Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Up in the Air's product placement

I watched Up in the Air (2009) today and I noticed every single time the Hilton and American Airlines logos were on screen. I know that's the point. But I don't mind when logos and brand names are in the background. I don't mind if characters say a brand name instead of something generic. But I do mind when product placement is a prominent part of the plot. Ryan Bingham (played by George Clooney) always flies on American Airlines and stays in Hilton hotels, and he has special frequent customer privileges. That's most of the story.

Maybe I'm not being fair. The movie is well-made. Beautiful shots, well-edited, good performances. That's all true. A plot twist I didn't predict. Points for that. But I didn't find myself caring about the characters that much.

I felt distanced, but maybe that's me.

2 comments:

  1. I actually really enjoyed the film ... :)
    - Jason

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  2. Yeah, after I wrote this post I checked Rotten Tomatoes, and Up in the Air has a 90% rating over there. I guess it's just not my type of film.

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