Ryan Gosling's Drive poster: Why is the font so 'campy' and pink?
The gory thriller's otherwise gritty, mysterious ad campaign features a surprisingly girly, '80s-style font. Huh?
The image: The hotly anticipated movie Drive, a violent Ryan Gosling vehicle from Danish auteur Nicolas Winding Refn, opens Friday. But in recent weeks, the font used for the film's brooding marketing campaign (see poster below) has generated nearly as much buzz as the thriller's star. Against an eerily desaturated, menacing image of Gosling glancing sideways, the film's title is spelled out in a chipper pink cursive — a font that's arguably better suited to a poster for an 80s cheerleader flick. (Compare the molten, macho type used for iconic car flick, The Fast and the Furious.) What gives?
The reaction: "The flamboyant, pink script" makes Drive look nothing "like an ordinary crime thriller," says John Horn in the Los Angeles Times. In this case, that's truth in advertising. This gory, unique film "is an unusual mash-up of art-house style and commercial genre moviemaking." But the font just reads as campy, says Natalie Zutter at Crushable. The poster "resembles a preteen’s folder with 'Mrs. Ryan Gosling' scrawled on it in gel pen." Yeah, this "hilariously outdated pink font" seems like a joke, says Annie Barrett in Entertainment Weekly. It makes me think of the classic 80s flick Heathers. I can only hope that Gosling's film also features Slurpees and "murdering mean girls." Judge for yourself:
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 22, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - dystopian laughs, WNBA salaries, and more
By The Week US Published