The Trailer Hitch: April 24

With summer, and summer’s blockbusters, right around the corner, the advance advertising for our post-Memorial Day season is beginning to swarm. On this quiet Sunday, let’s watch some trailers and see what’s going to be in front of our eyeballs, increasingly, for the next few months before they open in theaters and go away.

Bridesmaids: Some media folk are calling this the female Hangover, and it’s certainly got a strong cast in Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, The Office’s Ellie Kemper and Reno 911!’s Wendy McClendon-Covey. Kristen Wiig is either due to hit as a movie star right now or she just missed it by staying on SNL two years two long, and we’ll find out which. May 13.

Link: Bridesmaids

Crazy, Stupid Love — I haven’t been excited about a romantic comedy in a while, but Crazy, Stupid Love seems like it’s going something strange going for it. Ryan Gosling plays a ladies’ man who tries to help normal guy Steve Carell learn to navigate single waters again. Carell plays pathos really well (Dan in Real Life is, I think, an under-appreciated movie), and I think this could be a quiet summer winner. July 29.

Link: Crazy, Stupid, Love

The Change-Up: You’ve probably been wondering why no one has made a good body-switch movie in some time, so here you go. Jason Bateman plays a family man who switches bodies with womanizer Ryan Reynolds after they — wait for it — pee in a magical fountain. There’s nothing in this trailer, outside of the stunning Olivia Wilde, that makes me think this is really going to be any good; but Jason Bateman’s always reliable and people forget that Ryan Reynolds was a solid comedy guy before he got so muscular, so they could make at least an interesting duo. Still, to me, this screams “watching it on HBO.” August 5.

Link: The Change-Up

Rise of the Planet of the Apes — James Franco stars in this prequel to the Planet of the Apes story. I think. Unless this another one of his wacky performance art things. August 5.

Link: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Midnight in Paris — I like Owen Wilson. And let’s face it, he’s never really bounced back since his suicide attempt in 2007. That’s why it would be nice to see him hit with Woody Allen’s latest Midnight in Paris, which features Wilson as a man vacationing in France when he discovers a fantasy world that happens after dark (and after his wife goes to sleep). Allen also seems, mostly, to be back in his stride these days — for some reason, foreign cities are his good luck charm right now — and while this probably won’t set the world on fire, I’m kinda pulling for it. May 11.

Link: Midnight in Paris

30 Minutes or Less: To me, this has the most solid foursome of the summer — Jesse Eisenberg (playing against type), Aziz Ansari, Danny McBride and the underrated Nick Swardson — in the tale of a pizza boy forced to rob a bank after McBride and Swardson strap a bomb to his chest. It’s also easily the summer’s “most macabre attempt to make a comedy out of a truly horrifying thing that happened in real life.” Directed by Ruben Fleischer, who also made Zombieland. Sold yet? August 12.

Link: 30 Minutes or Less

Fast Five — If you’re into Vin Diesel, The Rock, or car movies, you don’t even need to see this trailer, because you’ve already bought your ticket for next weekend’s opening. I’m not sure how many of these they’re going to make — they say this is the last — but if it makes money, I’m sure that strategy will be quickly re-thought. After all, Vin Diesel’s GNC tab doesn’t pay for itself, you know. April 29.

Link: Fast Five

Submarine — Ben Stiller has hooked his name to this for an American release, but the buzz was already strong on this British Wes-Anderson-esque comedy long before heading into Sundance − where people went crazy for it. June 3.

Link: Submarine

X-Men: First Class: I’ll be the first to admit I was disappointed with the way the X-Men trilogy went out; I loved both the first and second installments but I just felt the third was all over the place (*cough*BrettRatner*cough*).  But this looks pretty strong, especially the casting of young Prof. X and Magneto. And it’s set in an alternate reality of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is interesting. One ticket, please. June 3.

Link: X-Men: First Class