E-Mail
Print
Advertisement
'Jennifer's Body' more horror than humor
Published online on Friday, Sep. 18, 2009
tool name
close
tool goes here
Comments (0)
"Jennifer's Body" is being promoted as a comedy, and the film does have devilishly dark comic moments thanks to the generally poisonous pen of Oscar-winning writer Diablo Cody.
From pop culture references to a teacher with a hook for a hand (played by the always dependable J.K. Simmons), Cody's black sense of humor seeps out of this movie like the blood of its numerous victims. But Cody doesn't show the dark humor consistency of her "Juno" screenplay.
There are actually more arguments for this film to be promoted as a horror movie because director Karyn Kusama trumps all the comic scenes with acts of violence. The story revolves around Jennifer, played by the head-turning Megan Fox. She's the typical high school student -- if you count shopping at Sluts "R" Us for her clothes, bedding most of the males (and a few females) in her small town and being so in love with herself that she makes the term narcissistic seem insufficient.
Jennifer convinces her BFF -- and they have the matching necklaces to prove it -- Needy (Amanda Seyfried) to go to a local bar to see the indy band Low Shoulder. Jennifer is hot for the lead singer (Adam Brody). Everything goes bad when the bar burns and Jennifer becomes the target of Satanic worship. Who knew if you don't use a virgin as a sacrifice the subject becomes the host for a really nasty demon? Jennifer finds she must feed on human flesh if she hopes to keep her flawless skin and silky smooth hair.
Cody goes Quentin Tarantino on the movie and loads it with pop culture references -- from the preteen flick "Aquamarine" to the band Maroon 5. These moments are good for a giggle but not enough to justify calling this a comedy. The script didn't need to go to the comic absurdity of the 1981 slasher "Student Bodies," but you can't cover jokes with buckets of blood and expect the comedy to shine.
"Jennifer's Body" works better as a horror film, especially with the juxtaposition between Jennifer the beauty and Jennifer the flesh-eating killer.
Seyfried also proves to be the kind of spunky protagonist a good horror film needs, such as was the case with Jamie Lee Curtis in the original "Halloween" or Heather Langenkamp in "Nightmare on Elm Street." Trying to shove this movie into a comedy category is like having Dr. Jekyll and standup comic Mr. Hyde.
TV and movie critic Rick Bentley can be reached at rbentley@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6355. Read his blog at fresnobeehive.com.
A few rules are needed to help foster a feeling of community. We encourage a free and open exchange of ideas in a climate of mutual respect, but any post that violates someone's right to use and enjoy fresnobee.com is prohibited. Before you post, please read the terms of use and obey these simple guidelines.
Here are the ground rules:
- Be yourself. A nickname will be used for posts, but if an editor finds a user without a verifiable name, that user will be warned or banned.
- Keep it clean. Foul language (defined by prime-time standards) will not be tolerated. Neither will the intentional misspelling of foul language or the use of non-English curse words.
- Be truthful. Do not lie or link to sites that may be considered libelous, defamatory or false.
- Be nice. Don't harass anyone. Don't threaten anyone. Don't use racial slurs. Don't post anything sexually explicit.
- Be an individual. Do not advertise or solicit. Do not harvest any information for business use.
- Be original. Do not post copyrighted material.
- Follow the law. Don't do anything or post anything considered illegal by city, county, state or federal regulations and laws.
Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH
- From The Beehive
-
You review KISS
A gravity-defying, fire-shooting, sparks-flying, blood-spitting, platform-shoe wearing, full-makeuped KISS rocked Fresno for 2-plus hours Saturday night (including a really good encore of hit songs). Did you enjoy the show? Did the set list satisfy? How would you rate the...read more »
It's band weekend
Hope you didn't even think of trying to get a cheap motel room in Fresno this weekend considering the influx of high-school marching band members flooding the area from north and south. The Western Band Championships are in full...read more »
Another comedy show to look forward to ...
We gave you a nice rundown of upcoming comedy shows earlier in the week, and now we got another one. 'Tis the season to laugh, apparently. The guys at Cloud 9 Productions pass along word that they've booked a...read more »
Complete Beehive → - Columnists
-
Rick Bentley Mum's the word on KBOS firings
There have been several changes to the KBOS (FM 94.9) on-air lineup with the abrupt firings of Danny Salas two weeks ago and Mo'nique on Friday. Read more →
Donald Munro Humanity subtly appears in Tanner show
Humans see the world a certain way. Literally. We're stalklike creatures, basically, with eyes perched at the very top, and our sense of the manner in which we occupy physical space -- from a view of a sunset to the way we navigate through crowds -- Read more →
- National entertainment
- More stories →
- Most Read Stories
-
- Most E-mailed
$(document).ready(function(){
$("dd:not(:first)").hide();
$("dt a").click(function(){
$("dd:visible").slideUp("fast");
$(this).parent().next().slideDown("fast");
return false;
});
});
@Nyx.CommentBody@