What happens when you ask film ignorant people to describe the Oscars’ biggest films of the year?
They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but here at Hypable, we think it’s more like, the strawberry falls far from the tree. We may be movie buffs, but that doesn’t mean our friends and family, the people we surround ourselves with, are as well. In fact, they know so little about films, it’s a wonder we still hang out with them.
When we asked our friends and family to describe the plots of the biggest films at this year’s Oscars, we didn’t really know what to expect. How well can someone guess the premise of a film from just the title? Moreover, which films were advertised enough to have made an impression on even the most ignorant of film watchers?
The rules were simple: Ask friends and family to describe a movie’s plot as succinctly as possible, given only the title of the movie. No Googling, and no help from us. The results could not have been more varied.
‘The Revenant’
We started out easy. The Revenant is one of the most talked about films this year, and sure enough, our victims participants pretty much knew the gist of it.
‘Spotlight’
Things got a little more challenging with Spotlight. A vaguer, more generic title required a little more creativity in the guesses.
‘Inside Out’
Inside Out provided two very different ideas.
‘The Martian’
Confusion crash landed with The Martian, as titling and astronomy are questioned.
‘The Danish Girl’
The rather specific title of The Danish Girl was met with the vaguest guesses yet.
‘Sicario’
While nobody quite got what Sicario was actually about, the name alone was enough for them to know it’s dark and violent.
‘Bridge of Spies’
Everyone was on point with Bridge of Spies, whose title was clearly the most representative of what the film is about.
‘The Hateful Eight’
We started out strong with The Hateful Eight, but quickly descended into the ridiculous.
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
Likewise, our family totally knew what Mad Max: Fury Road was about…until they didn’t.
‘The Big Short’
The questions began to take their toll on our poor friends and family, and their guesses lost all sense of truth.
‘Trumbo’
Lastly, it’s possible Trumbo should have gone with a different title, as a common, very incorrect theme ran through the guesses, until one of them had finally had enough.
Thanks to Andrew, Ariana, Brandi, Brittany, Donya, Jimmy, Karen, Kristen, Kristina, Michal, Pamela, and the friends and family they may or may not have annoyed all week.
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