Posted on: Monday, May 31, 2004
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It's in the movie trailers that what you are about to see unfolds
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By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer
Maybe you can't tell a book by its cover, but these days you sure can judge a movie by its trailers.
Now, I'm not even going to try to explain why a movie trailer is something that comes before a movie. Other than that mystery, though, I feel like I've become something of a trailer expert, since I have seen so many of them at the theater lately, just like everyone else.
You know what I'm talking about: You pay your $8 for a ticket, you buy a big box of super-sized-priced popcorn and a frozen Coke and you head into the theater to escape the summer heat and see the show you came to see.
Only there's five minutes of commercials and 15 minutes of previews — or trailers, if you like — to watch first.
By the time the previews have finished, you can be darn sure whether or not you're going to like the feature film because — and this might be one of those secrets of modern life — everything is so carefully packaged today. The trailers and the movie that follows are always of a kind, peas in a pod.
I've discovered this because I often go to the movie theater without having a clear idea of what I'm about to see. I do this for one of several reasons:
By the end of the third preview, though, I'm either settling down comfortably for an enjoyable evening or squirming in my seat based upon the images that the studio people have carefully packaged for what they think will be my upcoming enjoyment. The previews are the whole package.
And I can get a pretty good read on where the rest of the night is heading by sneaking a quick sideways glance to see whether my wife is smiling or rolling her eyes at what the previews are telling her about the movie ahead, especially if it's one I've dragged her to see against her better judgment (Think "Kill Bill Vol. 2" or anything with Jack Nicholson or Robert DeNiro in it).
Anyway those wacky and crafty marketing people know me better than I do, just like the Safeway people have computers that know what brand of milk I like to buy when I can't remember it myself. They know that if I'm there to see "Shrek 2," I'm probably going to enjoy the "Stuart Little 2" previews, too, much the same way Amazon.com recommends books to buy based upon the books I bought last month.
Sometimes, of course, the trailers are much better than the movies themselves, just like the advertisements usually outshine the Super Bowl, and they can trick you into paying good money to see a really bad movie. And sometimes a really bad trailer ("Garfield!") is probably just a really bad movie.
Still, whether you like the trailer or not, there's always at least one good reason to go see the movie, especially one of those great big summer blockbusters that often more bust than block:
The theater is air conditioned.
Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
