Dialogue Saves It

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It's not widely disputed that the classic femme fatale character, first evident in 1940s film noir and later revived in various Halloween-styled slasher pics and high-school satires like Heathers, stems from male fear/resentment of female erotic power. It's a sexist construction, in short. Even if you cloak it in fang-toothed female revenge and empowerment-gone-wild, it's basically the same old Lucretia McEvil game.

Karyn Kusama's Jennifer's Body (20th Century Fox, 9.18), a darkly comedic, intensely erotic horror film written by Diablo Cody, is about a teenage cheerleader (Megan Fox), screwed over by a visiting rock band, who turns into a sexual predator and goes on a guy-eating rampage. It's clever but still a femme fatale thing playing to an age-old psychology. Hello, Jane Greer!

Jennifer's Body will make a lot of money, of course, because of the exceptional Cody dialogue ("No, I mean actually evil, not high-school evil") paired with Megan Fox's depiction of rabid vampire sexuality. Can't miss. Here's a video chat with Cody by the Dish Rag's Elizabeth Snead.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 6, 2009 at 8:33 AM

comment #1

chad_pole says ...

That's just how I love my horror films... dependent on dialogue.

Especially dialogue that SOUNDS like dialogue.

Posted by chad_pole at July 6, 2009 9:47 AM

comment #2

kingofnails says ...

Maybe I'm crazy....but this actually looks like a lot of fun.

Posted by kingofnails at July 6, 2009 9:53 AM

comment #3

Travis Crabtree says ...

Is it cool to like Diablo Cody, or do I still have to hate her and criticize her writing to feel better about myself for having not sold any of my screenplays?
- Bitter Aspiring Screenwriter who reads HE

Posted by Travis Crabtree at July 6, 2009 9:53 AM

comment #4

Jonah says ...

Because that's the only reason to not like her, right Travis.

Posted by Jonah at July 6, 2009 10:02 AM

comment #5

renorambler says ...

A nice reunion of some Veronica Mars actors as well. Looks like it's worth seeing. Wonder how it compares to "Teeth"?

Posted by renorambler at July 6, 2009 10:10 AM

comment #6

bmcintire says ...

I love that the longest shot between cuts in this trailer is the "With new music from . . ." credit. They know exactly who they are selling this to.
Hm hm hmm. Sucker.

Posted by bmcintire at July 6, 2009 10:41 AM

comment #7

televisiontears says ...

Travis, that's such a trollish way to denounce criticism. Go over to AICN or IMDB if you want to bring out the tired "you're just jealous that you'll never be as successful as so-and-so" routine.

Posted by televisiontears at July 6, 2009 10:41 AM

comment #8

televisiontears says ...

Exactly, bmcintire. Before that card, I had no idea that Dashboard Confessional is appropriate music for a horror/satire. Hilarious.

Posted by televisiontears at July 6, 2009 10:44 AM

comment #9

Travis Crabtree says ...

Trollish, televisiontears? Not really. Or least no worse than having already decided that you hate this film because you see Diablo Cody's name on it.

She's talented. Just deal with it.

Posted by Travis Crabtree at July 6, 2009 11:00 AM

comment #10

Jonah says ...

No, she's not Travis. Deal with that.

Posted by Jonah at July 6, 2009 11:03 AM

comment #11

televisiontears says ...

Travis, I think this could be great. It looks right up my alley: smart dialogue, trashy b-movie tongue in cheek, gorgeous women getting all kinds o' naked, etc. Of course the dialogue in Juno was clever, but it was far too clever for it's own good. It sacrificed a certain honesty for look-at-me wit, and then tried to have it both ways. I think these are legitimate criticsms.

I understand a lot of the Cody backlash got personal after Juno's noms, and that it was tinged with a hint of jealousy and more than a hint of sexism. That's unfortunate, but the film suffered big time from first-timer look-at-me syndrome. To simply write that off as nothing more than the envy of aspiring screenwriters is cheap, and gets away from actual criticism.

Yes she's talented. No, I'm not hating on Jennifer's Body just because of Cody's name. Like I said before, I'm looking forward to it. I just hope the promise she displayed so prominently in Juno can be fulfilled, and she can reign it in a bit.

Posted by televisiontears at July 6, 2009 11:19 AM

comment #12

Travis Crabtree says ...

"Jennifer's Body" might suck dog balls. I don't know. But I'm not going to recoil at the mere sight of Cody's name attached to it.

I'm well aware that part of her success has to do with her look, her schtick, the name and a town full of dorky development execs and studio heads that want desperately to be seen hanging out with "the cool chick". But don't hate the playa, hate the game, fools. Damn, sucka.

Posted by Travis Crabtree at July 6, 2009 11:28 AM

comment #13

Wrecktem says ...

Here's the bottom line: the subject matter of this film requires the female lead to get naked. If she does not, it is a MASSIVE FAILING that the movie cannot recover from.

Posted by Wrecktem at July 6, 2009 11:31 AM

comment #14

Big Black says ...

Wrecktem, it's so true.

And Travis, everything you like is terrible, so you're not doing Ms. Cody any favors, here.

Posted by Big Black at July 6, 2009 2:12 PM

comment #15

Travis Crabtree says ...

"everything I like is terrible" ?
Okay Big Black
a) some examples, please?
b) who the fuck are you?

(fyi) I won't tell anyone that you entered a fake birth date on the above clip in order to see it

Posted by Travis Crabtree at July 6, 2009 2:20 PM

comment #16

MovieBob says ...

I really, really, REALLY wish that ANYONE other than Megan Fox was playing the lead.

