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Jawbreaker is a 1999 American dark comedy film directed and written by Darren Stein. The film stars Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, and Julie Benz as girls in an exclusive clique in their high school. Charlotte Ayanna has a non-speaking cameo role as the murdered fourth member of the group. The film was inspired by the 1988 film Heathers, and is often compared to it, particularly the plot involving a popular female clique, the use of bright pastels, 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. Plot The "Flawless Four" are the most popular girls in Reagan High School, consisting of Courtney Shayne, Marcie Fox, Julie Freeman, and Liz Purr. Of the foursome, only Liz is genuinely kind-hearted and loved by the entire school. Julie is popular because of her looks and being best friends with Liz, while queen bee Courtney and her airhead follower, Marcie, demand respect through terror. On the morning of Liz's 17th birthday, Courtney, Marcie, and Julie bind her with ropes, gag her with a jawbreaker, and seal her mouth with duct tape. The girls lock Liz in the trunk of a car and drive off, planning to take her to a restaurant for breakfast. Upon opening the trunk, they discover Liz has choked to death on the jawbreaker. Julie wants to report the situation to the police, but Courtney instead calls the school to tell them Liz is ill and cannot attend; the three later go to school. When Principal Sherwood sends outcast Fern Mayo to deliver Liz's homework at the end of the day, she encounters the three girls and Liz's dead body. Courtney says Liz was killed by a rapist, and spreads false rumors she was actually a rebellious, promiscuous girl. Having admired Liz to the point of hero worship, Fern flees in horror. The girls catch her and buy her silence by accepting her into the clique. Courtney and Marcie transform Fern into a beautiful exchange student named "Vylette." Overwhelmed by guilt at her part in Liz's death, Julie distances herself from the clique, but is tormented by her former friends and become a new target for abuse throughout the school. Her only real friend during this time is her boyfriend and drama student, Zack. As Vylette's popularity soars, Julie silently watches as Courtney tries covering up the murder and maintaining her popularity. Julie learns that, after they returned Liz to her house, Courtney seduced a stranger at a bar and had sex with him in Liz's bed, making it seem as though he had raped Liz. Vylette becomes intoxicated with her new-found popularity, which has eclipsed Courtney's own. Courtney and Marcie post enlarged yearbook photos of Fern all over the school, revealing Vylette's true identity and leaving her humiliated. Julie sympathizes with Fern and forgives her for falling under Courtney's influence. While Courtney attends the senior prom with jock Dane Sanders, Julie is at home going through a bag of Liz's belongings that were given to her. Finding a recordable greeting card she was fiddling with when Courtney was faking Liz's death scene, Julie discovers it has recorded Courtney's culpability in Liz's death. Julie, Fern, and Zack travel to the prom. When Dane and Courtney are announced as prom king and queen, Zack secretly broadcasts the card's message over the sound system, revealing the truth behind Liz's death. Dane quickly abandons Courtney while Marcie hides under a table. With her crimes now exposed, Courtney flees as the rest of the angered students pelt her with corsages and call her a murderer while blocking any paths of escape. Julie snaps a picture of her former friend's anguished face to immortalize the occasion. Cast Production Director Darren Stein brought his script to executives at Columbia Tri-Star, who agreed to finance the film if he could cast either Natalie Portman, Kate Winslet or Rose McGowan. The role of Julie originally went to Rachael Leigh Cook, who was eventually replaced with Rebecca Gayheart because the producers felt she did not have the right chemistry with the two other actresses. Gayheart had auditioned for the roles of Fern and Marcie before she was selected for Julie. Marilyn Manson, who was then dating McGowan, agreed to appear in a non-speaking cameo role. On a small budget of $3.5 million, Jawbreaker was filmed at locations in and around the Los Angeles area. 'Reagan High School' was actually University High School in West Los Angeles, with the cafeteria scenes filmed at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks. The diner that the girls drive up to at the beginning of the film is Johnie's Broiler in Downey, California, the filming site for many film and television productions. McGowan based her performance on that of Gene Tierney's sociopathic character in Leave Her to Heaven (1945). The distinctive costumes were designed by Vikki Barrett, who drew on 1980s and 1950s-era fashion trends blended with fetishistic elements like lycra skirts, all in bright candy colors to evoke the jawbreaker. Before the film could be released, the MPAA objected to a graphic sex scene between McGowan's and Marilyn Manson's characters, which had to be cut down to give the film an R rating instead of an NC-17. To accompany the release of the film, Imperial Teen's music video for the song "Yoo Hoo" featured McGowan as Courtney Shayne harassing the band members with jawbreakers. Reception Many critics pointed out the film's similarities to the 1988 cult-classic Heathers and accused Jawbreaker of plagiarism. On Metacritic the film has a score of 22% based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 14% based on 64 reviews, with an average of 3.6 out of 10. The website's consensus states: "This throwaway comedy falls victim to its hip sensibilities." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave Jawbreaker a grade D+. Roger Ebert gave the film one and a half out of four stars, stating, "The movie is a slick production of a lame script ... If anyone in the plot had the slightest intelligence, the story would implode". Francesca Dinglasan from Boxoffice magazine gave the film one and a half out of five stars, criticizing the film's humor and similarities to Heathers. James Berardinelli gave the film a more favorable two and a half out of four stars, calling it "palatable, and occasionally even clever", but concluding, "while the film offers more than a Heathers rehash, it never fully develops its own identity. McGowan was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain, but lost to Matt Dillon for his role as Pat Healy There's Something About Mary. Legacy Despite the negative critical feedb.... Discover the Dane Sanders popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Dane Sanders books.