Thursday, April 16, 2009

"The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action." - Frank Herbert

***

Copywriter and Marketing FAIL:

Description of a play I watched last night:

"Don't miss MEMBERS ONLY, a funny and fast-moving play which gives you a rare opportunity to look into the intricacies of male friendship. What do men talk about? What are their relationships based on? And, most of all, how does it feel to be left out?"

Poster:


All in all, it gives the impression of being light humour exploring how men relate to each other, with a touch of pathos stemming from unwarranted social exclusion.

<SPOILERS>:
Yet, one guy started acting like a (psychotic) woman, blowing up over a ridiculously trivial issue, and at the end even tried to kill the other (this was the best part of the play, seeing the nadir of Daniel Jenkins's descent from repression into obsessive paranoia and finally into outright psychosis).
</SPOILERS>

I don't know how the marketing department's editorial process goes, but a simple Google search unearths a description of the movie based on the original French play ("Cravate club"):

"Bernard and Adrien are partners in their own architecture firm, and are also the best of friends. When Adrien announces that he cannot attend Bernard's fortieth birthday party, his friend is understandably upset and insists on knowing why. That night, Adrien has to attend a dinner date at his private club - if he misses it, he will be automatically expelled. Visibly hurt by his friend's betrayal, Bernard sets off alone to his party. The following morning, Adrien is surprised to see him semi-conscious and soaking wet in the shower of their office apartment. Bernard hasn't forgiven his friend's disloyalty and insists on knowing more about this secret club. Adrien's reluctance to open up merely fuels his friend's suspicions and it's only a matter of time before Bernard becomes completely unhinged..."

It opened last night and is on until the 25th, so hopefully some people won't be shocked by the incongruous content.

Go for excellent acting, a look at descent into madness and to see how many French people there are in the audience - not for a light night at the theatre.

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