# Movies that are marketed as something they are not. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226 "2007-04-15T16:57:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/41 "2007-04-15T22:02:33Z")
I think the movie _Jack_, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and starring Robin Williams as a child who ages at a highly accelerated rate (4 times normal) was marketed as a pure comedy on the order of _Big_, and much of it was. But when I saw the trailer, my first thought was - my god, he’ll die at 20 or 21! And his graduation speech from high school, with Jack looking quite elderly, emphasized exactly that. It was a comedy, but it was also a very sad drama, as his family was aware from the beginning that they would lose him very young. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/42 "2007-04-15T22:09:56Z")
I think anybody who decided to see **Million Dollar Baby** solely on the trailer was probably very surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/43 "2007-04-15T22:14:21Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] _Misled_. Which you weren’t. [/QUOTE] Well, pardon me for mixing up my tenses. Are you seriously contesting a subjective experience that I had? The trailer did not accurately reflect the content of the movie, imo. You can disagree, but you can’t state as a fact, that I’m wrong. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/44 "2007-04-15T22:37:27Z")
I didnt see “Alien” based on the trailers which gave me the impression that it was about a nasty thing that eats people, a generic horror flick that just happened to have a spaceship as a setting. While “Alien” WAS about a nasty thing that eats people, it wasn’t a generic horror flick, it was a full-bore SF flick that created a whole SF society. I’d have gone to see the moviie a LOT sooner if I’d understood that. Missed the theatrical release, as it was. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/45 "2007-04-15T22:52:46Z")
[QUOTE=Shawn1767] _Muriel’s Wedding._ It’s in the comedy section at Blockbuster, but both my wife and I agreed that it was one of the most depressing movies we’d ever seen. [/QUOTE] Oh my goodne, YES. The scene with the mom at the wedding was so sad that it almost didn’t fit in with the rest of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/46 "2007-04-15T22:57:07Z")
[QUOTE=Evil Captor] I didnt see “Alien” based on the trailers which gave me the impression that it was about a nasty thing that eats people, a generic horror flick that just happened to have a spaceship as a setting. While “Alien” WAS about a nasty thing that eats people, it wasn’t a generic horror flick, it was a full-bore SF flick that created a whole SF society. I’d have gone to see the moviie a LOT sooner if I’d understood that. Missed the theatrical release, as it was. [/QUOTE] Really? I’ve still never seen “Alien” because I was under the impression it was a horror flick. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2007, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/47 "2007-04-15T23:21:33Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Really? I’ve still never seen “Alien” because I was under the impression it was a horror flick. [/QUOTE] Really. That’s the exact experience I had. Except for the one scene involving the stomach burst, it’s not even all that explicit in terms of gore. Certainly not by modern standards, and not even by those bygone days. The real point of the movie is not to see people being eaten – in fact, you see no such thing in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/48 "2007-04-15T23:33:28Z")
Well heck! I may just watch it one of these days, in that case! ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/49 "2007-04-15T23:48:02Z")
\*\*Signs \*\* was marketed as a spooky movie about an alien invasion. Sure, it had those plot elements, but the movie was \*about \* personal redemption, forgiveness, and moving on with life. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/50 "2007-04-16T00:01:08Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Well heck! I may just watch it one of these days, in that case! [/QUOTE] Yeah, Alien’s really good. Now Aliens (the sequel) is more akin to your typical horror flick, but is still unique enough to warrent a viewing ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/51 "2007-04-16T00:13:58Z")
I’m really getting tired of these goddamned right-wing fucktard Google ads. ETA: which, of course, disappear as soon as I post. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/52 "2007-04-16T00:17:18Z")
[QUOTE=Scissorjack] **Pleasantville** was marketed as a wacky, high concept comedy about hip modern kids shaking up a staid 1950’s town. While they didn’t misrepresent the actual premise, the movie, while it had comic overtones, was a good deal darker and more thoughtful - being about tolerance, repression, and the dangers of groupthink - than the teen hijinks that were promised: it’s one of my favourite movies, but I almost missed it because of the stupid trailer. [/QUOTE] You put it very well. That is what I could have titled this thread- ‘What movies did you almost miss because of the trailer?’ ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/53 "2007-04-16T00:22:34Z")
