Lame Trailer Clichés: 8 Things You'll Always See In Rom-Com Trailers

Ah, romantic comedies. When did we last see a good one? Well, if you did, chances are they weren't made for Hollywood's sake or they were made years ago. I think the question that we really need to be asking is when was the last time you saw a trailer for a romantic comedy and thought "YES. I'm going to see that because it looks so original." Yeah...didn't think so. That's because romantic comedy trailers employ the same techniques. Here are the main five:

1. "Meet this person in this glorious freeze frame."

The ironic thing about this freeze frame introducing us to Stephanie Plum, Katherine Heigl's latest 'heroine' from One for the Money, is that her facial expression is pretty much how I looked through the entire movie. Foreshadowing, perhaps? Oh One for the Money, you really are too good.

2. Annoying narration telling us what's the haps when we could probably figure it out ourselves. 

Not only do we get a freeze frame of Kristen Bell, she has to tell us that she's wearing a headset. Then she precedes to tell us every single little detail of the trailer. Wow, those trailer makers really think that we're dumb.

3. Annoying pop songs. 

This one has already been covered by moi. But seriously, when have you ever seen a romantic comedy trailer without a pop song in it? It is only a matter of time before we get a trailer set to 'Call Me Maybe'.

4. The line-up of actors. 

This may seem like a basic trailer cliché from any genre, but it really isn't. Romantic comedies somehow get the biggest names, and that's why they keep hoarding in money. However, you don't see films with great casts like Inception or Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy dedicating a slice of their trailer just to adorn their stars in their own ego by boasting their names from the treetops. And that's how people like Sarah Jessica Parker continue to be famous.

5. Things you won't see in the movie. 

This will really only make sense if you've actually seen the film, but some of the best jokes NEVER make it into the film. I mean, this trailer for Valentine's Day is pretty much comprised off stuff that never actually happened in the film. That's false advertising.

6. The film laughs at it's own jokes. 

Here's Chris Pine having a good old laugh at the end of This Means War's trailer. He's supposedly laughing at Tom Hardy getting shot where it hurts most with a paintball gun. Except, from what I can remember, he wasn't actually laughing at that at all. This is just a random shot of him guffawing and it is stuck in the trailer to make sure that the audience laughs. It is kind of like those people who stand with giant cards at shows that say "cry" or "laugh". I don't appreciate being told what to do.

7. That annoying sound that I don't know how to explain but it sort of sounds like cymbals or stuff simmering in a pot but it is annoying.

Just watch Something Borrowed's trailer (at your own peril) and you'll know what sound I'm talking about.

8. The entire movie. In two and a half minutes. 

I don't think any detail of the plot was spared in this trailer. But that's because most romantic comedies have about two and a half minutes worth of plot in them. 

What do you think? Do you know of any clichés in rom-com trailers that you just have to burst out?