From the first time we saw the trailer for 'Friends With Benefits,' we immediately thought, "What the hell? They just made that freaking movie." Still not seeing it? Check out the tagline for 'No Strings Attached.'
Granted, the verdict's still out as to whether or not 'FWB' manages to bring something different to the table from 'NSA,' but while the whole "Let's just sleep together without getting emotionally involved" shtick doesn't exactly break new ground for rom-coms, it's never been so clearly at the forefront like it is with these two.
Which got us thinking: This isn't the first time we've come across two suspiciously similar movies that got released so close together that comparisons were inevitable. From WWII to reality TV, Hollywood has never been a stranger to piggybacking off a successful formula. With the help of our buddies over at Rotten Tomatoes and their handy-dandy Tomatometer, we figured we'd take a look back at the ones that worked and the ones that probably should have stayed on the cutting-room floor.
Check the full list of carbon copies we came up with:
'The Roommate' (2011) and 'Single White Female' (1992)
What are they about? Girl gets an apartment, girl looks for a roommate to split the rent with, girl eventually finds the perfect roommate, said perfect roommate ends up being a total psycho.
How are they different? One's got college girls, the other's got working girls.
What's the general consensus? 'The Roommate' has a Tomatometer score of 4%, 'Single White Female' has a Tomatometer score of 57%.
Which do we think is better? 'Single White Female.' No contest and a terribly underrated movie to boot.
'The Prestige' (2006) and 'The Illusionist' (2006)
What are they about? Magicians.
How are they different? One's about dueling magicians, one's about a magician on the lam. Not exactly identical in context, but movies about magicians are quite rare to begin with, let alone two in the same year.
What's the general consensus? 'The Prestige' has a Tomatometer score of 75%, 'The Illusionist' has a Tomatometer score of 74%.
Which do we think is better? 'The Prestige.' When in doubt, always go with Christopher Nolan.
'Capote' (2005) and 'Infamous' (2006)
What are they about? Biopics about Truman Capote during the time he wrote and researched his book 'In Cold Blood.'
How are they different? Different people play Truman Capote.
What's the general consensus? 'Capote' has a Tomatometer score of 90%, 'Infamous' has a Tomatometer score of 74%.
Which do we think is better? 'Capote,' if only for Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar-winning performance.
'Volcano' (1997) and 'Dante's Peak' (1997)
What are they about? Volcanoes erupt, everybody runs.
How are they different? One goes off in the heart of Los Angeles, one goes off in the mountains of Washington.
What's the general consensus? 'Volcano' has a Tomatometer score of 42%, 'Dante's Peak' has a Tomatometer score of 28%.
Which do we think is better? 'Dante's Peak,' even though we're still not sure why that grandma jumped into the acid lake when they were pretty much in the clear anyway.
'Prefontaine' (1997) and 'Without Limits' (1998)
What are they about? Biopics about the late Olympic long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine.
How are they different? One's got Jared Leto in it, the other's got Billy Crudup and Donald Sutherland.
What's the general consensus? 'Prefontaine' has a Tomatometer score of 62%, 'Without Limits' has a Tomatometer score of 78%.
Which do we think is better? 'Without Limits.' All hail Donald Sutherland.
'Antz' (1995) and 'A Bug's Life' (1998)
What are they about? Good computer-generated insects saving their respective worlds from the threat of evil computer-generated insects.
How are they different? 'Antz' is a bit darker, if we remember correctly.
What's the general consensus? 'Antz' has a Tomatometer score of 90%, 'A Bug's Life' has a Tomatometer score of 91%.
Which do we think is better? 'Antz.' Woody Allen and Sly Stallone need to do more voice acting.
'Armageddon' (1998) and 'Deep Impact' (1998)
What are they about? Giant meteors on a collision course with Earth.
How are they different? Oil riggers?turned-astronauts save the day in one, Earth is actually pretty screwed in the other.
What's the general consensus? 'Armageddon' has a Tomatometer score of 40%, 'Deep Impact' has a Tomatometer score of 47%.
Which do we think is better? 'Deep Impact.' It doesn't get much cornier than 'Armageddon,' and there's just no forgiving how many times we had to hear that damn Aerosmith song.
'Skyline' (2010) and 'Battle: Los Angeles' (2011)
What are they about? Aliens invade Los Angeles, humans fight back.
How are they different? One features civilians, the other features Marines.
What's the general consensus? 'Skyline' has a Tomatometer score of 16%, 'Battle: L.A.' has a Tomatometer score of 35%.
Which do we think is better? Neither. Both too awful to declare a victor.
'EdTV' (1999) and 'The Truman Show' (1998)
What are they about? A guy's everyday life becomes a TV show for the whole world to see.
How are they different? One knows about the cameras, the other is totally oblivious.
What's the general consensus? 'EdTV' has a Tomatometer score of 63%, 'The Truman Show' has a Tomatometer score of 95%.
Which do we think is better? 'The Truman Show.' Not only the best performance of Jim Carrey's career, but just an incredibly well-done movie that was ahead of its time.
'Tombstone' (1993) and 'Wyatt Earp' (1994)
What are they about? The gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
How are they different? 'Wyatt Earp' is over three freakin' hours long, and 'Tombstone' is a lot less lovey-dovey.
What's the general consensus? 'Tombstone' has a Tomatometer score of 77%, 'Wyatt Earp' has a Tomatometer score of 42%.
Which do we think is better? 'Tombstone.' Two words: Val Kilmer.
'Saving Private Ryan' (1998) and 'The Thin Red Line' (1998)
What are they about? American soldiers during World War II.
How are they different? One goes for realism, the other leaves a lot of room for interpretation.
What's the general consensus? 'Saving Private Ryan' has a Tomatometer score of 91%, 'The Thin Red Line' has a Tomatometer score of 78%.
Which do we think is better? 'Saving Private Ryan.' So much more than just the invasion of Normandy.
'Mission to Mars' (2000) and 'Red Planet' (2000)
What are they about? Astronauts go to Mars, things don't go as planned, lots of people die.
How are they different? One is heavy on aliens and killer tornadoes, the other's a bastardized take on '2001: A Space Odyssey.'
What's the general consensus? 'Mission to Mars' has a Tomatometer score of 25%, 'Red Planet' has a Tomatometer score of 13%.
Which do we think is better? Yet another lose-lose scenario, but we'll go with 'Red Planet.'
Guess we'll have to wait until this Friday to see if we can add 'Friends With Benefits' to this list, but here hoping it dodges that bullet with flying colors.
What other movie duplicates did we miss?
Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1923209/news/1923209/
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