give this warning for now on). So here's the jist: An indie band plays at a bar in the middle of nowhere (I think Wisconsin?), hoping to find a virgin to sacrifice according to a satanic ritual that will grant them fame, popularity, Maroon 5 status, etc. They find Jennifer, assume she's a virgin (though that couldn't be farther from the truth), and keep tabs on her during their performance. Needy, who reluctantly accompanies Jennifer to the bar, watches the situation unfold and is really not into it. Suddenly (seriously), a fire starts in the bar, and everyone dies except for the band, Needy and Jennifer. The band picks up their alleged virgin, and takes her into the forest to sacrifice her. Anyway, since Jennifer's no damn virgin, the ritual corrupts her and ultimately demonizes her dead body. So now, she's undead, and survives on eating people. Boys, which, I suppose, are her easiest prey. Needy devotes herself to discovering what's become of her (suddenly very hungry) best-friend. After Jennifer eats Needy's boyfriend, Chip (seriously), that's more or less the last straw, and... well, I won't reveal the predictable ending.

This movie is great. The themes of high school society, friendship and sex mingled with the murderous supernatural are fun, kind of sexy and scary, but also slightly epic. Both actresses are loveable and fucking cute. You'll see that Needy becomes stronger, more whole, and more beautiful at the end of the film. There are real tranformations - Jennifer's fake and silly, but Needy's completely realistic, and therefore striking.

There are moments of hillarity amidst the gore: the scene of Jennifer's "virgin sacrifice", though terrifying (especially for a girl), becomes darkly comical as the knife-wielding frontman of the band starts singing "8675309", you know, "Jenny, I got your number!" Then he proceeds to stab her to death.

One of the most endearing elements of the movie is the high school tongue: dialogue is peppered with offensive unforgettables like "freaktarded" and "lesbigay". When Needy rehashes the distaster at the bar, Jennifer tells her to "getoverit.org." They've lovingly nicknamed each other "Vagasil" and "Monistat." So telling of the early perversity of our youth, but sweet because they're such little girls (giggle)!

This was also one of those films that I consider one, long music video. Featuring poppish power-rock by Panic at the Disco and, one of my favorites at the moment, The Silversun Pickups, the musical interludes help maintain that sex and death ambiance throughout the movie. Well done.