Most overused Clichés in movies/TV shows?

[petee]

Working as a waitress and living in a huge apartment, with the fridge full and expensive clothes.

i would like all you limes to know that we here in nyc laugh at what bullshit Friends is. Seinfeld, otoh, is remarkably true to apartment living.

 

[spanglechick]

Cheers for that fact. Every day’s a school day around here Are you in the industry?

Nope. Film studies teacher.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Not sure if it qualifies as a cliché, more like an overused sound effect device. But I am really sick and tired of just about every American film and series featuring scenes set in schools and colleges introducing the scene by playing that bell they ring to call students to lessons.

I know the practice of introducing the next scene by starting to play its sound a couple of seconds before the visuals change is a very commonplace device in the industry (a bit overdone imo), but do we really need every forthcoming scene set at a school or college be preceded by that damned bell?

Fair enough if the scene starts with students actually being called to lessons. But why the fuck do we need to hear the bell for the next scene simply because it takes place at a college? Almost every single bloody time with some series

Man you should never watch anime

 

[T & P]

In non-18 rated or generally erotic themed films, a couple is having sex and the woman is wearing her bra during the act, and sometimes even wakes up the following morning still wearing it.

I’m completely fine with an actress’ breasts not being shown during a sex scene, but there are countless ways to film a sex scene that doesn’t show nudity without the need for the woman to wear a bra. Just film the scene from behind, or do a close up shot that shows just the face and shoulders, instead of showing the full torso of the woman. Who the fuck has sex wearing a bra ffs? I can’t imagine many women sleeping wearing one either, regardless of whether they have company or are alone.

 

[Orang Utan]

I dunno.
Might be more comfortable for some larger breasted participants, especially if they’re gonna be doing a lot of vigorous bouncing on top .

 

[Spymaster]

Who the fuck has sex wearing a bra ffs?

Me. Sometimes I wear stockings and suspenders too.

 

[T & P]

Me. Sometimes I wear stockings and suspenders too.

That goes without saying

 

[T & P]

Also, as I watch yet another instance of it, if you are trapped in a house and injured, tied up, or simply are much weaker than the twisted deranged psychopath trying to stab you with a big butcher’s knife, if against all odds you manage to knock him out with a blow to the head, fucking finish him off ffs.

Or at least break both his ankles. Don’t just leave him on the floor while you struggle to get out of the house or wait for the rozzers to arrive, because virtually 100% of the time it will turn out he’s not dead, and is going to catch up with you again.

 

[Reno]

Also, as I watch yet another instance of it, if you are trapped in a house and injured, tied up, or simply are much weaker than the twisted deranged psychopath trying to stab you with a big butcher’s knife, if against all odds you manage to knock him out with a blow to the head, fucking finish him off ffs.

Or at least break both his ankles. Don’t just leave him on the floor while you struggle to get out of the house or wait for the rozzers to arrive, because virtually 100% of the time it will turn out he’s not dead, and is going to catch up with you again.

Are you still watching Fresh ?

 

[T & P]

Are you still watching Fresh ?

Yes, finished it a little while ago. Was just looking up the writer/ director. Her very first film it seems, an impressive debut.

Aforementioned cliché aside, which doesn’t spoil the film in any way but simply reminded me of another bugbear I’d been meaning to add in here, I thought it was pretty decent. I was initially very slightly taken aback as I had expected a dark comedy flick (one website even uses the word in its description romcom), but all in all perfectly decent. Though perhaps this is a conversation for the ‘what film did you watch last night’ thread.

 

[donkyboy]

maybe its been mentioned already, but characters with telepathic powers always need to put their finger on their temple when using their power.

 

[T & P]

I haven’t watched it yet so it could be shit (but then, who cares that much about an hour long one-off programme), but fans of this thread might be interested to know about the new Netflix documentary Attack of the Hollywood Clichés.

It’s produced by Charlie Brooker so worth a punt imo, and it will hopefully provide additional material for this thread we haven’t yet thought of

Attack of the Hollywood Clichés! review – Rob Lowe raises idiocy to a high art | Television & radio | The Guardian

Produced by Charlie Brooker, this jam-packed sendup of hackneyed film tropes – from The Baguette Rule to The Smurfette Principle – is a perfect hour of fluff and nonsense

amp.theguardian.com

 

[T & P]

Wall safes in rich people’s houses will always be hidden behind a painting. In the study, of course. They’ll never find it there.

 

[Nine Bob Note]

I wanted a gif, but that was the best I could find

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

I haven’t watched it yet so it could be shit (but then, who cares that much about an hour long one-off programme), but fans of this thread might be interested to know about the new Netflix documentary Attack of the Hollywood Clichés.

It’s produced by Charlie Brooker so worth a punt imo, and it will hopefully provide additional material for this thread we haven’t yet thought of

Attack of the Hollywood Clichés! review – Rob Lowe raises idiocy to a high art | Television & radio | The Guardian

Produced by Charlie Brooker, this jam-packed sendup of hackneyed film tropes – from The Baguette Rule to The Smurfette Principle – is a perfect hour of fluff and nonsense

amp.theguardian.com

Couldn't call it holly-wipe?

