Slap Her, She's French!

Like most people I groaned when I saw the trailer and, ahem, the title for this movie. But I rented the DVD on a whim and hey, turns out this is pretty darn funny after all.

It's not subtle, but it is good fun, which is more than can be said for other teen comedies from 2002. The two leading ladies are genuine stars of the future (McGregor is that rare breed of beautiful actress who isn't afraid to humiliate herself for the sake of comedy) and some of the jokes are laugh-out-loud funny.

If you liked Drop Dead Gorgeous or The New Guy, you'll love this.

She Gets What She Wants, also known as "Slap Her, She's French," this little movie is about a solipsistic Texas high-school cheerleader named Starla (Jane McGregor), whose family takes in a foreign exchange student from France named Genevieve (Piper Perabo). The plot then devolves into a less subtle version of Mean Girls (2004) with the Genevieve becoming popular at school, stealing the affections of the family and taking Starla's place on the cheer- leading squad. Will young Starla be able to take her social life back or will the conniving Genevieve successfully ruin her future.

This movie was released overseas mere months before the invasion of Iraq and wasn't given a TV release in the United States until 2005. By that time freedom-fries were all the rage and Franco-hatred was on the rise. The creators probably felt there was finally a market for this unfairly shelved movie. Thing is this movie is less about Americans hating on France's stance on Iraq than it is a sardonic and satiric look at American culture told from an outsider's perspective. Starla, our protagonist is so insulated to the trappings of American life that she doesn't realize there's something very off about Genevieve. The final reveal at the end of the film only reinforces that idea that our culture as a whole conditions us to be self-centered, confrontational and petty. Even if that comes at the cost of our reputation. Now, in 2015 we've stopped eating freedom-fries but there's not a chance in hell we're eating humble pie.

Many of the negative reviews of this film are obviously written by francophiles who have had their feathers ruffled by the original title and apparently haven't actually seen the movie. Slap her She's French makes fun of generically American and more specifically Texan culture, FAR more than the French. I was delighted(and surprised)to find this a very well acted and cleverly written teen comedy that provided a vehicle for showcasing the talents of a number of young actresses. The film does stereotype and titillate but it is a teen comedy and they tend to do that. Those who are offended by such things should consider therapy to get over themselves or simply avoid this genre. Personally I was too busy laughing to be bothered.

Yes it might not be the best movie ever made, but for mindless entertainment, this is a good movie. It made me laugh to see a high school princess's world throw into a frenzy (no, I am not a cynic and don't hate all high school princesses). I kinda liked it, and it kept me awake at work. I am not suggesting going out and buying it; far from it. But if you get a chance to catch it on TV, and are in the mood for mindless entertainment, watch it. It tries to capitalize on the genre of movies like "Mean Girls", "Man of the House", and "Bring It On". I know that I might be clashing with some of your beliefs about this movie, but your comments made this out a lot worse than it was, which is just a funny teenage movie.

OK, I'll go out on the limb here by stating that I really liked this movie, and was pleasantly surprised by it. This flick simply does what it says on the cover: a comedy that is actually funny, rather than gross or grotesque. There is a real story, real development, a real turn-around, real acting; the plot is funny, as are the quotes and dialogues ("Our love dried up like a three day-old croissant!") and the running gags (such as the students adopting "Ouais!" as their interjection-du-jour in an attempt to emulate Geneviève, or Starla's alcoholic mum's fixation on her "special" ice tea); in fact, and especially considering the movie's provenience and target audience, the humour is often astoundingly dark. This is all the more laudable as both cast and production are sort of B-listish (by fame, not performance).

My only brickbat would be that I thought that Starla's magic conversion from teenage queen-bee to "real person" with concomitant change of boyfriend was predictable, moralistic, unnecessary and naff.