# This movie is not what I expected it to be **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298 "2019-05-21T16:03:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [May 22, 2019, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/61 "2019-05-22T19:07:49Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > When Cocoon was new, there were two different trailers out at the same time. One was about sad old people like Wilford Brimley and Jessica Tandy nearing death, and one was was about wacky hijinks with Steve Gutenberg having skinless sex with hot alien chicks in a pool. Each was obviously meant to go with a movie targeting a specific audience. > > Since the movie was actually about both things, I can’t say the trailers were purely deceptive, but it really made me aware of how[a trailer can use only footage from the film and yet completely misrepresent it if it wants to.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFic) The movie that I saw that was most completely misrepresented was **Arachnophobia**. One trailer seemed to be composed entirely of John Goodman appearances, and gave the impression that this was a John Goodman comedy. In reality, he’s only in a very few scenes, and most of the movie has nothing to do with him. You could actually cut out his scenes and still have a coherent story. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/62 "2019-05-22T19:16:09Z")
All of the promotions for _12 Monkeys_ made it look like an idiotic film school project by a student who wasn’t very good at it. But it’s actually the best time-travel movie I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/63 "2019-05-22T19:48:23Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The movie that I saw that was most completely misrepresented was **Arachnophobia**. One trailer seemed to be composed entirely of John Goodman appearances, and gave the impression that this was a John Goodman comedy. In reality, he’s only in a very few scenes, and most of the movie has nothing to do with him. You could actually cut out his scenes and still have a coherent story. I saw it once when it hit the theaters and I don’t even remember that Goodman was in it, though I do remember that it was an extraordinarily dark film for something Spielberg was involved in. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/64 "2019-05-22T19:52:03Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > After watching the previews for _ **The Passenger** _ with Jack Nicholson, I was really looking forward to seeing the movie: “Wow, cool! Stolen identity, Third-World revolution, African dictator, international arms smuggling, threat of exposure! Can’t wait for it to come 'round!” > > The movie was one of the greatest disappointments _ever_. Like _ **Emanuelle** _, it seemed interminably long because **nothing bloody happened!** The \*only \*scene I remember is when Nicholson finds the corpse of the guy whose identity he steals sprawled over the bed in his hotel room, and that’s because you could clearly see his heart was still beating! Did it at least have some gratuitous nudity like Emanuelle? ---
**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:** [May 22, 2019, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/65 "2019-05-22T19:56:30Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I saw it once when it hit the theaters and I don’t even remember that Goodman was in it, though I do remember that it was an extraordinarily dark film for something Spielberg was involved in. He played the “comic relief” exterminator. He was often buried in a yellow jumpsuit, face mask, and helmet, so you could have not realized it was him. [https://www.google.com/search?q=Arachnophobia+Goodman&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjasJDI9a\_iAhVuU98KHSuaBBwQ\_AUIDigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=5Oj68FZjfy02VM:&spf=1558554933802](https://www.google.com/search?q=Arachnophobia+Goodman&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjasJDI9a_iAhVuU98KHSuaBBwQ_AUIDigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=5Oj68FZjfy02VM:&spf=1558554933802) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/66 "2019-05-22T20:25:43Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Did it at least have some gratuitous nudity like Emanuelle? Not that I remember. ☹ And not even the luscious Sylvia Kristel could hold my interest during _ **Emanuelle** _. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/67 "2019-05-22T20:46:01Z")
The movie _Admission_ looks to be a Tina Fey/Paul Rudd Rom-com. I mean, just look at the poster: [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fa/Admission\_movie\_poster.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fa/Admission_movie_poster.jpg) Really it’s a movie about Tina Fey dealing with a son she gave up for adoption. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/68 "2019-05-22T22:00:37Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You don’t think Bad Santa is funny?? 😕 The version i saw was very dark. And i’d have to watch the original version to compare and I don’t want to put myself through that again. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/69 "2019-05-22T23:17:51Z")
_Event Horizon_. I expected a Sci-Fi adventure. I got a portal to hell. ---
**Author:** ![KMS94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ad7895/32.png) [@KMS94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KMS94)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/70 "2019-05-23T02:15:13Z")
I went to a weekend matinee showing when Jurassic Park first came out, and when the first scary dinosaur ate the first screaming victim, it seemed like a good portion of the theater was screaming children and parents hurriedly leaving. I’m thinking they were expecting more of a “Barney” dinosaur movie. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/71 "2019-05-23T02:34:53Z")
