Words cannot express how refreshing it is to see a movie where women are cheated on, but instead of blaming each other, join forces against the boy that put them in that position in the first place. John Tucker is an arrogant, womanising high school basketball player, and John Tucker Must Die is the teen revenge comedy that punishes him for all of his misdeeds. A group of high school girls discover that they've all been dating the same boy, and hatch a plan to get back at him. They rope in a shy new girl to make him fall in love with her, and plenty of humiliating antics ensue that make this feel like revenge porn for teenage girls. But at the end of the film, they realise that what they're doing is wrong, not because it hurts John Tucker, but because it's a bad choice for them: even while hating him and doing everything they can to ruin his life, they're still making their entire lives revolve around him. Although John Tucker Must Die has some kind of stupid moments, it still deserves credit for its treatment of its female leads, which is unusually compassionate for a teen comedy.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
