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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
Jawbreaker
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 out of 4
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Starring: Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart Director: Darren Stein
Rated: R RunTime: 87 Minutes Release Date: February 1999 Genre: Comedy |
 Review by Susan Granger 2½ stars out of 4
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If you remember "Heathers," "Grease," or even "Carrie,"
you'll recognize elements of all three in this high-school reworked
satire. Rebecca Gayheart, Rose McGowan, Charlotte Roldan, and Julie
Benz are the four most beautiful and popular girls at Reagan High. And
they know it. As the ruling clique, they're bitches. Their
disinterested demeanor and cold stares intimidate the weak but their
sex appeal is undeniable. The plot revolves around what happens when
Rebecca, Rose, and Julie decide to pull a prank on Charlotte's 17th
birthday. Sneaking into her room in the morning, they stuff a
jawbreaker in her mouth and gag her so she can't spit it out. Then
they kidnap her and stuff her into the trunk of their car. But when
they decide to set her free to gorge on a pancake breakfast, they
discover she's dead, having choked on the jawbreaker. Terrified, they
decide to take the body back to her home and make it look like she was
strangled during some kinky sex. But there's a witness to the
crime. It's Judy Evans Greer, the class nerd who is bribed into
silence by a beauty make-over and instant social status among her
peers. Then a persistent detective, Pam Grier, arrives to investigate
the case. What "Jawbreaker" has in its favor is that it cost only $3
million and today's teen market is hot - and Rose McGowan's real-life
boy-friend, Marilyn Manson, has a cameo as her lover. The film's
weakness lies in writer-director Darren Stein's shallow, uneven
execution. He was obviously going for a Faustian tale of corruption
and redemption, even paying homage to "Carrie" in casting P.J. Soles
and William Katt as Charlotte's parents, but this black comedy is just
too derivative. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Jawbreaker" is
a stylish but sophomoric 6 - aimed at high school movie-goers.
Copyright © 1999 Susan Granger
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