Jawbreaker (1999)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Darren Stein

Writer:

Darren Stein (writer)

Release Date:

19 February 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

The sweetest candies are sour as death inside.

Plot:

Three of the most popular girls at Reagan High accidentally kill the prom queen with a jaw-breaker when a kidnapping goes horribly wrong.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Popular Girl | Prank | Prom | Geek

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Wed. July 8	10:00 AM	FX
Mon. July 13	10:00 AM	FX

Cast

Alexandra Adi	...	Cheerleader #1
Tatyana Ali	...	Brenda
Joni Allen	...	Make-Up Monger #1
Charlotte Ayanna	...	Liz Purr (as Charlotte Roldan)
Julie Benz	...	Marcie Fox
Marita Black	...	Dreamsperson #1
Billy Butler	...	High School Stud
Chad Christ	...	Zack
Claudine Claudio	...	Drama Student #2
Jeff Conaway	...	Marcie's Father
Jane Leigh Connelly	...	Wannabe #2 (as Jane Connelly)
Ethan Erickson	...	Dane Sanders
Vylette Fagerholm	...	Make-Up Monger #2
Brian Gattas	...	Drama Student #1
Rebecca Gayheart	...	Julie Freeman

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, language and violence, all involving teens.

Runtime:

87 min | Germany:78 min | Argentina:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Iceland:12 | USA:R (certificate #36269) | Australia:M | France:-12 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Argentina:16 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Crossroads Films

Trivia:

The only line of dialog Liz Purr (Charlotte Ayanna) has in the whole film is, "What are you doing to me?" which is a recording from the birthday card.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: In the scene just after Fern has been made over, they are sitting at the cafeteria table and just after Dean sits down, a boom is visible at the top of the screen.

Quotes:

Courtney: You knew Liz Purr right?
Fern: I-I know of her
Courtney: "Knew" of her, past tense. She's dead Fern, she died. But we've got a bit of a problem because you know we did it. You heard us. That gives you a little something Fern, and it's called power. The power to tell, and you're the kind of girl that tells. A tattle-tale.
Marcie: A rat.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ancient Evil 2: Guardian of the Underworld (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Flow

Not a masterpiece, but fine entertainment

When you watch "Jawbreaker," you can't help but sense echoes of "Heathers," "Clueless" and "The Craft." So it is a bit of a derivative teen bopper flick. But it's not a total rip-off and does stand on its own two feet.

However, it's a fun movie. And it has a great soundtrack, which I have. I love the use of the song "Rock Me Like a Hurricane" in the Marilyn Manson cameo. Pam Grier also had an interesting bit role, as a tough-as-nails private investigator. "Jawbreaker" has its flaws, but it's fast-paced, energetic and sometimes pretty funny.

The only big letdown was the ending. Couldn't they come up with something more torcherous to do to Courtney? Evidently, the writer Darren Stein was too anxious to complete the script and pasted on this snappy, thoughtless ending.