Trailer Hitch for February 13, 2003

By Zach Kolkin

Where, where are you tonight? Why did you leave me here all alone?

10. Malibu's Most Wanted

There is perhaps nothing more painful than a comedy completely devoid of humor. The latest example is Malibu's Most Wanted, a "comedy" (and I use the term loosely) about a politican's son who thinks he is black. I can only assume the hilarity here is supposed to come from the fact that the movie features a skinny white kid going around in a wife-beater and baggy pants saying things like "shiznit" and "don't be hatin'," but the truth of the matter is that this stuff just isn't funny. If it isn't that funny when Steve Martin does it, how on earth can it be humorous when someone infinitely less talented, like Jamie Kennedy, tries to do it? Some horrendous trailers gain some redemption from the fact that they have a good amount of unintentional humor. With this spot, however, some unintentional comedy would have been like an oasis in the middle of the Sahara.

9. How to Deal

Mandy Moore returns to the big screen in this summer film which I can only think to describe as a teenage dramedy. Though Moore's first movie, A Walk to Remember, went the completely wholesome route, this trailer suggests that How to Deal is going to stray from this mold. Many of the jokes in the spot revolve around pot and "friends with benefits" - subjects you probably wouldn't expect to be treated jokingly in an utterly virtuous movie. The prerequisite pop songs playing in the background were rather uninspired, and on the whole I felt the same way about the entire ad. Allison Janney looked completely out of place in her role as Moore's mother; the casting gave me vivid flashbacks of Kim Cattrall playing Britney Spears' mom in Crossroads. Although I'm sure the presence of Moore and her Seventeen cover boy love interest will make this film extremely appealing to 13-year-old girls, the rest of us will most likely pass on it in a heartbeat.

8. Against the Ropes

If there's one subject that's usually off-limits in chick flicks, it's sports. It might be surprising to you, then, to learn that this is a chick flick about - yes, you heard me right- boxing. Meg Ryan plays Jackie Kallen, who in real life was the first ever female boxing manager. Somehow, the makers of this movie managed to turn the story into a chick flick, while leaving the boxing element of the story in the picture. It's somewhat questionable to me whether this is going to appeal to women at all. The trailer does seem to make a conscious effort to downplay the actual boxing as much as possible, turning the story into one about "finding the potential hidden in all of us." I personally found the entire premise a little questionable, especially with Ryan in the role of the sassy girl who wants to play with the boys. Men certainly aren't going to be interested in this film after viewing this ad, but time will tell how women feel about it.

7. The Hulk

Although a lot of the footage in this new full-length trailer for The Hulk has already been seen in the Super Bowl spot and earlier teaser, this is the first time we've had the opportunity to see it all put together to a mood-fitting techno-rock tune. One of the biggest complaints I have with the spot is the look of the all-CGI Hulk. Certainly it's inevitable that he's going to look cartoony, considering he is originally from a comic book, but nevertheless I was expecting something a lot more impressive and "realistic." I was also surprised with how much face time Jennifer Connelly was given; however, she is probably the biggest draw in this movie after The Hulk himself, so perhaps this does make some sense. I'll be interested to see how much this movie appeals to audiences, considering the fact that it really doesn't have any big names in it. Personally, the trailer left me uninspired, and certainly not as excited for this film as I was after seeing the spots for, say, Spider-Man.

6. Levity

This seemingly strangely named drama, the movie which opened up the Sundance Film Festival this year, stars Billy Bob Thornton as a murderer who has spent almost 20 years of his life in jail living with deep regret and sorrow after killing a man during a botched robbery. Thornton looked excellent as usual, and I was also quite impressed with what was shown of the performances of Kirsten Dunst and Holly Hunter. Overall, the movie looks to have some great acting, and I think this is shown well in the trailer. Obviously Levity does not look to be much of a mainstream film, but those who usually enjoy smaller, more modest pictures should be quite interested in this one.

5. Winged Migration

For nature lovers, Winged Migration will be one long orgasm. This is a documentary that studies the - you guessed it - migratory patterns of birds. The real kicker, though, is the stunning shots and camera angles the producers of this documentary were able to get. You have never seen birds in flight like you will see here. Time and time again I was left wondering, "How on earth did they ever get a shot like that?" I can't stress enough how visually stunning this spot is, and it left me wondering how much better it can get in the film itself. Even if you aren't a fan of nature documentaries, you owe it to yourself to at least watch this trailer, just to see the spectacular footage the producers managed to get of birds in flight.

4. Phone Booth

This film, originally slated for release last fall, was of course pushed back due to the sniper shootings that took place in the Washington DC area. Now, the film is set to be released in the spring, and a new trailer has been made to advertise the movie. I was personally quite surprised to see how blatant the trailer was in its use of the sniper plotline to sell the film - I was expecting this element to be much more low-key. Nevertheless, I did think the ad was quite good, and I was particularly impressed with Kiefer Sutherland's voiceover role as the sniper. Obviously, this movie is going to be a tough sell after the tragic events of last October, but nevertheless I think this ad makes Phone Booth look like a unique take on the thriller genre.

3. A Mighty Wind

The latest mockumentary from Christopher Guest is previewed here, this time lampooning the world of folk music from the 1960s. Guest's usual sense of humor shines through in the trailer, with the gags being far more subtle than your typical comedy. As you might expect, A Mighty Wind features an ensemble cast playing a bunch of wacky characters, all of whom look to be hilarious. Obviously though, Guest's movies are not for everyone, and while many find them to be absolutely hysterical, others find them to be entirely dull. This spot does a good job of conveying the type of laughs that are typical of a Guest comedy, so if you think this trailer is funny, chances are you'll very much enjoy this film.

2. Basic

Though I can't say I'm a big fan of the title, this new thriller starring John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson looks very good. The film's premise is nothing too original - a hotshot interrogator (Travolta) is sent in to find out what exactly happened to a group of elite Army commandos led by Jackson during a mission into the jungle. While the plotline might not look that great on paper, the trailer is extremely well done, and does a great job of adding suspense. The preview probably gives away a little more of the plot than necessary to intrigue audiences, but nevertheless it gives the sense that this is a film ripe with plot twists, and therefore you will still be quite surprised when you go see the movie. Basic reminds me a lot of last month's The Recruit - although this is a story we've seen many times before, it's always nice to see it done well again.

1. Anger Management

Anger Management receives a new trailer this week, adding about another minute of gags to the preview that was released late last year. This movie still looks extremely funny, and the odd coupling of Sandler and Nicholson continues to look like it worked very well. I continue to be impressed as well with Sandler's somewhat higher level of maturity here. Though there are certainly traces of it still remaining, this is not the exact same character who appeared in Sandler's first several films. Nicholson has done a 180 degree turn from his reserved personality in About Schmidt for this film, and the resulting comedy looks fantastic. All in all, this film looks like it will be quite a fun time at the movies.

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