Review: Slap Her…She’s French

As if Drop Dead Gorgeous wasn’t enough, the equally derisive Slap Her…She’s French is fixated on the spectacle of small-town competition.

Slap Her…She’s French

As if Drop Dead Gorgeous wasn’t enough, the equally derisive Slap Her…She’s French is fixated on the spectacle of small-town competition. Sitcom hi-jinks arise soon after Grade A bimbo Starla (Jane McGregor) wins a beauty pageant by declaring to judges that her family will take part in a foreign exchange program. Trouble comes in the form of French-export Genevieve LePlouff (Piper Perabo), a con artist set on Starla’s place atop the food chain. Everyone’s got an issue, nothing makes sense (see Starla’s ability to make her himbo boyfriend swoon with her gyrating hips and flapping eyelashes) and you can set your clock to Genevieve’s frequent faux pas. (To its credit, the film does justice to its namesake with one extended slapping sequence.) The filmmakers dare you to laugh when Genevieve mistakes Kyle’s (Matt Czuchry) big appetite for “big meat” but Starla’s social blunders are entirely more amusing (see how she scores one for the home team when she mistakes “beat him off” for “beat him up”). This humorless, offensive creation does have a message. No one can smell the con except Ed (Trent Ford), the ugly (read: dreamy) school photographer that helps Starla discover that there is a brain behind every bimbo. Go figure.

Score: 
 Cast: Piper Perabo, Jane McGregor, Trent Ford, Julie White, Brandon Smith, Matt Czuchry, Michael McKean  Director: Melanie Mayron  Screenwriter: Lamar Damon, Robert Lee King  Distributor: The Premiere Group  Running Time: 93 min  Rating: PG-13  Year: 2002  Buy: Video

Ed Gonzalez

Ed Gonzalez is the co-founder of Slant Magazine. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle, his writing has appeared in The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous Story

Review: One Hour Photo

Next Story

Review: Pulp Fiction