The Back-Up Plan (2010) is a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin. It was produced by Escape Artists, an independently financed company. It was directed by Alan Poul, and is distributed by CBS Films. The film had a budget of $35 million and made $77.5 million at the box office. There are various posters for this film, I have chosen the earliest one from IMDB as this is where I have retrieved the other posters from. The poster I am analyzing is also included on Wikipedia. An image of the other poster is below. I am unsure which one is the official theatrical release poster.
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| Other version of film poster |
Zoe is aware that her biological clock is ticking away and she wants to have a baby. However, she has not yet found anyone who she wants to have children with. She becomes artificially inseminated with twins, and meets her true love on the same day.
Film Poster
Genre
Image and Characterisation
The main image is of two characters, one female and one male. This conforms to the stereotype of romance films following a heterosexual couple. The female is using direct address to hook the audience. As she is the protagonist it could reflect how she is the domineering character, which subverts the archetypal female role. The male is gazing at her. As he is not looking directly at the camera, we could infer that he is a foil character, with differing qualities to Zoe, or that he plays a more secondary role. Alternatively it an be interpreted as he is an important character but is lovestruck. The close proxemics of the characters is suggestive of the romance that blossoms between them over the course of the film.
Mise en Scene - Symbolic Codes and Conventions
Film Poster
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| The Back Up Plan poster |
The genre of the film is romantic comedy. There are many elements of the poster which suggest this, such as the smiles on their faces. This suggests to the audience that the mood of the film is light hearted, which is the case with the majority of comedy movies, they are supposed to make people laugh. The romantic element of the film is suggested through the gaze of the characters and the proxemics.
Image and Characterisation
The main image is of two characters, one female and one male. This conforms to the stereotype of romance films following a heterosexual couple. The female is using direct address to hook the audience. As she is the protagonist it could reflect how she is the domineering character, which subverts the archetypal female role. The male is gazing at her. As he is not looking directly at the camera, we could infer that he is a foil character, with differing qualities to Zoe, or that he plays a more secondary role. Alternatively it an be interpreted as he is an important character but is lovestruck. The close proxemics of the characters is suggestive of the romance that blossoms between them over the course of the film.
Mise en Scene - Symbolic Codes and Conventions
The colour white is suggestive of innocence and purity - showing there is nothing sinful or wrong about artificial insemination or their relationship. White is also a good background colour as it contrasts most colours, helping them to stand out. Therefore it makes it more eye catching for the audience.
Pink is stereotypically a feminine colour, which could be indicative of the target audience. There is also a stereotype of romance films appealing more to a female demographic than a male demographic, perhaps because they find the narrative more relatable.It is a lighter shade of red, which connotes love and danger. This could convey that the narrative is less intense, but the characters experience similar emotions to a dramatic story - linking to both the comedy and romance aspects of the genre and film.
Black is symbolic of power. This could relate to how the back up plan and relationship become very powerful and prominent elements of her life. The colour black is darker than all of the other colours on the poster - this gives it a sense of permanency and sincerity, the characters do take situations seriously at time.
Mise en Scene - Costume
Black is symbolic of power. This could relate to how the back up plan and relationship become very powerful and prominent elements of her life. The colour black is darker than all of the other colours on the poster - this gives it a sense of permanency and sincerity, the characters do take situations seriously at time.
Mise en Scene - Costume
Jennifer Lopez (Zoe) is wearing a dress. This characterises Zoe as feminine (dresses are stereotypically women's clothes and are usually worn by them). There is also a feeling that she is "dressing to impress" as she looks quite sophisticated and formal. A negative stereotype of women who wear dresses is that they are too sexualised - the relationship between the pair is a key part of the film but she is not dressed inappropriately.
On the other hand, the man is dressed casually - this conforms to the stereotype that men do not care for their appearance as much as women. It also helps the characters juxtapose each other, and could conform to the archetypal narrative of 'opposites attract'.
Star System
The star system uses the name Jennifer Lopez across the top of poster. This shows she has A-List status and may influence whether people go and see the film or not. It may also suggest that the other cast members are not as well known. As her name is at the top, it may be the first thing a passer by sees, and so could help to engage them with the poster.
