# Let's name us some "bait and switch" movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784 "2007-08-07T19:59:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/81 "2007-08-08T20:46:39Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] The [Tet Offensive](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tet_offensive) and [Battle of Hue](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hue) are low stress? Hmmm… [/QUOTE] God, don’t get defensive… As portrayed in the movie, yes. I suppose a better way to say it is the movie didn’t do a very good job in making me _feel_ the war. Other films have done a much better job. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/82 "2007-08-08T21:36:45Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] Earl Warren wasn’t inspiring! [/QUOTE] _Now_ who’s being naïve? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/83 "2007-08-08T23:12:14Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] God, don’t get defensive… As portrayed in the movie, yes. I suppose a better way to say it is the movie didn’t do a very good job in making me _feel_ the war. Other films have done a much better job. [/QUOTE] I didn’t mean to sound defensive. I thought maybe you’d just missed something. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/84 "2007-08-08T23:38:15Z")
_Event Horizon_. I was expecting hard sci-fi, and I got \*the Exorcist \* cum \*Flatliners \* in space. To top it off, I took a friend who was in a bit of a rough spot in life to cheer him up. Boy, did that work. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/85 "2007-08-09T00:28:36Z")
[QUOTE=VCO3] There is absolutely no way this sentence is true. [/QUOTE] I worked at Barbara’s Bookstore in Chicago when this came out. It was a publishing sensation: the buzz I heard constantly was pretty much in line with the post you graciously object to, VCO3. When I finally read it I was pretty disappointed. It was good for pseudoliterary pulp, but for me the “pseudo” outweighed the “literary” and even the “pulp”: it read, to me, like an exercise in–almost a parody of–pretension. Needles to say, mileage varied widely on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/86 "2007-08-09T02:24:04Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] I had gotten the impression the _Election_ was supposed to be a comedy. I found it to be an interesting story, but funny? Not at all. [/QUOTE] You never seen some of the power-tripped high school students in real life. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/87 "2007-08-09T02:32:57Z")
[QUOTE=DocCathode] Bicentennial Man- It was promoted as a wacky comedy for kids. It’s actually a movie about what it means to be human. [/QUOTE] I came into this thread to post this one. It really pissed me off, because when I saw the wacky comedy trailers, made entirely with scenes from the first fifteen minutes of the film, I thought it was going to be a rather insipid Robin Williams comedy. So I didn’t bother to see it in the theater. Many years later, I just happened to see it on cable and realized that 1) it’s not a comedy (there are almost no laughs in the last two hours of the movie), 2) it is in fact a rather touching drama about a robot’s quest to become human, and 3) it’s based on a short story by Isaac Asimov, of whom I’ve been a lifelong fan. And it’s a pretty damn good adaptation, too. So this stupid marketing campaign a) suckered in people looking for a comedy and gave them a drama, and b) failed to attract Asimov fans and others who might have been interested in a serious and thoughtful science fiction film. I suspect the studio cynically calculated that the latter group was smaller than the former, and that a few people might demand a refund on their ticket price, but that otherwise there was little downside in the long run to the bait and switch. Damn them. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/88 "2007-08-09T03:00:34Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] So this stupid marketing campaign a) suckered in people looking for a comedy and gave them a drama, and b) failed to attract Asimov fans and others who might have been interested in a serious and thoughtful science fiction film. I suspect the studio cynically calculated that the latter group was smaller than the former, and that a few people might demand a refund on their ticket price, but that otherwise there was little downside in the long run to the bait and switch. Damn them. [/QUOTE] That’s what puzzles me about these deceptive marketing campaigns. The people who went in expecting the comedy that was advertised are going to leave spitting and fuming and bad-mouthing the movie left and right. The people who WOULD have liked it based on its actual content, and who presumably would have praised it to all the friends, do not go see it. It looks like a lose-lose proposition in terms of word-of-mouth advertising, which is frequently described as “all important” in terms of movies’ success. I can sort of understand deceptive advertising for movies that are in fact stinkers, but why do it with a good movie? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/89 "2007-08-09T03:03:26Z")
