bait-and-switch
For those who've seen Big Fan, this poster is the perfect summation of the film:
It's a little dark, but a little silly. It's about aggressive football fans, and it's psychological, and it's gritty and a little on the rough-edges low-budget side. As I've said before and many smarter people have said before me, it's got a 70s New Hollywood feel to it, like Taxi Driver or Midnight Cowboy. That poster sums that up brilliantly.
Today, Big Fan comes out on DVD (though not, inexplicably, on Blu-Ray... but that's another thing altogether).
Here is the cover of that DVD:
What the fuck is this? Some kind of Disney film, Angels in the Outfield IV: Football Fans Edition? People renting this movie are going to be suckerpunched into watching a movie equal parts awkwardly amusing and terrifyingly pathetic, and my hunch is most will think it weird or outright bad. Not because they wouldn't like it if they saw it fresh, but because they'll go in expecting uplifting adventures possibly involving a talking dog. It's like if you pick up a glass and take a drink, and you thought it was Pepsi, but it's Milk instead. Even if you like milk, the cognitive dissonance between expectation and experience is so great you almost vomit. (True story: I did that once. Scarring.)
I guess I can applaud a studio's attempt to trick a bunch of football dudes into enjoying an art film, but I actually suspect they might enjoy it without being tricked if you just sold them what it is: an intense but palatable depiction of a fan so hardcore you don't know if you should laugh or cry.
Or, you could tell everyone it's the one about the kid with the heart of gold who fights past the odds to finally get off that bench and score the winning goal. Once they've bought (or rented) it, the studio has gotten what it wanted, right? No refunds.
It's a little dark, but a little silly. It's about aggressive football fans, and it's psychological, and it's gritty and a little on the rough-edges low-budget side. As I've said before and many smarter people have said before me, it's got a 70s New Hollywood feel to it, like Taxi Driver or Midnight Cowboy. That poster sums that up brilliantly.
Today, Big Fan comes out on DVD (though not, inexplicably, on Blu-Ray... but that's another thing altogether).
Here is the cover of that DVD:
What the fuck is this? Some kind of Disney film, Angels in the Outfield IV: Football Fans Edition? People renting this movie are going to be suckerpunched into watching a movie equal parts awkwardly amusing and terrifyingly pathetic, and my hunch is most will think it weird or outright bad. Not because they wouldn't like it if they saw it fresh, but because they'll go in expecting uplifting adventures possibly involving a talking dog. It's like if you pick up a glass and take a drink, and you thought it was Pepsi, but it's Milk instead. Even if you like milk, the cognitive dissonance between expectation and experience is so great you almost vomit. (True story: I did that once. Scarring.)
I guess I can applaud a studio's attempt to trick a bunch of football dudes into enjoying an art film, but I actually suspect they might enjoy it without being tricked if you just sold them what it is: an intense but palatable depiction of a fan so hardcore you don't know if you should laugh or cry.
Or, you could tell everyone it's the one about the kid with the heart of gold who fights past the odds to finally get off that bench and score the winning goal. Once they've bought (or rented) it, the studio has gotten what it wanted, right? No refunds.