Jawbreaker (film)

Jawbreaker
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Darren Stein
Written by	Darren Stein
Produced by	Lisa Tornell Stacy Kramer
Starring	Rose McGowan Rebecca Gayheart Julie Benz Judy Greer Chad Christ Ethan Erickson Carol Kane Pam Grier
Cinematography	Amy Vincent
Edited by	Troy T. Takaki
Music by	Stephen Endelman
Production companies	Kramer-Tornell Productions Crossroads Films[1]
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures[1]
Release dates	January 30, 1999 (1999-01-30) (Sundance) February 19, 1999 (1999-02-19) (U.S.)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3.5 million
Box office	$3.1 million[2]

Jawbreaker is a 1999 American black comedy crime film written and directed by Darren Stein, and starring Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, and Judy Greer. It follows a group of teenage girls in an exclusive clique in their high school who attempt to cover up the murder of their best friend in a prank seemingly gone awry. Carol Kane, Pam Grier, and Charlotte Ayanna appear in supporting roles.

Initially conceived by Stein as a horror film, the final screenplay for Jawbreaker instead adopted prominent elements of dark comedy and teen films, with Stein drawing inspiration from Heathers (1988), as well as elements of Carrie (1976) and the films of John Hughes. Stein explained his concept for the film as, "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."^[3]

Jawbreaker was shot in Los Angeles, and premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival before it was theatrically released in the United States on February 19, 1999 by TriStar Pictures. While it was a critical and commercial failure at the time of its release, it has come to gain a cult following.

The "Flawless Four" are the most popular girls in Reagan High School, consisting of Courtney Shayne, Marcie Fox "Foxy", Julie Freeman, and Elizabeth "Liz" Purr. Of the four, only Liz is genuinely kind-hearted and loved by the entire school. Julie is 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 a pancake 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 posing as Liz's mom, Mrs. Purr, to tell them Liz is ill and cannot attend; the three later go to school. After the school day, Courtney wants Julie and Marcie to go along with a story that Liz was killed by a rapist, which explains being gagged with a jawbreaker. Courtney plots to spread false rumors around school that Liz was actually a rebellious and promiscuous girl. After school, the three go to plant Liz's cold body from the trunk of Courtney's car into Liz's bed.

Because Liz was absent at school, Assistant Principal E. Sherwood sends outcast Fern Mayo to deliver Liz's homework to her after school. Before entering Liz's house, it is apparent that Fern has a huge crush on Liz because she is blushing and practicing what she will say to her. After entering the house, Fern encounters the three girls planting Liz's dead body in her bed and is petrified at the sight.

Having admired Liz to the point of worship, Fern flees in horror. The girls catch her and buy her silence by accepting her into the clique. They wish her popularity, beauty, and to take Liz's place in the Flawless Four. Fern is given a dramatic makeover to 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 becomes a new target for bullying throughout the school. Her only real friend during this time is her crush, Zach Tartack, the drama lead in The Reagan High School Play. As Vylette's popularity soars, Julie silently watches as Courtney tries covering up the murder and maintaining her popularity. Julie speculates that, after they returned Liz to her house, Courtney seduced a stranger at a bar to have sex with in Liz's bed, making it seem as though he had raped Liz, but she needs to find proof of her theory.

Vylette becomes intoxicated with her new-found popularity, which has eclipsed Courtney's own. Courtney and Marcie get angry at Vylette outshining Courtney, so they post enlarged yearbook photos of Fern Mayo(Vylette pre-makeover) all over the school, revealing Vylette's true identity, 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 by Liz's mother. Julie found the voice recordable birthday card, which Courtney was holding after putting Liz's body in her bed. Julie discovers the birthday card recorded Courtney admitting to killing Liz. With the evidence she needed, Julie, Fern, and Zach travel to the prom to expose evil Courtney.

When Dane and Courtney are announced as prom king and queen, Zach 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. With her crimes now exposed, 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.

Writer-director Darren Stein initially conceived the screenplay for Jawbreaker as a horror film about a prank gone awry.^[4] "I went to an all-boys school. I only got to apprehend co-educational teenage culture through movies like Carrie or Heathers or the John Hughes movies," said Stein. "So I was like, “Oh, that’s so cool. Michelle got kidnapped; that would be a really great idea for a horror movie.” What if the girls who kidnapped her are like Heathers-type girls, you know? This trio of really bitchy girls and she accidentally dies? That’s the horror of it."^[4]

Stein brought his script to executives at Columbia TriStar, who agreed to finance the film if he could cast Natalie Portman, Kate Winslet, or Rose McGowan.^[5] 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.^[5] 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.

On a small budget of $3.5 million, Jawbreaker was filmed at locations in and around the Los Angeles area. 'Reagan High School' was actually University High School in West Los Angeles, with the cafeteria scenes filmed at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks.^[5] The diner that the girls drive up to at the beginning of the film is Johnie's Broiler in Downey, California, the filming site for many film and television productions. McGowan based her performance on that of Gene Tierney's sociopathic character in Leave Her to Heaven (1945).^[5]

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 colors to evoke the jawbreaker.^[5]

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.^[5] 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.^[6]

Jawbreaker premiered at on January 30, 1999 at the Sundance Film Festival^[7] before being released theatrically in the United States on February 19, 1999.

