Jennifer's Cop-Out

I saw the movie Jennifer's Body last night, and I was not really expecting something huge. I was a fan of Juno and Diablo Cody's quirky articles she writes for Entertainment Weekly, so why not give her new comedy/horror-flick a try?

The movie opens and what is the premise? A girl, in a mental institution is telling how she got there. After that, I didn't give one care about the movie.

No no no no no no no! Diablo Cody, even I thought you were better than that.

Allow me to explain...

It is my belief that whenever someone writes a story, play, movie, whathaveyou, that focuses on a character in a mental institution, it is just a half-assed story. It is a cop-out. Crazy people are easy to write about because you can give them their crazy flaws without explaination. The characters aren't deep, they just provide something to write about.

What I hate more about these easy characters is the fact that writer's have probably never set foot in such a place, and they build it to fit whatever torture these "characters" are set to endure.

I know that by now you are asking me, "Wait, Rebecca, didn't you write a play set in a mental institution?"

My answer: yes. I did. And I am ashamed of it. I live in agony over it every day! While The Mentality Club was funny, it was a quick production. I needed a play for school and that was easy to come up with. It is, sadly, my cop-out play. It is my bastard child. I just kind of have to put up with it until it's old enough to live on it's own.

I'm confused about my feelings for Diablo Cody now. I know why she wrote this movie, she had a hit with Juno, and she's looking to create her sophomore script. I understand it. I can sympathize with it. But that doesn't mean I will forgive it.