This Week In Trailers: High Maintenance Season 3, West Of Sunshine, Hillbilly, This One's For The Ladies
Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they're seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: What better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising?
This week we dance for our supper, learn more about those who live in Appalachia, score some weed, and try to keep our kid of out of the trouble we caused.
High Maintenance Season 3
Creators Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld have been at this for well over the three seasons it has been on HBO, and this trailer effectively telegraphs why that's the case. With so many dramas, so many heady serials that feel weighty in their narrative execution, it's just nice to have something that feels cozy. These are fundamentally short stories and, as a series, it's nice to see how well the throughline connects all these disparate lives under one constant: Ben Sinclair.
West of Sunshine
I talked about this project earlier this year, and this new trailer makes me want to see this even more. Director Jason Raftopoulos' latest finally has a trailer that slips in some extremely complimentary pull-quotes. I don't know why you would want to bury the lede here which is The Guardian's comparison to David Michod's Animal Kingdom near the end, but this kind of promotion is essential. The story is wonderfully presented while also coming off honest. It feels genuine to what it is aiming for and not posturing as something it's not. It's a movie that will most likely fly under the proverbial radar, but it's doing all it can to get a few more people interested in at least giving it a chance.
Hillbilly
What is utterly fascinating about director Sally Rubin and Ashley York's documentary is just how compelling it is simply by communicating why you should be interested in it. It's a quiet documentary interested in a population many have written off. Misconceptions, untruths, it's all presented here in a way that doesn't feel accusatory. It wants to understand, educate and, ultimately, tell the stories of those classified as hailing from Appalachia. It's a moving trailer, to be sure.
This One's for the Ladies (NSFW)
Already winning awards, director Gene Graham has made something special out of erotic dancing. I can't purport to know the cultural significance of stripping within the African-American community, but I am enticed with a logline like this:
This One's for the Ladies is about male strippers and the women who love them. It's hilarious. It's sexy. It's a little raunchy. But somewhere along the way the movie pivots into a conversation about race, class, family, sisterhood and community.
Stripping aside, this is one interesting story. Understanding the nuances of what dancing means to those who do it, and what it means to those who participate in it, just might be a fun exercise. It helps that this trailer is a hoot and keeps you watching all the way to the end. If I had a dollar to give I certainly would for an entertaining two minutes of my time.
Nota bene: If you have any suggestions of trailers for possible inclusion in this column, even have a trailer of your own to pitch, please let me know by sending me a note at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com or look me up via Twitter at @Stipp
In case you missed them, here are the other trailers we covered at /Film this week: