Lame Trailer Clichés: 8 Things You'll Always See In Rom-Com Trailers

Ah, romantic comedies. When did we last see a good one? Well, if you did, chances are they weren't made for Hollywood's sake or they were made years ago. I think the question that we really need to be asking is when was the last time you saw a trailer for a romantic comedy and thought "YES. I'm going to see that because it looks so original." Yeah...didn't think so. That's because romantic comedy trailers employ the same techniques. Here are the main five:

1. "Meet this person in this glorious freeze frame."

The ironic thing about this freeze frame introducing us to Stephanie Plum, Katherine Heigl's latest 'heroine' from One for the Money, is that her facial expression is pretty much how I looked through the entire movie. Foreshadowing, perhaps? Oh One for the Money, you really are too good.

Week #9 in summary...! Killing carrots, killing Bill, killing boxes and killing romantic comedies...

This week is all about killing? You better believe it. Just a shame I didn't happen to watch Killers this week. By the looks of the trailer, it looks like the movie lives up to it's name. This week has changed things for the blog, and I hope you are liking it. Because I am. No need to leave any comments though. Coz chances are you ain't wasting your time reading this.

• Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) I'd just about forgotten how much I love Quentin Tarantino, but this film just dragged me back on to the band wagon. I still love you, QT. 8/10


• The Box (2009) Boxes will kill. Come to think of it, it's like some sort of game show...'the money or the box'? Honestly, they shouldn't do that. Bad taste, I'm sorry. 6/10


• Brothers (2009) It has good actors...just a shame it was a tad boring though. 4/10


• A Single Man (2009) Thanks Tom Ford and Colin Firth. My heart is still broken. But you still made one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. 10/10


• The Rebound (2009) I don't like romantic comedies. But somehow I liked this one. I think that may have been coz Justin Bartha is so cute in this. 6/10


• When in Rome (2010) I don't like romantic comedies. And I hated this one. Mainly coz it was particularly unfunny even though it had funny people in it. 4/10


• Whip It (2009) I want to try roller derby. But I'm way too un-coed to do that. Ellen Page would so whip me. 8/10


• Shoot 'Em Up (2007) I have a newfound respect for carrots now. They are lethal weapons. And maybe I like Clive Owen a little more now?? 6/10

Best movie: A Single Man. Even though I dislike how sad it made me.

Worst movie: When in Rome. Romantic comedies have never looked so bad.

Highlight of the week: Passing a maths test I never thought I would pass because I didn't get it.

Lowlight of the week: Having to stay home from school because of some major headache...which I have had for four days and still counting...

DVD--When in Rome (post #300!)

or: Young people in fluffy rom-com...example #5123

One word to sum it up: Predicatable.

As explained in my review of The Rebound, I can't stay away from romantic comedies. Upon falling sick and having to spend two days at home, I embarked on a quest through Blockbuster for some movies to bust boredom. What I came up with? When in Rome. Even though romance pisses me off, I always watch this kind of film when I am sick because, well, they don't require too much thought.

Beth (Kristen Bell) is obsessed with work and refuses to fall in love until she finds someone she loves more than her work. She travels to Rome for her sister's wedding, and goes to the famed Fountain of Love and takes some coins. Upon returning to New York, four men start coming onto her as she has their coins. But she finds herself falling in love with Nick (Josh Duhamel), even though she thinks their relationship is the result of one of the coins. However, the other four men keep coming in between her real relationship and, well, her sanity.

This movie should be arrested for excessive use of rom-com cliches. The end could have been seen from a mile away. In fact, you could probably tell what the end was going to be without actually watching the movie. It's mostly devoid of laughs, which is a shame because it has a genuinely funny cast. Will Arnett, Danny DeVito, Dax Shephard and Jon Heder (also, a cameo from Pedro of Napoleon Dynamite fame) play some pretty strange characters, but unfortunately, I didn't find them funny. They were characters who I have become so used to seeing in other films of this type and there wasn't really anything outrageously funny to laugh at.

Kristen Bell, however, has some pretty infectious charm. She probably makes the movie worth watching, even though her character completely pissed me off. She was like a more whiny, more preppy combination of Summer from (500) Days of Summer and Andy Sachs from The Devil Wears Prada...she didn't believe in love and cared about her job more than anything else. Josh Duhamel was a likeable enough romantic lead, but his comic timing was somewhat painful and he should really just stick to action films. While When in Rome is so much of a rom-com it's a criminal offence, it can't help but make you smile...in some weird way.



THE VERDICT: Unfortunately one of the worst offenders in recent rom-com history, but it's young leads, Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel, make use of this small opportunity to show off their charms.

4/10