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Trailer Park: 10 Clichés Of The Romantic Comedy Trailer

Laura Aguirre — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:19:48 +0000

We watch a lot of movie trailers here at ScreenCrave, and, as we inch closer to summer with its ever-increasing torrent of new films, we’re seeing more and more previews with each passing day. As we do so, we can’t help but notice some similarities, repetitions, and clichés among them. Here at Trailer Park, we’ll be offering a rundown of those clichés, where they come from, and which trailers share them. For our first installment, we’ll be breaking down one of summer’s most ever-present previews: The Romantic Comedy Trailer.

In the spectrum of movie trailers, the romantic comedy falls somewhere between ‘predictable’ and ‘annoying’. It’s like editors everywhere got together and decided that they would purposely deliver trailers with dumb sex jokes and pratfalls. Last week we brought you 10 Clichés of the Superhero Movie Trailer, now it’s time to list 10 movie trailer techniques we see overused (to the point of abuse) in RomCom trailers.

10. The Freeze Frame

Used in: The Apartment (1960), The Switch (2010), Going The Distance (2010), When In Rome (2010), The Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past (2009), Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001), The Holiday (2006), Something Borrowed (2011)

Unless Steven Soderbergh directed a romcom, freeze frames have no business in these trailers. At times freeze frames can look cool, like in Going The Distance, where we are being introduced to a character, but in most cases they are simply unnecessary. In the Bridget Jones’ Diary trailer, for example, there’s only two freeze frames (of Bridget’s butt), one right after the other. The freeze frames feel out of place and confusing. Why are there only two during the whole trailer? What was the purpose of it? Simply put, freeze frames are a trailer cliché that need to disappear.

As Seen In: Going The Distance

9. The Elevator Scene

Used In: Pretty Woman (1990), Friends With Kids (2012), Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (2012), How Do You Know (2010), 500 Days Of Summer (2009), It’s Complicated (2009), Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001), Big (1988)

One of the most recent memorable ‘elevator scenes’ in a trailer is in 500 Days of Summer, when Zooey Deschanel makes an impression on Joseph Gordon Levitt by liking his taste in music, then casually exists the elevator. The thing about romantic comedies is that they give off this extremely unrealistic idea that people not only meet in elevators, but fall in love in them. In the case of Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World, the elevator is used as a way to showcase Steve Carell‘s awful life, which can be just as annoying.

As Seen In: Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World

8. The Embarrassing/Awkward Moment When Someone Is Naked

Used in: No Strings Attached (2011), Knocked Up (2007), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), The Wedding Date (2005), The Proposal (2009), Love And Other Drugs (2010), It’s Complicated (2009), He’s Just Not That Into You (2009), Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

The problem with this cliché isn’t that it’s not funny – seeing Ryan Gosling put his junk in front of Steve Carell’s face was quite amusing, even in the trailer – but that it gives away a perfectly funny moment that would have made you laugh harder had you seen it at the theater instead of the trailer first. Sure, you’ll still laugh when you see it in the theater, but it won’t be the same. The second time around it’ll be more of a cue, telling you it’s okay to laugh.

As Seen In: Crazy, Stupid, Love.

7. The Toast

Used in: How Do You Know (2010), Love And Other Drugs (2010), It’s Complicated (2009), 27 Dresses (2008), Love Actually (2003), Failure To Launch (2006), Just Married (2003), Friends With Kids (2012), No Strings Attached (2011), Groundhog Day (1993)

Couples are always toasting their ‘self-destructive’ plans. In the case of Friends With Kids, the couple is toasting their plan to have a baby while staying friends, which we know never works, sort of like this cliché.

As Seen In: Friends With Kids

6. The Slap Across The Face

Used in: Groundhog Day (1993), New Year’s Eve (2011), Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011), Friends With Benefits (2011), Confessions Of A Shopaholic (2009), The Proposal (2009), 27 Dresses (2008), Definitely, Maybe (2008), Moonstruck (1987)

In romcom trailers, men getting slapped is equivalent to women falling. If there’s a slap in the script, it’s bound to make it into the trailer. Sometimes it works like in the case of Groundhog Day or Crazy, Stupid, Love. where there are several slaps one right after the other, but other times like in the New Year’s Eve trailer, it’s neither funny or useful.

As Seen In: Groundhog Day

5. Romantic + Popular Tunes

Used In: All romantic comedy trailers seem to have a popular and romantic tune

These are the songs that will make you roll your eyes, cover your ears and make you want to run out of the theater, or if you’re at home, put the TV on mute. The music is begging to get a reaction out of you, begging you to like it and decide that you will go see this movie.

