Jawbreaker (film)
| Jawbreaker | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Darren Stein |
| Produced by | Adam Silverman |
| Written by | Darren Stein |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Stephen Endelman |
| Cinematography | Amy Vincent |
| Edited by | Troy T. Takaki |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3.5 million |
| Box office | $3,117,085 |
Jawbreaker is a 1999 American black comedy film written and directed by Darren Stein. The film stars Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, and Judy Greer as girls in an exclusive clique in their high school. Charlotte Ayanna has a non-speaking cameo role as a murdered prom queen. The film was inspired by the film Heathers, and is often compared to it, particularly the plot involving a popular female clique, and the accidental murder 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, though it has come to gain a cult following. Similarities have been drawn between Jawbreaker and the 2004 film Mean Girls.
The "Flawless Four" are the most beautiful and popular girls in Reagan High School in Los Angeles. The clique consists of Courtney Shayne (Rose McGowan), Marcie Fox (Julie Benz), Julie Freeman (Rebecca Gayheart), and Elizabeth (Liz) Purr (Charlotte Ayanna), the "Princess Di of Reagan High." Of the four, only Liz is genuinely kind-hearted to everybody regardless of their social rankings, and loved by the entire school. Julie is popular because of her beauty and being best friends with Liz, while cold-blooded queen bee Courtney and her airheaded right-hand girl, Marcie, demand respect through terror.
Courtney, Marcie, and Julie decide to play a mindless prank on Liz the morning of her 17th birthday, by performing a fake kidnapping. They surprise Liz in bed, bind her with ropes, and Courtney rams a jawbreaker into her mouth to gag her, before sealing her mouth with duct tape. The girls then lock Liz in the trunk of a car and drive off, actually planning to take her to a restaurant for breakfast. Upon opening the trunk, however, they are greeted with the grisly sight of Liz dead, having choked on the jawbreaker.
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