Jennifer’s Body has found its fan base and continues to help people realize that we’re all a little Needy sometimes.
Upon the initial release, Jennifer’s Body was primarily a box office flop. We all now know that the movie intentionally mismarketed itself—more than a Noxzema commercial and the ambiguity of Rebbeca Gayheart in the early ’90s. Efforts to gain the viewership of young boys who undoubtedly only want to see Megan Fox exposed in some fashion on the big screen. A huge dick move on Hollywood’s part. Completely negating what this movie was or could have been—the “Mean Girls” for the horror community, not including teenage girls as the fanbase that could identify with the material, was a huge mistake. Instead of pandering to the boys who would eventually realize they fell for a bait and switch.
Jennifer’s Body is a teen horror film that takes place in the town of Devils Kettle—following lives the nerdy Anita “Needy” Lesnicki (Amanda Seyfried) and embodiment of every popular girl in history Jennifer Check (Megan Fox). The two have best friends their whole life or since “the sandbox” as they say. Jennifer convinces Needy to go to a dive bar to check out an independent band. After a bleak look into the future for kids at the peak of their high school careers. The bar catches on fire, and the pair barely escape. Just for Jennifer to willingly get abducted by the douchy band. After becoming part of a botched sacrifice, Jennifer finds herself hungry for the flesh of boys. Eventually, Needy realizes that letting her best friend murder people is wrong and has to find a way to stop Jennifer’s insatiable appetite.
If Jennifer’s Body Were Released Today as a Back School Horror Film, It Would Slay! So How Did It Get Slept on For So Long?
Even though many things are going on in this film that we could consider flaws. Let’s direct our attention right to the one thing the studio wanted everyone to see. Not so much what the story was leading up. Possibly missing the mark of what writer Diablo Cody may have wished to convey to moviegoers. The kiss cemented all through the marketing campaign out of context to male horror fans presents a hot lesbian exchange between Jennifer and Needy.
The one thing that some are and everyone has been, a teenager!
For most of us, learning how to fit in and traverse the real-life horror of surviving high school is a feat in itself. Some of us eventually figure out and look back, not knowing how we survived it all! Bullies, rumors, acme, and our bodies! For people similar to Jennifer, high school can be the best time of your life, and for others identical to Needy, you’re just trying to get by. A lot of us looked to our peers for support. Usually, through the trials and tribulations emerges a bond with a friend. Effortless and natural as breathing air. The friend who knows how to make you feel better, you always feel safe and can be yourself around. Even as time goes on and you develop your individual interest.
You could never imagine your world without them in it. Whether you know it or not, you’re in love, never mentioning it or acting on it unless your best friend happened to be good hot. Being in love with your best friend is something that happens to everyone, no matter where you end up on the sexual charts. It isn’t usually the type of love that makes you throb in the pants. Being in love with your best friend doesn’t have to be sexual. Most of us are awkward and still figuring everything out. It just becomes part of the foundation for what people look for in a partner. Not at the forefront of our minds by any means. It is something that people still harken back, and you’ll hear to over and over touted in wedding vows couple after couple “I’m marrying best friend.” A notion we undoubtedly picked up in our formative years and held on to throughout.
Eventually, We All Figure It Out. Some Of Us Even Get Lucky, and It Works Out Romantically
High school is one of the scariest things for us to live through. The idea that you could fall in love with your best friend and the many types of love a person will experience. It is a challenge nobody will ever prepare you for, and to make matters worse, no one will ever prepare you for losing that love. Whether it is losing them to boyfriends, girlfriend, college, or a man-eating succubus, it sucks worst than a shot for shot remake of Psycho. Cody was able to touch on this through the character Needy. Jennifer’s inner demon seduces Needy into admittedly a very steamy on-screen make-out session.
It is preying upon her differently than previous boys it devoured. Fully aware of the connection between the two girls and tries to manipulate Needy to appease the relationship. Momentarily Needy is lulled into a lapse of judgment merely because of her love for her best friend and maybe her love of Jennifer’s abuse! The scene becomes absolved of any positive context teens might take away. All because the marketing misleads you into what you think you’re about to see. Cleary, since 2009 Jennifer’s Body has found its fanbase and will continue to help all people identify and realize that we’re all a little Needy sometimes.
