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When is a movie about a strong, kick-ass woman not good for girl power? Based on its trailer, maybe when that movie is Everly. This Kill Bill type flick from director Joe Lynch stars Salma Hayek as a mob boss’s ex-girlfriend who must defend herself from an onslaught of assassins he sends her way. I’d heard good things about the insane action out of Fantastic Fest last fall, but this look at the movie doesn’t give me much hope that it’s not just fetishistic material geared towards teenage boys rather than fodder for female empowerment. “My dad wanted a boy,” which Hayek says in response to the shock that she’s so good with guns, is the sort of derogatory line that feeds bad gender stereotypes. But it’s not as bad as the focus on the actress’s cleavage and rear end.
This could all just be the concentration of the marketing (not that it’s right either way) and less reflective of the movie as a whole, but I doubt it. I welcome defenders of Everly and/or how it is positive in its promotion of female action heroes who are acceptably sexy in addition to being strong and smart. It’s difficult not to see this trailer through the context of Hayek’s own work in support of women’s equality around the world as well as her controversial claim last fall that she’s not a feminist. The movie seems like it could also be non-feminist without being exploitative, and the equality of Hayek as an action star is certainly there, as male heroes have historically had their bodies fetishized, too. The case for each side will be more properly made when Everly hits VOD this Friday more than a month before its February 27th theatrical release. For now, watch the trailer below.
