Logic before legal action

Sarah Deming of Michigan is suing distributers of the movie Drive. 

According to Ms. Deming, the movie’s trailer misled her about the film’s content and caused her to … wait for it … buy a ticket.  So she’s suing. For an $8 movie stub.

Are you kidding me?

I saw the ads for Charlie’s Angels and The Playboy Club. They claimed to be fun, stylish, and worth my time. 

They were not.

My face cream said that women saw an 82 per cent improvement in their skin’s tone and texture after four weeks.

I did not.

But let’s remember that the purpose of the commercial is to entice you to try a product.

They cannot outright lie – but they can leave details open to personal interpretation.

Which is why somehow, despite these personal offenses, I have managed to stay out of a lawyer’s office.

Ms. Demming’s lawsuit has the same distinctive odour as another infamous lawsuit.

Back in 1994, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck spilled her McDonald’s coffee on her lap after trying to pry off the lid while holding the cup between her knees. And her injuries were McDonald’s fault?

Well, actually, the coffee case had its merits. McDonald’s coffee was served, as per its policy, approximately 30 degrees Celsius hotter than you would ever make at home. 

Ms. Liebeck received third degree burns to her legs and genitals that required numerous skin grafts over a period of two years. 

And McDonald’s had already received more than 700 complaints of similarly serious burns from their coffee.

In losing the case, McDonald’s finally turned down the burners. Thanks Mrs. Liebeck.

So maybe there’s something to this case of the perfidious promotion. A trailer shouldn’t tell the audience everything about the film, but it should give enough to make an informed decision. 

Demming thought that Drive was a movie about, well, driving, à la The Fast and the Furious. 

Instead, there was limited actual driving and excessive violence in this graphic and raw drama.

She has a point. I’ve seen the trailer. With its choice of clips, the blond male star, and skidding cars, it did have an F&F feel. 
And it’s unlikely she’s the only one who felt misled. So perhaps the industry does need to be reminded to play fair with its customers.

But since we live in the information age, perhaps Demming could have listened to more than the commercials on TV. 

Online reviews and cast interviews leading up to the film’s release would have cleared up any misinformation about the movie. The trailer should only be a starting point.

After all, my professors always said never rely on a single source. 

The information is out there if you’re willing to do a little homework. 

And, Sarah, it’s cheaper than hiring a lawyer.