THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411220208
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Going to the movies free and getting paid for writing about them is a dream job for Lakeland High School's Jennifer Benton.
Benton is one of four Virginian-Pilot teen movie reviewers - three high school students and one collegian.
The 17-year-old senior, an honor roll student, has had that $25-per-movie-plus-free-ticket job for two years, quite an accomplishment since more than 100 students apply for the job each year and must re-apply the next year.
``Last year, all the applicants had to review `Jurassic Park.' This year, it was `Forrest Gump,' '' Jennifer said.
``She was chosen the last two years because she has a lively writing style,'' said Lorraine Eaton, the newspaper's high school editor. ``Also, she knows the backgrounds on the films she reviews. She offers more than an I-like-it or I-didn't-like-it flavor.''
``I've been writing since I was 8 years old,'' Jennifer said. ``I love movies, so the idea of reviewing appealed to me.''
The types of films that appeal to her are varied - comedies, gothic horror, epics and stories that show the underdogs winning.
The reviewers decide what they want to see and put their request in the computer. If no one else has asked for that film, it is theirs.
``I had dibs on `Interview With the Vampire,' '' said Jennifer, whose ``Interview'' review was published Nov. 18.
``It is highly entertaining and darkly humorous,'' she wrote. ``It is a well-acted, gorgeously grotesque film.''
Jennifer's favorite film, of all she reviewed this season, is ``Backbeat,'' a drama about the Beatles that had a limited run at the Naro.
``The film put a face on the legend,'' she said, ``and made the music seem more personal.''
Jennifer, the daughter of Theresa and Anthony Elias of Aspen Court, is president of the youth group at West End Baptist Church.
At Lakeland, she wrote, directed and acted in a play presented at the District 1-Act Festival.
Jennifer is in the Cultural Society at school, a member of the Debating Team, and the Cavalier Singers, a Lakeland vocal ensemble.
She is a peer facilitator, member of this year's Peanut Fest Goober Gang and a member of the Dismal Swamp Explorer's Club, involved with camping and canoeing.
As a member of the Young Author's Club, she entered citywide competition, winning in the ninth and 10th grades, finishing second in the 11th grade.
``I hope to go to North Carolina State for political science, then to law school,'' Jennifer said - ``trial law, family law. After watching `Cape Fear,' I'm interested in criminal law.
``I also want to be a writer.''
She notes what other writers have to say about movies, reading reviews in Premiere, People, Entertainment Weekly, and checking Mal Vincent in The Virginian-Pilot.
``I usually don't agree with him,'' Jennifer said. ``He's a great writer, but he's cynical.''
``The worst thing I reviewed was `Addams Family Values.' Same old storyline - someone trying to get their money,'' Jennifer said.
A movie that does not live up to its potential, according to Jennifer, is ``The Pelican Brief,'' based on the John Grisham novel.
``It was anticipated as an A-plus thriller. It fails to make the grade. The film lacks the fire, suspense and passion of Grisham's book,'' Jennifer said.
Grisham is one of Jennifer's favorite authors, along with V.C. Andrews and Anne Rice.
``I read constantly,'' said Jennifer, who critiqued the critics.
``A lot of critics analyze. The average person doesn't care about some things the critics nitpick,'' she said. ``First and foremost I ask - is the movie entertaining? That's the purpose of movies.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Teenager Jennifer Benton, a student at Lakeland High School, has
been reviewing movies for The Virginian-Pilot for two years.
by CNB