10 Movie Trailers That Pointlessly Spoiled Huge Details

3. George Beats His Illness - Funny People

Speak No Evil 2024
Universal

Judd Apatow's 2009 dramedy Funny People is about an actor-comedian, George Simmons (Adam Sandler), who is diagnosed with leukemia and must decide what to do with what remains of his life.

The first half of the movie's three-and-a-half minute (!) trailer does a great job of selling it as an emotional comedic drama, but at the midway point it pointlessly reveals that George's leukemia eventually goes into remission, in turn prompting him to live each new day to the fullest.

Given that George isn't given a clean bill of health until the end of the second act, it's odd to give this away in the marketing, almost as though Universal were nervous that selling the film as a full-on Disease Movie might hurt its box office prospects.

It didn't matter anyway, as Funny People was a massive box office bomb regardless, unaided by both its stonking $75 million budget and a brutal 146-minute runtime.

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.