I’ve always been a fan of the kind of reflexivity employed in Hollywood-set films and TV series where we get a glimpse of a title, a poster or even a trailer for a fake movie existing only in the world of the characters on the screen. Often these mock productions are spoofs or otherwise parodic in some way, and they provide great humor to the entertainment we’re watching. I’m not always a fan of these gags being used for viral marketing purposes, however, especially if the clips we see on the web are the same we end up seeing in the movie. It kind of ruins them for when they’re put into the context of the whole story. The whole practice also seems to be overdone nowadays. Between last year’s overload of mock films in Tropic Thunder and the failed attempt at using such marketing for How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, I think Hollywood should take a break from the self-parody for awhile.

Judd Apatow, who often uses viral marketing for his films, dropped his latest fake production on us this week, though it’s not for a fake film; it’s a double-edged look at the fake NBC series Yo Teach! And besides coming along after the concept has been done to death, it also seems to miss the point. While seemingly trying to come off as a parody of sitcoms, it actually looks like something a lot of people want to watch. As a Head of the Class fan growing up, I’m one of these people. As lame as the show is in concept, it’s pretty decent in execution. And it makes us kinda wish Jason Schwartzman — and Apatow — were back doing TV work rather than the depressing comedy that Funny People, for which this fake TV show was invented, threatens to be. These viral videos are basically a bullseye, just on the wrong target.

A great many other film bloggers would also like Yo Teach! to really exist. See the responses after the jump:

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Ramen is a tricky subject to most Americans. On one hand, it means “Cup Noodle,” 24 packages for $2 and ingesting more sodium than once thought humanly possible. On the other, it’s downright delicious when served properly and with things aside from the dried peas or “flavor packets” that come with the cheap versions. (If you’re around New York, we recommend the Ippudo chain or Minca.)

That said, there has only been one great film about ramen: Tampopo. A heart-warming tale of a truck driver helping a widow turn her ramen shop around, it is a regarded whimsical “noodle western” that proves even hobos can be culinary masters. And now, to round out the spectrum, there is officially the Worst Ramen Film: The Ramen Girl.

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There’s some cool new promo stuff up online for Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind. The film is about two video clerks who accidentally demagnetize every VHS tape in their store while their boss is on vacation, and then proceed to produced no-budget camcorder “remakes” of the most rented titles. The studio is–smartly, I think–exploiting the DIY theme of the story in order to sell it to kids who live online as a user-participatory event.

First, go to the official website. Wade your way through the animation about the internet being erased, and tell it that you want to rebuld the internet. Eventually, you’ll get to a place where you can insert an image of yourself into a VHS box of a “classic” film, such as, um, Drop Dead Fred. I went with My Own Private Idaho, because I thought it would be funny. See above.

Then, there’s the obligatory “viral” video component. So far, there are three trailers on YouTube, representing three of the films remade within Be Kind Rewind. I’ve pasted my favorite, for Ghostbusters, after the jump; you’ll find the Robocop trailer here and the Rush Hour 2 trailer here. I know the guru of faux-viral movie marketing said that clips this this should be under 30 seconds, but honestly, I could have gone for a longer Ghostbusters trailer, if only to hear Jack Black and Mos Def argue over who’s going to be the Key Master and who’s going to be the Gate Keeper.

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