Funny title, right? Especially when teamed with the tag "'No French people were hurt in the making of this film'. 0
Sadly, that's about as clever as it gets in this unchallenging high-school romp. Sorry, satire.
Starla (Jane McGregor) is a rich, popular Britney clone who presides over her parochial Texan high school with a mixture of social snobbery, iron will and Daddy's cash. Obsessed with her looks and determined to become a TV anchorwoman, Starla decides it'll further her cause to be seen as magnanimous by inviting a French foreign exchange student to stay. `Dowdy' Genevieve (Coyote Ugly's Piper Perabo) turns up with a beret and reedeeeculous accent, and it's not long before the girls are sharpening blades and crossing swords.
An inferior cross between Poison Ivy and Clueless, Slap Her... is passable thanks to seasoned pro Michael McKean's exasperated French teacher (his response to Starla's smutty French oral is priceless) and scene-stealer Jesse James as Starla's nerdy kid brother. Starla, though, is so utterly bitchy that it's her you'll want to slap, meaning her inevitable downfall fails to garner the requisite sympathy.
Taken as a disposable popcorn movie aimed squarely at the kind of girls who frequent Claire's Accessories, this is acceptable. But you can be sure of one thing - Slap Her... won't be giving caustic queen of high-school lampoon Reese Witherspoon any sleepless nights.