Typography
The typography used is bold for the words "The Back Up Plan" to communicate that it is the title of the film. This text is considerably larger than any other on the poster and as a result it stands out. It is also a serif font which gives it a sort of etched in look; this is interesting considering it is called "The Back Up Plan" - you'd expect the writing to look a little more spontaneous. However, this substantiates the idea of Zoe being an organised person with plans. The typography of "Not necessarily in that order"is similar to handwriting - and hence makes it more relatable.
Tagline/Strap line
"Fall in love. Get married. Have a baby." uses a triadic structure to have more impact on the audience. It also reflects the traditional views of society, and perhaps what is regarded as a social "norm". The asterix with 'not necessarily in that order' underneath suggests that the narrative of the film is not a conventional romance. It could also increase the tellability and how relatable the film is. This is because the unconventionality could make the film more interesting and heighten audience engagement. The audience may be able to relate more to the film because plans do not always work out in life, and the typography of this is made to look like handwriting. It also gives a sense of lightheartedness to the subject, linking to the comedy element of the film.
Other information
Towards the bottom of the poster, there is other information. The block of text that is more difficult to read usually lists the notable individuals and companies that are involved in the film, for example the editors and producers. These are obviously worthy of being on the poster, but are likely to make less difference to whether the audience see the film, so it is not written as clearly.As far as I can see the film has not yet been rated or no rating is visible. This could be because the film has no definitive release date (the director perhaps thought "coming soon" would have more impact) or that it was already obvious from the poster what demographic the film was targeting.
Evaluation
This is an effective poster because it captures the essence of the film and key elements of the narrative are communicated. Aspects of the romance genre are evident, like the stereotypical pink colour that is used. Although the proxemics are effective, the relationship between the pair could be made more obvious through them being closer together.
On the other hand, the man is dressed casually - this conforms to the stereotype that men do not care for their appearance as much as women. It also helps the characters juxtapose each other, and could conform to the archetypal narrative of 'opposites attract'.
Star System
The star system uses the name Jennifer Lopez across the top of poster. This shows she has A-List status and may influence whether people go and see the film or not. It may also suggest that the other cast members are not as well known. As her name is at the top, it may be the first thing a passer by sees, and so could help to engage them with the poster.
Typography
The typography used is bold for the words "The Back Up Plan" to communicate that it is the title of the film. This text is considerably larger than any other on the poster and as a result it stands out. It is also a serif font which gives it a sort of etched in look; this is interesting considering it is called "The Back Up Plan" - you'd expect the writing to look a little more spontaneous. However, this substantiates the idea of Zoe being an organised person with plans. The typography of "Not necessarily in that order"is similar to handwriting - and hence makes it more relatable.
Tagline/Strap line
"Fall in love. Get married. Have a baby." uses a triadic structure to have more impact on the audience. It also reflects the traditional views of society, and perhaps what is regarded as a social "norm". The asterix with 'not necessarily in that order' underneath suggests that the narrative of the film is not a conventional romance. It could also increase the tellability and how relatable the film is. This is because the unconventionality could make the film more interesting and heighten audience engagement. The audience may be able to relate more to the film because plans do not always work out in life, and the typography of this is made to look like handwriting. It also gives a sense of lightheartedness to the subject, linking to the comedy element of the film.
Other information
Towards the bottom of the poster, there is other information. The block of text that is more difficult to read usually lists the notable individuals and companies that are involved in the film, for example the editors and producers. These are obviously worthy of being on the poster, but are likely to make less difference to whether the audience see the film, so it is not written as clearly.As far as I can see the film has not yet been rated or no rating is visible. This could be because the film has no definitive release date (the director perhaps thought "coming soon" would have more impact) or that it was already obvious from the poster what demographic the film was targeting.
Evaluation
This is an effective poster because it captures the essence of the film and key elements of the narrative are communicated. Aspects of the romance genre are evident, like the stereotypical pink colour that is used. Although the proxemics are effective, the relationship between the pair could be made more obvious through them being closer together.
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