Do you ever get the feeling that you are just missing the point on something? I get that a lot…usually because I am, in fact, missing the point. I try to be one of those guys who just sees things clearly and “gets it” immediately, but I’m just not. That’s why after looking at survey results about R-rated comedies, I’m wondering why I don’t think they say what other people seem to think they say. Confused? Good, let’s get to the data.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the ticket seller Fandango polled 1,000 people who were visiting their site about topics like R rated movies, graphic humor, and Robert Downey, Jr. donning blackface in Tropic Thunder. The results led to a headline “R Ratings Might Help Comedies.” With raunchy comedies like Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder going into wide release this month, this is information worth noticing. However, when I read about who they surveyed, I wonder if it really should be extrapolated to movie goers in general.
The article states that “prospective patrons of Sony's just-opened Pineapple Express and the Aug. 20 opener Tropic Thunder from DreamWorks/Paramount were asked whether they were more or less interested in the films because of their restricted ratings.” So, the respondents of this survey were people who already logged into Fandango and were interested in two comedies that are being advertised as raunchy. My guess is most people who want to see this movie so much that they are buying tickets ahead of time are probably big fans of this genre, right? They came up with the following responses to their survey questions:
75% of respondents said they were “more interested” in seeing Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express due to their R ratings.
83% said they weren’t turned off by graphic humor.
94% said they weren’t offended by Robert Downey Jr.’s use of blackface in Tropic Thunder.
If this were a random sampling, it might actually mean something, but, again these are people who were already planning on seeing the two R rated movies in question! Of course they aren’t turned off by graphic humor. If they were, they wouldn’t go to a “weed action comedy” or movie where one of the main characters is in blackface and the other is a cocaine addict. So, the people going to see a movie that is advertised with Robert Downey, Jr. in blackface aren’t offended by Robert Downey Jr. in blackface? That’s shocking!
So, what does Fandango’s survey tell us? Nothing. It says that people who like raunchy comedies aren’t bothered by raunchy comedies. Boy, thanks for that.
UPDATE: After this item ran, I was contacted by a Fandango rep who let me know their survey questions ran on the entire site, rather than just on Pineapple Express or Tropic Thunder pages.
