The Family Tree Directed by: Vivi Friedman Starring: Dermot Mulroney, Hope Davis, Christina Hendricks Rating: R Release Date: August 26, 2011 (limited)
TRAILER SCORE: 5/10
Thoughts by TSR: Every year there are a number of films I love and a number of films I hate. Then, of course, there is the middling ground filled with films I feel entirely indifferent to. These are the movies I don’t hate sitting through, but begin to fade the minute the theater lights come up. If this trailer is any indication, The Family Tree is a film that will fit comfortably into that middle category.
There isn’t anything I’d say I actively dislike about this red band trailer, but there certainly isn’t anything that gives me a reason to be excited to see it either. This trailer is filled will sex from beginning to end, but in this case sex doesn’t sell. For the most part it simply lies on screen failing to get a reaction out of me, though there were a few moments that made me chuckle. One instance that did just that was the entire sequence introducing Hope Davis as the wife and Chi McBride as the robber. My appreciation of that moment most likely stems from my love of Hope Davis, Chi McBride, and the idea of criminals apologizing for breaking things in the house they are breaking into (McBride’s character obviously knows Davis's character before entering her home wearing a bandit hat, but the sentiment remains). Also notable is the otherworldly beauty that is Christina Hendricks. She’s great on “Mad Men” and it’s always fun seeing actors from that show doing other things. Hendricks also deserves kudos for providing the setup for the final line from Dermot Mulroney, which is so deadpan I couldn’t help but laugh.
I'm fond of many of the performers who make up the large cast of The Family Tree. Unfortunately this is a case of bigger not equaling better, as nothing in the trailer – cast included – is enough to get me excited to check out the finished product. Filling your trailer with sex may work on some people, but you’re going to have to try harder to seal the deal with me. I’m not that easy.