Generic Movie Trailer

Both Jim Emerson and Jonathan Gray have mentioned the extremely funny “Generic Movie Trailer,” which parodies conventions from Oscar-bait movies.  The parody works, in part, because the dialogue is reduced to paint by numbers plot terms, but it’s also fun to identify the films the fake trailer is referencing, such as Good Will Hunting, Rain Man, and Dangerous Minds (or any number of teacher-as-hero films).

But as Emerson suggests, it’s also predicated upon the recognition that so many of these films seem to play it safe rather than taking creative (or marketing) risks.