A Plea for Red Band Trailers in Theaters: New "Observe and Report" Trailer Would Be Nothing Without Its F-Bombs

By: Adam Quigley Posted: February 7, 2009 Filed under: Trailers

With the recent resurgence of R-rated comedies, it's becoming more and more clear that the only way these films can continue to thrive with their target audience is if they're allowed to be seen as they actually are, with their red band trailers left intact. The newly released red band trailer for Seth Rogen's new film Observe and Report (directed by Jody Hill, of The Foot Fist Way previously) is a prime example of this.

I watch this trailer and I think to myself, "This is perfect. This is the trailer with which the film should be marketed."

This isn't the first time I've felt this way though. I remember thinking the same thing about the red band trailer for Pineapple Express. And the red band trailer for Zack and Miri Make a Porno. And the red band trailer for Knocked Up. And the red band trailer for Walk Hard. And the red band trailer for Role Models. And the red band trailer for I Love You, Man. The list goes on.

But sadly, the reality of the situation is that (outside of the internet) all of these films are being sold to audiences through their decidely more family-friendly green band trailers. Why should this be considered a big deal? Because they're misleading, motherfuckers!

There's a major difference between R-rated comedies and PG-13 ones, but that line is blurred completely when it comes to the trailers we see in theaters. Other genres don't suffer from this problem, because generally, movies are marketed around having (in addition to a big-name star) an intriguing story/premise. Comedies though, are marketed almost entirely around how many times they can make you laugh over the course of two and half minutes. And therein lies the problem: once you take out all the R-rated material from these films, you're left with a bunch of minor jokes and gags that just aren't all that funny. Nor are they remotely indicative of the films' style or tone.

If I didn't know any better, I would've been convinced that Role Models and I Love You, Man were nothing more than blasé PG-13 fluff. And I still to this day believe that the only reason Walk Hard bombed at the box office is because of how lame the green band trailer made the film look.

No such confusion is likely to occur with the above red band trailer for Observe and Report. Over the course of its three-minute running time alone, I counted at least 14 instances of jokes containing material that will most assuredly not make its way into the green band version. That's out of a total of about 20 jokes, give or take a couple brief sight gags. Can you imagine how much of the film's humor is going to be lost when they're forced to cut out all of the R-rated content? I'm actually pretty eager to see the green band trailer solely for that fact, but much less eager to see how severely it could end up affecting its box office intake.

With that, I offer my plea to major theater chains everywhere: please take a note from Regal Cinemas, and allow us to watch red band trailers when we go to see an R-rated film. It doesn't just benefit the audience, but you as well. After all, who out there could possibly resist the temptation to go see Observe and Report after hearing Seth Rogen as a mall security guard so confidently proclaim, "The world needs a fucking hero" while dramatic rock music plays in the background? You certainly won't find a ticket-seller like that in the green band trailer, that's for sure.