[QUOTE=Evil Captor] I can sort of understand deceptive advertising for movies that are in fact stinkers, but why do it with a good movie? [/QUOTE] I think you’re making a false assumption here: That studio marketing people can tell the difference between a good movie and a stinkeroo. Given the number of stinkeroos that seem to get made, I’m not sure that they can tell the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/90 "2007-08-09T03:15:09Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] I didn’t bother to see [Bicentennial Man] in the theater. … Many years later, I just happened to see it on cable and realized … it’s based on a short story by Isaac Asimov, of whom I’ve been a lifelong fan. [/quote] Excuse me, how is it possible to be a lifelong fan of Asimov, and NOT know about his story _The Bicentennial Man_? It’s one of his most famous. > [@](#): > > And it’s a pretty damn good adaptation, too. Hmm. :dubious: Well, lets just say that I haven’t seen any \*better \*films based on an Asimov story. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/91 "2007-08-09T03:45:27Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] Excuse me, how is it possible to be a lifelong fan of Asimov, and NOT know about his story _The Bicentennial Man_? It’s one of his most famous. [/QUOTE] Yeah, and I even have the book of the same name on my shelf. :smack: What can I say? I’m getting old. In my defense, I’ll just say that although I consider myself a “lifelong fan” of Asimov, that doesn’t mean I spend every waking minute reading his stuff. I read most of the Asimov stories in my twenties, nearly three decades ago. And I’d mildly challenge the assertion that _The Bicentennial Man_ is all that famous. Now, if it had been called _Nightfall_ or _Foundation_ I would have figured it out almost immediately. (Probably.) > [@](#): > > Hmm. :dubious: Well, lets just say that I haven’t seen any \*better \*films based on an Asimov story. Well, _ **I** _ liked it. But maybe I should have said that it was a pretty _accurate_ adaptation. I re-read the story after seeing the film and thought it captured the spirit and tone of the story. (Or at least that’s how I recall it now, several years later.) Speaking of bait and switch, there was a recent film called _I, Robot_ that I thought would be based on the Asimov stories, but AFAICT it bore absolutely no relation to them at all. Well, there was a character named Susan Calvert, but she was played by a hot young supermodel who was nothing at all like the dowdy, middle-aged character written by Asmiov. So I suppose it was just a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/92 "2007-08-09T03:57:57Z")
\*Blair Witch Project \* is still, hands-down, the worst film for whatever reason you want to debate except “Waste of time and money” or “Film that made me most want to kick somebody’s ass”. Then of course, it wins. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/93 "2007-08-09T05:06:35Z")
[QUOTE=Gatopescado] \*Blair Witch Project \* is still, hands-down, the worst film for whatever reason you want to debate except “Waste of time and money” or “Film that made me most want to kick somebody’s ass”. Then of course, it wins. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but the only people who can really complain of “Blair Witch Project” as being a bait and switch were the folks who bought the notion that an actual supernatural phenomenon was involved, and I somehow doubt that you were one of them, Gatopescado. In fact, I’ll defend Blair Witch as being scarier because of its goofy, student-film nature. The film was advertised as being the actual images recorded by film students goofing around in the backwoods who caught hold of something they couldn’t handle. It’s goofy, student-film quality actually ADDED to its authenticity and made it scarier. A slicker film have immediately given itself away because of its very slickness. Blair Witch did look kinda like what you’d expect of a bunch of film students stumbling around the backwoods in search of a story, adding to the authenticity of the story. A nice, subtle touch, that. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/94 "2007-08-09T05:20:18Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] I had gotten the impression the _Election_ was supposed to be a comedy. I found it to be an interesting story, but funny? Not at all. [/QUOTE] You didn’t find Election funny? I found it hilarious. Dark comedy, sure, but one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. I did hate high school, though. Hmm…that could have something to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/95 "2007-08-09T05:27:32Z")
