Jennifer’s Body: butchered by the marketing campaign

Mean Girls meets Scream? This week we passionately and lovingly rant about the cult classic, Jennifers Body (2009). Turns out back in 2009, the film industry execs, aka the boys, ruined Diablo Cody’s masterpiece. Fresh off the heels of her hit Juno, screenplay writer Cody was given free rein to create her dream horror comedy starring Megan Fox, the actress born to play the title role. The film flopped thanks to the sexist marketing targeting the wrong audience, jeopardising Megan and Diablo’s careers.
Obviously, we’re furious.
We discuss the brilliance of the writing that firmly cements this in the high school film canon. We analyse how relatable the friends-by-default setup is and the joy of seeing toxic friendships depicted on screen. We love the Labrador puppy vs black cat energy of the Amanda Seyfried and Megan Fox duo. We compare our favourite lines and discuss the film's legacy.
It’s been a Maisie pick this week - enjoy the rewatch and tune in to our chat 💕
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Frank Film Club is the club for lovers and makers of film. From shots and dialogue to casting and score, we unpack little-known indies, box office smashes, documentaries, foreign language and everything in between. Hosted by actor and producer, Maisie Williams, casting director Hannah Marie Williams, and filmmaker and producer, Lowri Roberts. Come and join us as we navigate the mad world of film.
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro + catch up
5:30 - Initial viewing experience
8:13 - The film’s exploration of friendships
11:45 - Horror in the film
14:32 - Backstory + the initial reception with test audiences
16:58 - The film’s botched marketing campaign
23:02 - Casting
24:37 - Megan Fox + Amanda Seyfried’s performances
28:25 - Iconic lines in the film
31:40 - Questions about the plot
33:11 - The budget
34:07 - Audience + critical reception
37:32 - Letterboxd reviews
41:00 - Upcoming projects for Diablo Cody + Megan Fox
43:37 - Final thoughts

[@Katiemouse432]

There’s something so funny about Maisie saying “homeo rotic rather than “homo-erotic” like homeo homeo where art thou homeo lol love this ep as always ❤

[@frankfilmclub]

😭☠️

[@lindsay1989]

My friends and I saw this movie in the theatre when we were in highschool and we were NOT disappointed. This movie is a gem and all the haters are no fun

[@frankfilmclub]

Yes!

[@LuneAzure]

Im going to rewatch this. I remember reqlly enjoying it the first time and how it was not at all what I expected

[@isandoval495]

One of my favorite lines is hey Monistat And then needy replies what's up Vagisil lol always makes me laugh

[@reyhernandez8739]

Fathom???? Hmmm I think that is probably based off the comic book. She would actually be great in that role. Btw, just discovered this pod cast, loving it so far!

[@HereIsMyUsername]

Love the podcast, keep up the good work.

[@chrisforchrist355]

Oh yeah baby, this is what film club is all about 💪🏽 I've been a Megan Fox fan ever since I found out she grew up in a church similar to mine. I've been fascinated by her career, but I HATE how they pushed so hard to make her a sex symbol; she's a true case study of how being TOO attractive overshadows your talent, and make people only consider you for your body. Most of her work has been roles in decent movies that try way too hard to show her off. Sorry, but even as a guy I'm not going to spend time and money on a movie just because a "hot" girl is in it. I'm 100% not surprised by that exec making that stupid comment; out of everyone who lost a job in the wake of the MeToo movement, I hope whoever said that was one of them. I never actually saw this, but I'm going to check it out after hearing this episode. Not only that, I'm going to follow Diablo Cody on whatever social platform she uses and let her know what I honestly think of it. Hopefully she'll enjoy hearing a male's halfway-intelligent take on it. Today's epsidoe gives fuel to an idea I've had for the future of film club. I'll send it in email, in case you all are interested. 😉 Fantastic work as always! Sending love and good thoughts for the feature film.

[@ticijevish]

Maisie didn't have a best friend growing up? Mophie wasn't real...? 😔

[@ArmaanTufail]

Another stunning episode (at this rate y'all will have me run out of adjectives) 🤩! This film brought back some memories of when I used to read horror stories. A common element in them was a character's personality drastically changing for the worse due to some traumatic experience, but more than that I was terrified by what the other characters close to the character would feel. Like someone you've known for a while suddenly turns into a total monster! Though it was a comedy, it did highlight the serious and very real issue of cults, which exist all over the world in different forms. It's so unfortunate how most of them prey on youths whose and destroy their lives which was just about to start, narrowing their mindset to the point they let the cult control their moral compass. The marketing was horrible, sex was a part of the movie but by far not the main theme. Imo the people who use objectification to attract youths are no less than a cult themselves 😈. Sad that a promising cast had to take a blow on their career due to this blunder.

[@ryanfoote062]

To be honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of Jennifer's Body. However, it has been ages since I seen it. I should give it another watch. I loved this episode, solid top three. As always I enjoyed watching you Maisie. It was funny at the beginning because, I do the exact same thing when I have to put something upstairs and I set off to the side so, that little example was funny.😂

[@user-kj9lg7wq5h]

After watching Jennifer’s Body, I was quite surprise that it wasn't more popular. Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried really work well together; they've made that movie really special. Thank you for this podcast, wish all of you the best !

[@ticijevish]

I saw it all the way back in 2010 and loved it. Was quite surprised when I learned it had flopped in the US.

[@johnbordeaux9615]

No love for Karyn Kusama?

[@_saali]

Love from India 🇮🇳

[@petergatt9063]

It’s not a bad film but my opinion is it’s VERY average