8 Devious Ways Movie Posters Trick You Into Seeing Terrible Films
7. They Make Bold Claims With No Source
If a distributor can't find a pre-release article that gives you a positive view on your film in ten words or fewer, things can get desperate. Or rather, more creative. Few people actually check the validity of claims made on the posters or DVD covers, so why don't they say whatever the hell you want?
This is what allowed the first Grown Ups DVD to ship with five stars and "laugh out loud comedy!" plastered on the back. There were no references for this rating or claim, suggesting Columbia (who we'll see later have done much more devious things in the past) have just plucked them out of thin air.
This isn't just reserved for the critically despised sub-genre of gross-out comedy either. It's a common little trick for an uncredited five star rating to be whacked directly below a genuine quote; it looks like that same critic gave a full score when they didn't. Heck, even Disney did this with the universally adored Frozen. In a trailer that came out a month before its Thanksgiving release the studio called it "the greatest animated Disney event since The Lion King". Now it may be true, but it's still very leading.