Jawbreaker (1999)

★★
A black comedy fusion of Clueless and Heathers, Jawbreaker falls short of both. Darren Stein’s tale of high school murder and revenge isn’t nearly as clever as it thinks it is and relies on a heavy dosage of in-sync dialogue delivery and creative cutting to carry the day. It isn’t boring, and sometimes it’s amusing, but once the subterfuge wears off, all that’s left is a forgettable story of insignificant impact. Only two weeks after this movie’s release came Cruel Intentions, another twisted high school tale, but one that was much more satisfying, with an ending that worked because that movie’s villainess was fully fleshed out, while Jawbreaker’s Courtney is the result of a script run amok.

A quartet of mean girls dominates the scene at Reagan High School. On Liz Purr’s (Charlotte Ayanna) birthday, her fellow clique members Courtney (Rose McGowan), Julie (Rebecca Gayheart) and Marcie (Julie Benz) pull a prank and abduct her out of her bedroom as a surprise. They throw her in the trunk and take her to a parking lot, where they plan to open it and take a picture of her shocked expression. The only problem is that Courtney shoved a jawbreaker into Liz’s mouth to silence her and she chokes on it and dies. Desperate, they decide to cover up their crime. They leave her in the trunk and go to school. At the end of the day, they will return to Liz’s house and put her body on her bed and make it look like she was raped.

Principal Sherwood (Carol Kane) sends Fern Mayo (Judy Greer) to Liz’s house with her homework assignments. She discovers the three girls in the act, and Courtney decides to recruit her into their group to keep her silent. The only one who objects to the entire plan, from the coverup to buying Fern’s silence, is Julie. She’d rather do the sensible thing and go to the cops, but Courtney and Marcie overrule her and kick her out of the clique. Fern agrees to join and the other two give her a makeover and name her Vylette as a way for her to shed her shy persona. The next day, Liz’s parents return home and find their daughter. Over the following weeks, the new trio struts around the school. Courtney coaches Vylette on proper etiquette, like never eating in public, while Marcie is further ostracized. Soon Vylette starts to love her newfound attention too much and begins to outclass even Courtney. Meanwhile, Detective Vera Cruz (Pam Grier) is on the case to find out who killed Liz.

The plot sounds straightforward, and it moves along smoothly, but Stein felt the need to insert quick cutting, weird sound effects, rapid dialogue and scene transitions that George Lucas would never use. I don’t mind it when a movie wants to create a unique look for itself, and I can appreciate a whimsical approach. However, when these techniques are used to hide a weak script, then it’s just window dressing. There was nothing stopping Marcie from going to the cops herself. She explains why she doesn’t do so at one point, saying something along the lines of “it’s her word against mine,” but showing initiative by admitting her role in a crime would work in her favor, regardless of whatever lies Courtney said. There is also a thoroughly preposterous development to hide the details of the crime. Liz was a virgin, but Courtney sells the idea that Liz was a sex maniac and paid someone to have sex with Liz’s body to remove evidence of her virginity. No details are provided as to how Courtney convinced anyone to engage in necrophilia.

Despite the script’s weaknesses, Rose McGowan delivers a knockout performance. She’s suitably evil as the conniving Courtney. Much like she did in her breakout film The Doom Generation, McGowan chews the scenery with her ability to take unnatural dialogue and put conviction behind it, so that everything she says sounds forceful. The same words from another actress risk coming across as clunky, but from McGowan the words flow out (or come rushing out) like she means it. In The Doom Generation she has lines like “Eat my fuck!” and “Wake up and smell the cappuccino!” She’s the kind of actress who would be up to the task of elevating Jawbreaker all by herself, and in fact does.

The movie ends on a sudden note, as if Stein figured we could just fill in the blanks regarding everyone’s fate. A lot of movies conclude without a firm resolution, and that’s okay, but it works when in keeping with the movie’s themes, ideas or some predetermined stylistic choice for presenting the story. Also released in 1999 was Limbo, which had a plot completely unlike Jawbreaker, but ended in a way we don’t expect. The director there, John Sayles, established the movie’s themes throughout the narrative, so that when the end came, we could unpack it and conclude what was the most likely outcome. Stein gives us a quick cutaway to the credits. It’s too easy to conclude that Courtney will go to jail, Marcie will join her, Fern/Vylette will do time for concealing a crime, etc. Where’s the challenge? We don’t have to see them march to their fates, but we need to see something. Cruel Intentions managed it. So did 2001’s Bully. I don’t wish to conclude that Stein was just being lazy with the ending. What I’m saying is that ending a movie in this way will inevitably lead to wild speculation. Maybe I’m putting too much thought into it, and if I am, then I think I made my point.

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