Trailer Hitch
By Zach Kolkin
July 18, 2005
Welcome to Trailer Hitch, your weekly look at the latest movie trailers to hit the internet. This week's selection of previews is quite varied, running the gamut from horror flicks to sophomoric comedies to potential Oscar-bait, many of which are currently slated for early fall releases. Keep reading to see which one of this week's great clips is our Trailer of the Week.
Who ever thought this was a good idea for a movie?
Saw 2
I did not see Saw (ha, ha) when it first came out, which perhaps puts me at a disadvantage in watching this teaser for the film's sequel (although ideally, of course, it shouldn't). I say this because, in all honesty, this teaser meant absolutely nothing to me. We see a guy imprisoned by some bizarre contraption, and we see a weird cartoonish-looking face on a television screen, cackling maniacally at his ostensible prisoner. I certainly hope this makes more sense to those who have seen the first movie, because if it is as completely unintelligible to them as it is to me, someone did a pretty wretched job patching this ad together. Whether or not this is a teaser aimed primarily at fans of the original, there is no question that it is not going to attract anyone who missed Saw, simply because it is neither engaging nor comprehensible to someone without any prior knowledge of the film. Presumably, the ads for Saw 2 are supposed to help the movie gain a larger audience; I think it's safe to say that this clip does not succeed in that goal.
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
It's a familiar refrain for moviegoers lately, but once again, all I can say upon watching this trailer is, "They're making a sequel?" Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo is a movie for which there was exactly one person clamoring for a follow-up: Rob Schneider (okay, maybe two, if you count Rob's mother). Nevertheless, here we are. Joining the fun this time around is Eddie Griffin, ostensibly added to the cast for further comic relief, but in my mind added as a helpful signal reassuring me to stay away from this movie. The trailer is painfully unfunny: if I had to pick its best joke, I would have to go with the gag of the female Chernobyl fallout victim who has a penis instead of a nose. No, seriously. That's how bereft of humor this trailer is. Rob Schneider has made a career out of riding on Adam Sandler's coattails; he would do well to take note, however, that Sandler has never made a sequel to one of his own movies. Deuce Bigalow just isn't funny anymore, Rob. It's time to move on.
Can you ever just be, like, whelmed?
The Thing About My Folks
Mad About You was, in my mind, one of the most consistently enjoyable sitcoms of the nineties. It is thus with some regret that I admit that I was highly disappointed by the trailer for this film, starring (and written by) Paul Reiser. The picture is apparently semi-autobiographical, and you might guess that from the preview, as Reiser seems to be playing a character that is extremely similar to that of Mad About You's Paul (the show was originally based on Reiser's stand-up, and thus one might assume it to have been semi-autobiographical as well). I guess this is all a nice way of saying that Reiser really doesn't show himself to be capable of playing anything other than himself here. There really aren't any great, laugh-out-loud moments in this trailer, and that's too bad, because Reiser and Peter Falk (who plays Reiser's father in the film) have the potential to be a great on-screen team. Though the picture's sentimentality comes through beautifully here, its humor does not, and unfortunately, this combination makes for a rather dull trailer.
OK, I'm intrigued
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
I'm never quite sure how to rate teaser like this, where the content on display actually has nothing to do with the film itself. I'm most tempted to treat this clip like one of the animated shorts that always precedes a Pixar film, albeit one that is marginally more connected to the actual movie. The trailer features the same rodent who frequently popped up at amusing moments in the original picture, this time as he attempts to grab an acorn out of a wall of ice that is starting to melt away. Juvenile hilarity ensues – and I mean that entirely sincerely. With this being the sequel to such a hugely successful movie, the actual storyline is obviously relatively unimportant. What is important is that the film maintains a high level of visibility, and this cute, but ultimately inconsequential, teaser helps the picture to do exactly that.
Proof
This film has "Oscar fodder" written so blatantly all over it, it's a wonder that they didn't lead off the trailer with a "For Your Consideration" tagline. Proof stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Hope Davis in the story of a brilliant mathematician and his daughter who must come to grip with her father's (as well as her own) faults after his death. Obviously, as I just mentioned, this looks like the type of film that will get some serious attention come awards season, and it does look quite good. However, the preview almost seems to be trying a little too hard to convince its viewers that this is a standout film. In some ways, I think this is probably a movie that does not necessarily translate all that well into bite-sized trailer form, but nevertheless, with such high-caliber talent associated with Proof, I would have hoped to have been blown away by this ad. I'm sure that many will find it hard not to compare this film with A Beautiful Mind, but if the film is to garner a maximum amount of buzz, its trailer needs to be much more engaging than this.
I'm already counting down the days
Just Like Heaven
This trailer for Just Like Heaven, a new romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo, dispenses with its bit of melodrama early on: Witherspoon plays an ER doc who dedicates herself to her job at the expense of her personal life. She dies in a car crash, however, and it is here that the story actually begins, as a man moves into her old apartment only to find that it is still being haunted by her spirit (which of course only he can see). On paper, this premise admittedly sounds rather inane, but the preview does a fantastic job of showcasing the considerable talents of both leads, and the great chemistry they seem to share here. This seems to be one of those films that, in lesser hands, might barely be worth your time, but with such enjoyable talent working in front of the camera, it's hard not to be entertained. Jon Heder also makes an appearance in a supporting role, and even though I absolutely loathed Napoleon Dynamite, Heder elicited a few chuckles out of me here; it seems his particular brand of humor is far more tolerable in small doses. Witherspoon has made a name for herself taking potentially formulaic movies and turning them into something far more entertaining, and thankfully, this trailer seems to indicate that Just Like Heaven will be another one of those pictures.
Separate Lies (Trailer of the Week)
Separate Lies appears to be an interesting blend of two genres. On one hand, it has the elements of a romantic drama, in which a relationship between two adults is put under a microscope in order to expose all the ugly flaws which remain otherwise hidden. On the other hand, however, it also exhibits all the traits of a suspenseful murder mystery thriller. As the film's title suggests, these two cinematic genres, while perhaps not thought of as being all that similar, share a commonality in their reliance on deceit, and it is this interplay between thriller and drama that makes Separate Lies look so interesting. Ultimately, of course, the quality of the film will depend not only on how well it manages to intertwine these to genres, but also the performances turned in by its actors. If the scenes here are any indication, and I certainly hope they are, the latter is not a cause for concern. Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson, and Rupert Everett all look phenomenal in their mysterious roles, and thankfully, the trailer does not try to give away too much of the storyline. The viewer's appetite is whetted just enough to leave one wondering how exactly the various plot points hinted at in the ad intertwine. I can only hope that the film is half as engagingly intriguing as this brilliantly executed trailer.
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