I thought _28 Days Later_ was going to be a straight up zombie movie, maybe with better than usual writing and directing. I didn’t expect so much of the interpersonal drama as various people came to terms with the end of the world. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/54 "2007-04-16T00:26:56Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] I didn’t go to see _Fight Club_ when it was in theaters because the trailers on TV made it appear to be just a dumb macho fisticuffs movie. A year later, when the movie came to HBO, I was stunned to find that it was a highly intelligent and surreal macho fisticuffs movie. I bet there were lots of pissed off people in the theaters who wanted their money back because there was too much weird stuff and not enough beat-em-up action. [/QUOTE] I suppose it was difficult to market it based on the knid of movie it really was. But I had the same experience. I only watched ‘Fight Club’ in 2005 because of the stupid trailers. So many people recommended it over the years, I finally decided to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/55 "2007-04-16T00:31:06Z")
[Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0110588/). Well, sorta. The VHS cover shows a smiling Dorothy Parker holding a (presumably) post-coital cigarette. They could hardly have picked a less indicative scene from the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/56 "2007-04-16T01:57:09Z")
[Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106770/) had some ads marketing it as a martial arts movie, presumably for guys. AND had other ads marketing it as a romance, presumably for gals. When I saw one type of ad immediately followed by another, I figured the move didn’t know what it was, and decided not to spend theater plus babysitter money to see it. I’ve seen most of it on TV. I looks like a good movie with lots of action, a few romantic elements, and a pretty good story. But there’s got to be a better way to bring all the genders into a theater than running two utterly disparate ad campaigns for the same movie. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/57 "2007-04-16T02:45:21Z")
[QUOTE=Typo Knig] [Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106770/) had some ads marketing it as a martial arts movie, presumably for guys. AND had other ads marketing it as a romance, presumably for gals. When I saw one type of ad immediately followed by another, I figured the move didn’t know what it was, and decided not to spend theater plus babysitter money to see it. I’ve seen most of it on TV. I looks like a good movie with lots of action, a few romantic elements, and a pretty good story. But there’s got to be a better way to bring all the genders into a theater than running two utterly disparate ad campaigns for the same movie. [/QUOTE] A similar thing was done for [Forget Paris](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113097/). The movie was marketed as both a romantic chick-flick, and a comedy about a basketball referee. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/58 "2007-04-16T03:02:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Meet Joe Black was marketted as a romance. While the romance in the movie is a relatively good portion of the movie, the main character of the movie is Anthony Hopkins, not one of the couple. It’s a movie about dying and making the best of life. This reminds me of another movie with a misleading ad campaign - _The Human Stain_. The actual movie is about a character, played by Anthony Hopkins, who is of mixed race but has always denied his black ancestry. But the ads make no mention of the racial plotline. But there is a minor subplot about a relationship between Hopkins’ character and a woman played by Nicole Kidman. And the ads focus entirely on this subplot and make the movie look like it’s a love story. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/59 "2007-04-16T03:56:44Z")
Oh yeah, there was also **The Blair Witch Project** , which was marketted as a horror film. But it was instead of rather exciting action film where the protagonist, the Blair Witch, using cunning and maybe magic hunts down and assassinates a bunch of stupid people who really needed to die! I was cheering through the whole thing! 😃 _yes, I really did like the Blair Witch Project only because the witch won_ ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226/60 "2007-04-16T09:03:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Muriel’s Wedding. It’s in the comedy section at Blockbuster, but both my wife and I agreed that it was one of the most depressing movies we’d ever seen. I’ve had several people suggest I see Muriel’s Wedding but I avoided it because I thought it was a romantic comedy. Now that I see it’s not , and considering I like heavy drama, do you think I’ll enjoy it? I’m one chick that really hates “chick flicks”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-are-marketed-as-something-they-are-not/400226.md?page=4)