Post by StevePulaski on Jan 9, 2011 14:19:33 GMT -5
The girls in Jawbreaker are more than meets the eye (Julie Benz, Rebecca Gayheart, and Rose McGowan).
Rating: ★★★
Jawbreaker is a copy of a copy. It takes plot points from Heathers, Carrie, and uses some originals of it's own to create itself. It's not a bad film. Actually one of the better teen films I have seen recently. It reminds me of a much more recent film I saw a few months back called Mean Girls. Of course that came five years later. This one has all very beautiful, and perky actresses that flood the screen at one time, much like Mean Girls. But Mean Girls was a film that was much more tame and lit the screen up. This one falls under a dark comedy.
Let me just say I love Rebecca Gayheart. I had a childhood crush on her, and she's probably the reason for my love behind Santa's Slay. She's gorgeous, one of the most beautiful and underrated actresses in the business today. She gets a promising, and an effective role in this film. From her constant beauty on screen, to her sassy ways in the later parts of the film, she finds ways to surprise me. Very worthy, respectable part for her.
The plot is about three teen girls named Courtney (McGowan), Marcie (Benz), and Julie (Gayheart) who, as a birthday prank, gag their friend Liz with a jawbreaker, and throw her in the trunk of their car. They drive for a brief time, before stopping at a diner, and opening the trunk to realize she is dead. She had swallowed the giant jawbreaker, and now the girls realize their stunt has gone wrong.
To avoid trouble, Courtney calls Liz in sick, and they go to school like normal. Courtney (pretending to be Liz's mother) on the phone to give one of the girls Liz's homework for the day. The principal gives Courtney the homework, which she forgets, and another student named Fern Mayo (Judy Greer), a nerdy bookworm, is sent with Liz's homework. Fern absolutely adores Liz and her beauty, so upon arriving to Fern's house and entering, she finds the girls trying to cover up Liz's corpse with a faulty rape story.
Fern now knows a secret that shouldn't have been told. She has the power of blackmail. Courtney assures the crew that Fern will become the missing link in the "Flawless Four". They give Fern an amazing makeover, which she quickly takes to her head. Who could blame her? This is her first time she's been noticed. She's bound to let the newly given makeover get blown out of proportion. In the meantime, Courtney rejects Julie because of her wanting to do the right thing, and not take Fern for granted. Courtney basically says "you're out bitch!" and shuns her out of the picture. Courtney, Marcie, and Fern (now Vylette) are on their own. Hiding from a dark secret.
Upon it's release, Jawbreaker was met with negative reception because of it's dim-witted cast and copycat like plot. While it does sample from other movies, like stated above, it finds ways to be unique and clever. It throws in some original material of it's own. I love movies about teenage girls. Not just coming-of-age films, but films where high school girls are their own worst enemy. Where they are both the protagonist and the antagonist. What fun these movies bring!
Starring: Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, Judy Greer, Ethan Erickson, Carol Kane, Pam Grier. Directed by: Darren Stein.