As Heard In: 50 First Dates

4. The Lineup Of Famous Actors

Used In: New Year’s Eve (2011), Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011), Something Borrowed (2011), P.S. I Love You (2007), Just Married (2003), Failure To Launch (2006), Valentine’s Day (2010), The Wedding Date (2005), 50 First Dates (2004), Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001), The Holiday (2006), Love Actually (2003), Overboard (1987), Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961), Annie Hall (1977)

Well, this only works if the actors are well-known. Hey look, I know that this is a marketing tool used to lure people in into seeing an otherwise ridiculous movie, but why must it happen every time? We always see the actor laughing, like they’re telling us, “Hey I’m having a good time, come watch me!” This is a desperate attempt to sell tickets, and what I take away from a trailer like that is that the story isn’t very good and that’s why they had to throw a bunch of famous actors together. If you look carefully, the best trailers don’t do this. It’s cheap.

As Seen In: What To Expect When You’re Expecting

3. Overused Phrases like “Meet”, “This Is”, or “That’s Me”

Used In: The Wedding Planner (2001), What’s Your Number? (2011), Love And Other Drugs (2010), Going The Distance (2010), When In Rome (2010), The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009), The Proposal (2009), It’s Complicated (2009), Knocked Up (2007), Two Weeks Notice (2003), Me, Myself & Irene (2000)

Sometimes when the love story is so complex and confusing, there are phrases like ‘Meet’, ‘This Is’, ‘That’s Me’, and ‘She’s About To Meet’ to clear things up. The best remedy for this is to write a good love story that won’t leave the viewer scratching his/her head. Also, it can spoil a lot of the movie.

As Seen/Heard In: It’s Complicated

2. The Post-Title Card Final Joke/Catch Phrase

Used In: P.S. I Love You (2007), Never Been Kissed (1999), Made of Honor (2008), Did You Hear About The Morgans? (2009), The Wedding Date (2005), How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days (2003), Serendipidy (2001), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), Wanderlust (2012), What To Expect When You’re Expecting (2012), The Five-Year Engagement (2012)

This last bit is to remind you, just in case you forgot during that brief period with the title card, that this is a funny movie. Sometimes it’ll be a catch phrase, other times it’ll be a somewhat funny scene. By now, I think we’re programmed to expect something after the title card, especially in comedies.

As Seen In: The Five-Year Engagement

1. Women Falling or Crying or Just Being The Clumsiest Creatures on Earth

Used In: Nearly all romantic comedy trailers.

There are very few trailers that don’t follow this cliché of showing women falling, crying or getting whacked by a door (and it seems like those are the trailers that are based on better romantic comedies like 500 Days of Summer and Beginners). And clumsy women aren’t just a cliché of romantic comedy trailers, but most modern romantic comedies. The pratfalls of the female character have become a staple in romcom trailers, despite how unfunny they may be.

As Seen In: Never Been Kissed

The bottom line is that when a trailer is overcrowded by clichés, then the whole movie is bound to be the same way.

What are some of the clichés you see? And which do you think should disappear?

Movie Releases: Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Parnassus, It’s Complicated…

Kara Stanford-Jones — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:05:47 +0000

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you all have a joyous and pleasant holiday! In case you’re looking for a movie to take your family to or possibly a movie to avoid your family with, here are your picks for this weekend… To start off we have Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams! Guy Ritchie‘s take on Sir Arthur Conan Boyle’s classic detective tales looks like it should be at the very least entertaining. Then you have the sort-of-romantic comedy with a cast far greater than it’s content, It’s Complicated. Terry Gilliam‘s new film and Heath Ledger‘s final film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, will also be opening in a limited amount of theaters. And finally, a more for the kiddies, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel will be hitting theaters. View at your own risk.

