I want to slap Jon, not one, not twice but 92 times, for every "It's Alright" in Who Says You Can't Go Home.
She didn't hit him that hard.
(I'm not in any way condoning Domestic Violence, but IT'S A FUCKING MOVIE!!!)
Katherine Heigl slaps Jon Bon Jovi in the trailer for New Year's Eve not once, but twice. This regular face-slapping in films bolsters the cliche that men are always mistreating their women
Amy Fleming
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 July 2011 21.01 BST
Jon Bon Jovi and Katherine Heigl in the New Year’s Eve trailer.
This week saw the release of the trailer for the most star-studded movie of the year, possibly ever – New Year's Eve. The romcom's cast includes (among many, many others) Hilary Swank, Sarah Jessica Parker, Halle Berry, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ashton Kutcher, Ludacris and Lea Michelle from Glee.
The plot seems harmlessly sugary – various people, whose lives are entwined in some way, are having seasonal crisies, and then, unexpectedly, lovely and inspiring things happen. The trailer ends with Robert De Niro intoning: "Nothing beats New York on New Year's Eve."
But one thing tastes sour. In the NYE trailer, Katherine Heigl slaps Jon Bon Jovi (yes, they're in the movie, too) hard and fast round the face, not once, but twice. It is meant to be a funny moment, but not everyone is impressed.
"When will movies stop showing women slapping men in a way that is either funny, cute, or sexy?" wrote one incensed commenter on the blogosphere. She has a point. From When Harry Met Sally's "fuck you" slap, to Andie MacDowell repeatedly smacking Bill Murray's cheek in Groundhog Day, men being struck by their love interest is a cinematic staple.
But that doesn't mean it is not a seriously irritating one, portraying women as hysterical and weak. (Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind being a classic example. Ashley barely flinches when she hits him, but strongly and silently exits left.)
It's even more grating when, as in the NYE trailer, the slap is played for laughs. Firstly, it makes a joke out of women hitting men (which is a form of domestic violence), and the second joke is that women make such a bad job of being violent because they're so weak. And, infuriatingly, it bolsters the cliche that those cheeky men are always mistreating their women.
As anyone who witnessed Wendi Deng defending her husband from a shaving cream assault would know, real women pack a punch.
Does this annoy you too, or is it just harmless fun? What other romcom cliches infuriate you?
If I photo shop the back of my head into this picture and cover up Katherine Heigl would that be the most awesome Holiday Card ever?
"He said he wouldn't stop playing Who Says... So I slapped him, 96 times."
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