Review of Jennifer's Body (2009) by Bobby K — 13 Aug 2011

Fresh from an Oscar win and a helpful hand in creating American teenage slang for the next three years, Diablo Cody should have delivered a product that entertained with the same malice and yet tenderness as Juno, or at least something as witty and eccentric.

Instead we're given something that doesn't fall into any genre except teen oriented. It's supposed to have its moments in both a horrific and comedic premise, and all the time include the sexual appeal and eerie creepiness of Megan Fox.

Instead of being scary we're given two extremely unsettling scenes of gore, which are more about cannibalism than demonic possession. The concept could easily have been successful if Fox's bitchy side could have been deeply explored, her relationship with Needy built up enough to conquer experimentation, and the dialogue wasn't purely just about Jennifer.

Apparently she's very important, socially superior, and this almost demi-god in the personality department, and yet Jennifer comes off as an unintelligent, slightly cheesy caricature of a high school prom princess.

It just doesn't mesh with the horror element at all, which is not in any way truly explained except for a snippet in a book. Then we're suddenly bombarded with information, only to not care with all the anti-climactic buildup from earlier.

None of this is funny, at all. Perhaps a line or two are shock funny or bitchy funny, but not actual comedy in any sense of the word. It's shallow, thinly constructed, and unintelligible; the title seems to be the only thing basing this movie in reality.