Check out all the movies hitting theaters on Christmas Day…

Sherlock Holmes | ScreenCrave Review | Press Conference: Downey, Law, Ritchie and more | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus [Limited] | ScreenCrave Review | Terry Gilliam Interview | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
Nine | ScreenCrave Review | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
It’s Complicated | ScreenCrave Review | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | Reviews | Tickets and Showtimes

Check out the trailers below

Sherlock Holmes

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

It’s Complicated

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

It’s Complicated: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:15:29 +0000

There are romantic comedies and then there are romantic comedies. It’s one of the most over-done, cliched genres out there, but when done right and lead by some of the best actors currently gracing the silver screen, they can be worth your while. Although It’s Complicated is not the best film of the year, there are plenty of great moments that make it the perfect, easy to watch, comedy for the Holidays…

The Players:

Writer/Director: Nancy Meyers
Starring: Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, John Krasinski
Music: Heitor Pereira and Hans Zimmer
Cinematography by: John Toll
Executive Producers: Suzanne McNeill Farwell and Ilona Herzberg

The Good:

Alex Baldwin: The larger he gets the funnier he gets. The man just can’t miss.
John Krasinski: It was rather odd to see him in a smaller supporting role when he could easily be leading his own romantic comedy, but once you see him, you realize why he was the BEST man for the job. Every moment he was on screen he shined. He has amazing comedic and certain scenes between him and Baldwin were what gave the film its humor.
The Overall Story: It’s a romantic comedy but it’s got some fun twists and is not entirely cliched. The first 20 minutes were a bit slow, but once they started “complicating” things the build up was well done.
The Streeper: Still sexy and yet vulnerable when needed. It’s lovely to see a woman of her age playing the lead in a romantic film. At times I wish they would have stopped bringing up her age. It’s a love story, she’s beautiful, leave it at that…

The Bad:

It Starts Slow: As I said above, the first twenty minutes of the film feel forced and have a different (and much less funny) tone than the rest of the film. The set up needed to be 2-5 minutes so that they could get to the good stuff faster.
The Girl Talks: The story itself has enough girl power, we don’t need women talking to women for ages about women…. And if you are going to have them do that, make sure it’s funny for more than just the actors in the scene.
The Music: Now, Hans can deliver a good score, but the film did verge on the edge of cheesiness sometimes and the music didn’t help. Perhaps it was the directors choice, I don’t know, but playful without cliches is needed.

Overall:

It’s a sweet film with a few very funny moments. It could have used a bit more humor and less “girl talk” but overall it was a solid, east to watch romantic comedy.

Rating: 6.5/10

Check out the film in theaters December 25th!

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

New It’s Complicated Trailer

Krystal Clark — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:07:19 +0000

The second trailer for the Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin comedy It’s Complicated has been released and there’s even more will they or won’t they sexual tension than the previous one had to offer. The film is directed by Nancy Meyers, the woman behind the acclaimed Something’s Gotta Give and The Holiday.

Check out the new trailer below…

After watching this you realize the idea of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin hosting the Oscars together isn’t so far fetched after all! It’s Complicated centers on the relationship of ex-spouses Jake and Jane. After 10 years of divorce they find themselves involved in a torrid affair, with each other! Jake has remarried, and Jane has oddly enough become the “other woman.”

In promotion of the film Meryl and Alec both appear on the cover of the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly where the actors openly discuss everything from plastic surgery to his nude scene in the film. A scene that would have been hot stuff back in 1992, in 2009 not so much.

It’s Complicated hits theaters this Christmas on December 25th.

What do you think of the second trailer for It’s Complicated?

Official It’s Complicated Teaser Trailer

Krystal Clark — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:15:46 +0000

A trailer has been released for the upcoming Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin collaboration It’s Complicated. Writer/director Nancy Meyers takes us through a love quadrangle that features some of the best actors in Hollywood. It’s Complicated centers on the relationship of ex-spouses Jake and Jane. After 10 years of divorce they find themselves involved in a torrid affair, with each other! Jake has remarried, and Jane has oddly enough become the “other woman.” The film co-stars Steve Martin, Lake Bell, and John Krasinski. It’s distributed and produced by Universal, and will hit theaters on December 25.

Check out the trailer after the jump…

What do you think about the trailer for It’s Complicated?

ScreenCrave.com » its complicated

Trailer Park: 10 Clichés Of The Romantic Comedy Trailer

10. The Freeze Frame

9. The Elevator Scene

8. The Embarrassing/Awkward Moment When Someone Is Naked

7. The Toast

6. The Slap Across The Face

5. Romantic + Popular Tunes

4. The Lineup Of Famous Actors

3. Overused Phrases like “Meet”, “This Is”, or “That’s Me”

2. The Post-Title Card Final Joke/Catch Phrase

1. Women Falling or Crying or Just Being The Clumsiest Creatures on Earth

Related Posts

Movie Releases: Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Parnassus, It’s Complicated…

Related Posts

It’s Complicated: Movie Review

The Players:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 6.5/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Related Posts

New It’s Complicated Trailer

Related Posts

Official It’s Complicated Teaser Trailer

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