# 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:** 2
**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, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/21 "2009-03-10T19:15:46Z")
Anything that makes it clear much of the movie is trying to get from point A to point B unless it’s the original Vacation or Little Miss Sunshine. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/22 "2009-03-10T19:25:48Z")
A scene of The Guy Who Screwed Up standing alone, all sheepish yet earnest. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/23 "2009-03-10T19:27:44Z")
Dodgy Dude’s Rule of Movie Trailers: If you can’t figure out the plot of the movie from the trailer, then keep your money in your pocket. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/24 "2009-03-10T19:44:38Z")
When you get the impression that _every single funny line_ has been included in the trailer, the movie itself is probably a waste. When the trailer consists entirely of chase scenes or cars drifting sideways, the movie probably sucks. ---
**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, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/25 "2009-03-10T19:49:27Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I don’t know what trailer you watched, but it wasn’t for Rambo. The link you’ve provided isn’t the same as the one I saw. The trailer I saw is here: [First Rambo IV Feature Trailer - R-Rated Ass Kicking! | FirstShowing.net](http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/05/19/john-rambo-iv-feature-trailer/). Decap at about 2:05. Maybe I saw the trailer online and not in a theater, but the OP didn’t make that distinction. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/26 "2009-03-10T19:53:05Z")
When the final title of the trailer lists “Music by” and shows several current popular music artists. If they’re more interested in selling the soundtrack than the film, there’s trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/27 "2009-03-10T19:56:50Z")
Anything in the trailer that’s obviously _wrong_. A huge lizard stomping around Manhattan without setting off any car alarms, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/28 "2009-03-10T20:06:35Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > When the trailer consists entirely of chase scenes or cars drifting sideways, the movie probably sucks. This flavor of suck, however, is particularly well suited for a large coke and popcorn at the dollar movies. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/29 "2009-03-10T20:26:45Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > 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. Conversely, if _every_ scene in the trailer is funny but it’s not made by genuinely comic geniuses, then you know they just blew their wad of jokes right there. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/30 "2009-03-10T20:33:36Z")
Glimpses of a spooky little kid. ---
**Author:** ![Southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@Southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southpaw)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/31 "2009-03-10T20:39:18Z")
Any animated movie that promotes who did the voices. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/32 "2009-03-10T20:39:41Z")
“You’re a loose cannon, Standard Boilerplate Action Cop!” Blech. Also, Jason Statham. That dude must have the best agent in the universe, because he’s basically a wooden stand-in for a real human actor. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/33 "2009-03-10T20:46:05Z")
-Talking babies ('nuff said) -From the people that brought you “Date Movie” -From the people that brought you “High School Musical 1, 2, and 3” -A film too important “not” to see -Tyler Perry’s… ---
**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, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/34 "2009-03-10T20:46:08Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Glimpses of a spooky little kid. With raccoon eyes! ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/35 "2009-03-10T20:57:20Z")
> [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](#): > > Dodgy Dude’s Rule of Movie Trailers: > > If you can’t figure out the plot of the movie from the trailer, then keep your money in your pocket. Huh. I would’ve said that a trailer from which you can figure out the entire plot of the movie (whether it’s explicitly shown in the trailer or not) is a movie definitely not worth seeing. I _like_ being surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/36 "2009-03-10T20:58:28Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > With raccoon eyes! Oh holy shit. The “scary little girl” meme is so incredibly played out. I can think of no other cliche that makes me want to throw things as much as this one. It was scary in “The Shining”. That’s it. Done. Do something else now, please. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/37 "2009-03-10T21:09:04Z")
Overt references in the voice-over to uncovering an incredible secret. The secret will probably be something you can guess in the first ten minutes, and even if you can’t, it won’t be ‘incredible’ at all. Any claims to being the best, funniest, wildest or some other superlative ‘film of the year’ in a movie released January - March. Any evidence that the producers believe one really, really BIG explosion, filmed in slo-mo, is enough to convince us the movie is essential viewing. ---
**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, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/38 "2009-03-10T21:17:51Z")
Voiceover: “First there was…” [scenes from a really good flick] VO: “Then there was…” [scenes from a cheap knockoff] VO: “Now there’s…” [a few blurry stills from this cheese puff] Best bet: skip it! ==================== Over the course of a few weeks, every actor involved in the movie is on Letterman or Leno or one of the later guys, showing the same clip and raving about how much fun it was to be in the cast and how “generous” the other actors were, and how gifted the director is. Bottom line on the movie: stack of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/39 "2009-03-10T21:20:48Z")
If it looks anything like one of the spoof trailers in _Tropic Thunder_, skippit. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984/40 "2009-03-10T21:24:20Z")
Ditto both of these: > [@Morbo](#): > > “From the producers of…” > [@Tijuana\_Golds](#): > > A dog with sunglasses or a Jack Russell doing anything. Or any small dog doing something allegedly cute. Also any dark scenes where the hero(es) are besieged by monstrous winged creatures. Which seems to be the highlight of virtually any sci-fi movie. Bonzo and Dorkman go on a road trip and have wild, goofy high times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-see-in-a-trailer-that-makes-you-know-the-movie-will-suck/488984.md?page=3)