#161 When you haven’t seen any of the previews before

I was a movie junkie.

Back one summer in high school my friends and I went to the mall a couple times a week to catch whatever teen comedy, sci-fi epic, or blow-em-up special Hollywood had just churned out. Mid-week matinees, Friday night openers, weekend doubleheaders — it didn’t matter. We just snagged a ride in mom’s minivan and went downtown for a show.

Back then it was rare catching a preview we’d never seen before. We’d done the whisper recommendations, seen the second version, and groaned with the bad jokes. There weren’t many surprises so I took for granted how great it is when you haven’t seen any of the previews before your movie starts up.

It usually happens three ways:

1. Wrongly targeted. Maybe you’re an arty movie snob slumming it with the kiddies on a Saturday morning birthday party. Just when you thought you’d caught all the French foreign film teasers with people stirring fresh chocolate and looking into each other’s eyes in meadows, there’s suddenly a pile of 3D animated animals to charm you away.

2. Season’s greetings. Here’s where you catch the first big summer blockbuster and are greeted with a pile of previews that welcome in the season.

3. Old basement classics. A delectable goldmine of rarely seen previews is when you push in a crusty videotape of Goonies on your friend’s basement couch and catch a pile of 1980s previews you haven’t seen in years. Coming soon! Adventures in Babysitting.

Sure, it’s a small thing, it’s a simple thing, but catching an entire lineup of fresh previews is a beautiful little appetizer of

AWESOME!

25 thoughts to “#161 When you haven’t seen any of the previews before”

  1. I don’t watch commercials on tv anymore, thank you DVR, so I don’t see any previews for movies that are shown on tv. I couldn’t even tell you what is playing right now. Every time I do manage to get to the movies these day, all the previews are new to me. And yes, I do whisper to hubby that the preview looks good, or the movie looks stupid.
    Old previews!! This happens every year when I break out the really old VHS copy of Charlie Brown’s Christmas. I see all the old commercials from when I was a kid and man, does it take me back.

    1. Agreed! I love that movie, and it’s so quotable:
      “Just a pool of mushy goo…” “Like Spaghetti-Os??”

  2. Adventures in Babysitting! I love that movie, I grew up on that movie and every time I ever mention this gem, NOBODY knows what I am talking about. :( sad panda

    But I never stop talking about it or get discouraged because I know I will find somebody who will appreciate it just a much as I always have! :) Thanks for the awesome mention! :)

  3. Adventures in Babysitting was a core movie during undergrad. Was always on the Movie Network late Saturday morning after a particularily eventful Friday night. Hydrated many times to the Babysitting Blues…

  4. Love previews! I always feel cheated when I come into the theatre too late to catch them. But when I go with my boyfriend, he tries to cover my eyes if he thinks it is a good movie we should go see because “they show you all the good parts in the previews”. lol

  5. As the comments are already reflecting, mentioning Adventures in Babysitting is the best part here! Though as someone who keeps up with a lot of movie news and catching trailers online, it IS very refreshing to see something new.

  6. LOVE the movies! Actually, I luff them, I lurve them, I loave them…
    As Woody Allen would say, “All of life’s riddles are answered in the movies.” So exciting to see a slate of all new previews, especially when they’re previews you’ve been anxiously awaiting!

  7. A delectable goldmine of rarely seen previews is when you push in a crusty videotape of Goonies on your friend’s basement couch and catch a pile of 1980s previews you haven’t seen in years.

    I LOVE this!

  8. I work at a movie theater, and since we’re up there every time the film starts making sure things don’t burst into flames, we watch the previews so many times we practically have them memorized. Love when we switch movies and finally get a new batch!

    My coworker has an original 35mm print of “Doom Generation” he can’t wait to do a midnight staff screening of, and his favorite thing has been collecting like a dozen old 90’s trailers to show before the movie. He’s got Mortal Combat, Jurassic Park and Blade, but no Adventures in Babysitting!

  9. Oh God, I love it when I watch an old VHS and get to see all those “Coming Soon in 1995” previews. It blows my mind.

  10. “Back to the Future”, one of the best ever! And Michael J. Fox just happened to be born and grow up where I did too!
    But I never met him:(
    Did anybody see the new Nike’s?!* Awesome!
    Maybe Neil will wear a pair and skateboard in the next Maxwell house commercial or awards honred his awesome craft=D

  11. I love it when we watch an old movie and then see previews of old movies we never saw, and then go on a mission to find them, at a thrift shop or yard sale…for like 2-bits SCORE!!!

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