Paramount, the studio that cruelly brought us Tomb Raider 2 and The Italian Job, has released yet another teaser trailer for their ill-advised remake of The Stepford Wives, only this one has apparently rubbed a handful of prudes the wrong way. Or rather, one particular woman, which in turn lead to a report on this mini-phenomenon by her local television station, which lead to this post, which lead to your being reminded that a film entitled The Stepford Wives is being released soon, hey, this weekend in fact, and hey, maybe I’ll go see that, huh? Hmm, unless I’m going out with my neighbor. I really ought to check my Blackberry.
Anyway, here’s hoping the studio’s P.R. executives are thanking the uninspired marketers who, in this latest teaser, decided to convey the nightmarish prospect of a nation of “Stepford Wives” by including a brief shot depicting President Bush’s National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice as a Grace Jones-esque topless model and Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton as an everyday homemaker (which really isn’t that far removed from Laura Bush, though, right?).
“It’s just inappropriate, and it needs to be stopped,” said the Kansas City woman who brought up the initial complaint. And in hopes of gauging the reaction of a wider audience than just this one woman, the news report mentioned above solicited additional quotes on the matter, like any good entertainment reporter working for a local news outlet should be doing.
Pat Gray, who works with Northstar Marketing Group, said the ad shows bad taste toward Rice and Clinton.
“In today’s media environment, I don’t know whether it’s unacceptable morally or not — distasteful, for sure,” Gray said. “If I were them, I’d probably sue.”
Gray also said the ad wouldn’t drive him to the theater.
“That certainly wouldn’t stimulate me to go see the movie,” he said.
OK, fair enough. But, realistically, people are reacting negatively to the wrong shot in this wannabe-notorious trailer. In fact, it’s the very last shot, which we excerpted below, that really should be serving as discouragement:
(Thanks to Rory MacDonald.)
