The team behind Joe Carnahan’s action comedy Stretch are having a blast with a marketing approach that’s equally as esoteric as the movie’s content. Following on from a stream of clips, behind-the-scenes footage and the first trailer, treat yourself to a gander at the glorious red-band trailer. The normal MPAA titlecard has been scuppered in favour of a custom-made version you can see above. Beware, it’s NSFW, or as the Stretch YouTube channel puts it: “Not appropriate for the office, depending on where you work, I guess…”
In the film, Patrick Wilson stars as a limo driver who’s up to his eyeballs in debt, so he begrudgingly takes a gig chauffeuring a wealthy chappie (Chris Pine) who turns out to be a trickier customer than he imagined. It looks like an absolute blast, cramming in a ton of one-liners, amped-up action and the charismatic Wilson.
There’s plenty more swearing and sex this time, and one of the funniest voiceovers that I’ve ever heard in a trailer. Plug your headphones in if you’re at the office, ’cause this is chock full of colourful profanity. You might wanna tilt your screen a bit, too.
When Universal denied the film a full theatrical release and reneged on its multi-million dollar marketing budget, it left many wondering exactly how Stretch would find its audience. Having found a home on the small screen, it’s a decidedly odd move. Why the studio thought this would be a better choice is a little perplexing. R-rated action comedies are clearly well attended at the multiplex. Last year’s The Heat raked in $229 million worldwide, recouping its $43 million budget and making enough of a profit for everyone involved to get their teeth gold-plated. Still, at least Carnahan’s film is seeing a release and as a big fan of the director, I couldn’t be happier.
Stretch is available now on iTunes, Amazon and VOD. Give the red-band trailer above a watch and let us know if you’re eager to check it out.
A hard-luck limo driver struggling to go straight and pay off a debt to his bookie takes on a job with a crazed passenger whose sought-after ledger implicates some seriously dangerous criminals.
