Like most great ideas, this occurred to me in the shower. I was thinking about the movie Depsicable Me, and how terribly mundane the protagonist’s troubles are, despite the fact that he’s a supervillain by profession…do I need spoilers for this?
Gru’s troubles come mostly from Family Services and attempting to persuade investors his business plan is sound.
Don’t misunderstand – I like the movie – it just struck me that if you listed that as the plot summary in a channel guide, it would be technically accurate while completely missing the feel of the movie.
In a similar vein, years ago, I saw a (printed) plot summary for the movie The New Kids, then cycling endlessly on HBO. I remember the summary, because it was so at odds with what I subsequently watched onscreen (okay, I was bored):
What actually happens in the movie:
The local teens rape the sister and either kill or try to kill their dog, and the brother and sister ultimately have to kill the teens in imaginative ways (turning a hose onto the electrified floor of the bumper-car ride at the amusement park to kill one of them, for example). Some trouble with the locals, indeed.
So I thought this would be a fun topic for the SDMB.
Summarize the plot of a movie in a way that’s technically correct but misleading; completely missing the point, failing to convey the story or the emotional feel at all. Brevity is a virtue.
Technical accuracy is important to the humor involved. Summarizing Tora! Tora! Tora! as “Japanese students vacationing in Hawaii accidentally damage property” is misleading, because they’re not students on vacation and it’s not an accident. “Japanese servicemen visit Hawaii with disastrous results” is technically accurate, if not especially funny.
Some more examples:
Gettysburg: Some Southern boys go on a field trip to historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Sherlock Holmes: A cocaine addict gets help from his doctor.
The Lord of the Rings: A man and his employee endure various difficulties returning a piece of jewelry.