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Downsizing may be the most deceptively marketed movie ever

Compbros

Compbros

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,690
These are the two trailers for Downsizing






It makes it seem like the movie is a fun romantic comedy romp about a guy rediscovering himself after his wife bails on him while seeing the World in a whole new light because he's little. The movie is actually about global warming/climate change, classism, immigration, social issues, and an excuse to show as many naked people as possible (I swear they had to get paid by the penis). It's a really, really depressing movie and its marketing gives you none of that.

The only other time I've seen marketing as incorrect tonally as this was the Batman Begins trailer that was coupled with a Nickleback song and played up the romance like it was some love story. But it least that movie had an actual love angle while this movie has little in the way of comedy/wonder.
 
Birdie

Birdie

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
26,289
No way, Bicentennial Man takes the cake.

I remember all the trailers played up a silly "U-G-L-Y!" scene that wasn't in the movie, and it was morbidly depressing since it dealt with the inevitability of death.

Monster House is probably also up there for being marketed as a silly kid's movie but ending up being a pretty off-beat and dark film.
 
Protome

Protome

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,796
Colossal being marketed as a light hearted Comedy was a really weird one relatively recently too.

Honestly, I wasn't interested in Downsizing but the movie you described sounds way better than the one advertised so I may go see it.
 
Speevy

Speevy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,423
The twist is that everyone else has grown so big that they're going to die.
 
99Luffy

99Luffy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,344
Goon with sean william scott looks like stiffler playing hockey in the trailers. Its actually a some what serious and even depressng movie.
 
OP
OP
Compbros

Compbros

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,690
Birdie said:
No way, Bicentennial Man takes the cake.

I remember all the trailers played up a silly "U-G-L-Y!" scene that wasn't in the movie, and it was morbidly depressing since it dealt with the inevitability of death.

Monster House is probably also up there for being marketed as a silly kid's movie but ending up being a pretty off-beat and dark film.
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Never saw the marketing for Bicentennia Man.

BR2049 said:
Click. Adam Sandler " comedy"
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I think Downsizing is worse.
 
Squarehard

Squarehard

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,155
Birdie said:
No way, Bicentennial Man takes the cake.

I remember all the trailers played up a silly "U-G-L-Y!" scene that wasn't in the movie, and it was morbidly depressing since it dealt with the inevitability of death.

Monster House is probably also up there for being marketed as a silly kid's movie but ending up being a pretty off-beat and dark film.
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Haha, so true.

I remember watching the commercial for it way back when, and I was like, oh, they're playing "We Like To Party!" and it has Robin Williams, so it must be a comedy.

Boy was I wrong...
compbros said:
Never saw the marketing for Bicentennia Man.

I think Downsizing is worse.
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shaneo632

shaneo632

Weekend Planner
Member
Oct 29, 2017
29,095
Wrexham, Wales
The film becomes an absolute trainwreck when Hong Chau shows up. No idea why she's getting awards attention for an incredibly grating character.
 
OP
OP
Compbros

Compbros

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,690
shaneo632 said:
The film becomes an absolute trainwreck when Hong Chau shows up. No idea why she's getting awards attention for an incredibly grating character.
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That scene with her talking about Norway was actually pretty amazing. It's just one take with a slow pan and she gets more emotional as it goes. Everything else with her, feh.
 
andrew

andrew

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,906
Bicentennial Man was def the first time I encountered this. I was under 10 and loved Robin Williams for Flubber, Patch Adams, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji. I remember renting it and being thrown off at first...and then kinda loving how the movie was nothing that I expected and watching it again.
 
shintoki

shintoki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,251
Remember that home invasion thriller with JLaw that was actually a big biblical story instead, Yeah, that one!
 
Ridley327

Ridley327

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,545
Georgia (the state, not the country)
HypedBeast said:
It Comes at Night
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The trailer paints it as perhaps a bit more of an action-packed film than it actually is, but it doesn't misrepresent the film to any egregious manner. It's selling a moody survivalist horror film with paranoia elements and the film is... a moody survivalist horror film with paranoia elements.

The way some people go about the trailer for this film, you'd think they tried to make it look like Friday the 13th.
 
Zubz

Zubz

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,565
no
I still hasn't gotten over Kangaroo Jack's advertising selling Young Zubz a movie about a talking kangaroo, & giving him a stoner comedy about 2 friends smuggling money earned in a heist across the outback that just happened to have a 2 minute hallucination sequence where the kangaroo talked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWWH7Z4f9xM
 
okayfrog

okayfrog

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,968
I saw the initial trailer for this and thought it might be some light fun. Then I saw the second trailer that hinted that there's more to the world than one would be led to believe, and it kinda got me a bit less interested in the film.
 
