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Editor’s note: We never reviewed Jennifer’s Body on c, vt, so as opposed to a mini review, we’re running a longer one for the Blu-ray release.
REVIEW:
Jennifer’s Body was a script that received a lot of attention when it first began circulating through Hollywood, though with good reason. For starters, it was Diablo Cody’s first script since she won an Oscar for Juno. It also revealed itself to be a hip ode to the brand of 80’s horror-comedy probably best represented by Sami Raimi’s work of the period. It also hinted at some interesting themes, chiefly having to do with teenage female relationships. The fact that it was funny and chock full of gore didn’t hurt its case either. All it needed was a good cast and a competent director, and one could easily imagine it becoming the next cult classic.
Fast forward four months from its theatrical release, and few would try to argue Jennifer’s Body as a crucial addition to the canon of horror-comedies. It’s easy to say why — the movie turned out to be a moderately entertaining film that didn’t have any glaring lows, but also failed to hit any cinematic highs. It’s got a semblance of good energy, but never really finds its stride. It certainly understands the genre, but fails to bring anything notably new to the table or improve on the old formula in a significant way. Put simply, it’s an acceptably diverting movie that has all the right ingredients to be special — strong themes, great visuals, a good story — but never gets them to pop.
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