By Sabrina Boyer
There was a lot of backlash after Juno came out and after Diablo Cody won an Oscar for Best Screenplay. The backlash seemed to be mostly aimed at her clever and quippy beyond their years teenage lingo used by her characters and this now infamous Hamburger phone. (I’m pretty sure I had one of those as a kid, and while not very easy to use, it is retro chic).
And then there was backlash against Jennifer’s Body before the film even premiered. It’s like people were geared up to immediately hate the film for a minutia of reasons, namely that one of the main characters was played by the infamous and quite often called “skanky” Megan Fox. But as soon as I saw the trailer for this film, I was instantly seduced by the freshness of the story; in the trailer we see Megan Fox burn her tongue, dance cutely in front of a mirror, hear lines like “you’re killing people,” and Jennifer responding with “No, I’m killing boys.” And “Jennifer’s evil; not high school evil; evil evil.” With lines like this, I was immediately reminded of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; now, while both use humor and horror to work the metaphor of teen angst and high school is hell, that’s where the similarities end. However, after seeing Jennifer’s Body for the second time this past weekend, I have decided that it is a refreshing take on genre film, and I argue that it has created a new genre and that finally, I have a quirky comeror (a new word I just made up thank you very much) with yes, a feminist sprinkling for good measure.
I’ve read countless reviews critiquing Cody’s inability to subvert the traditional horror tropes she plays with in the film as well as a resounding nay on her use of the word “feminist” in describing it. I admit that I walked into the film expecting something much more bloody, horrory, and all around scary and came out with something that was geeky, funny, clever, and strange. I think the first time I saw it my expectations clouded my viewing for what it really is and was meant to be, and quite honestly, what it was not meant to be. It was not meant to be a straight up horror film that we are used to seeing come out of the overwhelmingly male-dominated Hollywood slasher/horror space. The second time I saw it, I was able to pull out what Cody was attempting to do as writer and producer of the film in tandem with a female director. I have to admit that Cody made me realize that as a feminist and as a woman, just how used to male dominated horror I really am.
So here’s what I like about Jennifer’s Body; I will admit that there are disconnects throughout the film in terms of some of Cody’s metaphors and representations not immediately coming across to her audience and think, in part, that’s why there’s a lot of lime green jelly floating around about this movie. First, Diablo Cody was a stripper and her real name is not, in fact, Diablo. I think, quite frankly, this bugs some feminists; it kinda bugged me, but if I’m going to be a feminist that is not bogged down by labels or perimeters, then I can accept that these acts aren’t necessarily orchestrated and acted out because of some childhood sexual trauma or self-esteem issues. In fact, Cody explores these very issues within this film. We see the main characters Jennifer and Needy, who immediately seem to have a more than friends connection though that sexual piece of their relationship is constantly denied in this small town; Jennifer knows her body is her ticket out of Devil’s Kettle, and her sexuality is demonized even before she becomes, in fact, a demon. She doesn’t even change very much after she is, in fact, a demon. She is the most beautiful girl in school and therefore is the most hated. She is a demon because she uses her looks to control authority figures. “Needy, I’ve got the cops in my backpocket. I’m fucking a cadet,” Jennifer says when Needy threatens to turn her in.
Further, when she literally becomes a demon, she does so at the hands of Emo punks who got their Satan ritual directions off of Google. Jennifer constantly straddles the line between virgin/whore, in that in order to get what she needs to have access to power (the only kind of power allowed a young woman) to get out of this town and be what she truly wants to be, whatever that is, she has to work both her sexuality as well as deny it at the same time. If she were to go further in any one direction, she would be a slut or a prude, and neither of those can work small town as much as obscuring both. Jennifer is immediately attracted to the band Low Shoulder because they are from the city and dress to impress. It is a ticket out of this suffocating space if she can just dangle her sexuality enough without moving in either direction. In fact, we know that Jennifer is no virgin, and yet, she pretends to be one in order to try and get out of being kidnapped and sacrificed in the ’89 rapist van. But being a virgin to these guys is the worst thing she could possibly be.
While Needy is the mousy friend, it is in fact Jennifer who is insecure about her own body. She has been since she was “Snowflake Queen” and needed laxatives to stay skinny. Jennifer is the needy one. Needy is, on the surface, a walking stereotype from traditional slasher/horror films, but she is actually the one that saves the town and invokes her power when she needs to. Needy is all about walking the fine line of her needs once she learns what needs to be done.
