Jennifer's Body

Jennifer's Body is one of those films that you'll either love or hate. And to my surprise I loved this movie. Starring the beautiful Megan Fox and the quirky Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer's Body is quirky and scary and funny and gory. And it works. The movie has a simple enough plot: a indie-rock band sells their souls to the devil to become as famous as "the guy from Maroon 5." So to make an impression on Satan, the have to sacrifice a virgin. So they hold a mini-concert at a dirty bar in Jennifer (Fox) and Needy's (Seyfried) hometown. The band charms Jennifer and then their "magic" sets fire to the bar. In all the confusion, the lead singer of the band, Nikolai, played by Adam Brody, convinces Jennifer to get into his van. And after that night, Jennifer is just not the same. Young guys from the town begin showing up eaten and Needy notices that her best friend keeps acting weirder and weirder.

When this movie first came out, I was discouraged to hear that many of the top critics gave it bad reviews. However, I decided to go ahead and watch it. And I'm so glad that I did. Jennifer's Body is not that bad of a movie. In fact, I would be willing to bet that one day it will be viewed the same way as cult classics like Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is referenced in the film. Jennifer's Body is not a serious movie. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a horror movie as much as a dark comedy. Not that it wasn't scary, because there were some very intense parts, including one scene where Needy meets Jennifer in the kitchen and Jennifer is covered in blood and gore. It just wasn't meant to be seen as a horror movie. It does not, in any way, take itself seriously. It is meant to make people laugh and it is meant to be stupid and corny and, to put it bluntly, completely ridiculous. Because it is. It is an absolutely ridiculous movie, with a ridiculous plot and outrageous dialogue, but it all works. It's surprisingly funny and entertaining, but it will also keep you on the edge of your seat.

But the plot wasn't the only ridiculous thing about this movie. Megan Fox as a cannibalistic demon, really? For some reason I don't think the picked Fox because she is terrifying. But she is gorgeous. And she does play a pretty awesome psycho. And, not to put down Fox, but it seems really realistic. In the movie, Jennifer could get any guy she wanted, even though she was a man-eating demon. Somehow, I think that even if the real Fox was a demon she could get almost any man she wanted. But anyhow, Fox was actually a pretty good actress. She plays the evil type well, and I don't just mean a demon. She was also pretty good in her role as the stuck-up cheerleader. Amanda Seyfried was also surprisingly good. Her emotions were expressed to the audience, so, watching the film, you knew when she was afraid, the majority of the film, and when she was happy, the minority. The chemistry between Fox and Seyfried was pretty incredible too. The two seemed to work really well together and they just seemed to connect. Adam Brody also had a small part in the film as the lead singer of the Satanic indie-band: Low Shoulder. He's only on screen for a brief time, but he does very well with the little part he was given. His character is a gentlemanly psycho and he plays the part exactly the way it should be played. He's charming, yet scary. And good-looking, yet completely insane. The acting wasn't the best that I've ever seen, however, it fits the funny and quirky style of the movie.

The script was also completely ridiculous, yet brilliant. The dialogue is littered with made up words that are supposed to sound like something a teenager would say. However, no teenager actually says stuff like "jello" for jealous or any of the other weird slang words. But it doesn't even matter because the fact that these words are so ridiculous makes the movie even more funny because it seems like the movie itself is aware of how stupid and hilarious it is.

Jennifer's Body is not meant to be a serious, thought-provoking film. It was made to become a cult classic. It was made to make people laugh and to just be fun. I think many critics have lost sight of the fact that a movie doesn't have to be serious and dramatic to be good. Movies weren't made to make people feel lousy and depressed. They were made to make people laugh to give people a source of fun entertainment. And Jennifer's Body succeeds because it does both of those: it makes you laugh and it is impossible to not be entertained by this completely insane and hilarious movie.

-H