Trailer Park: Does The “Drive” Trailer Lawsuit Lady Have A Case?

This week, a Michigan lady named Sarah Deming sued the makers of "Drive" because she found their trailer misleading. Ms. Deming claims she was promised a movie similar to "Fast Five," only to end up seeing a movie that she claims had "very little driving" in it. No word yet on if she sued the makers of "Schindler's List" for not having enough lists in it, but that suit may soon be on the way.

The question is... does Deming have a case? Was the "Drive" trailer deliberately misleading? Let's figure it out by answering a few questions.

Is it fair to expect this movie to have lots of driving? Well, it is called "Drive." Certainly, that bolsters Deming's argument. And the first minute of the trailer is a virtual orgy of driving goodness. You get Ryan Gosling driving while wearing driving gloves, which means he's serious about driving. You get Gosling saying, "I drive," which again places emphasis on the movie's driviness. You get quick shots of race cars, stunt cars, cars driving backwards, spin-outs, t-bonings, and more. From the trailer, I would expect the movie to be composed of 80% driving. Anything less? FALSE ADVERTISING.

Is this trailer similar to the "Fast Five" trailer? Not applicable. It's not fair to compare the two because "Fast Five" is a sequel, which means you have four previous movies to draw upon to figure out what kind of movie this is. If "Drive" had been titled "Fast Six," then I would have understood the complaint. Also, while the "Drive" trailer features lots of driving, it does NOT feature motorcycles, drag races, police car chases, crashing SUVs, cars dragging giant safes, cars going cliff-diving, and trucks crashing into freakin' trains. Man, that "Fast Five" looks AWESOME! Remind me to rent that ASAP.

Does the movie make any explicit promises to be like "Fast Five," like saying, "from the people who brought you '2 Fast 2 Furious'"? No.

Are there telltale signs that "Drive" won't be like an action-packed Vin Diesel film?Yes. For one, no Vin Diesel. Also, the trailer features both classical music and Albert Brooks, two things enjoyed exclusively by rich people over the age of 52. There are warning signs here that you're getting something a little bit arty in between scenes of Gosling hammering people to death.

Does this woman have a case?
NO. You want the smoking gun in this case? Check out the "Best Director, Festival De Cannes 2011" title card in the "Drive" trailer. Would you EVER see that title card in a "Fast Five" trailer? No, you would not. CHECKMATE, Sarah Deming. That title card just lost you untold millions in your brain-dead lawsuit.

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