Summer Movies: Getting Away (to the Familiar)

So far, 2009 has proven that people are still … going … to the movies … a lot.

We’ve all heard the explanations – movies are recession-proof, offer escapism, are an affordable alternative to expensive family trips … blah blah. All of this is fairly obvious and explains why people are still spending at the box office, even with the increasingly awesome options to watch things at home … at some point you DO want to leave your house to do stuff.  

But only some stuff.  People are of course, getting more selective about what is worth the $10+ at the theater. So what still works?

familiar franchise + family friendly + action/adventure is of course a pretty good combo … or else, a bunch of dudes doing dumb (albeit, funny) shit.

This bodes well for the summer even though (or rather, because) the lineup is mostly more of the same old thing.  Action: X-Men, Star Trek, Transformers, Terminator; Kid-friendly: Night at the Museum, Ice Age, Harry Potter, Pixar’s UP (in 3D); Even the good ol’ bro movies are familiar: Judd Apatow gives us TWO this summer to fulfill that Michael Cera/Seth Rogen craving that we all apparently have now?  Bottom line: people will spend money this summer to “get away” to stuff they’ve already seen before. Low risk = good.

But aside from Public Enemies – (side note: Depression-era, clean-shaven Johnny Depp taking down banks is also a winning formula today IMHO) there is one little movie that (while it won’t be huge at the box office) has me excited: Sam Mendes’ Away We Go from Focus Features with Jack Krasinski and Maya Rudolph follows an expecting, broke, early 30-something couple as they try to figure out how to grow up.  

Escape? Not so much … maybe just a little too familiar.

 

See what I told Meredith Goad at the Portland Press Herald.