Egad! They're back! Run for the hills! Run for your lives! Whatever you do, run away from the theaters because the teenage-oriented films are back with a vengeance. Not since the "Brat Pack" infested movie houses during the 1980's have so many teenage related films hit the silver screen, and boy, they're starting to get bad again.
Just a month and a half into 1999, the latest such release, "Jawbreaker," has already been preceded by several other similarly targeted pictures that hope their low budgets, when combined with idle teens flush with ready cash in hand, will mean quick profits before a speedy and most likely forgetful trip to home video.
Titled after the pivotal golf ball-sized candy that must have been invented by dentists who wanted another reason to keep their practices thriving, this is yet another film partly inspired by the success of scribe Kevin "Scream" Williamson. As such, it contains readily apparent attempts at trying to be clever by "borrowing" referential elements from other popular films with which teens can identify. In this case that mostly means the 1980's pseudo cult hit, "Heathers," although other high school set films, such as "Carrie" in the big finale, are also referenced.
Yet this film doesn't just borrow those elements from that Winona Ryder/Christian Slater vehicle - - instead it rips them out and appropriates them much like a hermit crab moving into a new, but familiar looking shell. While it may appear the same on the polished outside, the interior soul is much different. To roughly paraphrase a line from a former vice-presidential debate, "I've seen 'Heathers' and you, 'Jawbreaker,' are no 'Heathers.'"
Despite the Williamson comment, however, the film isn't even remotely scary -- unless one's referring to its quality and entertainment value, or more accurately, lack thereof -- and the homage elements are sparse and not particularly clever. To be more accurate, they're more visible in the press kit notes as credited to sophomore writer/director Darren Stein (his first film has yet to be released) than on the screen, but there's still no denying "Scream's" influence on this production.
It's "Heathers" and that film's characters, tone and overall charred blackness, however, that this picture most closely resembles. Had director Michael Lehmann's 1989 film never existed, than this release would seem more worthwhile and original. Unfortunately, that's not the case and this one greatly suffers from the inevitable comparisons between the two.
Despite -- or because of -- the stylistic lensing courtesy of cinematographer Amy Vincent ("Eve's Bayou") that includes many slow motion shots of the girls walking down the school hallways in unison, and the requisite thumping soundtrack (that seems to have had more attention paid to it than coming up with a more original plot), the film isn't much more than mildly interesting at best.
While it quickly starts off with an interesting premise -- a prank gone disastrously bad that causes those responsible to try to cover it up -- the film can't quite figure out how to maintain that early momentum. No matter how much clique-related "teen speak" Stein lets flow from his character's mouths, he can't manage to keep things lively enough to maintain the audience's interest for the film's duration.
The performances -- mostly straight out of "Heathers" -- don't fare much better. Other than Rose McGowan ("Scream") who delivers a somewhat wickedly fun take as the "queen bitch" as it were, the rest of the characters and the performers who inhabit them are instantly forgettable. Not even Rebecca Gayheart ("Scream 2"), in the Winona Ryder "good girl of the clique" role, can do much with her part that doesn't offer her significant material with which to work.
With "inside" jokes that few non-film buffs will get (Pam Grier's character is named after a 1954 Gary Cooper movie) and a plot and characters too similar to the afore mentioned Lehmann film, this picture feels too rehashed and familiar for its own good. Although its low budget should ensure instant profitability, don't expect this one to become a cult hit like the sharper and more clever "Heathers." We give "Jawbreaker" a 2.5 out of 10.
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