Most overused Clichés in movies/TV shows?

[Shippou-Sensei]

Benevolent male computer hackers who the protagonists enlist to break into a top government or corporation network when they have nowhere else to turn will invariably live in a basement, usually in filthy conditions. If they are under 30 , it will be their mother’s house. Bonus point if she comes downstairs to deliver a sandwich.

More accurate than swordfish

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Also anytime the computer screen is projected onto anyone's face as if they set their brightness and contrast to deathstar.

 

[T & P]

When a meek goodie character in America gets unfairly arrested for a relatively trivial charge, they will put in a communal holding cell at the police station. The cell will invariably be filled with badass-looking hard blokes, all standing up in the cell, who immediately zero in on the hapless protagonist as he’s ushered inside the cell.

 

[MickiQ]

When the hero in a martial arts movie yanks down the mask of the ninja he has been fighting, he is briefly shocked to discover it's a woman. She's also gorgeous and wearing full makeup.
Clearly a girl needs to look her best when she's off to do some murdering.

 

[DotCommunist]

When a meek goodie character in America gets unfairly arrested for a relatively trivial charge, they will put in a communal holding cell at the police station. The cell will invariably be filled with badass-looking hard blokes, all standing up in the cell, who immediately zero in on the hapless protagonist as he’s ushered inside the cell.

if its a cop or a known criminal entering proper jail the protag is walked past loads of cells and the assorted welcoming cons go fucking apeshit, hooting, hollering, throwing burning toilet rolls out the cells while the southern Governer chuckles 'they do this all the time'

 

[T & P]

When a fight starts at a bar in the US, if there is a pool table in the premises, whoever happens to be playing pool at the time will invariably be one of the parties kicking it off.

 

[PTK]

There is an intellectually challenged character who everyone in the gang/group/unit finds lovable, who dies tragically when cut down by enemy fire. This usually makes the hero even more determined to defeat the enemy.There is an intellectually challenged character who everyone in the gang/group/unit finds lovable, who dies tragically when cut down by enemy fire. This usually makes the hero even more determined to defeat the enemy.

 

[PTK]

A montage of clips in which the potential hero learns the necessary skills to undertake his mission, at least one of which will show him being comically inept.

 

[PTK]

The eyes of the monster or monstrous person glow.

 

[T & P]

If the protagonist is a cop, spy, special ops soldier or otherwise clever savvy guy, a couple of quick glances at the rearview mirror within a twenty-second period (at most) is all they need to establish they are being followed by another car. Even at night when all they can see is a pair of headlights, or in busy cities with countless other cars also travelling along the same route behind them which somehow didn’t arise any suspicions.

 

[T & P]

When someone gets shot in the chest but it is then revealed they were wearing a bulletproof vest, right afterwards the character will unbutton their shirt and look at the bullet impacts on their vest with an expression of wild astonishment, as if they didn’t know they were wearing one in the first place, or they had never heard of such devices and regard them as some kind of witchcraft.

 

[krtek a houby]

Mom throwing the whole dinner in the bin because everyone is busy/late/it's gone cold/etc

Such extravagance! Such waste!
This only seems to happen in American films. Is it a cliché? It's damn annoying in any case.

 

[porp]

Tracking shot in the corridor of an American High School, all the different tribes/cliques are shown doing their thing, before we come to rest on the protagonist outside their locker.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Tracking shot in the corridor of an American High School, all the different tribes/cliques are shown doing their thing, before we come to rest on the protagonist outside their locker.

 

[DaveCinzano]

Tracking shot in the corridor of an American High School, all the different tribes/cliques are shown doing their thing, before we come to rest on the protagonist outside their locker...

...(or, indeed, inside their locker)

 

[T & P]

Tracking shot in the corridor of an American High School, all the different tribes/cliques are shown doing their thing, before we come to rest on the protagonist outside their locker.

If I’ve learned anything from films and series, is that all the action that takes place in a typical American school will be in the school corridors where the lockers are.

Bullies (which if US films and TV shows are to be used as reference are bloody legion :) will get away with beating the shit of their victim in the main locker corridors without any consequence. Antagonists will also be able to effortlessly pick the lock of the hapless protagonist's locker to fill it with hurtful photographs or other material that will humiliate them when they open it.

Enemies will be framed by planting drugs in the locker. Secret crushes will be revealed by the photographs kept in them. Cruel gossip will be spread as the protagonist opens their locker as their schoolmates look on.

So a Viz Top Tip to all American students: don’t bother using your school's locker, which you don’t really fucking need in the first place, and you will likely avoid 98% of all school conflicts

 

[T & P]

Fucking DP

 

[krtek a houby]

Such a brilliant movie. And released so long ago it feels like it was made in the 80s rather being set there.

 

[nightowl]

The checkmate shock when two characters are playing chess. One character makes a move that results in checkmate and the other reacts in shock because they never saw it coming before that move. I've never seen that in the real world. You can always see trouble is coming beforehand.

 

[MickiQ]

One I've seen twice in movies this Christmas, male lead rushes to the airport and is just too late since the love of his life has boarded his flight. He stands in front of plane preventing it from taking off and she gets off and they kiss on the runway. In neither case does airport security jump him long before he gets to the runway and drag him off in handcuffs.

 

[T & P]

When a goodie needs to sneak into a restricted area of a building, whether a hospital, military facility or top research lab, all they need to do is to ‘accidentally’ bump into an employee in a corridor and snitch their security pass from them. Which will be casually hanging from their breast or hip pocket.

This will be perfectly executed every time not just by the spy/ special ops trained protagonist, but by all supporting civilian characters.

 

[Jennaonthebeach]

Has anyone mentioned that if anyone walks into a lecture or a class then they sit down for 5 minutes while the lecturer/teacher makes all the points required for the viewer to understand the plot and then the class/lecture ends.

Similar with concerts. You see them go in, the band is already on. After one song the concert ends and everyone leaves.

 

[Kaka Tim]

laptops in the offices of large organsiations are never password locked so our cunning protaganist has just about time to whip in a data stick and download sensitive information whilst laptop's owner goes for a piss/coffee etc.

 

[PTK]

When there is a chase on the New York City underground system, people always manage to vault over the barriers without mishap.

 

[Orang Utan]

When there is a chase on the New York City underground system, people always manage to vault over the barriers without mishap.

It’s pretty easy tbf

 

[DaveCinzano]

When a goodie needs to sneak into a restricted area of a building, whether a hospital, military facility or top research lab, all they need to do is to ‘accidentally’ bump into an employee in a corridor and snitch their security pass from them. Which will be casually hanging from their breast or hip pocket.

The old lab coat taken out of unlocked locker in unlocked staff locker room trick normally suffices TBF

 

[DaveCinzano]

The old lab coat taken out of unlocked locker in unlocked staff locker room trick normally suffices TBF

And whenever the inner sanctum of the evil antagonist's lair has an iris scan-controlled lock, you just know the corpse of the last goon to be dispatched is about to be defiled (cf thumb-print scanner)

 

[DotCommunist]

The convenient medical garb/id is so cliched you see it parodied often enough

iris scan-controlled lock

 

[mojo pixy]

Investigator on the scene, interviewing a witness / cut to a view from close behind a nearby cctv camera.
Cop points up at it, looks hopeful.
'Does that thing work?'

 

[Jennaonthebeach]

The characters in EastEnders never watch EastEnders

That's true of pretty much any show. Star Trek isn't anywhere to be found in the archives of Starfleet!