I Wonder if Studio Executives Want to Emulate “The Hangover”
by MICHAEL TUNISON / BRO BUMPS / MOVIES / THE HANGOVER
Here’s the trailer for “Hot Tub Time Machine”. Let’s see if we can spot the obvious ways the producers are trying to piggyback on the success of “The Hangover”:
I’m sure the tone will be slightly different, but the filmmakers are definitely going for that association. The inclusion of John Cusack is really the only salient difference, as the common palaver about “The Hangover” was that the cost was comprised of no-names, even though all the actors were established to some degree. Still, Cusack’s more of a star than anyone in that movie. Also, the trailer uses the guy who typically does narration on bumpers for Comedy Central, which is kind of odd. When did he jump to movie trailers?
Speaking of “The Hangover,” there seems to be some talk that it could be included in the expanded field of 10 for Best Picture. Really? Don’t get me wrong, I found it entertaining and I’m always one to root for any and all comedies to be considered among the best cinema has to offer, but I never really got the sense that anything was noteworthy about the movie save from the performances of Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms. But obviously you can point at movies like “Hot Tub Time Machine” to show that it’s influential. But then “American Pie” spawned a host of knock-offs and no one was rallying to give that movie a nomination*.
*No, I’m not saying “American Pie” is equal to “The Hangover”
— January 20‚ 2009 —
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