This Week's "Are You Freaking Serious" Moment

Some buddies and I went to see the new Will Ferrell basketball comedy "Semi Pro" tonight. A decidedly "ho-hum" response will be covered in my review before too long. That is, however, beside the point. One of my favorite things about going to the theater is the previews. I don't really know why exactly but I've always been a big fan of these and I get legitmately excited about what trailers will be shown. Usually, the previews will fall into one of two categories: movies that are similar in style and taste to the one you've paid the price of admission for, or a major film from the studio releasing the film you're about to see. Tonight, however, was different.

After a couple of generic, funny movie previews, I was confronted with what may be the most mismatched trailer I have ever seen. Sandwiched between the preview of "Harold and Kumar 2" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," (two movies that fit the demo of "Semi Pro") was none other than the trailer for the upcoming "Sex and the City" movie. I am not joking. "Sex and the City."

First of all, the movie looks to be about as bad as any movie of the last 10 years. While the TV show demonstrated some calculated wit during its run, the movie seemed mindless and inane, if the 3 minute clips are any judge (and they probably are). But more to the point. This has got to be just about the biggest waste of money EVER in the history of film marketing. The targeted demographic for "Sex and the City" is 17 to 45 year old females and the audience for your average "Sex and the City" theater is going to be 98% women. The audience for "Semi Pro" has got to be made up of at least 80% males between the ages of 17 and 28. When this preview played, there was a collective groan from the audience. No straight guy in his late teens to early 30s wants to see the freaking trailer for "Sex and the City," let alone the whole dang movie. Following this preview made "Harold and Kumar" seem almost watchable, a genius move by the studio in charge of that piece of crap. What's amazing about this is that someone somewhere sitting behind a desk actually approved this move. The idea of showing the "Sex and the City" trailer during a screening of "Semi Pro" was brought up and some suit thought, "Ya know, that DOES sound like a good idea! Run it!" Just another example of why I should be running a Hollywood studio instead of the knuckleheads in charge right now.