Starring Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody, and J.K. Simmons
Directed by Karyn Kusama
Directed by Karyn Kusama
As a story, I actually kind of liked Diablo Cody's debut screenplay effort, Juno. If only people didn't talk in it utilizing "too quirky for their own good" dialogue, I would've enjoyed it even more.
A similar thing happens in Jennifer's Body, but to a much less successful degree. The basic plot -- chick turns into a demon and kills the boys around school in order to sustain life -- isn't anything new necessarily, but as an overarching story it's intriguing enough. The unfortunate thing is that Diablo fills the movie with cheesy lines that are too cool for school -- for example, "You're just jello because you're not invited" -- 'jello' being the cool kid equivalent to 'jealous,' both of which contain the same amount of syllables so it's not as if we're even shortening the time it takes to say it.
Megan Fox is okay as demon chick Jennifer, but we're not talking about a great actress here...and I don't get the fascination with this girl. Sure, I guess she's attractive, but there wasn't a minute in this movie that I thought she lived up to her reputation as the most downloaded or Googled woman on the internet. Plus, as an actress, I literally feel like I'm staring at an empty, vacant face...there's no emotion behind those eyes or those looks that she doles out.
Amanda Seyfried, on the other hand, is becoming an actress I enjoy (she was absolutely the only good thing about the horrendously awful Mamma Mia). She's the dorky one in this...we know that because she wears glasses and doesn't know what to wear in order to look cool in one of her first scenes. As she gradually begins to discover the "real Jennifer," she can't get anyone to believe her, including her boyfriend, played by a surprisingly decent Johnny Simmons (who apparently was in Hotel for Dogs, but I don't remember him). Simmons isn't given a lot to do here and his role is nothing other than the requisite boyfriend role seen in so many other movies, but for some reason or another, I liked him in this. Unfortunately, Simmons and Seyfried share one of the most awkward sex scenes in movies this year...it felt like it went on forever and I couldn't wait for it to be over.
Listen...this really isn't a good movie and I certainly don't recommend it. And Diablo Cody is too snarky for her own good. But, Seyfried and Simmons, along with some interesting (although not always good) directorial choices by Karyn Kusuma make this not an epic failure.
A similar thing happens in Jennifer's Body, but to a much less successful degree. The basic plot -- chick turns into a demon and kills the boys around school in order to sustain life -- isn't anything new necessarily, but as an overarching story it's intriguing enough. The unfortunate thing is that Diablo fills the movie with cheesy lines that are too cool for school -- for example, "You're just jello because you're not invited" -- 'jello' being the cool kid equivalent to 'jealous,' both of which contain the same amount of syllables so it's not as if we're even shortening the time it takes to say it.
Megan Fox is okay as demon chick Jennifer, but we're not talking about a great actress here...and I don't get the fascination with this girl. Sure, I guess she's attractive, but there wasn't a minute in this movie that I thought she lived up to her reputation as the most downloaded or Googled woman on the internet. Plus, as an actress, I literally feel like I'm staring at an empty, vacant face...there's no emotion behind those eyes or those looks that she doles out.
Amanda Seyfried, on the other hand, is becoming an actress I enjoy (she was absolutely the only good thing about the horrendously awful Mamma Mia). She's the dorky one in this...we know that because she wears glasses and doesn't know what to wear in order to look cool in one of her first scenes. As she gradually begins to discover the "real Jennifer," she can't get anyone to believe her, including her boyfriend, played by a surprisingly decent Johnny Simmons (who apparently was in Hotel for Dogs, but I don't remember him). Simmons isn't given a lot to do here and his role is nothing other than the requisite boyfriend role seen in so many other movies, but for some reason or another, I liked him in this. Unfortunately, Simmons and Seyfried share one of the most awkward sex scenes in movies this year...it felt like it went on forever and I couldn't wait for it to be over.
Listen...this really isn't a good movie and I certainly don't recommend it. And Diablo Cody is too snarky for her own good. But, Seyfried and Simmons, along with some interesting (although not always good) directorial choices by Karyn Kusuma make this not an epic failure.
The RyMickey Rating: D
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