(UWIRE) Diablo Cody’s latest trip through the mind of a teenage girl isn’t anything like what “Juno” was.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite. “Juno” dealt with a coming-of-age story that almost happened too quickly for the titular character to handle.
“Jennifer’s Body,” on the other hand, is a campy teenage angst-filled comedy that was, in my opinion, mismarketed as a horror movie.
There is nothing scary about this film. Rather, the scariest thing about it is how spot-on Cody’s writing is when it comes to filling the mouths of teenagers with dialogue.
Meet Needy Lesnicky (Amanda Seyfried). She’s your average small-town girl from Devil’s Kettle.
Don’t worry, the name just comes from the waterfall that runs outside of the town.
Apparently the water falls into a hole in the ground and doesn’t come out anywhere, but that’s a story for another day.
Needy is best friends with Jennifer Check (Megan Fox), the “it” girl in Devil’s Kettle.
Jennifer is beautiful and she knows it. She uses her sexual prowess to make boys (and men, like the rookie cop in town) bend to her will.
She gets anything she wants, and Needy is just along for the ride.
The relationship between Jennifer and Needy is subtly unveiled throughout the movie.
When the duo heads to the lone bar in Devil’s Kettle to see the indie band Low Shoulder – “They’re so salty,” Jennifer says–they stand in awe of the lead singer, Nikolai Wolf (Adam Brody).
Why is Low Shoulder in Devil’s Kettle, you ask? Nikolai makes it plain and clear. “I think that it’s important that we reach out to our fans in the [expletive] areas, too.”
But apparently they’re there for something else, or else we wouldn’t care.
During the concert, a fire breaks out in the bar, causing multiple deaths that shake Devil’s Kettle to its core. More importantly though, Jennifer is kidnapped by Nikolai’s band, and you guessed it, turned into a boy-eating terror.
As the rest of the movie unfolds, you really get the feel for Cody’s knack for teenage dialogue.
When Chip Dove, Needy’s boyfriend, is warned by his mother that there’s someone or something out there targeting boys, Chip scoffs and tells his mother that he’ll be fine–he’s been using the Bowflex.
The most interesting part about the movie though, is how Needy reacts to Jennifer’s sudden changes.
While Jennifer has always been superficial and air-headed, she was never just plain mean.
That all changes when Jennifer changes, and Needy makes it her mission to stop Jennifer’s murderous rampage before too many people get hurt.
If you go into “Jennifer’s Body” expecting a horror movie, you’ll be disappointed.
Instead, get ready for a barrage of pop culture references and teenagers that sound just like you did when you were their age.
For example, when Jennifer asks how a girl in her class came across a specific piece of information, the girl gets defensive and looks hurt.
Fighting back tears, she screams, “It says so on the Wikipedia page!”
Sound familiar? Maybe you didn’t cry. Maybe you did.
Either way, you owe it to yourself to see this film if you’re looking for a heap of laughs.
Just don’t expect to take anything the movie has to say seriously.