From the writer of 'Lowered Expectations?!'.

One of the finest films I've seen this year (that no one went to see, for some reason) is Charlie Bartlett, which recently hit DVD. You’d never know it from seeing any ads on TV; if possible, this film is getting even less promotion than it did when it was released in theaters.

I’ve seen the DVD in stores and…well, I can’t help but notice a sticker on the packaging: 'with Iron Man’s Robert Downey, Jr.'. God forbid the studio (in this instance MGM, which has been shooting itself in the foot a lot lately) try to sell the film on its own merits. After all, you can just tell the audience, ‘hey, our movie’s pretty small, but it does feature the star of one of the biggest movies of the decade!’. Not a new thing, I know; check out (plucked off the top of my head) the DVD cover of Action Jackson and notice, in spite of her rather small role, how much space Sharon Stone takes up. Still, it’s somewhat annoying.

Still, this isn’t quite as annoying as a trend I’m seeing more and more of when it comes to film. Some people hate movie titles that read 'adverb Proper name' (e.g. Serving Sara, Finding Amanda). Some people detest scenes in romantic comedies where the characters lip-sync to some old song. And still others loathe the cliché of a character going through some trial to be a better parent to their children. All of these are annoying to a certain degree, but I’m talking about when posters and trailers use the old 'from the people/makers/studio/director of'.

Again, this comes down to studios taking the quick fix when it comes to selling their product. The DVD cover and poster of Jumper list it as coming 'from the director of The Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith'. The film, while fitfully entertaining, is certainly less than the sum of its parts, and this, in my view, doesn’t so much say, 'hey, you loved those films, so you’ll certainly love this one' as it does, 'why the hell are you watching this when you could be watching these movies which - trust us - are better.'.

And then there’s the Ryan Reynolds romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe, which apparently comes 'from the makers of Bridget Jones' Diary and Love Actually'. Wow, Richard Curtis is doing this movie? Weird that he’d be making a rom-com stateside...and with Van Wilder, of all people. Way to branch out, Rico! Oh, wait, no. Mr. Curtis has nothing to do with this film. The common link, as it turns out, is Working Title Films. I guess 'from the incredibly prolific* production company that brought you Bridget Jones’ Diary and Love Actually' wouldn’t fit on a poster with the pictures of the stars. Truth in advertising is important.

And how come other collaborators get short shrift? I’m sure that someone thinking about seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would’ve loved to know that it came 'from the production designer of The Terminal'. And who wouldn’t have loved to have heard 'from the cinematographer of Halloween' in the trailer of Back to the Future? How about 'from the composer of The Incredibles' in the trailer of Speed Racer? I guarantee you that that movie would’ve made more money than God. (In a very rare case, the cult-hit-waiting-to-happen Black Sheep mentioned its effects studio in the trailer, Weta Digital, as well as the fact that they did the Lord of the Rings trilogy.)

Sometimes, this does work; the underrated Street Kings pushed itself as being 'directed by the writer of Training Day'...and, really, with its story of corrupt cops in Los Angeles, it seems appropriate. Also appropriate (albeit for the wrong reasons) was the trailer for The Lizzie McGuire Movie. It came 'from the studio that brought you The Princess Diaries' (as per the trailer) which featured the eponymous heroine falling down, much like the royal to be in the trailer of the earlier box-office hit.

Maybe if studios made films that could stand on their own, you know, like they ought to be doing, they could avoid this trend.

* - These guys have also done Fargo, Smokin’ Aces and both of Edgar Wright’s films. Wow!