“In a world…” and “One man…” are two of the most overly used opening lines in film trailer history. The film trailer establishes the tone and sets the mood of a movie in no more than two minutes. It is a marketing tool that draws audiences in and puts butts in movie theater seats. Just about every movie has one and more often than not, they can be pretty stupid. The online comedy group (and sensation) Screen Junkies knows this all too well and takes advantage of this by editing these short videos and adds their own commentary. Think of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and you have “Honest Trailers”, a brutally honest take on many of today and yesterday’s ridiculous film trailers.
Screen Junkies’ creator Andy Signore and writer/editor Dan Murrell took center stage at Wizard World Comic Con Chicago and gave fans the skinny on how “Honest Trailers” came to be and how they keep things so fresh and original. They even gave us a never before seen glimpse of their newest “Honest Trailer”, one for this year’s very successful action blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road. The Comic Con panel was full of comedic energy and many subscribers to their YouTube channel were in full attendance and heavily amused. Some of their most notable spoofs include Armageddon, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Super Mario Bros. and many, many more.
The beauty and craft of “Honest Trailers” was fully explored at Wizard World this year, as Signore and Murell took us through the process and explained how some great computer editing combined with razor sharp comedy writing are what audiences truly gobble up. This inside peek is something fans have been craving ever since “Honest Trailers”‘ inception back in 2012 with the abysmal Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Since then, the Screen Junkies team has made it their mission to take trailers of many a film and rip it to shreds by adding their hilarious voice to them.
With all the ridiculous sci-fi and action movies littering movie theaters this day and age, the “Honest Trailer” has become a staple of online comedy, a go-to click when craving inane Internet humor. Andy Signore and Dan Murrell are masters at what they do and Screen Junkies is truly the stuff of legends. The “Honest Trailers” never seem to get old or run out of steam and the parodies these comedic geniuses come up with never fail to disappoint. Coupled with Jon Bailey’s signature resonating deep voice (a respectful nod to voiceover artist Don LaFontaine), the “Honest Trailers” are a true delight and seem as though they will be cracking up audiences for a long while longer.
Unger the Radar 