Courtney Alice Shayne is a fictional character who appears in the 1999 film '' Jawbreaker'', portrayed by

Rose McGowan Rósa Arianna McGowan (born September 5, 1973) is an American actress and activist. After her film debut in a brief role in the comedy ''Encino Man'' (1992), she achieved recognition for her performance in the dark comedy ''The Doom Generation' ...

Storyline

Courtney Shayne is the manipulative, self-entitled, cruel and vindictive leader of an all-female quartet in Reagan High School. Together with two other friends, she kidnaps her rival, Elizabeth "Liz" Purr, as a prank. Courtney stuffs a jawbreaker into her mouth, gags her, and puts her into the trunk of a car. Later, the girls open the trunk and discover Liz is dead, having choked to death on the jawbreaker. Liz's best friend, Julie, wants to go to the police, but Courtney forbids her. Courtney spins an endless web of lies to cover up the murder and maintain her popularity. When Julie breaks away from the clique, she becomes a target for abuse and contempt throughout the school. Julie discovers, however, a recording in which Courtney admits to killing Liz, and the truth is made public just as Courtney is crowned

prom queen A promenade dance or prom is a formal dance party for graduating high school students at the end of the school year. Students participating in the prom will typically vote for a ''prom king'' and ''prom queen''. Other students may be honored ...

. This angers the entire student body, who soon gangs up and turns her in to the authorities, blocking any paths of escape.

Characterization

The narrator describes Courtney as "like

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

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". Anne Cohen calls her a "porcelain-skinned demon who rules the fictional Reagan High with soul-crushing terror." Kathleen Sweeney suggests that 1999 "gave viewers two manipulative dark-haired

Queen Bees A queen bee is the matriarch of a honey bee colony. Queen bee may also refer to: People * Lil' Kim (born 1974), known as Queen B/Bee * Beyoncé (born 1981), known as Queen B/Bey Music * Queen Bee (band), a Japanese musical group * ''Queen ...

Kathryn Merteuil Kathryn Merteuil is a fictional character who appears in ''Cruel Intentions'' and '' Cruel Intentions 2'', portrayed by actresses Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amy Adams, respectively. Based on the Marquise de Merteuil in Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's 1 ...

(

Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted by a talent agent as a young child, she made her film debut at age six in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). She had her first lead ...

) in ''

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'' and Courtney Shayne in ''Jawbreaker''. In both films, "the Queens of Mean are punished by their peers, but not before laying out the game plan for wielding power in high school as visual "how-to" manuals for aspiring Queen Bees everywhere." Sweeny notes that Shayne holds "the rest of the girl tribe in her audacious thrall until she is outed".

Legacy

McGowan was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for her portrayal of Shayne. Liz Hersey suggests that although ''Jawbreaker'' was panned, it would "go on to become a

cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...

, thanks in large part to Courtney Shayne." Anne Cohen notes that "20 years after the film’s release, Courtney Shayne continues to enjoy hero status among a generation for whom Jawbreaker was a preliminary introduction to the “Mean Girl” archetype." Cohen also suggests that Shayne is a "villain seemingly designed for the social media age".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shayne, Courtney Film characters introduced in 1999 Teenage characters in film Female film villains Fictional female murderers