Jawbreaker (film)

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 drawn between Jawbreaker and the 2004 film Mean Girls.