Most overused Clichés in movies/TV shows?

[T & P]

When a teenage kid in America wants to sneak out of the house after curfew or if they’ve been grounded, there will always be a mature tree conveniently positioned right next to their bedroom window, which will allow them to climb down to ground level and back up on their return.

If the kid had been grounded, one of the parents will walk into the bedroom at some point to make peace. They will say some conciliatory words to the seemingly sleeping child, only to discover it was just a pile of clothes and a pillow tucked under the blanket.

 

[DaveCinzano]

A gaggle of paparazzi around an in-story celebrity, grasping huge-lensed cameras like they were holding onto the steering wheel of a toddler's plastic pedal car

 

[DaveCinzano]

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?'

Addendum:

Harassed-looking store clerk replies 'Yes, but since GiantCorp took us over it gets recorded over every 2 hours to save money'

 

[mojo pixy]

Addendum:

Harassed-looking store clerk replies 'Yes, but since GiantCorp took us over it gets recorded over every 2 hours to save money'

Finally a recording from another camera turns up but it's so blurry as to be useless - till a rookie notices one detail in the footage that will later become key.

At first, nobody else takes it seriously and the rookie's supervisor tells them to stop wasting time and get on with yer damn job.

But they just can't let it go...

 

[DaveCinzano]

JUST GIVE ME 48 HOURS!

 

[Silas Loom]

JUST GIVE ME 48 HOURS!

YOU GOT 24, DETECTIVE!

 

[DaveCinzano]

GODDAMN YOU, LOU - YOU USED TO BE REAL POLICE

 

[T & P]

Bathrooms in expensive houses in America have twin sinks and mirrors next to each other so couples can brush their teeth together. And the fucking weirdos do just that. And often elect to have serious conversations at that very moment that lead to arguments or a relationship crisis.

 

[Orang Utan]

Bathrooms in expensive houses in America have twin sinks and mirrors next to each other so couples can brush their teeth together. And the fucking weirdos do just that. And often elect to have serious conversations at that very moment that lead to arguments or a relationship crisis.

I think that’s quite sweet.
Mayhe cos of Better Call Saul

 

[T & P]

I think that’s quite sweet.
Mayhe cos of Better Call Saul

But proper tooth care requires daily flossing. And neither the act of flossing nor the dislodged chunks of food residue that land on the sink are something anyone wants to see or would find sweet or cute.

 

[Orang Utan]

But proper tooth care requires daily flossing. And neither the act of flossing nor the dislodged chunks of food residue that land on the sink are something anyone wants to see or would find sweet or cute.

Might help each other to remember to brush as well. Some of us need accountability buddies even for the most basic self-care

 

[T & P]

Even to this day, Japanese mobsters and organised crime members own no guns, and attempt to kill their victims or fight each other to the death with bladed weapons only, even when they are about to die and a single guy with an Uzi could take out the entire group of sword-welding opponents about to chop them to pieces in an abandoned factory.

 

[danny la rouge]

People with serious illnesses don’t take tablets the number of times a day the doctor said. At times of great stress they rattle pills straight from the bottle (not blister strip) into their mouths with abandon. Sometimes they will gaze at the label at those times. But mostly they just knock them back.

 

[T & P]

People with serious illnesses don’t take tablets the number of times a day the doctor said. At times of great stress they rattle pills straight from the bottle (not blister strip) into their mouths with abandon. Sometimes they will gaze at the label at those times. But mostly they just knock them back.

I might have mentioned this before, but on the subject of health emergencies, poisoning, etc, the point of no return will always be exactly 24 hours.

 

[UrbaneFox]

When a main character is on the run and being hunted by the police after being wrongly accused of a crime, they will sooner or later walk into a store or diner that happens to have the TV on, and the news wlll of course happen to be on, showing the protagonist's face on the screen being reported as a most wanted fugitive.

Fugitives using publc transport meanwhile will invariably seat down near a passenger who is reading a newspaper with our hero's mugshot plastered on the front page. The passenger will do a double take, recognise our hero, and will then get up and walk away trying to look natural, and alert a cop who by pure bad luck is travelling on the same carriage.

Alternatively, at home just switch on the TV and at that moment the appropriate news story begins.

Once the highlights are read out switch off, exhausted, and be served beer / supper on a tray by loving wife / girlfriend, followed by sex.

