Jennifer's Body: the most misunderstood film of the 21st century?

Jennifer's Body (2009) directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diablo Cody

When I get asked "what is the most underrated movie of all time" my answer will almost always be "Jennifer's Body". Upon release, it was brutally slammed, with critics maligning it for its lack of identity, cringey dialogue, and unoriginality. Much of this was due to how it was marketed before its release. Touted as a sexy horror, many viewers were disappointed when they found out that whilst it has elements of both, it isn't particularly sexy or scary. The hostile reception the film received, clouded all of its good qualities. Critics failed to recognise that much of the humour comes from its intentionally cringey one-liners. Its lack of sexiness was also a deliberate choice. Whilst Megan Fox is undeniably beautiful in this movie, rather than extenuating her looks for the male gaze, the film instead opts to use her beauty for the purpose of the plot. This is an extremely smart choice by director Karyn Kusama, as Megan Fox is an actress who was sexualised from an extremely young age. In 2009 she spoke out against director Michael Bay who she accused of sexualising her when she was 15 after she was cast as an extra in Bad Boys II. In her breakout role in Transformers, a scene of her fixing a car is famous for the way the camera lingers and zooms in on her body. It is one of the prime examples of Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory in modern cinema. It is clear to the viewer that her role in the movie is purely to appeal to the male gaze. She was 19 at the time. In Jennifer's Body, however, in the few moments where Megan Fox is sexualised, it is clear to the audience that it is being done in a satirical way.

In many ways, Jennifer's Body is a satire. Its cringey dialogue, for instance, is a satire of 2000s culture. This is what many of the critics who slammed the movie missed. It is a film which has aged beautifully, especially among younger viewers. The concept of Jennifer, a bi-woman, needing to kill boys (who sexualise her) in order to stay beautiful and desirable was so ahead of its time and hits so much harder in 2022, where people's drive to be beautiful is higher than ever.

It's hard to truly understand why critics hated this movie so much in 2009, but I think one of the reasons may have been their age. This is not a movie made for middle-aged men, and so critics (most of whom are middle-aged men) aren't going to be able to fully appreciate it. This is not a movie meant to be taken seriously. However, if you sit back, relax, and take in all of its humour and silliness, this is an extremely entertaining watch.