Watching a crowd walk out of a movie theater provides an instant litmus test for a film’s success. Groups of friends usually huddle together to debate a film’s merits, except in those rare occasions when a movie leaves them speechless—imagine the scene after a premier of 2001: A Space Odyssey or Apocalypse Now. Regardless, there should a knee-jerk reaction; you watch a film, and you judge it. Recently, though, the process has been reversed: people watch trailers over and over on the internet and pass judgment on a film before they’ve seen the real thing. As a trailer addict myself, I’ve found myself enjoying movies less and less recently. Going to a movie just seems like setting myself up for an inevitable disappointment.
Trailers are certainly not a new development in the film industry, so why rail against them now? The main issue at hand is, like most other problems that the entertainment industry is facing, the fault of the internet. Online, fans have unprecedented access to movie trailers, and can watch them as many times as they see fit. The trailer for The Dark Knight Rises currently has over 11 million views on Youtube. And while this figure may not be unprecedented in size, it seems likely that hardcore Dark Knight fans have already watched this trailer 10 or 20 times. In other words, avid fans can and will watch trailers way more than they did when they relied on seeing trailers in television commercial breaks or previews in movie theaters.
2011 was, in my opinion, a year of cinematic shortcomings, and I don’t that’s entirely the fault of the films themselves. I watched the shit out of trailers for The Tree of Life, Shame, Super 8, and A Dangerous Method. For many of these films, I was disappointed in the way they failed to deviate from what the trailer gave away. I expected more, but the movies just didn’t deliver.
This feeling of disappointment isn’t surprising if you think about a trailer’s purpose—to get people to shell out cash for the movie. For the most part, audiences don’t care enough about reviews for a negative critical reception to dramatically hinder a popcorn movie’s box office performance (just look at Michael Bay), so all a trailer has to do is get the customer to buy a ticket. This is an effective strategy. I, for one, probably wouldn’t have seen Shame or Super 8 without having repeatedly viewed their excellent trailers, which convinced me that they would be spectacular films. I was doomed to disappointment.
In fact, my two favorite films of the year, 50/50 and Midnight in Paris, were films whose trailers I only saw in theaters. I actually labeled 50/50 a remake of Funny People after seeing the preview, thereby setting low expectations. Instead, I ended up bawling in the theater. The poignant comedy/drama from Seth Rogen caught me off guard, largely due to a slightly misleading trailer which made the finished product feel fresh and distant. This made my new year’s resolution a no-brainer: Never watch movie trailers more than once, if at all.
And bam, just like that, my movie-going slump was cured. I saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo without seeing a single trailer beforehand, and I loved it. The positive results are a good sign, but ongoing success will take a good deal of discipline. The trailer for Wes Anderson’s next movie, Moonrise Kingdom, came out a few days ago, and unfortunately, I capitulated to my appetite. When my friend, a fellow Wes Anderson addict, asked for my opinion about it, I had to respond, “it looks really good.” Fuck. That’s exactly what I said about Shame and Super 8.
A prohibition from movie trailers sounds reactionary, and honestly, that’s because it is. Movies are made to be experienced, and my semi-addiction to trailers has been hindering my ability to experience a movie in its actual form. By removing these teasers, I allow myself to get 100 percent pure film, leaving presumptions and expectations at the door. I’ll see exactly what the director wants me to see without being barraged by marketing. Now all I’ve got to do is kick my habit of reading leaked scripts, and my movie-going form should be back in tip-top shape.
