I like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love, Actually. Fuck you. They’re good. Not classics, but they work. And they feature absolutely delightful performances. Sure, Richard Curtis isn’t making films that tear open the envelope, but he can really work with actors. There’s a special pleasure in that.
Which is why I’ve been excited about The Boat That Rocked. Philip Seymour Hoffman! Nick Frost! Bill Nighy! Rhys Ifan and Darby! Jack Davenport as a guy named Twatt! Kenneth Branagh as the bad guy! What a cast. And in the hands of Richard Curtis, sure to deliver those aforementioned delightful performances.
You can just see them sticking out at the edges of the hackneyed, shitty trailer for the movie. New Trailer Voice Guy (the old one died) immediately sucks any interest from this thing, and then the trailer goes on to seemingly outline every beat in the movie. I’m sure I’ll like this movie a lot (hell, if only for the soundtrack), but this trailer makes me almost dread seeing it.
Click here to see the at best mediocre trailer for The Boat That Rocked.