Needy and Jennifer are an unusual couple of best friends. Needy is quiet, reserved, and nerdy. Jennifer, on the other hand, is direct, arrogant, and a cheerleader. But the two high school chums are about to have one more big difference between them; a taste for human beings.
When Needy and Jennifer go to an ill fated rock show, Jennifer ends up leaving with a douchey rock band from "the city". When she shows up at Needy's house later that night she has changed, but Needy isn't sure how or what has happened. Eventually it becomes clear that a series of grisly murders may be linked to her friend. She investigates, only to find out that Jennifer may in fact be possessed by a nasty succubus which forces her to devour human beings to survive.
Jennifer's body does cheesy right. In other words, the do it on purpose. It's obvious that the folks that made this movie had a good sense of humour and went into it with every intention of making a horror movie that wasn't afraid to have fun at the same time. As a result there's not much in this movie that isn't obviously tongue-in-cheek to some extent with lots of cheesy lines, high school cliché's, and shots at pop culture.
This movie has been labeled both as feminist and sexist, depending who you want to believe. It's not overtly political one way or the other. Is it sexist? Not overtly and not compared to a lot of the corporate entertainment we are fed. Is it feminist? Not overtly. But it is a movie about two women, they do talk to each other, and they do talk to each other about something other than a man. How many movies can you think of that fill that criteria? Both the hero and villain are women.The hero is smart, strong, and not dependent on a male character. The villain, maybe not so much. But at the same time, she only becomes a villain because of a group of sexist men who cause her to be possessed by a succubus. All in all I'd say it comes out favourably on the issue for the most part.
Jennifer's Body is a good movie because its got its creepy moments but its also a lot of fun. Word is there may be a sequel in the future. The door is left open for it, but it's hard to imagine how it would continue the original story in a way that is relevant and worth while. Nonetheless, based on the original, if the time comes, I'll be there.
4 human lasagna's out of 5
Rated R for sexuality, bloody violence, language and brief drug use.
Watch the Jennifer's Body trailer.
No comments:
Post a Comment