Move Trailer Anticipation Disorder

I have a problem. I watch a movie trailer and immediately convince myself that I have found my new favorite movie. I have been known to tear up and get goosebumps during those contrived 2 minutes. I immediately obsess over when I'll get to see this movie. I check youtube for new trailers. I watch the previews over and over again. When I tell a friend I'm excited about the movie and she hasn't heard of it (because she's a normal person) I gasp and recite any clips of scenes word for word. Chances are I have already downloaded any good songs featured in the trailer. It's really shameful. It is Movie Trailer Anticipation Disorder (MTAD) and I've struggled with it for years.

Then, when at long last, I get to see the movie.... its not the masterpiece I had in my head. Yes this is whole point of a trailer... like Amanda Woods in "The Holiday," people are payed the big bucks to take an average movie and make everyone (or just me!) excited to see it. And I fall for it every time.

I was obsessed with the Sex and the City movie trailer from the time it leaked on Jezebel in winter 2008 until I finally saw the movie in April of 2008. Fortunately for my sanity, the movie was "just fabulous" (as Carrie would say) and did not disappoint.

This only makes MTAD worse when a movie like "The Time Traveler's Wife," based on one of my all time favorite books and starring one of my all time favorite actresses and prefaced by one of the most magical trailers.... comes up short.

However... I will not give up! I have been dying to see "Crazy, Stupid, Love" since the second I saw this amazing trailer. I told my boyfriend I would wait until he got back in town and we are finally seeing it tonight! And so another cycle of MTAD begins...

Friends with Benefits review

A few rules about movie reviews.

1. They are just my opinion. And I'm not very picky.

2. I will not give away the plot of the movie. Nothing annoys me more than reading the critic's reviews, then seeing the movie and anticipating every scene because I already read about it.

3. I'm giving letter grades because that works for me. There will be no grading curve.

I was so excited to see Friends with Benefits. The trailer looked hilarious and most importantly, Justin Randall Timberlake is my all time favorite celebrity crush. I can't say I was completely blown away by his work in The Social Network, although he is always adorably humorous on SNL. Regardless, JT in his first rom com was something I was not going to miss!

I saw FWB the weekend it came out with my friend Lauren. It was , as I tweeted Justin afterwards, "funny, sexy, and smart!" (He didn't tweet back.) Justin and Mila have real chemistry as Dylan and Jamie- friends who get it on and try to stay drama free. The movie is very "now" and I know I'll enjoy watching it in a few years and remembering some of the pop culture references. "Friends with Benefits" is rated "R" for a reason- we definitely get a view of the benefits! (aka Justin's cute butt)

Most of all, I loved the character development of Dylan and Jamie. Yes, we get to watch some hilarious and at times swoon-worthy love scenes, but there is a legitimate storyline that encourages you to root for them. As my mom said when she called me to discuss the movie "there was a lot more meat to it than I expected!" Thats what she said mom, thats what she said.

Friends with Benefits, rated "R", romantic comedy, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. B

Hello.

"Wow, you see a lot of movies."

People say this to me (and sometimes my boyfriend) all.the.time. And it's true! I love going to the movies. I love the anticipation of waiting in line to buy your tickets. I love the warm buttery, often slightly burnt smell of big, greasy tubs of popcorn. I love sitting down just as the previews start and whispering an immediate judgement on every trailer along with the rest of the theater. "Omg that looks hilarious!!" "Ohh I read that book- did you read the book? You HAVE to read the book!" "Seriously? Who would ever go see that?"

But most of all, I love the moment right before the movie starts. The lights dim, I take a deep breath, and I anticipate the journey I am about to go on. That moment, right before the opening credits, I think "this could be a GREAT movie."

You know what? A lot of times its not a great movie. Its not even a good movie. And although I am the eternal (maybe pathetic) movie optimist who will continue to buy tickets and occasionally be pleased, most people I know are not so forgiving. They will go the movies (or rent a DVD) only if someone has told them to. And thats where I come in.

I love movies that entertain me, make me laugh, make me cry, or make forget I am in a movie theater on a Sunday afternoon. I should confess... or really proclaim proudly... that I LOVE chick flicks. Romantic comedies, tearjerkers, chick flicks can get a bad rap but they are fun, they are entertaining, and they are a great escape. This goes for non chick flicks- raunchy comedies, action and suspense thrillers... these movies will not win academy awards. But thats not what I (or you) want in a $20 date night or a DVD on the couch. I've always been frustrated that movie critics will give chick flicks eternally average (many times bad) reviews despite their differences. I'll admit it.. some are terrible. Did anyone see Killers with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigel? Perhaps the dumbest movie of all time. What about The Notebook with Rachel McAdams and NoahCalhoun, err.. Ryan Gosling? Perhaps one of the greatest chick flicks of all time. Did you know they got similar reviews from some of the top newspaper film critics? This tells me chick flicks deserve more love and affection. And how I am willing to give it to them! Especially if it somehow involves Ryan Gosling.

I think Oprah once said "take your own gifts and use them in service to others." That was terribly paraphrased and might not even be Oprah. But the point is, I love movies. I watch movies all the time. And selfishly (aren't all blogs?) I want to write about them for my own personal enjoyment. As Amy Adams says in "Julie and Julia ".. "I could write a blog! I have thoughts!" But I hope, if anyone reads this...I know my friends might read it... once... that people can benefit from my movie reviews, recommendations, ramblings.

I am not a writer. I am not an expert on making movies. I am not film critic. I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her. Wait, thats Julia Roberts in Notting Hill? See what I mean about romantic movies? Anyways, I'm Chick Flick Chic.