I give the people who made this film credit for not providing easy answers or making things unambiguous. Everybody was complicated. Everybody was somewhat confused by their own reactions and behaviors. This is how most of us humans feel, most of the time, methinks.
However...
I'm glad I'm not the only one here who has to feel like defending Earl. Yes, he was a controlling jerk. But other than the one time he slapped her*, did he do anything else truly bad or immoral? Did he have an affair? (We don't know for sure, but there was no indication of that at all in the film.) He was emotionally needy and annoying, but was he really that bad? All the characters in this film are "bad", from a strictly moralistic POV. I don't think Jenna was evil by any means, but at the end I was left with a bad taste in my mouth.
What's the message to young women here? It seems to be something like, "Being empowered means diddling whoever you like (getting lucky with no consequences)", or maybe, "Pray for a kind, old, sugar daddy who will leave you all his money, and not even expect anything in return, so you can be 'independent' (getting lucky, again)", or how 'bout, "If you find yourself in an unpleasant/borderline abusive relationship, simply turn off your emotions and be cold to your partner without being honest with yourself or with him; anything you do to remedy the situation (like running away or having an affair or dumping him the moment his first child is born) is okay-dokey", or (my favorite feminist message), "Rearing a child by yourself is really great and not as hard as it looks."
* Has anyone else noticed the double standard around slapping? I'm not talking about punching or beating, just slapping. In most films or shows I've seen, when a man slaps a woman, it's portrayed as a BIG NO NO. But when the woman slaps the man, it's usually presented as justifiable or played for laughs. Is this because of the power dynamic between the sexes? "Big powerful men are scary and so it's never OK for express their anger physically in any way. But the powerless, helpless woman can (and even should) slap him if she's peeved, because..." Because why? I don't get it.
However...
I'm glad I'm not the only one here who has to feel like defending Earl. Yes, he was a controlling jerk. But other than the one time he slapped her*, did he do anything else truly bad or immoral? Did he have an affair? (We don't know for sure, but there was no indication of that at all in the film.) He was emotionally needy and annoying, but was he really that bad? All the characters in this film are "bad", from a strictly moralistic POV. I don't think Jenna was evil by any means, but at the end I was left with a bad taste in my mouth.
What's the message to young women here? It seems to be something like, "Being empowered means diddling whoever you like (getting lucky with no consequences)", or maybe, "Pray for a kind, old, sugar daddy who will leave you all his money, and not even expect anything in return, so you can be 'independent' (getting lucky, again)", or how 'bout, "If you find yourself in an unpleasant/borderline abusive relationship, simply turn off your emotions and be cold to your partner without being honest with yourself or with him; anything you do to remedy the situation (like running away or having an affair or dumping him the moment his first child is born) is okay-dokey", or (my favorite feminist message), "Rearing a child by yourself is really great and not as hard as it looks."
* Has anyone else noticed the double standard around slapping? I'm not talking about punching or beating, just slapping. In most films or shows I've seen, when a man slaps a woman, it's portrayed as a BIG NO NO. But when the woman slaps the man, it's usually presented as justifiable or played for laughs. Is this because of the power dynamic between the sexes? "Big powerful men are scary and so it's never OK for express their anger physically in any way. But the powerless, helpless woman can (and even should) slap him if she's peeved, because..." Because why? I don't get it.