Movie Info:
Writer: Diablo Cody
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody, Sal Cortez, Ryan Levine, Juan Riedinger, Kyle Gallner
Rating: R
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Info:
Original Theatrical Release Date: September 18, 2009
DVD Release Date: December 29, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $22.99
I’m just going to get this right out of the way before delving into this review. I thought that Jennifer’s Body was going to absolutely suck. I had extremely low expectations for this film. The people I knew who had seen it in the theater had said it was pretty stupid. Sure, I’m fond of the work I’ve seen of Diablo Cody in the past, but perhaps this was her “Baby’s Day Out” and like the late, great John Hughes, she ran out of good ideas, only to disappear into past Hollywood fame obscurity long before her time was up.
In this mindset, I was disappointed Amanda Seyfried, a young, talented, budding actress, wasted her time on Jennifer’s Body. Still, I thought I’d give the movie a chance for her sake and what a surprise. I actually liked Jennifer’s Body. I didn’t just like it, I thought it was a quirky, fun, dark comedy that had some rather brilliant moments amidst the high school lame-o speak the actors indulge in throughout the film. Cody redeemed herself after my unfounded doubts, and I have newfound appreciation for her warped sense of humor.
Jennifer’s Body is a dark comedy. This means it really is not meant to be scary like a traditional horror flick. As any good comedy should, Jennifer’s Body made me laugh. Some of it was at the ridiculousness of the characters, their speech and the situations they are placed in, but that is the ENTIRE POINT of Jennifer’s Body. It is supposed to be ridiculous. The teenagers use stupid slang, which makes those of us over the age of 21 cringe. That’s the way kids sound to us old folks, so no big deal there.
Megan Fox is given some meaty material she can actually sink her teeth into. Fox admits she’s not used to this kind of acting, and she tried to have fun with it. Well, it seems the girl has a bit of natural talent. Sure, she’s no Robert DeNiro, but he wouldn’t have made a very good Jennifer now would he? Fox was the eye candy in Transformers, but in Jennifer’s Body she has to rely on more than just her svelte figure (though it does play a prominent role in this film, as well) to entertain the audience. I already knew Seyfried could act, so it was no big surprise to see her perform well. Fox and Seyfried had nice chemistry and that is what really helped to make this film work.
Jennifer’s Body isn’t going to appeal to everyone. Some won’t enjoy the comedy in this flick, insisting it should have been a straight horror affair. Others will hate the horror aspect and wish it was strictly a comedy. I like this kind of humor and I especially appreciate a horror film that can make fun of itself and the entire genre at the same time. All in all, whether you will like Jennifer’s Body will depend on whether you like Diablo Cody’s sense of humor already or not.
Jennifer’s Body Plot
It’s quite a surprise that Jennifer (Fox) and Anita “Needy” (Seyfried) are best friends. The two have absolutely nothing in common, but they have been close since they were little kids. Jennifer is a sexy, flag waver in the school’s colorguard/cheer team/band (depending on the school), while Needy appears to be a book loving, not so fashionable, dork. Jennifer is in control of the friendship, dragging Needy off wherever they go, under the guise of friendship.
Jennifer informs Needy they will be going to the local bar where Low Shoulder, an indie rock band, is playing. The lead singer, Nikolai (Adam Brody), looks hot and Jennifer hopes to conquer him. Needy’s boyfriend, Chip (Johnny Simmons), is not fond of her relationship with Jennifer, but he goes along with it because it seems to make her happy.
At the bar, Needy soon realizes Nikolai and his band are sleazy. She thinks they only want to use Jennifer for sex and tries to warn her friend of this. Needy tells Jennifer what the band said about her, but before anything can be done about it, a mysterious fire breaks out in the bar, killing several patrons. Both Needy and Jennifer escape, but Jennifer is in shock and ends up going off with the band, who take her into the woods.
Needy spends most of the night worrying about Jennifer, but when Jennifer finally shows up in her house something has changed. Jennifer is covered in blood, and though starving, she ends up puking up all of the food she eats from Needy’s refrigerator in a black, oozing substance. Unsure what has gone on, Needy is left to clean up the mess and figure out why Jennifer is acting so weird.
