Bad Trip

Given our last entry also dealt with a “bad” subject and the world seems to be going from bad to worse, it makes at least some kind of sense to follow up with the analysis of a dark comedy trailer. It’s a time when we need to find space to laugh.

For now, it’s prudent enough to acknowledge that the film industry and its release schedule have been all but upended by COVID-19 in many instances. For insights on how this pandemic may have impacted trailers in terms of release schedule and other factors, we recommend Anton Volkov’s excellent site Trailer Track.

Bad Trip, directed by Kitao Sakurai, is a reality prank film in the tradition of Jackass, with Eric Andre and others engaging in often-dangerous students for the sake of eliciting often-humorous reactions from an unsuspecting public. It only makes sense, then, that musically the trailer begins with a fake-out. After a six-second micro trailer, pastoral, meandering dyads on the piano oscillate around a tonic major chord as strings sweetly swell and linger in the background. This is, of course, abruptly cut off as Andre seemingly inadvertently sticks his hand in a blender.

The next beat arrives at 0:27 with a title card touting an association with Jackass and the similar film Bad Grandpa, with syncopated brass unpinned by handclaps. This track is similarly cut short by another intentionally shocking prank. This track returns a beat later, however, and this time with much greater emphasis on the downbeat and a generally more low-end, bass-driven arrangement. At 0:54 the msuic pauses again, but this time the screens turns to black along with a thunderous percussive note. A prison siren takes the space and acts as an audio bridge to the next scene where it seems a prison escape is being acted out as a prank.

The next musical piece is introduced alongside the release date title card (this spring – for now, at least). At 1:10 this track stops for another prank, revving up again at 1:14. This next track, which carries the remainder of the trailer, isn’t readily identifiable but definitely resembles the style and arrangement of The Turtles’ 1967 track “Happy Together”. In this case, obviously, it holds a quasi-musical counterpoint with the on-screen action, with cars bursting into flames and general hijinks contrasting heavily against the care-free vocals and lyrics of the tune, elevating the comedy. This reaches an apex at 2:07 as we see Andre perilously hanging off the edge of a building.

Interestingly, the movement in music to the main title card at the end is a jarring juxtaposition, moving from a 60s pop feel to a contemporary R&B beat. This contrast at the end is so extreme as to emphasize Andre’s brand of shock-comedy, and to let the audience know one last time that they can expect the unexpected.

— Curtis Perry