Jennifer’s Body
Ten eld after it fall flat in theatres , Jennifer ’s Body - the repulsion - comedy about a man - use up high-pitched shoal student play by Megan Fox - is experience a resurgence in popularity . The flick , which starred Fox at the height of herTransformersfame , and create by powerhouse duo Karyn Kusama and Diablo Cody , was a critical and commercial dud back in 2009 . A tenner later , it ’s a cult classic .
When the film debuted in September 2009,Jennifer ’s Body’sreviewsfrom predominantly older snowy male critics were unkind to the teen - orient , female person - fronted revulsion funniness to the melodic phrase of 44 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes . The selling of the plastic film was erroneously direct at heterosexual adolescent boys : the bill sticker focused on Fox ’s sex appeal with an image of the starlet in a cheerleading uniform and the trailer played up its titillating qualities with a lesbian - baiting kiss between the female leads . The actual motion picture is far more acerbic , witty and women’s liberationist , but audiences mostly stayed away ; and those who did pay for a just the ticket tended to be put - off by Cody ’s unconventional dialogue . The film limped to a $ 16 million coating , scarce play off its yield budget . So how did the film go from zero to hero ?
Related:20 Crazy Details Behind The Making Of Jennifer ’s dead body
Jennifer ’s Bodytells the story of brash and beautiful Jennifer and her co - dependent friendly relationship with Needy ( Amanda Seyfried ) , a smooth , more bookish girl . Their living are forever alter when they attend a Low Shoulder concert , an indie rock banding whose members are prepared to do a human forfeiture to achieve fame . erroneously believing that Jennifer is a Virgo , the girl instead becomes a genuine man - eating succubus whose reign of terror can only be check by the erotic love of her best protagonist .
Many of the criticisms that were in the beginning leveled atJennifer ’s Body- the awkward duologue , the lack of scares , and the underdeveloped virile characters - have been reappraised as strengths of the film . Due in part to the marketing , critics and audiences alike had unrealistic expectations of what the film should be ( not what it really was ) . Cody ’s spit - blast negotiation persist an develop taste , but the mean - spirited / snappy language is now far more commonplace on many teen - oriented TV shows ; the questionable marketing of it as a full-strength horror movie has been disavowed and it ’s now firmly understand as a horror comedy ; and the paper - thin male characters is now understood as a primal component of the film ’s feminist agenda ( men are insignificant because the cinema is solely about Needy and Jennifer ) . The element that did n’t work in 2009 have become its greatest assets in 2019 .
The dialog around the motion-picture show now take Kusama , Cody and Fox , who had previously all stay relatively quiet onJennifer ’s Bodyuntil a late slating of audience where they talk about the impact of the failure and their treatment by Hollywood afterward . Not only do the women feel that the studio apartment went directly go against their wishes with the marketing , but Cody has hold to being attacked on Twitter by critic , while Fox was both sexualise and body shamed in the mass medium . Kusama , meanwhile , was ineffective to find oneself directorial piece of work and wound up turning to Gamechanger to finance her next filmThe Invitation , a full six year later .
There has also been a shift in the framework of film literary criticism in the last decade . Rotten Tomatoeshas made a careful attempt to diversify its roster of film critics to include more womanhood and people of color , as well as more the bit of musical style reviewers who are more attuned to the delights provide by repulsion films . consider whoJennifer ’s Bodywas intend for ( repulsion lover , but more specifically teenaged female child ) , the rise of diverse voices online , include on societal sensitive , has helped the film ’s champion sound their opinion to the masses . In a post # MeToo world , Jennifer ’s Bodyalso reads very differently : it ’s a outstandingly empowering film about a strong woman with way who polish off stupid , horny men , which is another selling characteristic for feminist horror fans .
Related:2009 ’s Jennifer ’s Body Review
One terminal cistron in the resurgence ofJennifer ’s Bodyhas been its acceptance by the LGBTQ biotic community , who have reclaimed the film as a seminal piece of fag horror . The proliferation of queer - friendly genre texts in the last few long time , including a similar canonization ofA Nightmare on Elm Street 2 : Freddy ’s Revenge(epitomized by Mark Patton ’s new documentaryScream Queen ) , signify that texts likeJennifer ’s Bodyare being rightfully rediscover and celebrated by a stigma new audience .
The fact is thatJennifer ’s Bodywas never the originative unsuccessful person that it was framed as back in 2009 . The world is that the film was onward of its clock time and audiences have only now caught up to its genius .
More : Comic Book Easter Eggs - Carrie Hack in Jennifer ’s physical structure !
