All Time Greatest Movie Or Television Clichés

[chrisa]

What are your favorite movie clichés?

A cliché "is a saying, expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, rendering it a stereotype, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel," according to Wikipedia. Essentially, in this case, it's a plot device or event that has been used in so many movies that they are now predictable, or lose their worth from overusage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clich%C3%A9


The first cliché is something I call, "The Car Chase Fruit Stand" effect, where no matter what kind of car chase is going on, one of the chasers will almost always crash into some type of fruit stand, or boxes on the side of the road.

Secondly, I label this one the "Growing facial hair for a serious role" cliché, where comedians, when picking up a serious role, will almost always grow facial hair. For example, Robin Williams.

Finally, I label this one "Attack of the Squibs," where in almost every war movie, 'Squibs,' or explosive props that cause the dirt to shoot up to simulate a bullet impact, will always sweep in a line through a group of bad guys, where they will all fall to the ground in unison. This is especially used in Vietnam movies, such as older ones. The bad guys might not even be near the bullet impact squibs, but will still die.

[Arugula Latte]

1. The train going into the tunnel to symbolize, err, you know ...

:evilgrin:

[chrisa]

2. Haha. Good one.

This was always used in older movies when Hollywood was more conservative and prudish.

Also used along with the train could be steam, or even steam coming from a train.

[Zomby Woof]

3. "Who sent you?"

One of my favrorites. Guaranteed laughs every time. The more "serious" the movie, the better.

[HopeHoops]

4. Chocolate soft icecream to symbolize, well, you know.

Okay, maybe it isn't a cliche, but it should be - actually "Me Myself and Irene" is the only movie I can think that used it, but the transition was perfect.

[chrisa]

5. "The President has been kidnapped!!!"

Also, the well-known cliché where a flamming car will always explode right after people get away from it. This is so overused that they tested it on Myth Busters.

[Arugula Latte]

6. The "death cab"

A character gets into a taxi thinking s/he is in neutral territory but then the doors lock and the driver views the person in the rear view mirror and you realize the driver is one of the bad guys about to abduct the passenger.

[Bicoastal]

7. Turn on the TV: "Hey, the news is reporting a story that directly relates to us!"

No one in movies ever flips on the news and gets a commercial for Head On or the Franklin Mint.

[XemaSab]

10. In "Close Encounters" there are a few ads before the news comes on

:shrug:

[Richardo]

20. they did that to great effect in 'Arrested Development'

Waiting interminably for the desired news story to come on. "This would have had a lot more impact if this story had been on right away." :rofl:

[Initech]

59. Bob Loblaw lobs law bomb

:rofl:

[InternalDialogue]

28. And the corollary: Turning off the TV before the news story is even over.

It's the "Well, That's Enough of That" rule.

But the desired effect is accomplished -- showing the audience the news.

[NewJeffCT]

8. No childbirth on TV is uneventful

somebody is always trapped somewhere and can't get to a hospital and somebody not a doctor has to deliver the baby, or else there is a huge rush to get them to the hospital in time...

[chrisa]

31. Child birth.

And then, when having the child, the mother is always screaming, swearing at people, and breaking and knocking everything off counters and tables near the hospital bed.

[Pool Hall Ace]

39. I thought that is what childbirth is really like!

I wouldn't know, though, as I've never had kids. :D

[TZ]

9. The hot chick marries the big obnoxious fat guy.

:eyes:

[mitchum]

13. That's because that is reality for Hollywood executives

[NewJeffCT]

30. well, it's not just the big, obnoxious fat guy

I don't think Jerry Seinfeld is all that good looking, but nearly every woman he dated on his show was attractive.

[Arugula Latte]

69. We always said that George's Costanza's dates were way out of his league.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

171. Really, I'm male

But I always thought that Jerry Seinfeld was devastatingly handsome. Still do. His girlfriends were definitely in his league IMO

George and Kramer OTOH

[Initech]

56. Definitely happens in cartoons.

[Arugula Latte]

68. And in sitcoms:

[JVS]

165. Edith and Archie are counter-examples. They're both plain

[mitchum]

11. The group of misfits gathered together for a suicide mission

[msanthrope]

23. This always includes the snappy line delivering minority of choice,

the nerd, the heartthrob, and, if it is a war/military movie, then the guy from Brooklyn.

[XemaSab]

12. Either of the two Rom-Com plots

Boy meets girl and they hate each other but learn to deal with one another.

Boy meets girl and they fall madly in love at first sight, but forces conspire to keep them apart.

