Jawbreaker (1999)

7% of critics liked it
(57 reviews)
53% of users liked it
(54,673 ratings)

At Ronald Reagan High School, the power elite clique consists of Courtney Shane (Rose McGowan), Julie Freeman (Rebecca Gayheart), Marcie Fox (Julie Benz), and Liz Purr (Charlotte Roldan). The four girls control the school through a combination of beauty, sex, and intimidation. Of the four, only Liz… More At Ronald Reagan High School, the power elite clique consists of Courtney Shane (Rose McGowan), Julie Freeman (Rebecca Gayheart), Marcie Fox (Julie Benz), and Liz Purr (Charlotte Roldan). The four girls control the school through a combination of beauty, sex, and intimidation. Of the four, only Liz is actually liked by the less fortunate members of the student body, and Liz is also the only one who can keep Courtney, the vicious group leader, in check. Unfortunately for Liz, she's also the only thing keeping Courtney from becoming prom queen. To achieve her goal, Courtney convinces Marcie and Julie to kidnap Liz on her 17th birthday and force her to eat until she's too fat to win. The three sneak into Liz's house, tie her up, stick a jawbreaker in her mouth, and gag her to keep her quiet before they throw her into the trunk of a car. Once they decide to free her, though, they find Liz has choked to death. Courtney decides not to go to the police; her brilliant idea is to take the body back home and create a death scene where Liz is strangled during kinky sex. Predictably, the girls screw it up, and they end up with a witness, social outcast Fern Mayo (Judy Greer). To buy her silence, Courtney draws her into the clique, transforming much more than just her outward appearance. The identity of Fern disappears, to be replaced by the very popular Vylette. In parallel to the rise of Vylette, we witness Julie's descent. Overcome with guilt over Liz's death, Julie drops out of the clique, and without the veil of protection from the others, she is now a target of abuse throughout the school. Courtney's ordeal has just begun as Vylette now challenges her for prom queen and Julie, with the help of another outcast, Zach (Chad Christ), now wants to reveal the truth behind Liz's death. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 27 min.
Directed By: Darren Stein
Written By: Darren Stein
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Feb 19, 1999 Wide
On DVD: May 22, 2001
Studio: Columbia TriStar

Critic Reviews

Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
Lame shock scenes, crucial plot points inserted without setups, and an unsuccessful attempt to exploit the camp value of some actors cast in minor parts are the least of the problems in this black comedy.
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle
The producers of this film, which depicts teen-age girls as an assemblage of negative stereotypes, are female. Can females practice misogyny?
Dennis Lim, Village Voice
Only the soundtrack (the Donnas, Imperial Teen) and the irrepressible McGowan make it fractionally more bearable.
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
It's a tired lousy movie, a terrible twosome that deserves your heartfelt indifference.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Not quite a satire, not quite an homage, Jawbreaker falls into a third category: audaciously unoriginal.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Why sit through a lesser imitation, when you could just rent Heathers and those other movies for a far more enjoyable time?
Garth Franklin, Dark Horizons
The humour is weak and its black, VERY black giving it a limited appeal.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The only good thing about Jawbreaker is The Donnas. They rock.
Dragan Antulov, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Teenagers, as well as the rest of the audience, really don't need to insulted.
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
Mildly diverting rip-off of the far superior, Heathers.
Merle Bertrand, Film Threat
Death and comedy rarely mix, and this tedious and painfully un-funny effort by director Darren Stein is no exception.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Jawbreaker was better the first time it was released. Of course, it was called Heathers back then.
Francesca Dinglasan, Boxoffice Magazine
The most unfortunate thing about Jawbreaker has to be its blatant imitation of 1989's vastly superior Heathers.
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
Smells of something trying much too hard with too little to show for the effort.
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve
Unoriginal. Not particularly funny.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
It all looks great, but really...who cares?

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dead A

Just another o-kay movie.
Wahida K

The sweetest candies are sour as death inside. Jawbreaker was a cute chick flick but girls in the movie tiny bit LOLs. The expression on their face when they find out their best friend is dead just because of the stupidity, it was a LOL moment for me-
Coxxie M

i dont know how uncool it is for a guy to like this (i also love clueless) but i used to love it. and also Marilyn Mansons 40 this year. wow
Emily A

I remember hating this when it first came out, but in retrospect it was pretty good. I guess I hadn't become a fan of dark movies when I saw this. Pam Grier is great in this, as is the perfectly cast Rose McGowan. This is movie reminds me a little of Very Bad Things because… More
I remember hating this when it first came out, but in retrospect it was pretty good. I guess I hadn't become a fan of dark movies when I saw this. Pam Grier is great in this, as is the perfectly cast Rose McGowan. This is movie reminds me a little of Very Bad Things because it's so dark, it nearly kills the comedy. Nonetheless it has its moments yet. It's just not the humour that is most memorable.
Curtis L

Rose McGowan is ultra pale and gets humped by Marilyn Manson. Yippee.
Dean M

The plot thickens a bit when an awkward nerd discovers the murder. Dark comedy seeks redemption with the perfect comeuppance.
danny d

terrible
Michael G

A less interesting version of Heathers.
Yinalí R

Absoluteley loved it!!!
Ira Z

The story was great and was told on screen through a very creative manner that also poked fun at the superficial and shallow lives that most teenagers live back then and even now.
Sarah P

This is the true "Mean Girls" resulting in someone dead...
Nicky M

It tries to be Heathers for the next generation but it just can't compete. Not bad but nothing special.
*Kimberly *

A bubble-gum teen murder with a make-over twist...give me a jawbreaker so I can gag on it ;P on the upside, it's always good to see a real bitch get what she deserves (and the music choice in that scene is priceless)!
Rose G

this i think is the more evil version of mean girls!
Robert F

I love Judy Greer!