Posted by MovieBob at July 6, 2009 2:54 PM

comment #17

BurmaShave says ...

Looks very fun yeah. Though I guarantee the Waitress's song in the trailer is better than any of those shitty bands shown in that soundtrack listing.

Posted by BurmaShave at July 6, 2009 3:11 PM

comment #18

AtticusRex says ...

@MovieBob: You're joking right? Other than Megan Fox? Dude if she is really naked, I mean if her above the waist is actually shown as being hers and not a stand-in (Ditto the below the waist as well) then this movie will have boys2men lining up 'round da block ala Star Wars in the '70's.

I believe short of perhaps Ms. Jolie that Fox is on the top of most male moviegoers list of wanting to see "the goods".

And before all the women flame me for writing this... we have been very good to you as well, i.e. Daniel Craig emerging from the ocean in Casino Royale, and from what I can tell from the trailer for Couples Retreat we do it again with a new actor who teaches couple's Yoga and he even has an accent to boot.

So I say bring on the Diablo dialog and vampness and bring on the hotness of Megan Fox. Yes I'm being shallow here.

On a slightly different bent how come peeps are hating on Ms. Cody for her dialog but we all hail Tarantino for his?

Posted by AtticusRex at July 6, 2009 4:03 PM

comment #19

KC says ...

AtticusRex, no woman is actually sexually attracted to Fabio except maybe Jean Teasdale

Posted by KC at July 6, 2009 5:43 PM

comment #20

Hallick says ...

"It's not widely disputed that the classic femme fatale character, first evident in 1940s film noir and later revived in various Halloween-styled slasher pics and high-school satires like Heathers, stems from male fear/resentment of female erotic power. It's a sexist construction, in short."

Or, like say in a movie like "The Last Seduction", some women are just evil bitches which isn't any different from a movie like "In The Company of Men", where some guys are soulless assholes.

Nah - Neil LaBute was just exercising his fear/resentment of male erotic power back then. So true...

Posted by Hallick at July 6, 2009 6:13 PM

comment #21

Gordie Lachance says ...

I'm no fan of Cody, but I have to admit that I LOL'd at the Thai food line. I wish I had written it. This movie still might suck though, but I'll judge it on it's own merits.

Would love someone to explain to me what "dialogue that sounds like dialogue" is supposed to mean.

Posted by Gordie Lachance at July 6, 2009 6:28 PM

comment #22

Travis Crabtree says ...

(not to sound like an old bastard, but)

Have any of you even HEARD real teenagers talk lately?

I don't care how "dialogue-y" Diablo's writing sounds, it's certainly more interesting and entertaining than the real thing.

Posted by Travis Crabtree at July 6, 2009 6:45 PM

comment #23

azmoviegoer says ...

Damn, if Actionman weren't being held on a very short leash after getting married, I'm pretty sure he would have something pretty funny to say about this trailer. And where the hell is Lex G for that matter? I assumed threads like this one sent out some kind of paging signal to his blackberry or something.

I don't usually go for horror movies but if Megan Fox is truly topless/naked in this then I guess I'll have to make an exception.

Posted by azmoviegoer at July 6, 2009 7:05 PM

comment #24

micamayer1 says ...

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Posted by micamayer1 at July 6, 2009 7:18 PM

comment #25

DeeZee says ...

Sorry, Jeff, but JB=bomb. Horror-comedies never do well at the box office, and Megan Fox is not a box-office draw. That movie with Simon Pegg disappeared pretty fast from theaters, which pretty much makes her another Alba, but without the stupid.

television: The Juno backlash is due to the fact that it's a friggin' sitcom masquerading as a hip chick-flick comedy. And if Cody's so "talented", why the hell does this look like a rip-off of Idle Hands-which itself was a rip-off of Evil Dead 2?

Atticus: I'm going to bet FOX is going to whittle this sucker down to a PG-13, cus it'll totally lose money as an R-rated picture.

Posted by DeeZee at July 6, 2009 8:02 PM

comment #26

lipranzer says ...

I hope this is a comeback of sorts for Karyn Kusama. I loved GIRLFIGHT, but hated AEON FLUX.

Not having seen any of her movies, I have no opinion either way of Megan Fox. This could be a good role for her, or she could come off flat. We'll see.

So Amanda Seyfried is either playing Lindsay Lohan in MEAN GIRLS, or she's basically playing Veronica Mars. Cool.

I still like JUNO.

This could be fun.

Posted by lipranzer at July 6, 2009 8:34 PM

comment #27

MovieBob says ...

Atticus
"Dude if she is really naked, I mean if her above the waist is actually shown as being hers and not a stand-in (Ditto the below the waist as well) then this movie will have boys2men lining up 'round da block ala Star Wars in the '70's."

No, it'll have them sitting at home the day it comes out flipping through Google for pirated topless screencaps. "See so-and-so finally naked!!!" is no longer a graunteed ticket seller unless it's a BIG "get" like Scarlett or Portman.

Posted by MovieBob at July 6, 2009 9:34 PM

comment #28

Terry McCarty says ...

DeeZee wrote:
Sorry, Jeff, but JB=bomb. Horror-comedies never do well at the box office, and Megan Fox is not a box-office draw. That movie with Simon Pegg disappeared pretty fast from theaters, which pretty much makes her another Alba, but without the stupid.

The Simon Pegg movie wasn't really sold as a Megan Fox vehicle; instead, it was a film that fell between the barstools--an "outrageous" comedy about the publishing biz that, from the trailer, looked too silly for aduts and too "who cares about this stuff" for teens/college age.

Posted by Terry McCarty at July 6, 2009 10:24 PM

comment #29