One Thing Ruined It For Me

Isn't "abuse" supposed to be repetitive and include the will of the abuser to physically and psychologically dominate the abused??

What we're talking about here is ONE punch, thrown in extreme anger, by a substantially weaker individual to another who's being a massive jerk. Calling it "abuse" seems not only extremely excessive, but actually demeaning to real abuse, which is so much more potent and vilifying than that.
Legally, I'm pretty sure Amanda's behavior qualified, at most, as battery (a misdemeanor). Since it didn't look like it had any lasting effect on the victim, the consequences would have been nigh on irrelevant even if he had pressed charges.

Under the same circumstances, say Dr. Reid from Criminal minds slapping Lara Croft, I would come to the same conclusion (I love Reid, mind you, but he's not really your typical physically threatening Adonis).

Cameron Diaz's whole performance was over the top (i.e. her usual acting). Every scene with her was annoying and I really didn't buy that she would make a good mother to two kids at the end. They should have used someone who didn't overact and was convincing as a person who would not be an egocentric mother.

It is a movie, played by actors for entertainment. Abuse is a serious thing, but this is made for people to enjoy and watch. I am sure many women have done the exact same thing and had the same result. Get off your high horse.

Done well, violence can be funny in a film. The three Stooges (men hitting themselves), She's the man (women hitting themselves), There's something about Mary (dog thrown out a window), Dumb and Dumber (a bird's head being shopped off).

In real life, violence isn't funny.

And I'm surprised to hear people validating the use of violence by women with the "because they're weak" argument. It's as if I, as a man, would validate raping women with the "but my penis is laughably small" argument. It's the act, in and out of itself, that's bad.

A kick to the balls would have sufficed.

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If you don't like the show, stop watching it!

i agree with the original poster, we shouldnt romanticize domestic violence of any sort

One thing that ruined it for me was the fact that Amanda was in bed with Graham within 10 minutes of meeting him for the first time. Cheapened it a lot.

Another thing ruined it for me.

Reverse the sexes in the scene where Cameron Diaz opens the door and a drunken Jude Law is there. Imagine, instead, that a drunken Cameron Diaz turned up at Jude Law's holiday home and he initiated sex.

According to third-wave feminism you can't give consent when you're drunk. That's rape.

So Amanda is not only a violent abuser, she also raped Graham.

Graham was drunk. He couldn't consent.

Amanda is a pretty nasty piece of work.

And yet we're supposed to see her truly despicable behaviour as romantic, kind of like when the creepy woman flew across the country to stalk a recently bereaved father in "Sleepless in Seattle."