Jennifer’s Body

The first thing I think I really enjoyed about this movie is Amanda Seyfried. And the reason I come charging in with that assessment is up until now, I can’t really think of a performance of hers I was significantly fond of in her filmography. Honestly, many times I have a hard time remembering her filmography in general. So it was nice to be able to celebrate her in this film. She was quite capable at handling the heft of the film as well. I know from the outside it would seem like this is supposed to be a Megan Fox vehicle primarily. She’s prominently featured on the cover. She plays the titular character in the film. It would appear as though she is supposed to be the focal point of the movie. And yet somehow, Seyfried steals the show. And I’m here for it. She’s a very dynamic presence in the film. She plays a very meek best friend to Fox’s Jennifer. But her story arc is actually relatively complex compared to most other players in the film. And in the end she has a much more satisfying conclusion within the parameters of the story.

I think I’d also like to note the secondary cast in the film. This is one of those movies that I was aware of when it came out but never really had any drive to watch. Clearly I haven’t explored it until now. But in watching it, there were some great performances by J.K. Simmons as well as Adam Brody and even a small cameo from Chris Pratt before he became a real household name. So there was a decent effort put in by the B team on this film. This is nice to see sometimes because so many horror flicks skimp on the payroll for actors because it’s just not worth it to include anyone of notoriety, even if it’s small. I suppose at the time this film came out, Simmons may not have been quite as prodigious as he is known to be now. In many ways, Adam Brody still probably isn’t quite as well known as he should be. I know he’s been in some long running television dramas that I don’t have a strong purview on so his popularity could be more so than I’m giving him credit for in the long run. I often enjoy his performances as he tends to err on the side of more sardonic and snarky roles. It fits him well. While all three of these capable actors have a relatively diminished capacity in the film compared to Fox and Seyfried, their overall contribution to the enjoyment of this film is quite notable in my estimation.

What I didn’t like about this movie is pretty much the rest of the movie. There’s a part of some of these kinds of movies that’s a little hard to go back and watch as an adult. The thing about it is that it’s just kind of awkward to follow the romantic escapades of what are supposed to be teenagers as it stands. It’s weird and it’s awkward. I know everyone can related to those times in life so the audience for this film is not simply relegated to a strictly teen audience. But there’s something a little cringey about watching it played out on screen. I don’t feel like I need to expound much on this notion. It’s just worth documenting.

I think the other part of this film is that it never really gets any kind of interesting. It’s just set up and execution. There’s very little about the plot that is anything other than predictable and I feel like that’s offensive to the notion of predictability. Like there’s no mystery to the plot at all. And I’m being objective there. I know this movie came out years ago so any idea that the plot is unspoiled to me is unrealistic. But even trying to entertain the idea that it needs to be “figured out” that Jennifer is possessed by something is dispatched almost immediately. Furthermore, her relationship of feeding to her general well being comes in step to where there’s again, nothing to figure out. It just happens. So there’s no mystery. It’s just a series of things happening that we are observing. “How’s that different than any other story?” you might wonder to yourself. Well, next time try and wonder quietly. Because I don’t care. And it doesn’t matter. This movie is bland and uninteresting. I think you should have gathered that by now.

At the end of the day I think I’ve gotta go with a C- on this one. It’s a watchable film. I won’t be purchasing it or adding it to the collection. But I’m probably not going to recommend it either. Nor will I rewatch it at any point for any reason. I suppose if terrorists make me rewatch it then I’ll have to. But that’s not me deciding to rewatch it. That’s someone else forcing me to rewatch this movie. And that’s not the same thing. So don’t conflate them. Am I upset that I watched it? No, not really. It wasn’t horrible. Like I said, there were parts I really enjoyed. Amanda Seyfried was really likable in this movie. The supporting cast was really capable. It was just that in the end there were significant elements of the plot that were a little cringey at best and the story was bland. So I can’t really recommend a watch. But I also won’t go so far as to say it was so bad that I am upset that I wasted my time with it. It served it’s purpose and it’s over now. So we can all move on. And we will. So until next time, I’ll catch you on the flip side.