Jawbreaker is a 1999 American dark comedy film directed and written by Darren Stein. The film stars Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, and Julie Benz as girls in an exclusive clique in their high school. Charlotte Ayanna has a non-speaking cameo role as the murdered fourth member of the group. The film was inspired by the 1988 film Heathers, and is often compared to it, particularly the plot involving a popular female clique, the use of bright pastels, and the ostensibly accidental killing of one of its members.
Of his concept for the film, Stein has stated, "The jawbreaker just came to represent the duality of the poppy sweetness of the girls, of high school and of youth, versus the whole idea that this thing could break your jaw".[2] The film was released on February 19, 1999, and was a critical and financial failure, although it has come to gain a cult following.
Plot
The "Flawless Four" are the most popular girls in Reagan High School. The clique consists of Courtney Shayne; Marcie Fox; Julie Freeman; and Liz Purr, the "Princess Di of Reagan High." Of the four, only Liz is genuinely kind-hearted and loved by the entire school. Julie was popular because of her looks and being best friends with Liz, while queen bee Courtney and her airhead follower, Marcie, demand respect through terror.
On the morning of Liz's 17th birthday, Courtney, Marcie and Julie bind her with ropes, gag her with a jawbreaker, and seal her mouth with duct tape. The girls lock Liz in the trunk of a car and drive off, planning to take her to a restaurant for breakfast. Upon opening the trunk, they discover Liz has choked to death on the jawbreaker.
Julie wants to report the situation to the police, but Courtney instead calls the school to tell them Liz is ill and cannot attend; the three later go to school. When Principal Sherwood sends school outcast Fern Mayo to deliver Liz's homework at the end of the day, she encounters the three girls and Liz's dead body. Courtney says Liz was killed by a rapist, and spreads false rumors she was actually a rebellious, promiscuous girl.
Having admired Liz to the point of hero worship, Fern flees in horror. The girls catch her and buy her silence by accepting her into the clique. Courtney and Marcie transform Fern into a beautiful exchange student named "Vylette."
Overwhelmed by guilt at her part in Liz's death, Julie distances herself from the clique, but is tormented by her former friends and become a new target for abuse throughout the school. Her only real friend during this time is her boyfriend and drama student, Zack. As Vylette's popularity soars, Julie silently watches as Courtney tries covering up the murder and maintaining her popularity. Julie learns that, after they returned Liz to her house, Courtney seduced a stranger at a bar and had sex with him in Liz's bed, making it seem as though he had raped Liz.
Vylette becomes intoxicated with her new-found popularity, which has eclipsed Courtney's own. Courtney and Marcie post enlarged yearbook photos of Fern all over the school with the message "Who is Vylette" written on them, revealing Vylette's true identity and leaving her humiliated. Julie sympathizes with Fern and forgives her for falling under Courtney's influence.
While Courtney attends the senior prom with jock Dane Sanders, Julie is at home going through a bag of Liz's belongings that were given to her. Finding a recordable greeting card she was fiddling with when Courtney was faking Liz's death scene, Julie discovers it has recorded Courtney's culpability to Liz's death. Julie, Fern and Zack travel to the prom.
When Dane and Courtney are announced as Prom King and Queen, Zack secretly broadcasts the card's message over the sound system, revealing the truth behind Liz's death. Dane quickly abandons Courtney while Marcie hides under a table. Courtney flees as the rest of the angered students pelt her with corsages and call her a murderer while blocking any paths of escape. Julie snaps a picture of her former friend's anguished face to immortalize the occasion.
Director Darren Stein brought his script to executives at Columbia Tri-Star, who agreed to finance the film if he could cast either Natalie Portman, Kate Winslet or Rose McGowan.[3]
The role of Julie originally went to Rachael Leigh Cook, who was eventually replaced with Rebecca Gayheart because the producers felt she did not have the right chemistry with the two other actresses.[3] Gayheart had auditioned for the roles of Fern and Marcie before she was selected for Julie. Marilyn Manson, who was then dating McGowan, agreed to appear in a non-speaking cameo role.
