In 2009, Diablo Cody’s Jennifer’s Body hit theaters. Unfortunately, it was a flop, only raking in just over $16 million at the box office, per Rotten Tomatoes. With a star-studded cast, an incredible ‘00s soundtrack, and a horror story packed with teen drama, how could this movie have gone wrong?
Jennifer’s Body follows best friends Anita “Needy” Lesnicki (Amanda Seyfried), and Jennifer Check (Megan Fox). The two have been inseparable since their days in the sandbox (sometimes a little too inseparable), even though they have little in common. Jennifer rose to popularity in high school, loves going out, and is always attracting guys. Needy, on the other hand, is a more reserved rule follower, devoted to her boyfriend Chip (Johnny Simmons).
One night, Jennifer drags Needy out to see emo boy band Low Shoulder play at a local bar, so she can flirt with the lead singer (Adam Brody). Sadly, tragedy strikes during the show, and the bar goes up in flames. After the incident, Jennifer starts acting differently – she’s sassier than usual, has a new glow, and has a sudden appetite for the flesh of teenage boys. Needy knows something’s up with her friend and runs into trouble while trying to stop her from killing every boy at Devil’s Kettle High School.
As previously mentioned, Jennifer’s Body had a lot going for it. It was an entertaining horror comedy, with kick-ass female leads, and plenty of golden one-liners. However, it wasn’t marketed as such, and that’s what led to the film’s demise.
The movie’s publicity team leaned into Fox’s sex appeal to attract a straight, young male audience, which was completely inappropriate for the story. She was dressed as a pin-up schoolgirl on movie posters, even though it had absolutely nothing to do with the plot. It was a complete misrepresentation of a movie that Cody says was written for girls, per Buzzfeed.
I spoke with a former intern on the movie’s digital marketing campaign, who knew it would end in disaster. He was confident Jennifer’s Body would someday achieve cult classic status because of its hybrid genres, and felt Fox and Seyfried weren’t taken seriously as actors because of their roles in Transformers 2, and Mean Girls, respectively. He added that Jennifer’s Body would’ve been more successful, had it been marketed as Universal Studio’s M3gan was, by using fun trends to appeal to the correct audiences.
In a way, the marketing plan for Jennifer’s Body mirrors the movie. Both Fox and Jennifer are taken advantage of and essentially used as props for men in order to make money. Fox’s amazing performance was reduced to a sexual object for men to stare at. The film’s feminist undertones were completely ignored and disrespected in promotional materials. Buzzfeed even notes there were talks of a degrading campaign to have Fox “host an amateur porn site to promote the film.” Thankfully, it was nixed.
I’d say the film’s failure serves the marketing execs right. But, sadly the incredible cast, along with Cody and the film’s director Karyn Kusama, suffered at their hands as well.
Fourteen years later, Jennifer’s Body is finally getting the recognition it deserves.
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The former digital marketing intern believes the movie was too ahead of its time. With an empowering feminist storyline and exploration of queer romance during a time when the LGBTQIA+ community wasn’t as accepted, I’d have to agree. Hopefully, it’ll remain a fan favorite for years to come.
Contributed By : Diana Gebbia
