Preview: The Wackness (2008)

• Poster: B-; C; C

Review:

I haven't yet seen a trailer, which makes it very difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of this poster. Hopefully the film is appealing to Gen X audiences because it's unlikely that younger viewers will even recognize the cassette tape as much more than how Gen X viewed the 8 Track when the cassette became big.

Somewhere between my original post and the present, the poster for this film was changed. It is no longer tha cassette tape I complimented. Instead, it's a rather unexceptional poster with a graffiti title and the film's two cart "pushers". While the pushing symbolism doesn't get past me, I can't really conjure up much like otherwise for this new poster.

Other than looking a little more vibrant and a little more stylized, this newest poster is identical to the previous.

• Trailer: C-; C-; C+; C+

Review:

The preview is scattered and indistinguishable from any number of "stoner" flicks. A general audience isn't likely to see this trailer and say "I want to see that". It's more likely to confuse them, which isn't a terrific selling point. More details about the plot or giving the audience at least something to care about would serve it better.

This second trailer takes a completely different tack when presenting the film's premise. However, it doesn't succeed any more than the first trailer did. It's still a hopeless melange of scene that seem to have very little impact on the viewer.

Finally a trailer that is a little more fresh and inviting. It's still not the quality one would hope for (and usually never get), but at least the movie doesn't look exceptionally silly this time around.

The previous three trailers were listed as Teasers while this is listed as a Trailer. Why they even needed the distinction is entirely irrelevant as much of what was shown in those teasers is now present in this first full trailer and I can't say they've added anything more interesting.

Oscar Prospects:

I don't know what the film is about, but Ben Kingsley's appeared in a number of Oscar contenders. However, he's also been in quite a few duds. The style of the poster suggests something light-hearted and unladen, so it probably won't be up Oscar's alley.

Release Date:

• July 3, 2008

Full Review Synopsis:

I have not seen this film.

-Wesley Lovell (February 24, 2008) Original

-Wesley Lovell (March 23, 2008) New Release Date (changed from TBD)

-Wesley Lovell (April 20, 2008) New Trailer

-Wesley Lovell (May 11, 2008) New Trailer

-Wesley Lovell (May 18, 2008) New Trailer; Poster Change

-Wesley Lovell (June 15, 2008) New Trailer

-Wesley Lovell (July 6, 2008) New Poster