Cliché-Laden Chick Flick Tries To Convince You It's Not Full Of Clichés

In a trailer for He’s Just Not That Into You, the camera cuts to two black women. One says: “Girl, you better get yourself some ribs and some ice cream because you’ve been dumped!”

Writes LaToya Peterson from Racialicious:

We’re [black people] always the punchline, never the bride. (Or the girl who goes on a date. Or anything but the sassy friend who shows up to give the real characters a dose of real-world truisms before disappearing back into the shadows of the script.)

Of course, watching the online trailer (in which the two black women mysteriously do not appear), Drew Barrymore does have two “sassy” friends of color: An Asian guy and a Latin guy, who school her about MySpace. We’ve written about the trend of the black best friend before; a “consolation prize” for actors of color in TV shows and movies for decades. (And in this all-star cast, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Connelly appear alongside women like Tokyo Girl #2 and African Woman #3.)

Plus, in an attempt to convince guys that this movie is not your typical chick flick, Justin Long, Kevin Connolly and Bradley Cooper made a marketing video in which they count 10 “chick flick clichés” that are not in HJNTIY. The video, unlike the trailer for the film, is actually pretty funny…

Click to view

…At first. But then you realize that, well, shit. The reason these guys can mock chick flick clichés is because Hollywood keeps churning out clichéd chick flicks. What’s more, the assumption is that women want to see a film in which a a guy gets a makeover, where a woman slides down a wall crying, or where there’s a quirky/sassy/sardonic best friend. (And this movie does seem to have those, actually.)

But as we’ve mentioned before, what is ultimately the worst part about this movie (based on a book, based on a line from a TV show) is this: It makes women look like losers. Like pathetic, desperate idiots who are hopeless when it comes to relationships and can’t seem to understand why sitting by the phone waiting for him to call is a bad idea. Judging from the trailer, none of the guys are assholes; all of the women are emotional imbeciles. But it’s a comedy, because annihilation and mockery of the female psyche is hilarious, right?

Spotting the Stereotypes: He’s Just Not That Into You [Racialicious]
ICYMI – 10 Chick Flick Cliches That Are Not In “He’s Just Not That Into You” [via Best Week Ever]
He’s Just Not That Into You [Trailer]
Earlier: There’s No Way You’ll Be Into He’s Just Not That Into You
Black Women: Wise Best Friends To White Women Everywhere