Just a couple thoughts for movie reviewers.
One, when I see (words to the effect of) “just like blah-blah meets blah-blah” as in a collision of two other movies and neither one is a title I recognize, I instantly know this isn’t my type of movie. Or rather, I assume it isn’t my type of movie. Like the movie “LymeLife” which on the back of the DVD says “Ordinary People meets Little Miss Sunshine” and (say) I don’t know either of those movies… it leaves me wanting to just move on. You’ve wasted package real-estate with a statement that does not connect with me at all, when you might have said something specific about this movie.
This is a back-fire. You should not do that. Besides the risk of the viewer (of the DVD package) not recognizing what you are (maybe pretend and maybe for real) excited over, you are also demeaning this particular movie, by suggesting that it isn’t its own thing, can’t stand on its own.
Further, if this movie is a collision of those two movies and I have seen them, then I don’t need to see this one, do I?
Second, the label “hilarious” or “laugh out loud funny.” On a comedy. Well… yeah, and? It’s a comedy.
If you have to say this is “actually funny” then there is the suggestion that other so-called comedies are not funny(1). Beyond that, there is the further problem that this feels like pushing too hard, which in its own way further suggests this movie is also not actually funny.
Again, back-fire.
Thirdly, I am fed up to when (and beyond) with dramatic movies, serious stories and such being labelled comedies. Just because it has a well-known comic actor in it, or because one actor in there uses “comic timing” or because there are a moment or two where one does in fact laugh… none of these are sufficient to give an otherwise serious movie or serious story the primary label of comedy.
You can do better. You can be more precise and more accurate(2). Why do you think so many people distrust reports, reviews, commentary, news these days? Because you and your relatives (media reporters, journalists, etc) compel rather than convince, sway rather than inform, and exaggerate a million times a second.
Just some thoughts.
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(1) Well, in fact, most comedies really are not funny. A bare hand full of the overwhelming plethora of so-called comedies are in fact funny. Dang few. Most comedies are insulting, degrading and reinforcing of the worst elements of society, youth (physical, but mostly emotional youth) and ignorance.
(2) With all due respect, if you can’t do better than what I’ve listed here, change professions. But really, I believe most professionals do relatively poorly at their craft for no other reason than that they don’t know they can do better. They believe what they are doing is good enough [“good enough” is almost never actually good enough, you know what I mean?]. Anytime you think you no longer need to strive for higher standards, higher quality or a notch or six closer to perfection, then it’s time to shake yourself up and reexamine your entire life. One can always do better. Always. But not every activity or sphere of endeavor is necessarily the one (or two, or three) for you.