# Stuff you see in a trailer that makes you know the movie will suck **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984 "2009-03-10T18:18:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/1 "2009-03-10T18:18:33Z")
What kinds of things do you see in movie trailers that automatically make you know you don’t want to see the movie? Some of those things for me include: [ul][li]A group of characters lip synching to a song on the radio (usually a Motown song). Epidemic to, but not exclusive to chick flicks. No movie with this scene can ever not suck.[/li] [li]One character telling another character, “you’re crazy/insane/out of your mind, you know that.” This can either be said to an ostensibly “wild and crazy” comedic character or to an endearingly edgy and dangerous action character. In either case, the movie will suck.[/li] [li]A scene of a couple having a cute fight that turns into a kiss. Makes me retch every time. [/ul][/li] That’s just off the top of my head. What are your movie trailer “kill switches” (aside from just bad stars)? ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/2 "2009-03-10T18:25:30Z")
Excessive gore. I saw the trailer for last year’s “Rambo” and they showed Stallone pull a guys heart out AND a decapitation, without any creative edits right before the act. Now, I like a good gory movie as much as the next guy, but I remember thinking, “Wow, did they just show a head get lopped off…in a _preview_?” Pretty much sealed the deal for me. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/3 "2009-03-10T18:27:47Z")
Evidence that “The Rock” is in it. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/4 "2009-03-10T18:28:47Z")
Choir music. Especially choir music playing over a super-wide shot of a huge battle going on. I hate “epic” movies. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/5 "2009-03-10T18:28:50Z")
Any trailer that changes tone in the middle (e.g.: starts off like a trailer for a wacky comedy, turns into a movie that features an IMPORTANT LESSON) is a Very. Bad. Sign. Also, it should be obvious but when the trailer is for a comedy but the scene they show aren’t the slightest bit funny, you can bet that the stuff NOT in the trailer is even worse. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/6 "2009-03-10T18:33:56Z")
–“You’re off the Force. Give me your Badge!” –Fart Jokes (in the _trailer_!) – “This isn’t human.” – “This time it’s Personal.” – Impossibly Twisted Bodies/People anchored to odd-looking torture devices/ black fluids/ things running backwards/“distressed” frames/ sudden changes in the speed of motion all indicate a horror or thriller movie I can live without. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/7 "2009-03-10T18:35:10Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Also, it should be obvious but when the trailer is for a comedy but the s **cene** they show aren’t the slightest bit funny, you can bet that the stuff NOT in the trailer is even worse. er, **scenes**. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Batman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@The\_Batman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Batman)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/8 "2009-03-10T18:37:31Z")
Kate Hudson. Queen chickflick herself. A dog with sunglasses or a Jack Russell doing anything. Some chick with two swords or Milla Jovovich. Both are indicators that it will be a crappy storyless action flick. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/9 "2009-03-10T18:44:00Z")
When one character tilts his head back and bellows the name of another character. “POSTMAAAAAAN!!!” is an example. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/10 "2009-03-10T18:46:30Z")
Robin Williams ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/11 "2009-03-10T18:47:57Z")
The entire plot of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/12 "2009-03-10T18:48:59Z")
To call back a recent thread…the record scratch sound effect. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/13 "2009-03-10T18:49:26Z")
If the trailer includes more than three highly dramatic scenes of the same basic type (explosions, car wrecks, knife fights, poker games, confrontations with parents or kids, etc.) odds are at least 75% that you’ve seen all of them and the movie won’t have any more of them. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/14 "2009-03-10T18:50:48Z")
Any trailer in which the voiceover says “…and having the time of their lives!” Besides being a suck-ass movie, you know it’s going to be patronized by annoying kids. Any trailer that starts with an upbeat rock song from the late 50s or early 60s. You can be sure that the movie will be filled with “antics.” Any trailer with a record scratch. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/15 "2009-03-10T18:51:35Z")
“Featuring music by…” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/16 "2009-03-10T18:52:08Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > To call back a recent thread…the record scratch sound effect. D’oh! ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/17 "2009-03-10T18:54:05Z")
“From the producers of…” Yeah - there’s how I measure quality. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/18 "2009-03-10T19:08:37Z")
Pauly Shore ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/19 "2009-03-10T19:13:40Z")
Any time you see more than three versions of the trailer before it opens, you know the movie will suck balls. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/20 "2009-03-10T19:14:01Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#): > > Excessive gore. I saw the trailer for last year’s “Rambo” and they showed Stallone pull a guys heart out AND a decapitation, without any creative edits right before the act. Now, I like a good gory movie as much as the next guy, but I remember thinking, “Wow, did they just show a head get lopped off…in a _preview_?” Pretty much sealed the deal for me. I don’t know what trailer you watched, but it wasn’t for Rambo. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/M4sagNn4BNU/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/M4sagNn4BNU?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984.md?page=2)