Tuesday's Top Trailer: Man Up

Welcome back to a weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

Man Up – Opening April 19, 2015 at the Tribeca Film Festival

There’s something about an accent that can just ruin a film. One of the best examples is Nicolas Cage’s Southern drawl in “Con Air.” It’s rare to find an American actor putting on a British accent rather than the other way around. In this case, New York City native Lake Bell is acting like a Brit who meets a woman on a train and accidentally ends up taking her place on a blind date. What’s just as strange as Bell’s British accent is the casting of her beau in the form of Simon Pegg. Both Bell and Pegg are great comedic actors, but they’re rarely cast in these kinds of parts. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since it seems like a toned-down Pegg might actually be quite charming and endearing, and Bell, able to control her talkative nature, could serve as a decent romantic lead. I’m not sure I could get past her accent, though, and I think that her natural persona could have worked just fine here. Instead, she’s part of a distinctly British clan, supported by the likes of Olivia Williams and Ophelia Lovibond, which makes the whole thing far more romanticized and sappy instead of inherently comedic. The trailer gives away a whole lot but this film might still manage to be entertaining in spite of its gimmicky premise and presumably predictable ending. Bell and Pegg playing against type might just work, and an opening at the Tribeca Film Festival is certainly a promising indicator of success.