Against all odds, G.I. Jane made a comeback in the pop culture zeitgeist this weekend thanks to Chris Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith at the Oscars. Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith’s bald hairstyle, suggesting that she was preparing to star in a hypothetical sequel called “G.I. Jane 2.” If this has sparked new interest in the movie for you, you can find out where to stream it below.
G.I. Jane is currently streaming on FuboTV, which is available here with a 7-day free trial. The service is a “skinny TV bundle” meant to replace cable, so it’s a bit pricey starting at $69.99 per month, but it is a great option for those looking to save money and keep access to live TV. Otherwise, you’ll need to find G.I. Jane on a digital store to rent or purchase it digitally. The movie currently costs $3.99 to rent or $7.99 to purchase here on Amazon Prime Video in either HD or SD. All the other major stores like YouTube, iTunes and the Microsoft store have comparable prices at the time of this writing.
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Finally, if you’re patient you can find G.I. Jane on DVD. It’s not a very timely item so it might be hard to track down in your local shop, but at the time of this writing the DVD is available for $4.99 on Amazon, and it is included with Prime so members will get free two-day shipping. The site even has a few listings for the movie on VHS for the purists.
For those catching up, Rock was using his stage time to riff on the audience on Sunday night when he said: “Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2. Can’t wait.” The joke clearly did not amuse Pinkett Smith, and a few moments later her husband marched up onto stage and slapped Rock forcefully in the face. As he returned to his seat he yelled: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth!”
Afterward, Will Smith issued an apology which implied that he and Pinkett Smith found the joke offensive because it was a reference to her baldness, which was caused by her recently-diagnosed Alopecia. However, sources close to Rock told TMZ that he did not know about her medical condition. Meanwhile, some fans are speculating that it has more to do with the content of G.I. Jane itself.
Did G.I. Jane Cheat on Her Husband?
For those few who remember the blow-by-blow plot synopsis of the 1997 action drama G.I. Jane, there could have been a deeper meaning buried in Rock’s joke – maybe. The movie stars Demi Moore as Lieutenant Jordan O’Neil, a U.S. Navy topographical analyst who is put through a symbolic training course similar to the Navy SEALS program in order to make the case that the military should be gender-neutral and women should be fully integrated at every level.
As O’Neil begins to succeed in the course she becomes a media sensation, but she is targeted by rumors and controversy as well. In the movie, the media targets O’Neil with rumors that she is a lesbian who has been fraternizing with other women in the military. This was more controversial at the time than it would be now, especially under the military’s old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
The movie makes no mention of O’Neill having a husband, but some fans seem to have confused it with Moore’s real-life scandals around the same time. Moore was rumored to have cheated on her husband Bruce Willis and was later rumored to have cheated on her next husband, Ashton Kutcher, as well. Both of those stories have been debunked, but they managed to get the query “did G.I. Jane cheat on her husband” on Google Trends lists this week.
Of course, Pinkett Smith and her husband have had their own infidelity scandals to contend with in recent years, many of which they have talked about themselves at great length. Some fans speculated that Rock’s G.I. Jane reference was not only about baldness, but was about these persistent cheating rumors. However, the fact of the matter is that cannot be proven and it seems highly unlikely.
What’s clear, however, is that Smith is very sensitive about any mention of his family life in the public eye right now. Whether we like or not, the Smiths will probably continue to dominate celebrity news coverage for weeks, months or years to come. If the scandals cause us to dust off classic old movies like G.I. Jane from time to time, that will be the silver lining. G.I. Jane is streaming now on FuboTV, and is available to rent or purchase on digital stores like Amazon Prime Video.