When teenage boys in town start showing up dead, this small town already suffering from the bar tragedy, must face the fact that a killer, who is ripping their boys apart, is on the loose. Furthering Needy’s own personal plight is the knowledge that something happened in the woods to Jennifer, and Low Shoulder, the band behind whatever went on, is taking credit for saving all the people who survived the bar incident, making them national heroes and furthering their careers, in the process.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
Jennifer’s Body looks as good as one could hope. The 1080p, AVC MPEG-4 transfer offers an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Overall this is quite an impressive transfer. The skin tones look great, the coloring is vivid and the black levels are strong. You especially notice this with Jennifer because her skin tone and general appearance change greatly whenever she needs to eat. The black sludge and the flying blood also comes through vividly, causing no reason for complaint. The graphics are crisp and clean. Everything is highly detailed without offering too much sharpness. It’s hard to continue talking about the graphics because there really isn’t anything bad to say about them.
Like the video for Jennifer’s Body, the audio leaves nothing to complain about. The dialogue sounds clear and is always easy to hear, but much of the important audio in this film comes from music, sound effects, and background noise. All of that passes with flying colors. The music in the bar and in other scenes offers a highly supported audio track. It is strong without being overpowering. All of the audio aspects blend perfectly, allowing you to hear each one without hearing too much or too little of any of them. The audio becomes stronger or more subtle based on the needs of each scene. Like I said, everything really sounds as perfect as it can sound. Portuguese, Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks have also been included. There are also subtitles in English, Chinese, Thai, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
Before beginning with special features you get the chance to watch some trailers. The trailers included are for Gentlemen Broncos, All About Steve, Whip It, and Fame. After you’ve watched the trailers you have the option of choosing the theatrical or extended cut for Jennifer’s Body. The running times show about five additional minutes of film for the extended cut. However, I can’t state how many differences there are because I only watched the extended cut. A digital copy is also included.
Like most movies, Jennifer’s Body offers a commentary track. In fact, there are two here. There is a commentary for each version of the film. The theatrical film’s commentary includes Diablo Cody and Kathryn Kusama. Things are informal for the most part. They mention differences between the two film versions. It’s a very fun, giggle-track of a commentary. It reminds you of a girl talk kind of thing. The second track is just with the director. This is similar to the first track in the fact that the main point of this is just to point out the differences in the two tracks. It’s not really a full commentary in that sense, but it is included and it’s a vocal feature, so we’re going to call it that.
The rest of the special features are in HD so I am going to assume that most, if not all, are exclusive to the Blu-ray. This includes over thirteen minutes of deleted scenes (six in all), a five minute gag reel, and a number of featurettes which are discussed in detail below.
“Jennifer’s Body: The Dead Pool” – Here you have a fourteen minute making of featurette that talks about things like shooting, production, and the indoor pool scene. It’s an interesting feature, especially when they show the various designs that didn’t make the cut.
“Video Diaries” – You get twelve or so minutes of various cast and crew diaries. I wasn’t really into the diaries myself, but some fans might enjoy them. I found them to be a little fluffy for my personal taste.
“Megan Fox is Hot” – I know, shocking title, isn’t it? This is less than a minute in length and it’s just a bunch of shots of Fox at her best. Depending on who you are and what you like, you may or may not like this.
“Megan Fox Peer Pressure PSA” – This is another less than a minute feature. It’s reminiscent of the fake PSA’s on other movies. You will have to watch it to find out the joke.
“Fox Movie Channel Presents: Life After Film School with Diablo Cody” – Here you have a 30 minute featurette. It includes various film school students interviewing Cody, asking for advice for film school graduates. It’s pretty decent overall. Fans of Cody will find it highly entertaining.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
Jennifer’s Body is a lot better than I thought it would be. Diablo Cody’s story is clever, entertaining and engaging. The acting is actually pretty good. The story is funny, as it should be, for a dark comedy, and the performances by the actors seem to be fun, not forced. In the Blu-Ray, you can expect excellent audio and visual qualities and a host of fun BD exclusive features. While you may want to rent Jennifer’s Body before purchasing it, when you decide it is worth your money, you’ll want to go Blu-Ray. It’s worth the extra money for the quality you’ll receive.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Blu-Ray Review, Jennifer’s Body, Horror, Dark Comedy, Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Diablo Cody, Film, 20th Century Fox
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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics, his religion (Hellenic Reconstructionism) and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.
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