Movie Taglines – The Untold Story…So Far

Tagline: The best thing about this movie is no longer the trailer; it’s the tagline ~ As seen on a poster for the movie by the strange name – This Beach Called Life – The Movie

I have always been fascinated by movie taglines and I hope I am not alone. According to marketing literature, a movie tagline is a branding slogan or memorable phrase, produced by overpaid marketing departments, which reflect the tone of the movie, for example, An Adventure 65 Million Years In The Making ~ Jurassic Park or If you haven’t held her, how do you know it’s real ~ 56k. These taglines are smart and truthful hence memorable. Some taglines have even become part of pop culture – To boldly go where no man has gone before ~ Star Trek or Houston, we have a problem ~ Apollo 13. But not all taglines are fully understood until you see the movie – Grease is the word ~ Grease or The classic story about a boy and his mother ~ Psycho. Eventually, despite being paid with large paychecks, SUVs and women and men in bikinis, the best in the business comes up with this – We’ve Sensed It. We’ve Seen The Signs. Now… It’s Happening ~ The Happening.

A successful movie tagline doesn’t necessarily mean a movie will be successful and some of the best taglines have come from the most forgettable movies – It took them twenty years to fall in love at first sight ~ ‘Til there was you and A comedy about life and other terminal conditions ~ Two Thousand and None. So it seems taglines may be inspired by movies but if they are any good, can be a branding slogan for life – You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll hurl ~ Wayne’s World

Anyway, in keeping with the best season for movies, but not necessarily the season for the best movies or taglines, I have compiled a list of my favorite taglines in random disorder.

• This time they’re running from the joint. Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
• The Coast Is Toast Volcano
• The movie too HOT for words! Some Like It Hot
• His Karma is Huge The Love Guru
• Good girls want him bad. Bad girls want him worse. Cry-Baby
• Sex. Clothes. Popularity. Is there a problem here? Clueless
• If at first you don’t succeed, lower your standards. Tommy Boy
• Do you like fish? Well, he likes you too…Jaws
• Happy Halloween! Halloween
• Watch your head! Sleepy Hollow
• Nice planet. We’ll take it! Mars Attacks!
• It’s Happening. Signs
• In space no one can hear you scream. Alien
• The strangest story ever conceived by man. King Kong
• The Devil Inside. The Exorcist
• How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight? Fight Club
• In a world of 1s and 0s…are you a zero, or The One? The Matrix
• He’s having the worst day of his life… over, and over…Groundhog Day
• Not every gift is a blessing. The Sixth Sense
• The Story That Won’t Go Away. JFK
• The truth is always in the last place you look. The Usual Suspects
• Don’t Breathe. Don’t Look Back. Twister
• Life can be a comedy or a tragedy; it all depends on how you look at it. Melinda and Melinda
• …Everything You’ve Heard Is True. Amadeus
• For Three Men The Civil War Wasn’t Hell. It Was Practice! The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
• He charges $10 but he’s willing to negotiate. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
• A killer comedy. Scary Movie
• I already forget how I used to feel about you. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• From the brother of the director of Ghost. Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult
• No actual Europeans were harmed in the making of this film. EuroTrip
• He’s out to prove he’s got nothing to prove. Napoleon Dynamite
• These women are serious about their taste in men. Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death