Jawbreaker is a strange, dark teen girl comedy released in 1999. The movie is over 25 years old, but it’s now finding a new audience thanks to its stylized montages, memorable soundtrack, and morbidly funny script. In the film, three girls named Courtney (Rose McGowan), Marcie (Julie Benz), and Julie (Rebecca Gayheart) accidentally kill their best friend Liz (Charlotte Ayanna) on her birthday. In an attempt at damage control, they throw the body in a ditch, find an unsuspecting man in a bar as a scapegoat, and give a nerdy, meek girl named Fern Mayo (Judy Greer) a makeover so she won’t blab their secret.
Courtney Shayne, the ringleader of the «Flawless Four» in Jawbreaker, is quickly becoming an iconic mean girl icon in her own right, one so vicious that she would make even Regina George cry. As Fern puts it in the movie: «She’s so evil. And she’s only in high school.» Rose McGowan is perfect in the role, bringing a lack of empathy that makes the character seem borderline psychopathic. Courtney is rebellious, promiscuous, and, as her vocabulary would suggest, wise beyond her years. Perhaps that’s why McGowan was so averse to what has now become one of the most famous lines in the movie.
Rose McGowan's Blasé Line Delivery Was Accidentally Perfect
The teen dark comedy Jawbreaker is hard to fit into a box. Some scenes are disturbing and haunting, such as the sight of Liz Purr lying dead on the bed covered in bruises, or the creepy montage of Courtney Shayne finding a poor unsuspecting man in a bar to take the blame for the murder. There are some unusual gags found throughout the movie. Courtney’s boyfriend waggling his tongue, eliciting a cartoonish sound effect, or the bizarre fever dream of a makeover scene both come to mind.
Jawbreaker marches to the beat of its own drum. The script, which was written by Darren Stein (also the director of the film), is entirely unique. For that reason, Rose McGowan didn’t want to utter the now-famous line, «Life’s a bitch, then you die.» She felt like it was too cliché and didn’t seem as original as the rest of the script. She didn’t feel as though her character, Courtney Shayne, would actually say something like that. Still, Darren Stein insisted that the line stay in the movie.
Rose McGowan uttered the quote quickly and with zero emotional inflection, hoping that her apathetic line delivery would cause it to be completely cut from the movie. Instead, Darren Stein kept Rose McGowan’s delivery of the line in the movie. The quote is now one of the most famous in Jawbreaker. Fans assumed that the nonchalant manner that Courtney Shayne uttered the line was intentional. It appeared she was just being cold and uncaring because those were qualities she displayed throughout the rest of the movie.
Courtney Shayne Had No Empathy or Love For Her Friends
At the beginning of Jawbreaker, Fern Mayo tells the audience through voiceover that Courtney Shayne and her friends Julie, Marcie, and Liz were known as the «Flawless Four.» They were equally loved and feared by the student body. It isn’t until the girls accidentally kill Liz that the audience really gets to know each member of the Flawless Four as individual characters. Courtney Shayne stands out the most as the ringleader.
After discovering that they gagged Liz with a jawbreaker, Courtney takes control of the situation because, as she so casually understates, «People are not going to be pleased.» Not only does Courtney move the body to stage the death scene, but she also catches up with Fern Mayo and turns her into a beautiful creation called Vylette. Courtney also has a sexual interaction with a grown man on Liz’s bed to frame him for the murder. It’s not typical high school girl behavior.
There is not a moment in Jawbreaker where she seems even remotely remorseful about her friend Liz’s death. Rather, she revels in being the new Queen Bee at Reagan High School and thinks only about what she has to do to get away with the crime. Courtney’s selfishness leads to a falling out with Julie, who had been best friends with Liz Purr since high school. With help from her drama club boyfriend, Julie makes it her mission to take Courtney down at the prom. The ending is one of the best prom scenes in any teen movie.
It’s during a scene showing them at the peak of their tension that Courtney utters the most popular quote from the movie. Julie finds out from Detective Vera Cruz (Pam Grier), the lead investigator in Liz Purr’s murder case, that a man was arrested for the crime. Julie knows the truth about how Liz Purr was killed. Angered over the news, she pushes Courtney against a locker and confronts her about what she’s done. She tells her that she’s destroyed another life.
With no emotional inflection whatsoever, Courtney delivers the line: «Life’s a bitch, then you die.» She even gives a little shoulder shrug. Watching this scene back, it’s obvious that Rose McGowan didn’t want to say this line. Her tone of voice totally changes, and she even gives a little shoulder shrug afterward. The rest of the dialogue in the scene is dripping with Courtney’s venom. The manner in which Rose McGowan delivered the «Life’s a bitch, then you die» line totally fits the cold-hearted nature of Courtney Shayne’s character.
McGowan's Performance in the Cult Classic Is Starting to Get Recognition
There are actors who fully commit to the roles they’re playing. Christian Bale, for instance, lost over 60 pounds to play an insomniac factory worker in The Machinist. Natalie Portman trained with professionals every day to star as an elite ballerina in Black Swan. The best performers care about the characters they’re embodying and may even argue against certain elements of the script. This was the case for Rose McGowan in Jawbreaker. Even though she wasn’t playing in a «serious» movie, she put a lot of effort and care into her character.
Courtney Shayne is a standout in the film because she’s manipulative, vindictive, and beautiful. She seems to have a heart made entirely of ice. When people think of actresses who’ve taken on dark, yet fun roles, their minds may jump to Christina Ricci or Juliette Lewis. In recent years, Jenna Ortega has filled that position in Hollywood. Not enough movie fans remember to mention Rose McGowan in that conversation. She’s been a hardworking actress since 1990.
Her big breakthrough was starring as Tatum Riley in the first Scream movie. Since then, she has played Paige Matthews in the TV series Charmed and a dancer with a machine gun leg in Planet Terror. Video game fans will hear her voice over work in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Terminator Salvation. Jawbreaker, however, is the movie that has really cemented Rose McGowan’s place in cult movie history.
