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« The legacy of The Little Mermaid, 25 years later | Main | Beauty vs Beast: I'm Not That Innocence »
Monday
Nov172014

New Trailer: 50 Shades of... Prada?

Manuel here offering an off-beat theory on that new 50 Shades of Gray trailer.

The worldwide phenomena got a Beyoncé-scored trailer that debuted during last week's Scandal which suggests the marketing team at least know who they're courting. "Haunted" really is a great trailer song & when paired with (intentionally?) campy dialogue like

My tastes are very... singular.
Enlighten me then...

it makes for quite the breathy, pulpy trailer, but am I the only one noticing that this trailer makes the film look like an oddly humorless gender-bending fan-fiction of The Devil Wears Prada?

Between the Runway-looking office reception, Jamie Dornan's teased "gird your loins" entrance, and Dakota Johnson's Andy Sachs-esque outfit, I half-expected Dornan's Gray to give us a sibilant monologue on cerulean fabrics. Alas, despite its gorgeous London skyline shots and a "getting ready to meet Mr Gray" setup scene that might as well be scored to KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See," this trailer doesn't seem to be aiming for the fun and flirty sensibility of that other best-selling novel adaptation. So many moody shots seem right at home in a horror flick (is he stalking her at a... hardware store?) suggest this film will try to battle its sudsy image by wearing a self-serious smoldering scowl. To be fair, Dornan wears those well (anyone else watch The Fall?) and despite an odd accent and a lack of his usually gorgeous facial hair, his Gray is sure to be the most ogled male film lead since the Magic Mike boys dropped trou. Of course, now I'll just keep imagining what Gray would've been in the hands of Streep; might that have netted her her fourth Oscar? I kid, though it does seem odd that this trailer would so openly (if unconsciously) crib images from that 2006 flick, or am I just imagining things?

Check out the full trailer below and tell me you weren't sad when there were no Emily Blunt or Stanley Tucci one-liners to buffer the self-seriousness of it all:

Enlighten me readers, does this new trailer whet your apetite enough to buy a ticket? Are these just words you're scrolling through in hopes I saved a shirtless Dornan shot at the end of the post?

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Reader Comments (12)

I hope this is a "so bad it's good" and not just a mediocre film. So many of those shots look to have been cribbed from other works--the glider from Thomas Crown (including bad CGI), the hoodie run from The Fall, the sheet walk from George Michael's Faith......with a serious gloss of Mickey Rourke/Kim Basinger in Nine 1/2 Weeks thrown in down to the micro managed closet. Even the beauty shots of London look like Skyfall. Our directress is showing her developmental age. I didn't read the book......is this lifted from source material or added? I do wish Charlie Hunnam was playing Gray. He is so much more interesting to watch.

November 17, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterHenry

It looks like very slick soft core porn.

November 17, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJaragon

Christian bursting into a monologue about cerulean would be utterly delightful.

I feel as if i'm totally going to end up seeing this in the theater because i'm just curious as to how it turns out. I haven't touched the book nor intend to but my interest is oddly piqued.

Maybe because I was totally on board with that **killer** version of Beyonce's Crazy in Love from the first trailer.

November 17, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterDerreck.

What Derreck. said.

November 17, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterArkaan

My interest in the film really only goes as far as wondering when they will release the incredibly Beyonce remix of Crazy in Love on iTunes. Personally, I didn't notice any comparisons to Devil - they strike me as just two examples of extreme efforts to situate the office-space as "glamorous."

*Also the skyline shots are supposed to be of Seattle, not London, right? Don't they show the Space Needle at some point?

November 17, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterTom

Hadn't remotely thought of this but I see your point! Jamie Dornan could only dream of giving a performance as good as Streep's Miranda Priestly though.

November 17, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJoe

I love how the poster is sneakily replacing his dick with the necktie.

I will be there on opening night (Valentine's Day, right?) with a bottle of wine smuggled in under my jacket and friends on either side, just like I did this year with WINTER'S TALE!

November 17, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterGlenn

All right-not to sound like a perv, but what is the point of this movie if Dornan doesn't go full frontal when clearly Johnson will? #doublestandard

November 17, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJohn T

I have no clue as to what the quality of this film might be, but the marketing team CLEARLY knows what they're doing. I don't think they've put a foot wrong yet - despite the laughter that ALWAYS comes whenever this trailer plays in theaters. I don't care, though - I am THERE on Valentine's Day, along with a few friends who have read and loved the book. And by "loved" I mean thought it was both hilariously awful AND pretty hot at points.

November 17, 2014 | Unregistered Commenterdenny

I have no clue as to what the quality of this film might be, but the marketing team CLEARLY knows what they're doing. I don't think they've put a foot wrong yet - despite the laughter that ALWAYS comes whenever this trailer plays in theaters. I don't care, though - I am THERE on Valentine's Day, along with a few friends who have read and loved the book. And by "loved" I mean thought it was both hilariously awful AND pretty hot at points.

November 17, 2014 | Unregistered Commenterdenny

Literally the only thing that could get me to even consider seeing this garbage would be the promise of droll one liners from Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt.


Honestly, pretty much every movie would be better with their commentary.

November 18, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJonny

nicw

January 18, 2018 | Unregistered Commenterpriya
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