Trailer Anatomy - A Comedy Consortium
by Beeslo
(n. k
n-sôr
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-m, 1. An association or a combination)
Greetings! Another new week means another new grouping of trailers! This week we shall look at some of the most recent trailers made for upcoming comedies. Comedies are definately a hard breed to market for. Plot is usually used more as a springboard and the movie relies more on its jokes. Hence a comedy trailer must give enough jokes that you feel the need to watch the movie but not give away too much and make you think you saw everything that was funny about it. And the #1 sell, is end it with a really good joke. A joke that is so good that you think, “Holy shit! That was funny……I need to see that!” But at the same time, you can’t make it the best joke of the entire movie. True you won’t that until you go see it, but damnit, you’ll be pissed when you realized it. First up is…
Pineapple Express
In Theaters: 8 August 2008
I’m actually in a contest to see this movie 3 months in advance with the actors live in person. Obviously this trailer has sold me; but before I get to my final grade, lets see what makes it work as a trailer for a comedy. For one, the movie is about stoners and nothing makes a stoner comedy great than to show clips of stoner antics. Instead of showing numerous clips, this trailer merely shows a couple of interactions between the starring duo and their hilarious dialogue. But soon we are shot into the plot and unexpecting for a comedy, this is a very plot driven movie. Being described as a “violent, pot smoking, comedy, crime thriller;” the trailer thus delivers on every part of that description. It shows violence, thrills, laughs and (of course) pot smoking. And what is the close for a comedy like this? James Franco driving a police car with his foot sticking out of the windshield…brilliant. The only drawback to this trailer is that is leaves you just a little unsure on how funny its going to be. You know how you see some movies marketed as comedies and they are more like “feel good” movies rather than laugh out loud riots? Juno would be a movie that comes to mind. Marketed like its a gigantic hoot, but really is more about feel good moments. Not that it makes it a bad movie, I loved Juno. But it was marketed a little off (seriously, why was Dwight from The Office even in the trailer when he was only in the movie for the exact same amount of time?) But I digress, this movie could possibly be the same and the trailer doesn’t exactly convey what kind of comedy its going to be.
Final Grade: B+
More Comedy After the Break! Click for MORE!
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The Foot Fist Way
In Theaters: 30 May 2008
This one’s a special one. Why? Because you are going to get two trailers! One is going to be the normal MPAA Audience Approved trailer and the next will be the totally awesome Red Band trailer which allows adult content, language and in some cases nudity (not in this one though, sorry). Normally Red Band trailers are shown to give you a little more taste for the movie and allows you to see some rather risque material that you normally wouldn’t see otherwise. However, the Red Band trailer does something that the normal one doesn’t….it actually makes you want to see the trailer. Watch and I’ll explain further.
General Audiences Trailer
Red Band Trailer (WARNING: Strong Language)
Normally a Red Band Trailer wouldn’t differ that much from the regular one, but in this case the Red Band adds a lot to the mix. It gives us more depth into what the movie is about. However, it still fails in doing that, even with the extra footage. Considering that this will come out in a month, I doubt that this was a teaser but was actually a trailer and therefore fails. I mean, the only stategy the trailers resort to is telling you that Will Ferrell and Adam McKay love this movie. Well thats great and all, but I’m not sold on this just because these two find it funny (did anyone see Semi-Pro?). So where there are some funny moments and lines (mainly in the Red Band version), these trailers really miss the mark.
Final Grade for General Audience: D+
Final Grade for Red Band: C+
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Hamlet 2
In Theaters: 22 August 2008 (Limited) / 29 August 2008 (Wide)
Oddly enough, the studio released only one trailer for this movie and it happens to be a Red Band trailer. However after you watch this, you’ll understand why they really couldn’t do a General Audience trailer for it.
Red Band Trailer (WARNING: Offensive Material and Strong Language)
So this is a classic example of a comedy that uses its plot as merely a springboard for antics and jokes (unlike Pineapple Express’s unorthodox stoner comedy with an actual plot) and the trailer completely supports this. Starting things off with a herpes joke just does a great job of setting up the audience for what this movie is going to be like throughout. The build does an excellent job showcasing the many funny moments in the movie while the close does it right by ending on a “Rock Me, Sexy Jesus” number. Classy. Honestly, for a comedy with such a random plot device, this trailer does an excellent job selling it.
Final Grade: A-
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Before I go, here is one trailer I unearthed while looking for a decent copy of The Foot Fist Way trailer…my god. If this is a comedy, it is probably one of the funniest I have ever seen…Not to mention it earns awesome points for starring Gary Busey and the bad guy from The Karate Kid…I give you…
Beyond the Ring
You don’t really need to know what my final grade for this one is…I think you can guess.
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Pinapple Express looks hillarious! I’m suprised you didn’t include the Red Band trailer for that as well.
I considered it, but it really didn’t add much like The Foot Fist Way one did. And Hamlet 2 was only released in Red Band, so this article inadvertingly became about Red Band trailers as well…