> [@KMS94](#): > > I went to a weekend matinee showing when Jurassic Park first came out, and when the first scary dinosaur ate the first screaming victim, it seemed like a good portion of the theater was screaming children and parents hurriedly leaving. I’m thinking they were expecting more of a “Barney” dinosaur movie. If you’re taking kids to a movie, wouldn’t _Even Minimal Parenting_ mean you watch a trailer or read a review or at least tell someone you’re going, so they can talk you out of it? I have a co-worker who, back in the day, took her (very young) daughter to the first Tim Burton _ **Batman** _ movie, fully expecting it to be an Adam West/Burt Ward campiness-fest. ETA: My example is also back in the day, a gang of us high school guys going to a Rolling Stones movie. It was _ **Sympathy For The Devil** _… Two hours of nothing but shots of the band in the studio recording that one song. Every tedious moment, 200 takes of the _doot-doots…_ We walked out. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/72 "2019-05-23T03:35:36Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > _Dead Poets Society_ was advertised as a Robin Williams comedy, with the trailer showing the 5 funny lines Robin has in the whole movie. So I rented it expecting to laugh. > A great movie to be sure, but definitely not a comedy. Robin Williams did a few such movies, where the first half was a side-splittingly funny comedy, and the second half was a drama, usually with a dark ending. In addition to _Dead Poets Society_, I think _Good Morning Vietnam_ and _Patch Adams_ fit this mold. As I recall, the trailers for those also showed the funny parts, and left out the sad drama. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/73 "2019-05-23T03:37:25Z")
_Watership Down_ was another notorious one. If you saw the [original movie poster](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1148/8924/products/MPW-89592-a_1024x1024.jpg?v=1556253978) you would at least have an inkling of what you were in for. But a lot of people apparently just assumed that it would be a fairly family-friendly animated film about bunnies. The [DVD cover](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d4/1b/55/d41b5559777217330e8de43530fd3ed1.jpg) by contrast is not particularly enlightening and I could of sworn I saw similar images being advertised when the film came out. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/74 "2019-05-23T04:02:55Z")
_Breaking the Waves_ Expected sweet love story about overcoming tragedy. Got bizarre sex fetish that ended in death. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/75 "2019-05-23T04:46:47Z")
…the Movie Angel Eyes, starring Jennifer Lopez and Jesus. (AKA Reese) Here’s the trailer: Looks pretty dramatic right? And the logline: “While pursuing a suspect one night, Chicago Police officer Sharon Pogue (Jennifer Lopez) nearly becomes the victim of a fatal ambush until a mysterious stranger, Catch (Jim Caviezel), intervenes, disarms the assassin and saves Sharon’s life. A concerned citizen who just happened to pass by at the right time?” What the movie actually is? A beautiful, mournful but touching romantic drama about two very broken people and how they come together. I love this movie. I never would have seen it though based on the trailer, I just happened to stumble across it late one night. ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/76 "2019-05-23T12:24:53Z")
I know it’s significantly more lowbrow than many of the movies listed by others but Scott Pilgrim vs The World caught me completely off guard. I had never heard of Scott Pilgrim and I was sitting around bored one night so I decided to rent the movie on a whim. I spent the first 15-20min scratching my head trying to figure out where the movie was trying to go and then this Indian guy dressed like a pirate came crashing through the roof and challenged Scott to a video game fight…and I didn’t stop laughing until the credits rolled. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/77 "2019-05-23T12:35:09Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > _Breaking the Waves_ Expected sweet love story about overcoming tragedy. Got bizarre sex fetish that ended in death. Luckily I had no expectations for this movie. If anyone hasn’t seen it I’d think they should expect regretting it if they do. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/78 "2019-05-23T13:56:07Z")
One of the earliest of this ilk that stuck in my mind was a Goldie Hawn flick, _Sugarland Express_. Just mentioning Goldie Hawn immediately conjured up delightful wacky lightweight comedy, sweet silly fun. Uh uh. ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken_1)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/79 "2019-05-23T15:15:15Z")
…should have been that it was a movie by John Waters but what could be more innocuous than a movie called ‘Pink Flamingos’? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298/80 "2019-05-23T15:25:30Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Robin Williams did a few such movies, where the first half was a side-splittingly funny comedy, and the second half was a drama, usually with a dark ending. In addition to _Dead Poets Society_, I think _Good Morning Vietnam_ and _Patch Adams_ fit this mold. As I recall, the trailers for those also showed the funny parts, and left out the sad drama. Same with \*Jack. \* Trailer: Robin Williams being silly playing a 10 year old. Actual movie: 10 year old coming to grips with the fact that he’s probably going to die in another 10 years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-is-not-what-i-expected-it-to-be/834298.md?page=5)