Taglines: Suck it and see…
Jawbreaker movie storyline. In what was meant as a harmless birthday prank, three of Reagan High School’s most popular girls, Julie, Marcie, and Courtney pretend to kidnap their friend, the latter shoving a jawbreaker into the victim’s mouth to keep her from screaming.
Their plan goes awry when the girl accidentally swallows the jawbreaker, choking to death. The cool and calculating Courtney tries to cover the crime but is found out by school geek Fern Mayo. In return for her silence, Courtney transforms the gawky Fern into the stylishly beautiful Vylette, leaving the conscience-stricken Julie out in the cold, threatening to set her up for the girl’s murder if she breaks her silence.
Jawbreaker is a 1999 American black comedy film written and directed by Darren Stein. The film stars Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, and Judy Greer as girls in an exclusive clique in their high school. Charlotte Ayanna has a non-speaking cameo role as a murdered prom queen. The film was inspired by the film Heathers, and is often compared to it, particularly the plot involving a popular female clique, and the ostensibly accidental killing of one of its members.
Of his concept for the film, Stein has stated “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”. The film was released on February 19, 1999 and was a critical and financial failure, although it has come to gain a cult following. Similarities have been drawn between Jawbreaker and the 2004 film Mean Girls.
About the Story
On the morning of her 17th birthday, popular high-school senior Liz Purr (Charlotte Ayana) is kidnapped in her bed by three masked assailants, one of whom stuffs a jawbreaker into her mouth as a gag before she is placed in the trunk of a car. The kidnappers turn out to be Liz’s “friends” — Courtney (Rose McGowan), Marcie (Julie Benz), and Julie (Rebecca Gayheart) — playing a cruel prank on her for her birthday. When the girls drive up to a diner to treat Liz to breakfast, they pop the trunk and discover she is dead, having choked to death on the jawbreaker jammed in her throat by Courtney just before slamming the trunk of the car.
Julie wants to go to the police, but Courtney forbids her. Courtney calls the school pretending to be Liz’s mother and tells them Liz is ill and cannot attend school, then the three go to school as though nothing had happened. Fern Mayo (Judy Greer), school outcast and fervent admirer of Liz Purr (whom she calls “The Cat’s Meow”), is sent by the school principal, Miss Sherwood (Carol Kane), to deliver Liz’s homework at the end of the day, she stumbles upon the three girls at Liz’s house trying to arrange her body in bed. Courtney tries to fabricate a story that Liz died at the hands of a rapist.
Fern attempts to flee the house, but the girls catch her and Courtney buys her silence by accepting her into the clique, telling her to take Liz’s place, despite Julie’s protests. Courtney and Marcie give Fern a makeover, transforming her from plain and awkward to elegant and beautiful. The transformation is so complete, Courtney introduces Fern as the beautiful exchange student “Vylette”.
Julie, overwhelmed by guilt at her part in Liz’s death, breaks away from the clique, only to be reviled by Courtney and Marcie. As her popularity dissolves, she becomes a new target for abuse and contempt throughout the school. Her only real friend during this time is her boyfriend, a drama student named Zack (Chad Christ).
As Vylette’s popularity soars, Julie watches in silence as Courtney spins an endless web of lies to cover up the murder and maintain her popularity. Julie threatens to go to the police and tell the truth, but Courtney retorts that she, Marcie, and now Vylette will claim Julie killed Liz if she attempts to expose them. To her disgust, Julie learns that, after they had returned Liz’s corpse to her house, Courtney went out that same night and seduced a stranger (Marilyn Manson) at a sleazy bar and had sex with him in Liz’s bed.
Vylette becomes intoxicated with her new-found popularity, which has eclipsed Courtney’s own. Courtney orders Vylette to learn her place, but Vylette vows that if Courtney does not watch her step, then she will reveal the truth behind Liz’s death. In response, Courtney and Marcie post enlarged yearbook photos of Fern Mayo all over the school with the message “Who is Vylette” written on them, revealing Vylette’s true identity and leaving her humiliated by the entire school. Julie takes pity on Fern and forgives her for being corrupted by Courtney.
Feeling no remorse for the lives she has destroyed, the heartless Courtney attends the senior prom with jock Dane Sanders (Ethan Erickson). Meanwhile, Julie is at home going through a bag of Liz’s belongings that were given to her. Upon finding a recordable greeting card she was fiddling with when Courtney was faking Liz’s death scene, on which Courtney’s admission to the killing (callously saying “I killed Liz. I killed the teen dream. Deal with it”) was inadvertently recorded. Armed with this evidence, Julie, Fern and Zack hurry to the prom.
Jawbreaker (1999)
Directed by: Darren Stein
Starring: Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, Judy Greer, Chad Christ, Ethan Erickson, Carol Kane, Pam Grier, Tatyana Ali, Charlotte Ayanna, Marilyn Manson
Screenplay by: Darren Stein
Production Design by: Jerry Fleming
Cinematography by: Amy Vincent
Film Editing by: Troy Takaki
Costume Design by: Vikki Barrett
Set Decoration by: Betty Berberian
Music by: Stephen Endelman
MPAA Rating: R for sexuality, language and violence, all involving teens.
Distributed by: TriStar Pictures
Release Date: February 19, 1999
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