Pirateluigi

Pirateluigi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,932
My favorite was the Sweeny Todd trailer that did everything it could to hide the fact that it's a musical.
 
Mona

Mona

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
26,151
Well that stinks, I wanted to see the movie that was in the trailers
 
BDS

BDS

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
13,845
The Last Airbender was marketed as an adaptation of a beloved animated series, but was actually a 90 minute snuff film that should be banned under the Geneva convention.
 
Kirblar

Kirblar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
30,744
Ridley327 said:
The trailer paints it as perhaps a bit more of an action-packed film than it actually is, but it doesn't misrepresent the film to any egregious manner. It's selling a moody survivalist horror film with paranoia elements and the film is... a moody survivalist horror film with paranoia elements.

The way some people go about the trailer for this film, you'd think they tried to make it look like Friday the 13th.
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They did try to make it look like Friday the 13th. They marketed it as straight up horror when the actual movie wasn't.
 
OP
OP
Compbros

Compbros

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,690
Zubz said:
I still hasn't gotten over Kangaroo Jack's advertising selling Young Zubz a movie about a talking kangaroo, & giving him a stoner comedy about 2 friends smuggling money earned in a heist across the outback that just happened to have a 2 minute hallucination sequence where the kangaroo talked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWWH7Z4f9xM
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OOOOOOH, I forgot about this. My brother is STILL pissed about this movie.
 
FireSafetyBear

FireSafetyBear

Banned for use of an alt-account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,248
I find it funny reading all the conservative snowflake reviews like "blah blah propaganda"

Made me wanna buy a ticket everyday
 

The Llama

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,026
Haven't seen Downsizing so can't comment on that, but LMAOOOOOOOO @ the Bicentennial Man and Batman Begins trailers. Wow...
 
Munti

Munti

Member
Oct 26, 2017
895
The marketing of The Bridge to Terabithia was also quite misleading.



Was fortunately another kind of movie (a drama), and not a teeny-fantasy movie. But I don't understand why marketing people try to get people that are interested to watch a particular genre to watch a movie that is secretively a different genre.
 
Zubz

Zubz

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,565
no
FireSafetyBear said:
I find it funny reading all the conservative snowflake reviews like "blah blah propaganda"

Made me wanna buy a ticket everyday
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You know, if it's approaching these subjects in a way that upsets conservatives, I'm kinda curious now, too. I wrote it off as an uninteresting romcom from the commercials & thought the only good thing about it was reminding me of how much I love Talking Heads, but between learning it has really misleading advertising & it upsetting conservatives, I'm much more interested.
 
Typhon

Typhon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,167
It sounds like such a ridiculous movie. At that size literally anything could kill you. Why not use this tech to shrink pollution and waste, not people?
 
FireSafetyBear

FireSafetyBear

Banned for use of an alt-account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,248
Zubz said:
You know, if it's approaching these subjects in a way that upsets conservatives, I'm kinda curious now, too. I wrote it off as an uninteresting romcom from the commercials & thought the only good thing about it was reminding me of how much I love Talking Heads, but between learning it has really misleading advertising & it upsetting conservatives, I'm much more interested.
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Read the Fandango reviews, they're pretty funny
 
SABO.

SABO.

Member
Nov 6, 2017
5,872
Aww that sucks. I was hoping to watch it as a pick me up today but not really keen on deeper social commentary.

shintoki said:
Remember that home invasion thriller with JLaw that was actually a big biblical story instead, Yeah, that one!
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I don't think I'll ever forget that movie. First ever movie I felt I wouldn't be able to get through but the film itself didn't allow me to get up and leave.

Typhon said:
It sounds like such a ridiculous movie. At that size literally anything could kill you. Why not use this tech to shrink pollution and waste, not people?
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Well shrinking people will result in shrinking pollution and waste. Its also a solution for overpopulation.
 
Alexander DeLarge

Alexander DeLarge

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,277
I had to convince my girlfriend that it wasn't a dumb romcom and was worth watching because I know Alexander Payne movies are never what they're marketed to be.

Keep in mind he made this
 
ThereAreFourNaan

ThereAreFourNaan

Member
Nov 8, 2017
13,283
I don't know if it was the most deceptive, but Jarhead was pushed as an action movie which it really was not at all.
 
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