Jennifer’s Body turns 15!

I saw a post today on Facebook saying that Jennifer’s Body was released 15 years ago. Naturally, I checked if it was true since I’m skeptical about everything I read online. Turns out, it’s true.

I remember being so excited to watch Jennifer’s Body. I’m a massive fan of horror, and this movie was being hyped. For some reason, I didn’t see it in theatres. That’s right. I bought a cheap and illegal DVD copy at the nearest supermarket close to my house.

I was a little “machista” myself

The “hot” chick from Transformers and the dumb blonde from Mean Girls would be in it. God, I was years apart from learning the word “misogynistic,” but I was totally behaving like one. Years later, I found out that, apparently, I wasn’t the only one. Sure, Jennifer’s Body might have turned into a cult movie now, but back then, it was hated, and I didn’t even know it. The movie barely profited, gaining only 32 million from its 16 million budget.

From what I can remember, the movie was a bit anticlimactic. I felt like I wanted more, but I didn’t know what exactly. I guess I wanted more horror. Still, and that was the best part about buying those pirated DVDs, I kept watching the movie over and over again for a few weeks until I got tired.

Chip’s ending still hurt

I couldn’t, and still can’t, get over Chip’s death. Why did he have to die? That was so sad. I even found the death of the friendship between Needy and Megan sad. They were special, but at the same time, I got the feeling that Megan was using Needy throughout their friendship. I wished the movie was a book because I needed answers. I absolutely hated Adam Brody’s character; that dude was a prick, but I loved the song Through the Trees from the fictional band Low Shoulders in the movie, and I still listen to it to this day.

Too ahead of its time? I don’t think so

In the present day, I still cannot comprehend why the movie flopped, but I have an interesting hypothesis. It’s not a big secret that Megan was heavily sexualized in the film industry. Diablo Cody, the writer of ‘Jennifer’s Body’ explained that she always wanted to write a horror movie. She specifically mentions that she wanted the story to be focused on women, empowerment, and boys being eaten by women (and not in the way that they might like). According to Diablo Cody, Jennifer’s role was always meant for Megan Fox. Diablo admits the movie was bizarre and knew it wouldn’t be a “super commercial movie.” Diablo even acknowledged that she had to go to therapy to deal with the fact that the movie was a commercial failure.

Boys felt hurt

Jennifer ended up being this creature that ate boys whenever she was hungry. She drank them up and left them dry. Then there were the “PMS” comments and “they are just boys” comments. I don’t think boys liked very much that girls had that much power. They are barely getting used to it. They got angry that they were reduced and left the theatre without seeing boobs. Jennifer wasn’t killing people, after all, only boys.

Mismarketed

I guess people were expecting Meghan to show her tits? No, maybe they were expecting the girls to kiss (which they did), but perhaps they didn’t want the whole murder thing. Maybe they wanted an all-out soft porn movie about two innocent women with daddy issues begging to be fucked. No, but really, why was the movie hated? The marketing strategy was focused on boys. I keep saying boys, but I mean young adults without a developed prefrontal cortex behaving like boys.

What’s heartbreaking is that in an interview, Megan mentioned that she’s a feminist but that there will never be a group for her, and she’ll be excluded for being her. It’s no secret that Megan Fox is extremely beautiful and has what people call “sex appeal.” I immediately realized what Megan meant in that interview. Sometimes, it’s a woman who tears women down instead of supporting each other. We give women respect depending on clothing, and that absolutely infuriates me. Everybody has the right to be respected, no matter how short their skirt is.

Megan also mentioned that in real life, she felt like her mental and physical health was being sacrificed, just like in the movie. Years after its initial release, the movie is finally getting the recognition it deserves. That’s how it goes sometimes.

On a fun note: Dear Chip, it’s not too big, and you’re still lime green jello and can’t even admit it to yourself 😉

Yes, I’ve seen the movie too many times.