There is a new Ben Stiller movie coming out where he goes to his ex-gal’s wedding and realizes he needs to settle down, so he decides to get married. Now, _I swear_ I’ve seen two very different previews for this movie. The first version, Stiller is afraid of commitment, but meets that very special someone who makes him change his tune by the end of the movie. Based on this information, I decided the movie would suck, and hoped someone would get fired over it. The second preview, on the other hand, makes it look like old Ben is sad about his ex getting hitched, and quickly meets and marries some other gal all in the first act. Then, they go down to Mexico, and he realizes she’s crazy, and all sorts of funny hijinx go down. So, at first, the movie looked like _Sweet Home Alabama_, now it’s more _Something About Mary_. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/96 "2007-08-09T05:29:32Z")
Zoggie: > [@](#): > > You didn’t find Election funny? I found it hilarious. Dark comedy, sure, but one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. > > I did hate high school, though. Hmm…that could have something to do with it. Maybe. Maybe it would have been funnier to me if I’d been in a high school environment like that. All I saw in the movie was the dramatic elements. Not at all a bad story about the price of obsession, but darned if I actually laughed at all. I do generally find dark comedy funny. _Death to Smoochy_. for example, was hilarious. Maybe _Election_ was one of those “you had to be there” things. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/97 "2007-08-09T06:56:10Z")
[QUOTE=Evil Captor] Yeah, but the only people who can really complain of “Blair Witch Project” as being a bait and switch were the folks who bought the notion that an actual supernatural phenomenon was involved, and I somehow doubt that you were one of them, Gatopescado. [/QUOTE] Thats the nicest thing anybody’s ever said to me. :teary eye: [QUOTE=Evil Captor] The film was advertised as being the actual images recorded by film students goofing around in the backwoods who caught hold of something they couldn’t handle. [/QUOTE] Well, I got sucked in by some fake “documentary” long before the film came out about the whole legend. (It was actually pretty entertaining!) They went into the whole origin of the legend and the meaning of the “signs” and why the kids vanished and why they ended up standing in the corner. It wa some good, mindless TV watchin’! I knew it was BS from the get-go, but the half-hour show on cable was compelling and made you think you were going to see some neat, fake, scary shit when you shelled out the cash at the theater. Instead, you got an hour and a half of shakey camcorder footage. Of nothing. Worse than a cousin’s home movies of a trip to Branson. The whole experience left me with the distinct impression of being duped, totally and utterly. (And that is what really steams me!) The visitation to the theater was mearly a way of collecting money. And maybe sucking a little bit extra out of us for popcorn or watery Coke. Zero payoff. Like the old museum at Niagra Falls, you can come in and look for free, but you gotta pay to get out! I swear I could hear people laughing in the projection room. Dammit! I _still_ want my money back! ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/98 "2007-08-09T08:04:59Z")
I remember they had an awful remake of Pinocchio when Jonathan Taylor Thomas was the Tiger Beat guy du jour. He was the headliner…and had probably at MOST 3 minutes of screen time as he appeared only when Pinocchio became a “real boy.” …or so my dad lamented after coming home from it with my sister. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/99 "2007-08-09T08:56:14Z")
[QUOTE=Sevastopol] There is a sub-genre of film called “\* the Jennifier Love-Hewitt movie\*”, not always containing the said actor. Rather, the defining character is that the marketing makes a promise, subtle or otherwise, that uncovered breasts will feature prominently on screen. The promise is never realised. I think those films count for the purpose of this discussion. Refer to any of the actor’s resume for examples. But as I say, the sub-genre is in no way limited to one actor’s work. [/QUOTE] JLH movie, huh? I’ve rented a lot of them and they can be disappointing, especially if Jennifer Love Hewitt is actually in the movie. I find her attractive in that _girl-that-will-never-go-out-with-me-and-that-makes-me-want-her-more_ way. What makes it even worse[is she knows shes attractive.](http://www.metacafe.com/watch/450524/jennifer_love_hewitt_new_hanes_underwear_ad_2007/) ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784/100 "2007-08-09T09:33:42Z")
[QUOTE=NailBunny] _Very Bad Things_, which was marketed as a black comedy and did not have a single funny moment to be found in it. [/QUOTE] It did deliver _Very Bad Things_ however. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-us-some-bait-and-switch-movies/414784.md?page=6)