The distinctive costumes were designed by Vikki Barrett, who drew on 1980s and 1950s-era fashion trends blended with fetishistic elements like lycra skirts, all in bright, candy-like colors to evoke the jawbreaker.[3]
Before the film could be released, the MPAA objected to a graphic sex-scene between McGowan's and Marilyn Manson's characters, which had to be cut down to give the film an R rating instead of an NC-17.[3] To accompany the release of the film, Imperial Teen's music video for the song "Yoo Hoo" featured McGowan as Courtney Shayne harassing the band members with jawbreakers.[4]
Reception
Many critics pointed out the film's similarities to the 1988 cult-classic Heathers and accused Jawbreaker of plagiarism. On Metacritic the film has a score of 22% based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[5] On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 14% based on 64 reviews, with an average of 3.6 out of 10. The website's consensus states: "This throwaway comedy falls victim to its hip sensibilities."[6] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave Jawbreaker a grade D+.[7]
Roger Ebert gave the film one and a half out of four, stating "The movie is a slick production of a lame script ... If anyone in the plot had the slightest intelligence, the story would implode".[8] Francesca Dinglasan from Boxoffice magazine gave the film one and a half out of five, criticizing the film's humor and similarities to Heathers.[9]
James Berardinelli gave the film a more favorable two and a half out of four, calling it "palatable, and occasionally even clever", but concluding, "while the film offers more than a Heathers rehash, it never fully develops its own identity.[10]
Despite the negative critical feedback, Jawbreaker found success through home video release and subsequent television airings; it has developed a cult following. Vice magazine called the film a "teen classic" when it published a retrospective in 2016 titled "Perverting the Youth of America: The Oral History of Teen Classic Jawbreaker".[3] Similarities have been drawn between Jawbreaker, Heathers and the 2004 film Mean Girls.[12]Dazed magazine published a similar feature, crediting the film with inspiring 2004's Mean Girls, and praising the dark tones and performances.[13]
McGowan's Courtney Shayne has become something of a pop culture icon on social media,[14] with TribecaFilm.com declaring of McGowan's performance that "...every single line-reading was a thing of Bette Davis-aspiring beauty, and with any justice, it's a performance that will only grow in esteem over time."
Jawbreaker's costumes have also been celebrated,[15] drawing praise from the likes of Vogue[16] and Rookie magazines.[17] The scene where the actresses strut down the hallway in slow-motion to Imperial Teen's "Yoo Hoo" has become a signature feature of the film, drawing homage in film and television, most notably Mean Girls, and being parodied in films like Not Another Teen Movie (2001).[3][18]
In 2014, Judy Greer said in an interview: "I really didn't think it was anything special while we were shooting it, but when I saw the final product, I knew it was really good. I was so proud of it. I thought it looked beautiful. It had just the right amount of sexy, pop culture fun to it. I do think it's quite special."[19]
Connie Francis did not approve the use of her song "Lollipop Lips" in this film, which was used without her permission and was heard during a sex scene.[20][21] Francis filed two lawsuits over the unauthorized use of her song in Jawbreaker.[20][21] In 2002, Francis sued her record company Universal Music Group (UMG) for allowing several of her songs to be synchronized to "sexually themed" movies.[20]Jawbreaker was specifically mentioned by name in the lawsuit.[20] Francis was unsuccessful and the judge threw the case out of court.[22] The second lawsuit involved Francis suing the producers of Jawbreaker for the unauthorized use of "Lollipop Lips" in the film.[21]
Musical adaptation
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2018)
In 2010, efforts began to adapt Jawbreaker into a musical. On July 29th, 2010, a Los Angeles concert presentation occurred starring Shoshana Bean, Lesli Margherita and Jenna Leigh Green. Original film writer-director Darren Stein returned to write the book while Jeff Thomson and Jordan Mann wrote original music and lyrics. Jen Bender directed the production with musical direction by Adam Gubman.[23]
On September 26th and 27th in 2013, MadBromance Productions hosted a 29 hour reading of Jawbreaker: The Musical in Manhattan. Starring Elizabeth Gillies as Courtney Shayne, Gillies was joined by JoJo (singer) as Julie, Diana DeGarmo as Fern Mayo, and Libby Servais as Foxy. Gabriel Barre directed once again while Shea Sullivan choreographed, and James Sampliner provided musical direction.[25]
The musical has been described as having a "propulsive pop score that ranges from Lady Gaga-style synth pop to lush melodic ballads, Jawbreaker feels both timeless and today, presenting a mythic high school story that speaks to the teenager in us all."[26]
Television series
It was announced in February 2017 that the film would be reimagined as a television series for E! Darren Stein, the writer and director of the original film, was said to write and produce the series,[27][28] but no further developments were made.
