I usually catch every movie by Sunday of opening weekend, sometimes even twice. (“Superbad” was so worth it.) Unfortunately, this year I missed out on some of the summer’s biggest films such as “Rush Hour 3″ and “The Simpsons Movie.” So the times I did end up in a crowded, air-conditioned theater, I made sure I got the most out of my overpriced movie ticket, because unlike my parents’ personal beliefs, I feel summer movies can be entertaining AND educational ““ and I’m not just talking about “Sicko.”
For instance, I learned sometimes it is really better (and cheaper) to just read the book (“The Nanny Diaries”). I remembered why Angelina Jolie is on the cover of every tabloid: “A Mighty Heart” was a box office bomb but an acting triumph. I even retaught myself the Ten Commandments (“The Ten”). And from checking box office reports late Sunday afternoons, I learned about the importance of money in the future of films. But here are the three most valuable lessons I learned at the cinema this summer. Movie studios, take note.
1)”If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is not just your parents’ worn out cliche. This was the summer of “threequels.” Moviegoers crowded multiplexes from May to August for “Spider-Man 3,” “Shrek the Third,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Rush Hour 3,” “The Bourne Ultimatum” and more, but the number three was not always lucky. The distinction between the good (“The Bourne Ultimatum”), the bad (“Spider-Man 3″) and the ugly (“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”) was keeping a strong balance between the old and the new. While “Bourne” brought Jason Bourne’s identity search to the United States for the first time and made an effort to attract and welcome franchise newcomers, it also kept the same high energy as previous installments and continued to let the fights and chase sequences, rather than the dialogue, do most of the talking.
“Spider-Man 3,” on the other hand, tried to liven things up with three major new characters but spent too much time on new kids on the block Sandman and Venom rather than developing franchise old-timers like Mary Jane. Worst of all was “Pirates'” complete shift from catty fun to complete catastrophe. The first “Pirates” was a simple, light-hearted comedy with filmmakers making the most of a movie many thought was sure to be a box office bomb. The third “Pirates,” however, was an action film with a few good one-liners desperate to live up to its name, no matter what the damage.
2) At the end of the day, it’s so not about the hype. This summer, big names and expensive hype couldn’t hold a candle to the power of word of mouth ““ make that good word of mouth. Just last weekend, “The Invasion,” starring an Oscar winner (Nicole Kidman) and the new James Bond (Daniel Craig) went up against some movie about high school kids trying to score at a party. “Superbad” took in $33 million and “Invasion” took in $6 million. “Invasion” relied too heavily on name recognition rather than story line and got the most press from its year delay and expensive reshoots. Not all press is good press after all.
The same problem hit “Evan Almighty” ““ hard. The film received hoards of bad buzz from a soaring budget and it relied on “Bruce Almighty” fans to automatically head to the theater for a sequel with a starkly different premise.
“Superbad,” on the other hand, bet heavily on a “˜red band’ trailer that was only offered online for the first part of the summer and featured two actors known only for past supporting roles and one complete newcomer. “Superbad’s” hilarious trailer as well as great word of mouth from a large number of preview screenings helped make it king of the late summer surge.
3) Remakes are movies too. Whether adopted from a hit cartoon television show or taken from an ’80s cult film turned hit Broadway musical, summer 2007 proved not all redos have to be on the level of “Dukes of Hazzard” or “The Brady Bunch Movie.”
“Transformers” featured few big names ““ minus Indiana Jones Jr., Shia LaBeouf ““ but did its animated parent justice by sticking close to the original but with bigger action and a modern story line. “Hairspray” featured a cast mixed with up-and-comers, such as Zac Efron, and almost-has-beens, such as John Travolta, but stuck close to the Broadway musical, featuring only a couple of new songs. In the end, what is old can be new again, if it’s done right.
If you actually enjoyed “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” e-mail Stanhope at
kstanhope@media.ucla.edu.