CS Weekly Archive > The Big Picture > 9/18/09

Born to Be Bad:
Five Bad Girls We Love

by jenelle riley

As Diablo Cody and Megan Fox explore a literal take on the man-eater in Jennifer's Body, CS Weekly and Jenelle Riley take a look at some of Jennifer's cinematic precedents, and how their writers made them stand out.

What is it we love so much about misbehaving girls? Or, to ask the age-old question: why do men love bitches? Why was Michael Douglas willing to risk death by ice pick for a roll in the hay with Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct? Why were the Heathers and Mean Girls the most popular ones in their school? Things are certainly never boring when a bad girl is around. Even Glenn Close was pretty fun in Fatal Attraction before the whole bunny-boiling thing. With Megan Fox playing a demonic schoolgirl in the Diablo Cody-penned Jennifer's Body, opening this week, we thought we'd take a look at some of the best bad girls captured on film.

Double Indemnity (1944)
Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler
Based on the novel by James M. Cain

With crackling dialogue courtesy of Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler, Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) is the femme fatale by which all others are judged, a direct ancestor of such hot-and-bothered dames as Kathleen Turner in Body Heat and Jennifer Tilly in Bound. Even insurance agent Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) knows she's trouble. "I wonder if I know what you mean," Phyllis once says, trying to feign innocence. Walter's suspicious reply? "I wonder if you wonder." But Walter falls for her anyway, and can you blame him? Phyllis has a silver tongue to go with her killer gams, and she's soon talking her lover into offing her rich husband. The writers were smart to portray Phyllis as brilliant, ruthless, and totally emotionally detached from anyone—the type of character that had probably never been played by a woman onscreen before. She's also irresistible, as her victims can attest.

The Bad Seed (1956)
Screenplay by John Lee Mahin
Based on the play by Maxwell Anderson
Based on the novel by William March

It's been parodied and paid homage so many times, it's difficult to remember that the original bad-girl movie is, in fact, a tense piece of filmmaking with a smart script by two-time Oscar nominee John Lee Mahin. Every "evil child" movie from The Omen to this year's Orphan owes a debt to little Rhoda Penmark (Patty McCormack, in an Oscar- nominated turn), the eight-year-old girl who would kill to be perfect. Mahin's script, based on a hit play that was in turn based on a successful novel, was revolutionary for the mere suggestion that a child could be a killer. Mahin takes full advantage of this by making Rhoda appear to be the sweetest, smartest little girl in town. His depiction of her as a cold-blooded sociopath was actually way ahead of its time, as he nails both Rhoda's charm and menace. There's even room for some uncomfortable humor, as when Rhoda's mother asks what happened to a woman she suspects was murdered. "There was ice on the steps and I slipped and fell against her, and that was all," Rhoda says innocently. "That was all?" asks her mother. Rhoda then replies evenly. "No. I slipped on purpose."

The Exorcist (1973)
Screenplay by William Peter Blatty
Based on his novel

Like most 12-year-old girls, Reagan MacNeil (Linda Blair) is a little devil. Unlike most preteens, she has a valid excuse: she's actually possessed by a demon—one who claims to be the Devil himself. William Peter Blatty's Oscar-winning screenplay for the film was based on his 1971 book of the same name, and what sets is apart from most horror films of the era is the intelligence and seriousness with which he treats the subject. Reagan's behavior deteriorates slowly, and her mother, Chris (Ellen Burstyn), reacts realistically. First, Reagan makes inappropriate statements at a party. Then, she appears to be the victim of seizures. The strange actions can generally be explained away, so the dread builds realistically—until Reagan starts levitating and speaking in a male voice. Once Reagan's babysitter turns up dead, Chris stops listening to "logical" explanations and brings in Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow) and Father Karras (Jason Miller) for an exorcism. The subject, which Blatty says is based on a true-life incident, is never treated as anything less than deadly serious, and its realistic portrayal is terrifying—there is unspeakable horror in the fact that the victim is an innocent. Perhaps most powerful of all is the underlying story of a loving mother who will stop at nothing to help her little girl—and that struggle is what makes the film still resonate over 30 years later.

Misery (1990)
Screenplay by William Goldman
Based on the novel by Stephen King

On paper, the story of a crazed fan who holds her favorite author hostage and forces him to resurrect her favorite character in a new book could have been just another stalker flick. But the brilliance of Stephen King's novel—aside from the in-joke that he's a popular author with some nutty followers—and William Goldman's screenplay adaptation lies in the motivation of Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates in her Oscar- winning performance.) You see, she does it all for love. Not only her love of author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) but of Misery Chastain, the character he created, then had the audacity to kill. King and Goldman don't make her an obvious raving lunatic—on the contrary, she is unfailingly polite and mannered. She uses terms like "oogie" and "cock-a-doodie" rather than curse. She's actually kind of silly at times—the film has one of the best blends of humor and terror found in the genre. It's that unerring calm that makes her actions all the more terrifying. It's hard to decide which is creepier—the moment when she cripples Paul or immediately thereafter, when she enthuses, "God, I love you!"

The Last Seduction (1994)
Screenplay by Steve Baranick

Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) is the bad girl you can't help but love. After convincing her husband (Bill Pullman) to take part in a drug sale, she makes off with his money and hides out in a small town where she seduces local stud Mike (Peter Berg). "Anyone checked you for a heartbeat recently?" lawyer Frank Griffith (J.T. Walsh) remarks at one point, and Bridget probably considers it a compliment. She is brutally cold-hearted, yet still the heroine of Steve Baranick's screenplay, as we root for her over her lovers. Frankly, the guys have it coming in the way they underestimate her. She brilliantly manipulates the men in her life by playing on their expectations that she's really got a heart of gold hidden deep away—knowing Mike will break into her house, she purposely leaves a scrap of paper with their names and little hearts drawn all around it. She tricks the black P.I. who captures her into showing her his junk, leaving him vulnerable in a car crash. When the cop investigating the accident wonders why his pants were down, she plays the helpless-little-girl act and implies he was about to rape her. This may not sound like high comedy, but it is, thanks to Baranick's clever writing and Fiorentino's fearless performance. Besides, you have to love someone so self-aware. As she openly tells Mike at one point, "I am a total fucking bitch."

Jenelle Riley isn't bad, she's just drawn that way.

Double Indemnity courtesy Universal Home Entertainment
The Exorcist courtesy Warner Home Video

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