Jennifer's Body (15)

Ok, so most guys are going to see this purely for Megan Fox. It is also clear that Megan Fox and the directing team behind the film knows that too because she is on screen pretty much all the time in probably the smallest outfits imaginable. I find that sometimes in the film, Fox acts like she KNOWS she is hot and I couldn’t quite tell if she was acting as Jennifer or being herself in these moments.

For girls, the focus on Megan Fox does not detract from the film. If you can get past the short outfits, the flashing of flesh and the gratuitous lesbian kiss, then the film is actually rather good. The film says it is a black comedy but I would say it is a more a teenage horror because it is not really that funny, except at times when the storyline is just rather ridiculous. The scenes in high school feel like something out of Mean Girls and the horror bits can actually be quite jumpy.

Basically, it’s all about these two best friends, Jennifer and Anita, aka Needy (Amanda Seyfried, Mamma Mia) who live in a small town called Devil’s Kettle. One day, Jennifer goes off into the woods with Nikolai (Adam Brody, The OC) and his band only to discover that they want to sacrifice her to the devil. Something goes wrong during this ritual and Jennifer is transformed into a demon who needs to eat boys to live. Anita cottons onto this pretty fast but nobody actually believes her and this makes her go a bit insane.

Casting Fox was a good choice for the role of a man-eater because it makes it believable that boys can be lured in really easily for her to kill but let’s face it, she cannot really act. All she does is bitchy, horny and snappy and then repeat. Seyfried on the other hand, is amazing at showing her emotions and going from a normal girl to someone who has gone a bit crazy.

There are several things I wondered about the film- why was Adam Brody cast as an evil-worshipping asshole? It is totally unbelievable especially as I cannot shake off the sweet Seth Cohen character that he used to be in The OC. Also, the fire at the local bar begins out of nowhere. One minute they are listening to Brody’s band, Low Shoulder, play and the next, the whole place is burning down and the school mark it as a ‘tragedy’ the next day. It all happened too quickly.

I found at times, the film didn’t know who its audience was meant to be. For instance, in the high school parts, it was more of a girl film and the boys I watched this with where a bit bored, saved only by the sight of Fox. In other parts, where Fox is practically naked or kissing other girls, I found it uncomfortable whereas the boys enjoyed it a lot. Whether the producers made it to suit both or it was their intention to make some scenes uncomfortable, I really can’t tell.

This film is written by Diablo Cody, most famous for ‘Juno’ and I felt Jennifer phrases things in the same way as I could imagine Juno doing. Other than those little problems I have, it is actually really enjoyable. Although I think the over-exposure of Fox is unnecessary, I’m sure many people would argue that it fits the character. I’m sure many people have different opinions on this, so all I can say is, go see it for yourself.