 

[krtek a houby]

View attachment 324136

I wanted a gif, but that was the best I could find

Weren't there some allegations about him a few years back?

 

[SpookyFrank]

Seinfeld, otoh, is remarkably true to apartment living.

Except in real life people sometimes do and say things that are funny.

 

[T & P]

Tranquilliser darts being used on people when the other party wants to take them alive.

Not only this is a massively overused device, it doesn’t even happen in real life. Not so bad if you’re watching a silly action comedy, but I’ve seen it in big budget, supposedly serious and accurate spy thrillers too.

I wouldn’t say a tranquilliser gun has never ever been used in a real life situation ( even though it’s a good bet it hasn’t). But it’s certainly not something a tool that any special forces or secret agent would be equipped with if the overriding objective is to capture the target alive and unharmed.

 

[krtek a houby]

Except in real life people sometimes do and say things that are funny.

Edgy

 

[bcuster]

using the phrase "as well" instead of "also"

 

[Spymaster]

I wouldn’t say a tranquilliser gun has never ever been used in a real life situation ...

Only on animals I reckon, although they'd be dead handy if they did work on humans. The trouble would be that they don't work instantly and most humans would probably pull the dart out. Then you've got the dosage issues for different sized people. Lethal poison blowpipes are definitely a thing though. Apparently the origin is from Pygmy tribes who didn't have the arm span to draw a bow deeply enough to shoot arrows effectively, so needed an alternative for hunting.

 

[T & P]

Ah, the trusty big American city downtown alleyway. The bread and butter of local muggers, thugs, rapists and murderers to look for an easy victim, and the first port of call for superheroes and vigilantes to hang about at.

For it seems that they prove an irresistible shortcut to everyone living in L.A., NY, Metropolis or Gotham, from lonely women walking home alone late at night to old ladies going to the grocery store to Bruce Wayne’s parents, no matter how fucking dodgy and threatening they look. Because what could possibly go wrong? Extra points awarded for dead ends, large wheelie bins and steam coming out of random pipes. Marvel and DC Comics would be utterly fucked without them

 

[srb7677]

If ever a car tumbles off a road over a cliff, you can guarantee that it will explode as if a bomb is on board.

 

[T & P]

If ever a car tumbles off a road over a cliff, you can guarantee that it will explode as if a bomb is on board.

Yes, good one. And sometimes they don’t even need anything as dramatic as a cliff to go off, just a hard crash, or even a well aimed bullet.

I’m no expert but I’m willing to bet it’s actually just about impossible for a car’s fuel tank to explode on impact or very shortly after.

 

[muscovyduck]

Yes, good one. And sometimes they don’t even need anything as dramatic as a cliff to go off, just a hard crash, or even a well aimed bullet.

I’m no expert but I’m willing to bet it’s actually just about impossible for a car’s fuel tank to explode on impact or very shortly after.

This is a dangerous trope too. Because in real life if you're in a car crash, often the worst thing you can do is immediately run from the car. But movies have us trained into thinking if you're not out in 3 seconds you get blown up

 

[srb7677]

The hero will always be a crack shot with any weapon the instant he picks it up, whilst all those fully trained enemy soldiers trying to kill him cannot shoot for toffee.

 

[T & P]

This is a dangerous trope too. Because in real life if you're in a car crash, often the worst thing you can do is immediately run from the car. But movies have us trained into thinking if you're not out in 3 seconds you get blown up

Why is that, out of curiosity? I understand the danger if the car is still in the carriageway, but surely there’s none if the resting place of the car is not on the road, and you ensure you don’t run back towards the road?

 

[T & P]

The hero will always be a crack shot with any weapon the instant he picks it up, whilst all those fully trained enemy soldiers trying to kill him cannot shoot for toffee.

However a great many villains, henchmen and boss-level alike, seem to come with a remarkably proficient knowledge of martial arts and hand to hand combat, which I guess compensates for their pisspoor marksmanship.

 

[srb7677]

However a great many villains, henchmen and boss-level alike, seem to come with a remarkably proficient knowledge of martial arts and hand to hand combat, which I guess compensates for their pisspoor marksmanship.

The hero is usually able to quickly fight off half a dozen enemy henchmen simultaneously using martial arts. The villain in chief however is just as good at martial arts as the hero but helpfully waits until all his henchmen have been dealt with and can no longer support him before going one on one. There is always a moment in the ensuing fight where the villain in chief has the hero on the ropes but the hero always manages to turn it around and prevail in the end. The death of the villain in chief is usually dramatic.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

It’s called a J-cut, editing fans. The opposite (when the last scene’s audio is heard while we are visually in the next scene,) is called an L-cut.

I've been a professional editor for about 25 years and I didn't even know it had a name.