The demon that inhabits Jennifer’s body is one that binges and purges, invoking eating disorder imagery as well as the competitive relationship between young women; as Needy gets dressed for their night at “the club” to see the city band, she mentions that in Jennifer speak “looking cute means nothing too nerdy, and showing stomach is okay but no cleavage. Cleavage is her trademark.” This relationship only exists because there is power to be had in the female body; even Jennifer acknowledges this at the club, grabbing Needy’s breasts and calling them “smartbombs; point them in the right direction and sh!t gets real.”
And Cody might not have scored as many points with me if she hadn’t made direct and clear homages to Heathers, with the use of woods as sites of murder, Jennifer’s popularity as a flag girl (not a cheerleader, as so many critics seem to get wrong), her murder of the star quarterback, and the single anthem that unites the town under these horrible murders; and the “trailer park pig roast” that was Melody Lane, the club where Need and Jennifer first meet the band Low Shoulder and they take Jennifer away to sacrifice her to Satan. Jennifer, once demonized, feeds off the desire of her male counterparts in order to stay beautiful and invincible. She would’ve done this anyway; it just so happens a literal demon inhabits her in the process. Don’t we see these popular girls in effect sell their “soul” to be popular? Maybe not literally, but their sense of self is severely fraked up for the sake of sellable sexuality.
The fact is this is a horror film written by a woman, produced by a woman, directed by a woman. It’s not a horror, it’s not a comedy, and it’s not meant to necessarily subvert any horror tropes; it is meant to get us thinking about female sexuality, our hatred, fear, and competition in perpetuating girl on girl crime, and to explore new ways of perhaps creating and producing horror that doesn’t necessarily require a male gaze or a phallic weapon; as audience members, we often see Jennifer through Needy’s gaze, not our own. We can wield box-cutters and use historically male murder weapons on males and still have a wild ride.
So I have to ask, why is it that everyone is so critical of this, of Megan Fox, and of the inability to pigeonhole this film? Is it maybe because Megan Fox is beautiful, that she’s famous for it, that this film isn’t about a male killer or protagonist, and that it’s not what we’ve come to expect? That Diablo Cody used to take her clothes off for money? Perhaps. It might not be the perfect film, but it is one hell of a start to getting women to do more than scream while running up the stairs.
About Sabrina Boyer: As a kid my dad would sneak scary movies past my mom and let me indulge in his horror movie fetish. I grew up watching V, Alien Nation, The Thing, The Fog (all originals) and then, in 1992 when Buffy the movie came out, I became obsessed with vampires, girl power, and all things gothic. I once stayed home from school, faked sick, and watched BTVS: the movie 6 times in a row. I know the beginning cheerleading dance by heart (still). Currently, I’m obsessing over Laurell K. Hamilton novels, and dream about Anita Blake being my best friend.
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As a kid my dad would sneak scary movies past my mom and let me indulge in his horror movie fetish. I grew up watching V, Alien Nation, The Thing, The Fog (all originals) and then, in 1992 when Buffy the movie came out, I became obsessed with vampires, girl power, and all things gothic. I once stayed home from school, faked sick, and watched BTVS: the movie 6 times in a row. I know the beginning cheerleading dance by heart (still). Currently, I'm obsessing over Laurell K. Hamilton novels, and dream about Anita Blake being my best friend. 
"…do you think that a summer action blockbuster in with an actor has a supporting role whose main job is to look hot is a fair way to judge a persons acting abilities?"
Possibly not but, at the risk of sounding cliched, there are no small parts, only small actors. I've seen wonderful actors shine in small insignificant roles, even in blow-em-up movies. It's a performer's job to make their character interesting. Admittedly, Megan Fox is still a young actor and (hopefully) still learning her craft. If she turns up in another movie I want to see, I won't avoid it because of her (the way I do with, say, Tom Hanks). I do hope that she is becoming a better actor. I just don't think this is the role that will win me over.
Okay, I think this is a reasonable position to take. You are right, she did not "steal the screen" as some extraordinary actors do in supporting roles. So, I did not think of that. But I will say that I did not walk out of Transformers thinking, that movie was enjoyable, save for that painful performance by Megan Fox. I do not think she is the best thing to ever go across the screen, but I don't think she is anywhere near bad either. She is one of dozens of quality, interchangeable actors, capable of performing their roles well and not causing the audience to roll their eyes and cringe. She just happens to be one of the "it" girls at the moment.