A ferocious day-glo-coloured complement to Michael Lehmann's majestically spiteful late-80s teen black comedy Heathers, Jawbreaker invites us into the immaculately turned-out and deeply, deeply venal world of a quartet of high-school princesses led by one Courtney Shayne (Rose McGowan)--or "Satan in heels", as she's known to her peer group. The only thing is, Courtney's gang don't stay a quartet for long after the one vaguely likeable member of the group, Liz (Charlotte Ayanna) dies following a malicious birthday prank executed by her caring, sharing girlfriends. (All we can say is that it involves the titular hunk of candy.)
Triumphantly convincing the world Liz was, in fact, the victim of a serial killer, Courtney gets on with ruling school with a manicured iron fist--except she didn't bargain for the sudden discovery of a conscience by her lieutenant Julie (Rebecca Gayheart), or the rumbling of her plan by class geek Fern Mayo (Judy Greer). In truth, no matter how badly Jawbreaker wants to be Heathers, there's little of the sharp, acidic wit or satirical glee which Lehmann brought to the table in the earlier movie--just a sticky and a faintly unpleasant aftertaste. That said, there's a certain cartoonish vibrancy to the proceedings, however predictably they unfold, and if McGowan's Joan Crawford Jr shtick as the vampish queen-bitch Shayne hardly extends her range as an actress, it's an accomplished piece of type-casting. --Danny Leigh
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