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released Jawbreaker on VHS and DVD on June 22, 1999.^[8] On April 5, 2011, it was released on Blu-ray for the first time.^[9] Sony Pictures Home Entertainment issued a 20th anniversary Blu-ray on November 19, 2019, featuring a new audio commentary with cast and crew members.^[10]

During its opening weekend, Jawbreaker earned $1,603,425 at the United States box office, ranking number 13.^[2] It remained in exhibition for 45 weeks, grossing a total of $3,117,085 domestically.^[2]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 15% of 65 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "This throwaway comedy falls victim to its hip sensibilities."^[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 22 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.^[12] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave Jawbreaker a grade D+.^[13]

A number of film critics noted the film's similarities to Heathers (1988), deeming it derivative as a result.^{[14][15][16][17]} Desson Howe of The Washington Post compared the film negatively against Heathers, concluding: "Unfortunately, Jawbreaker fails to answer the unspoken question it raises: Why sit through a lesser imitation?"^[14] Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon also commented on the film's parallels to Heathers, writing that it "fancies itself a wicked satire on youth, death and the disposability of image...  Jawbreaker may promise a series of gleefully cheap thrills, but in the end all it delivers is a whole lot of bad taste."^[15]

Lisa Alspector of the Chicago Reader also deemed the film as "derivative," adding: "Lame shock scenes, crucial plot points inserted without setups, and an unsuccessful attempt to exploit the camp value of some actors cast in minor parts are the least of the problems in this black comedy."^[18] Paul Tatara, writing for CNN, was unimpressed by the film's exaggerated visual elements and lambasted McGowan's performance in the film, though he wrote favorably of Gayheart's performance, noting: "There's something invitingly earthy and open about her, even as she's caught up in the director's empty, film-school shenanigans."^[19] Roger Ebert gave the film one and a half out of four stars, stating, "The movie is a slick production of a lame script ... If anyone in the plot had the slightest intelligence, the story would implode."^[20]

James Berardinelli gave the film a more favorable two and a half out of four stars, 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".^[21] Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised the film's style, noting that "Stein plays enthusiastically with every spinning circle and candylike prop he can find. The film's bright look and visual energy are much more liberating than the machinations of its teen queens."^[22] The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Nick Carter also gave the film a favorable assessment, praising it as "a low-level cult classic, good for future rewind moments."^[23] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times praised the film's direction, assessing it as a "wickedly hilarious send-up of high school mores" with a "dark view of teenagers."^[24]

McGowan was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain, but lost to Matt Dillon for his role as Pat Healy There's Something About Mary.^[25]

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".^[5] Similarities have been drawn between Jawbreaker, Heathers, and the 2004 film Mean Girls.^[26] Dazed magazine published a similar feature, crediting the film with inspiring 2004's Mean Girls, and praising the dark tones and performances.^[27]

McGowan's Courtney Shayne has become something of a pop culture icon on social media,^[28] 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,^[29] drawing praise from the likes of Vogue^[30] and Rookie magazines.^[31] 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).^[5][32]

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."^[33]

1. "Yoo Hoo" (Imperial Teen) – 3:31
2. "I See" (Letters To Cleo) – 3:56
3. "Next to You" (Ednaswap) – 2:35
4. "Don't Call Me Babe" (Shampoo) – 2:58
5. "Bad Word for a Good Thing" (Friggs) – 2:53
6. "Stay in Bed" (Grand Mal) – 4:49
7. "Flow" (Transister) – 5:59
8. "She Bop" (Howie Beno) – 3:06
9. "Water Boy" (Imperial Teen) – 1:36
10. "Rock You Like a Hurricane" (Scorpions) – 4:14
11. "Rock 'n' Roll Machine" (The Donnas) – 2:54
12. "Beat You Up" (The Prissteens) – 2:36
13. "Trouble" (Shampoo) – 3:21

Songs not included on the soundtrack

• The Cars, "Good Times Roll"
• Connie Francis, "Lollipop Lips"
• The Friggs, "Heartbreaker"
• Veruca Salt, "Volcano Girls" (opening scene)
• Jack Drag, "Where Are We" (when Julie calls Fern)
• Chesney Hawkes, "Almost You" (Julie and Zach in auditorium)
• Emily Grogan, "No Hitch" (Julie walks under bleachers)
• Hub, "I Believe You" (Julie in bedroom before prom)
• Bing Crosby, "Young at Heart" (end of prom)
• The Donnas, "Checkin’ It Out" (end credits)
• Tiffany, "I Think We're Alone Now" (sang & mentioned, not played)

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.^[34][35] Francis filed two lawsuits over the unauthorized use of her song in Jawbreaker.^[34][35] In 2002, Francis sued her record company Universal Music Group (UMG) for allowing several of her songs to be synchronized to "sexually themed" movies.^[34] Jawbreaker was specifically mentioned by name in the lawsuit.^[34] Francis was unsuccessful and the judge threw the case out of court.^[36] The second lawsuit involved Francis suing the producers of Jawbreaker for the unauthorized use of "Lollipop Lips" in the film.^[35]

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In 2010, efforts began to adapt Jawbreaker into a musical. On July 29, 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.^[37]

On October 13, 2011, a Manhattan reading occurred with Diana DeGarmo in the role of Fern Mayo. Gabriel Barre directed this reading.^[38]

On September 26 and 27 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 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.^[39]

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."^[40]

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,^[41][42] but no further developments were made.

• Jawbreaker at IMDb 
• Jawbreaker at Box Office Mojo
• Jawbreaker at Rotten Tomatoes
• Official website for Jawbreaker: The Musical