Trailer for 'Liberal Arts'

When the poster came out I called it the 'anti-box office' poster. Why? Simple: The poster looks dumb and the movie is about a romance between a 35 year old man and a 19 year old girl who's in college and it's scheduled for a September 14 release, right when everyone goes back to school.

So, who's going to want to see this? Young people who really don't care about movies that are pure romances, or young people who are just about to go back to college/high school?

Doesn't make much sense. Thing is, the trailer doesn't help because there is no other plot detailed. It would appear the only conflict is the guy is 35 and the chick is 19 and...that ain't a dramatic core you can build a movie around. As I said before, if a (way) older man fell for a 19 year old chick in college you might have a movie: Harrison Ford has a thing with Elizabeth Olsen against a picturesque Ivy League backdrop -- that people might go for. But, Josh Radnor and Elizabeth Olsen?

Nobody cares if he's 35 and she's 19. This isn't 1950. This is 2012. Nobody would care if they made a sex tape, put it on YouTube, and it went viral. (Oh, crap, that's a good idea. Note to self: Sketch a screenplay about a couple whose sex tape goes viral).

Plus, the target audience won't even realize what's going on. It won't register to them. To the target demo this movie is nothing but a couple in college going on dates and walks in the park and talking a lot.

Plus, nobody who is about to go back to school wants to see a movie set in college. Plus, older people won't want to see this. Plus, guys (of any age) are not going to turn out. I'm not sure there is an appeal for any other demo, either.

Lastly, there's the title. 'Liberal Arts' just won't sell tickets. Anything, 'My College Girlfriend' for instance, would be better.  

Conclusion: 'My College Girlfriend' with Harrison Ford and some young cutie who may or may not make a sex tape that may or may not go viral might be worth making/seeing -- but not 'Liberal Arts'.


















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