Jawbreaker (1999)

Rating: C+

Dir: Darren Stein
Star: Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, Judy Greer 

[22] High school can be murder. Literally, in this case, as Rose McGowan (whose boyfriend is the cameoing Marilyn Manson) and her clique of cronies, try to cover up a death when a prank goes wrong. Shades of Heathers here, obviously, though the film’s main weakness is  sympathetic characters who are so bland as to be forgettable.

Bad girls have more fun, it would appear, and McGowan is great, towering above everyone else in the film like the Gucci-clad embodiment of pure evil. The script is nicely observed, yet your attention may wander during the middle section, since it’s fairly obvious where it’s all going to end up – at the Senior Prom. The soundtrack is also way too intrusive, with most of an eye on the inevitable spin-off compact disk. Chewy, yet lacking in bite and eventually unsatisfying.