 

[Humberto]

In war or action type movies there's often a guy who chews tobacco or always has a cigar between his teeth who really loves shooting people and blowing stuff up.

 

[T & P]

In war or action type movies there's often a guy who chews tobacco or always has a cigar between his teeth who really loves shooting people and blowing stuff up.

 

[Spymaster]

Alternatively, at home just switch on the TV and at that moment the appropriate news story begins.

And that happens immediately after someone gets a phonecall and told to "turn on your tv".

Not only does the caller have the psychic ability to know exactly when the the story is about to begin, but also the recipient of the call doesn't need to ask "what channel?"

 

[DaveCinzano]

Although that particular vignette is a pretty faithful staging of a real-life encounter recounted by Michael Herr

 

[DaveCinzano]

Although that particular vignette is a pretty faithful staging of a real-life encounter recounted by Michael Herr

(cf the M79 ‘bloop gun’ scene in Apocalypse Now)

 

[Humberto]

Aliens, Crimson Tide, Predator.

 

[T & P]

And that happens immediately after someone gets a phonecall and told to "turn on your tv".

Not only does the caller have the psychic ability to know exactly when the the story is about to begin, but also the recipient of the call doesn't need to ask "what channel?"

And when such set up occurs in a diner or bar, the TV will be at a barely audible volume, and when the crestfallen detective notices the breaking news flashing on the screen they will shout to the person behind the bar ‘Turn the volume up!’, which they will comply with immediately and within three seconds max.

 

[DaveCinzano]

And that happens immediately after someone gets a phonecall and told to "turn on your tv".

Not only does the caller have the psychic ability to know exactly when the the story is about to begin, but also the recipient of the call doesn't need to ask "what channel?"

Whereas in real life there'd be five minutes of

“I think the batteries have gone in this it's not working...”
“That's the wrong remote, you have you use this one first to turn it on and then that one to fire up the speakers”
“Right, okay... Where's the channel guide?”
“It's the one in the middle”
“That's the ‘mute’..?"
"No, the one below it and two to the left”
“That's changed the aspect ratio”
“Try left”
“Some sort of closed captioning..?”
“Right?”
“Aha! YES!!! ...Wait, do I scroll up the channel list, or down?”
“Try up to start with”
“Porn...Porn... Local radio... Porn... Hold on, no, that's GBN... More porn... Infomercials... Weird Jobfinder throwback... Porn...”

 

[UrbaneFox]

And when such set up occurs in a diner or bar, the TV will be at a barely audible volume, and when the crestfallen detective notices the breaking news flashing on the screen they will shout to the person behind the bar ‘Turn the volume up!’, which they will comply with immediately and within three seconds max.

Alternatively, someone shouts "Oh my God" even before the news story has started, and all present instantly shut up and watch the story.

See The Irishman diner scene with breaking news of President Kennedy being shot.

 

[UrbaneFox]

Mass of photographers and shouting reporters surround main character as he leaves house or car, but one leading question is heard above all others, and mc responds with equally clear, succinct response.

 

[T & P]

In countries Hollywood perceives to be Third World or Developing, if the main character has to ride a local rural bus, there will invariably be someone on board carrying a chicken in a cage, if not even more unusual livestock.

 

[DotCommunist]

In countries Hollywood perceives to be Third World or Developing, if the main character has to ride a local rural bus, there will invariably be someone on board carrying a chicken in a cage, if not even more unusual livestock.

There's many similar. The laziest is surely where the story moves to parts middle eastern and the cut to the new location is audibly signalled with a phrase or two of call to prayer.

 

[T & P]

There's many similar. The laziest is surely where the story moves to parts middle eastern and the cut to the new location is audibly signalled with a fragment of call to prayer.

Yeah, such lazy sound cues are endemic when it involves a change of scenery transporting us to an ‘exotic’ land. Exchange call to prayer with a few quick string instrument cord notes if it’s Japan or China, or even a ‘gong!’ sound back in the day…

 

[T & P]

Anyone in an upper management position with their own office, whether a corporation, lawyer firm, police headquarters or even spy agency, will have a framed photograph of their family/ spouse on their desk.

 

[Saul Goodman]

Not shitting has to be the most overused cliché on TV. I watched every episode of 24, and Jack Bauer never had a shit in 204 episodes. 4896 hours he went without a poo. I don't believe it for one minute but it's setting a bad example.