BFF’s Jennifer (Megan Fox) and Needy (Amanda Seyfried) decide to go see a band from the city that Jennifer loves as they play at a local dive bar in their rural town. An unlikely pair, the two girls have been best pals since their childhood days; Jennifer is a slinky cheerleader interested in being a social butterfly while Needy is a pretty nerd girl who loves her books. Still, they have a bond, and their disparate traits help bring out the best in both of them. Unfortunately, the dive bar burns down mid-performance and Jennifer decides to take a van ride with the (very date-rapey) band, leaving Needy behind. Later that night, Jennifer breaks into Needy’s house, covered in blood and belching black bile. Something has gone horribly wrong, and Needy’s best friend has changed forever. Possessed by a demon, Jennifer begins seducing and then horribly killing local boys. Needy is hot on her trail, and when Jennifer turns her attentions to Needy’s boyfriend, their friendship has reached its final test. Needy has to find a way to take her best friend down for good.
So I avoided this movie for a long, long time (11 years!), mostly because I don’t really care for the writing style of Diablo Cody. I don’t think she’s a bad writer at all (in fact she’s good, as her Oscar will attest), but the snark and her “with it” style always bugged me and took me out of whatever I was watching that she wrote. This movie has some of those traits sprinkled throughout, but they were mostly kept in check just enough to allow me to enjoy this. Until the end, when it became a parade of snappy one-liners. I know lots of people love this kind of thing, but man, I can only take it in limited doses. It distracts me from the story by announcing “Hey, look how cool I can write!” Anyway, that’s all a roundabout way of saying that this movie is pretty good and I probably shouldn’t have been a snob about it for this long. The acting is great and the directing (Karyn Kusama) is fantastic. At the heart of this movie is a lifelong friendship between two girls that is both heartfelt and sincere. They really love each other and to have them pitted against one another is a true tragedy. Also, kudos on the downbeat opening/ending, where it shows that not all is right in the world, and real trauma has real consequences.
This is a good, if not extraordinary flick. I can see why women will lean into it because I think it really speaks from a shared experience that I as a male cannot fully comprehend (and that’s totally fine). But it also connects on a basic level; of understanding deep friendships and what they mean. So in that sense, it’s plenty universal. This isn’t some “Chick Flick” even though it totally has strong strains of feminism and female comradery. I’m just saying that if you’re a woman, you’re probably going to identify with this in a stronger way than most men will, and that’s a perfectly reasonable thing. I liked it and I wish I hadn’t waited so long to see it (plus there’s the added bonus of seeing J.K. Simmons with a headful of mullet hair!). It’s fun and funny and I would give it one more star except it’s a bit too long. Knock off fifteen minutes and you’ve got a real corker here.
★★☆☆