Throughout history creative movie titles have often been completely misleading to the films’ content. Films like “Iron Lady”, “Silence of the Lambs” and “Eraserhead” are some examples of movies with the wrong titles. Here are 5 recent movies whose titles are totally misleading.
The Big Sick
Recently released, “The Big Sick” sounds more like an apocalyptic film about the end of the world or a major outbreak of the plague. Instead “The Big Sick” is a romantic comedy. The movie which stars Ray Romano and Holly Hunter is based on a true story about the writer Emily Gordon and her now husband Kumail Nanjiani. Just after the couple began dating Emily fell into a coma. Kumail did not even know her parents yet but had to bond with them while their daughter was comatose. Emily recovered but the courtship was both rocky and funny. Not only is the movie about Kumail’s relationship with Emily’s parents, but it is also about Emily getting to know Kumail’s Pakistani parents who forbid him to marry a non-Pakistani.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
An entirely confusing title, 2016’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” is a semi-biographical film about a dissatisfied journalist who takes a temporary assignment as a war correspondent in Afghanistan. The story is based on Kim Baker who is played by Tina Fey. Baker ended up assimilating to the dangers of the assignment and stayed for a long period of time. It turns out “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” is a military acronym which stands for WTF. It does apply to Kim’s situation but the title is very misleading.
Nocturnal Animals
Among movies with the wrong titles, “Nocturnal Animals” which was released in 2016 is one. The title may lead you to think the film is about bats or owls. Instead the Tom Ford film follows an art gallery owner, Susan (played by Amy Adams), who receives a manuscript from her ex-husband, Edward (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), who invites her to dinner when he is in town. As Susan’s current marriage is crumbling because of her husband’s extramarital affair, she becomes obsessed with the manuscript which is surprisingly dark and emotional and Susan is obsessed by it as she remembers her relationship with her ex-husband. The novel is haunting and Susan finds the underlying meaning within. However, not an owl or bat involved in the film.
Lion
The film was released in 2016 and is a biographical film based on the novel “A Long Way Home”. The movie is about a 5 year old Indian boy who becomes lost in Calcutta after accidently falling asleep on a train. Calcutta is far from his home and he doesn’t even understand the dialect. The boy wanders the city for 2 months narrowly avoiding disastrous encounters with other people. Finally he is found by the police and eventually put up for adoption and sent to Tasmania. More than 20 years later the boy finds his family and reunites with them. There isn’t even a lion in the film.
Deadpool
Based on a Marvel Comics character, “Deadpool” is a superhero. The name is misleading. Why “Deadpool” for a superhero? A treatment for terminal cancer leaves him disfigured and he is asked to join the X-Men. “Deadpool” is a movie about a man who breaks up with the love of his life because he doesn’t want her to see him die from cancer, becomes disfigured by the cure for the disease, and is falsely told the disfigurement can be cured. It makes no sense why the superhero is named Deadpool.
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