Honest Trailers - Men In Black is the 297th episode of Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, Dan Murrell, Danielle Radford and Lon Harris. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the three films in the science-fiction comedy Men in Black series: Men in Black (1997), Men in Black II (2002), and Men in Black 3 (2012). The video is 5 minutes 23 seconds long. It was published on May 28, 2019, to coincide with the theatrical release of the 2019 sequel Men in Black: International. This video was produced as part of Screen Junkies' Blockbuster Summer season, in which they turned their attention to blockbusters both old and new. The video has been viewed over 1.7 million times.
Watch Honest Trailers - Men in Black on YouTube
"Get ready for three films with the same three jokes. Like the one where aliens be horny, the one where big things seem small and small things seem big, and the one that will make you ask how many riffs could a Will Smith riff since a Will Smith riffs real good?" ~ Honest Trailers - Men in Black
Script []
Before you catch Men in Black: International, in six months on cable or on an airplane or something, check out the film that started it all, and the other two that just kept doing it. [shows footage of Agent O making random noises in Men in Black 3]
The Men in Blacks
Suit up for three sci-fi comedies set in an alternate reality where the United States accepts refugees, and join the Men in Black (galaxy defenders!). They’re agents who operate with no accountability, delete people’s memories, keep everyone under surveillance, operate secret prisons, and beat the aliens they police within an inch of their lives… So it’s a screwball comedy about the Deep State, only in the 90's.
Welcome to New York, land of a-holes. But, some of these a-holes are aliens, who get to live undercover as major celebrities, ethnic stereotypes or... yeah, it’s really just one of those two. They’ll have to deal with Agents J and K, played by an increasingly lumpy Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith at the height plateau and depth of his powers. Okay, Will. For this scene, think about how you just starred in Seven Pounds.
LOL at J and K in the first film [Men in Black], where K shows J the ropes, while being hunted by a villain who can kill people instantly, unless you’re the heroes, as they search for an all-powerful device that was right under their nose all along, the second one [Men in Black II], where J shows K the ropes, while being hunted by a villain who can kill people instantly, unless you’re the heroes, as they search for an all-powerful device that was right under their nose all along, and the third one [MIB³] where J goes back in time to show K the ropes, while being hunted by a villain who can kill people instantly, unless you’re the heroes, as they search for an all-powerful device that was yada yada yada. Ar-Are we sure we want more sequels to this thing?
Agent K: ”I don’t ask questions, I don’t want to know the answer to.”
But it's not just the familiar plots. Get ready for three films with the same three jokes. Like the one where aliens be horny, the one where big things seem small and small things seem big, and the one that will make you ask how many riffs could a Will Smith riff since a Will Smith riffs real good? [shows all the clips of Will Smith riffing] Okay, question answered.
So, flashback to an era when summer movies were more than just film, they dominated all pop culture, with their own toys, tie-in sunglasses, video games [MIB Alien Crisis], cartoon series [Men in Black: The Series], and, of course, smash hit rap singles for the star over the credits [Men in Black - Will Smith], followed by a moderate hit rap single for the sequel [Black Suits Comin’ (Nod Ya Head) - Will Smith], followed by a generic Pitbull song [Back in Time - Pitbull]. Huh, diminishing returns like that kinda sums up the whole franchise.
Starring: [Will Smith as Agent J] Willuminati Confirmed; [Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K] No Country For Old Spacemen; [Lara Flynn Boyle as Kylothian Queen] Snakes In A Dame; [Josh Brolin as Young Agent K] Thinos; [Johnny Knoxville as Scrad and Charlie] Jackass 2; [Jemaine Clement as Boris The Animal] What He Chew In The Shadows; [Rip Torn as Chief Zed] Zed’s Dead Baby ...Zed’s Dead; [Mushu The Dog as Agent F] PUGLIFE; [Vincent D’Onofrio as Edgar The Bug] Papa Roach; and Goo [shows all goo scenes].
The honest title for Men in Black was 'Guardians of the Galaxy.' Titles designed by Robert Holtby.
[shows a guy shooting Colonel James Darrell Edwards II] Oh, man. He killed your dad! If only you had some kinda time machine, in your pocket. Y-you have a time machine in your pocket.
Trivia[]
Honest Trailers Commentary - Men in Black
- All the writers enjoyed the first movie in the series and felt the sequels were a case of diminishing returns. The writers argued that it would be difficult to make a Men in Black film set in 2019 because the political climate (especially regarding refugees) is so different, plus it would be implausible that all evidence of aliens could be erased in the age of smartphones.
- Screen Junkies have also made Honest Trailers for many other Will Smith movies including After Earth, Independence Day, Bright and Suicide Squad. See list of Honest Trailers for more.
Watch the full Honest Trailers Commentary on YouTube
Reception[]
Honest Trailers - Men In Black has 96.5% approval rating from YouTube viewers. The Malay Mail said the Honest Trailer was filled with "hilarious takeaways." Neatorama observed that it was strange that Screen Junkies hadn't made an Honest Trailer for Men in Black already. Bayani Miguel Acebedo of Epicstream wrote that he didn't realize the plot of all three Men in Black movies was identical until watching this Honest Trailer. Ethan Anderton of SlashFilm made a similar remark.
Production credits[]
Video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - Men in Black.
Epic Voice Guy: Jon Bailey
Title Design by Robert Holtby
Written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, Dan Murrell, Danielle Radford & Lon Harris
Produced by Spencer Gilbert, Dan Murrell, Joe Starr & Max Dionne
Edited by Kevin Williamsen
External links []
- An Honest Trailer for Men in Black - Neatorama article
- Honest Trailers: The First Three Men in Black Films are the SAME MOVIE - Epicstream article
- Here’s the Honest Trailer for ‘Men in Black’ (VIDEO) - Malay Mail article
- ‘Men in Black’ Franchise Honest Trailer: Will Smith at the Height, Plateau and Depth of His Power - SlashFilm article