Trailer Hitch for July 5, 2003

By Zach Kolkin

I'm never letting her out of my basement unless the cops show up.

9. Envy

For a movie starring Ben Stiller and Jack Black, Envy looks surprisingly unfunny in this preview.  The premise pits Black and Stiller as two average Joes whose lives change for the better and worse, respectively, when Black invents "Vapoorize," a spray that disintegrates dog poop.  Stiller passes up the opportunity to join his friend in the venture, and consequently is left out when the big bucks start rolling in.  Apparently, the funny part of the movie starts when Stiller gets jealous of his newly wealthy friend and decides to get back at him.  Unfortunately, the trailer is completely humorless.  Part of the problem seems to be that while the two leads are both cast in roles that suit their styles well (Stiller as the neurotic guy, Black as the lovable idiot), the material just doesn't seem that good.  If there's more to the script than dumb gags like Stiller killing Black's horse, it sure doesn't show in the trailer. 

8. The Whole Ten Yards

Am I the only one who wouldn't have thought that The Whole Nine Yards was successful enough to warrant a sequel?  Bruce Willis stars as an aging mobster and Matthew Perry stars as Chandler in this follow-up to the 2000 comedy.  I wasn't too impressed with this preview, but this isn't very surprising, considering I don't remember being too impressed with the way the first film looked either (if it had looked good, I probably would have seen the movie).  Although Willis appears to handle his role with just the right amount of humor and self-awareness, Perry appears to playing the same character he does on television.  One high point was seeing a completely unrecognizable Kevin Pollak as the elderly Mob boss after Willis' character.  It was one of those moments where you can't quite figure out who the actor is behind all that makeup until the name is flashed on screen, at which point it all clicks into place.  Aside from this moment of levity, though, I can't really say I found the ad all that intriguing.

7. Hidalgo

Viggo Mortensen stars in this film about a cowboy straight out of the American Wild West who is invited to participate in a horse race across the Arabian Desert.  The premise may sound implausible but in fact, the film is based on a true story.  Although I was expecting to be awed by Mortensen's character due to his fantastic performances in the Lord of the Rings films, I actually thought that his character seemed surprisingly flat and uncharismatic.  The action sequences seemed rather tame, and even though it's hard to imagine a more romantic premise than a horse race across northern Africa in the 19th century, it just wasn't there.  This film obviously has some great potential, but unfortunately it isn't apparent in this first preview.

6. Mona Lisa Smile

In this estrogen-charged take on Dead Poets Society, Julia Roberts stars as a professor at Wellesley College in the 1950s who is determined to change the old-fashioned attitudes of her students.  The film also stars three of the most talented young actresses in Hollywood in Julia Stiles, Kirsten Dunst, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.  Despite all this acting prowess, though, the film doesn't look that spectacular.  The story is certainly not that original, and you can pretty much recite what the film's plotline will be without even seeing it.  On the other hand, I don't think that's ever stopped a chick flick from being successful, so perhaps this will not be such a detraction after all.  Women are obviously the primary audience here, and I have a feeling that many will be awaiting this film with great anticipation.

5. The Heart of Me

Helena Bonham Carter, Olivia Williams, and Paul Bettany star in this film about a love triangle between a husband, his wife, and her sister.  While the premise is certainly nothing new, the trailer shows what seem to be three excellent performances in the lead roles.  There seemed to be some real chemistry between the three, which is obviously a must for a good drama dealing with romance and infidelity.  Although the trailer loses a few points for giving a way what would appear to be almost the entire plotline, in the end it still does a great job of selling the movie's main attraction -- its excellent acting.

4. Dirty Pretty Things

In what is sure to surprise many moviegoers, Audrey Tautou takes on a significantly darker role than her star-making performance in Amélie in this new film from director Stephen Frears.  The film is a suspenseful thriller through and through, and thankfully the trailer does not spoil any of the plotline in presenting the movie.  The premise is quite intriguing, as the story is set in a seedy London hotel which is the site of a number of illicit activities.  The trailer hints at the plot's numerous twists and turns, but again, it thankfully does not divulge too much information.  I would imagine that a large majority of this film's audience will be those curious to see Tautou in her follow-up to the outstanding Amélie, and from that perspective, this trailer is sure to be effective with its quick introduction of the film's main characters and serpentine storyline.  

3. Hell's Highway

The agony that is driver's ed is an experience that sticks in the mind of everyone who lives through it.  Perhaps most memorable are the remarkably graphic videos on driver safety that are inevitably shown to a rather disturbed class.  This documentary details the story behind the making of these videos, particularly those "classics" from the '60s and '70s with titles like "Mechanized Death."  This trailer, much like the videos themselves, is creepy, but very effective.  There is practically no dialogue; instead, the spot cuts back and forth between clips of the videos and shots of a '50s era class watching them.  While at first glance a documentary on the making of driver's ed videos might seem like something to pass up, this trailer will surely have you thinking otherwise.

2. American Splendor

The Grand Jury Prize-winner at Sundance this year, American Splendor offers a slightly different take on the whole comic book movie craze.  Paul Giamatti stars as Harvey Pekar, a comic book writer whose comics deal with the mundane rather than the extraordinary.  The film looks quite funny, and chronic character actor Giamatti seems a perfect fit in the leading role here.  Perhaps the highlight of the trailer was Hope Davis, who practically steals the show with her portrayal of Pekar's hypochondriac girlfriend.  This is obviously a very quirky film, and the preview seems to capture the mood perfectly.  I am certainly looking forward to the release of this film in August, particularly after seeing this ad.

1. Thirteen

Thirteen is a film that is sure to shock many with its subject matter, as it tells the story of two thirteen-year-old girls and their disturbingly fascinating accelerated coming of age.  This trailer thankfully does not shy away from showing the film's true colors, but at the same time, it does not cast the film as simply following the exploits of a couple of "bad girls."  Instead, it makes a point of showing that these two adolescents are on the brink of maturation; the line I found particularly striking was when one of the girl's mothers mentions how recently her daughter was "playing with Barbies."  I was quite impressed with this preview; while it could have easily tried to sell the film as something other than what it is, we instead were blessed with a rare case of truthful advertising.

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