The Scissor Sisters? Someone knew what they were doing! Start things off with a kicky tune, something for Tom Hanks’ mischievous hot tub exploits, but cut it off really soon. This is a movie about a war, you see, which means we get a dramatically abrupt interruption of the spunky gay pop and a diegetic voice-over by Dan Rather, filling us in on the conflict in Afghanistan. Unfortunately this is where the trailer loses me for a bit, despite the snappy congressional humor one-liners and fantastic Philip Seymour Hoffman-in-creepy-glasses action. “All Along the Watchtower” (by Hendrix) is a bit of a drag, at least for something like this, and complicated plot snippets bring the pace down. Fortunately Don McLean is never far behind with his trusty “American Pie,” which is usually so sentimental and cheesy it makes me ill, but here…it works? Maybe its semi-ironic use in this trailer is what makes it so tolerable, or maybe I just get closer to the Time Life mentality with every passing year. In any case, the last 45 seconds really save it, and overall this is a fine bit of marketing. It even made me want to see the movie, and the last time I saw “a Mike Nichols film” I ended up hating Clive Owen, which was disturbing, obviously.
Almost Famous was made to have a trailer. With as many compelling songs on the soundtrack as it has oh-so-whimsically poignant moments it’s like a treasure trove of trailer-ready clips. And by the time this came out Cameron Crowe was famous enough to earn the prestigious “a Cameron Crowe film” text, always a nice dramatic addition to any trailer. Furthermore, it’s got all the trademark quotes: “Don’t take drugs!” “Rock stars have kidnapped my son!” “Your mom kind of freaked me out,” “I am a golden god!” “You are not cool,” etc., etc., plus a snippet of the quintessentially trailer-perfect “Tiny Dancer” sing-along. This one’s got it all: cohesive narrative, great music, shameless sentimental nostalgia, and Philip Seymour Hoffman on exposition duty. It’s practically the model for what all great trailers should be.
