Jennifer's Body (15)
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.When Diablo Cody won an Oscar for her Juno screenplay, she was suddenly the coolest woman in Hollywood: a lavishly tattooed ex-stripper, discovered via her blog, who could turn an indie comedy into a blockbuster by packing the dialogue with new-minted teen slang. That's why Cody's complacent follow-up, Jennifer's Body, is such a let-down.
It's a horror comedy about a high-school cheerleader (Megan Fox) who is possessed. And while Cody doesn't do anything satirical, scary or sexy with the concept, a more fundamental flaw is this: Jennifer's Body is desperately uncool. The trouble is that Heathers, Clueless and Mean Girls have already demonstrated how waspish schoolgirl comedies can be, while the idea of throwing some horror into the mix seems archaic after seven series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Instead of playing like a hip outsider's subversive new genre-mash, Jennifer's Body comes across as a tame, derivative vehicle for the girl from the Transformers franchise. All that sets it apart is Cody's trademarked slang, and that sounds even more gimmicky than it did in Juno.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments