There’s a scene in the movie Mr. Mom where Jack, played by Michael Keaton, decks his boss, played by Jeffery Tambor. He just rears back and clocks him. Jack’s son witnesses this and is suitably impressed. Afterwards he goes running around the house excitedly yelling, “One punch!”
This is what crossed my mind at 3:38 this morning when I watched the clip of Will Smith smacking Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. It wasn’t a punch, of course, but a simple open-handed slap. Was Rock out of line making fun of Jada Pinkett’s alopecia?
Yeah. I don’t think there’s any room for argument about that. The joke was in poor taste, and really pretty stale. I mean, G.I. Jane? That movie is 25 years old! Might as well have compared her to Sinead O’Connor, jokes about whom were commonplace when I was in high school.
At the same time there’s no excuse for Smith’s behavior. You don’t just hit people like that, and he’s pretty fortunate Rock declined to press charges.