:snore:

[chrisa]

32. Pretty much.

Rom-Coms are on a guide-wire from start to finish.

Also, in the end of Rom-Coms, the two main characters will kiss with either fireworks behind them, or random strangers clapping.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

108. The second one is what Ebert calls "The Idiot Plot"

No reason whatsoever for the two not to be together.

[Bucky]

162. And then she gets a deadly disease.

[Auggie]

14. Two: the eccentric best friend and the rise-to-fame collage

The rise to fame collage includes a quick-cut collage of magazine covers plus a mandatory clip of our star on something like Tonight Show.
Classic examples: Tootsie and Ghostbusters.

[anneboleyn]

67. And the de rigueur descent into squalor montage. I love the parody in Walk Hard: the Dewey Cox Story

[LynneSin]

15. Rain at Funerals

No matter what, if there is a funeral scene there is a good chance it's raining too.

[KamaAina]

47. Rain at pretty much any emotionally charged moment

a breakup, for instance.

I suppose no one in Arizona ever gets dumped. :eyes:

[rurallib]

98. rain AND thunder/ lightning

the thunder and lightning at the same time is so unreal.

[WolverineDG]

118. meant to show that the person went to Heaven

old superstition; on film, it's a hold over when people knew what rain at a funeral symbolized.

dg

[Initech]

16. How about when the series finale is always a wedding?

I can name at least 10 shows where this has happened.

[CBHagman]

45. I remember the days when they used to kill off love interests.

Bonanza did that a bunch of times.

Which brings me to another cliche: single fathers, particularly widowers. Good shows and bad have trotted that one out since -- well, actually, it goes back to fairy tales and operas, but you know what I mean.

[Initech]

46. They did that on Seinfeld.

[CBHagman]

54. Seinfeld was a cliche breaker, though.

No hugs, no lessons, no Very Special Episodes.

[Initech]

55. True that's why I love that show.

[CBHagman]

87. It's definitely on a different planet from "Bonanza."

Seinfeld belongs as much to its age as Bonanza did to its. In fact someone's probably writing a master's thesis or dissertation on that topic as we speak.

[Strong Atheist]

17. Recommended,

dammit! x(

[Deep13]

18. The guy with the promising future or who is about to retire gets killed.

The good guy sneaking into the bad guy's lair always gets captured.

Some unique item or personal habit ends up being the killer's undoing.

The teenagers having sex get killed by the machete-wielding psychopath first.

[Zavulon]

60. Especially the cop who has roughly a week left on the job.

He's as doomed as the previously unseen Star Trek crew member in the red shirt beaming down with the away team.

[wickerwoman]

76. Also any minor character who mentions their family or plans for the future

will inevitably be killed.

[datasuspect]

19. pre battle preparation montage

when the hero goes through click clacking clips into guns, tieing off ropes, sheathing knives right before the ultimate battle against evil.

[mitchum]

25. Even a masterpiece like "Taxi Driver" contains that bullshit scene...

but I like to convince myself that Scorsese was parodying that nonsense

[JVS]

115. Are you sure that Taxi Driver isn't where the cliche got started?

[mitchum]

124. Y'know, that may be where it started

come to think of it

[Starbucks Anarchist]

167. "The Wild Bunch" had a similar scene before the final shootout.

And that predated "Taxi Driver" by several years.

[mitchum]

169. You are absolutely right

Screw "The Searchers", that is the greatest western ever made

[Starbucks Anarchist]

172. I like it, but I'd have to go with "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly."

I actually saw "The Searchers" the other day. The cinematography was amazing, but I thought the plot got bogged down too frequently, and the comedic subplot and comic-relief characters hampered the whole thing.

[mitchum]

175. I really appreciate "The Searchers" as a source material for so many...

great 70s movies.
And you are right about the things that bog it down.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

179. Trivia fact:

Buddy Holly was inspired to write "That'll Be the Day" because of John Wayne's repeated line.

[cemaphonic]

134. Certainly possible,

but even if it isn't an actual parody, it's probably worth remembering that Travis is crazy.

[Mr. Ected]

21. "The Sacrificial Lamb"

Whenever a group enters into a dangerous situation, the anonymous bit players are always killed off in battle, and our well-paid and beautiful protagonists somehow escape unscathed.

I think of the original Star Trek TV show and how many times they beamed onto a new planet with members of the Enterprise we'd never seen before...and who we would never see again.

[sarge43]

24. Galaxy Quest did a wonderfully snarky take on the expendable crew member cliche. n/t

[Mr. Ected]

26. I've got to check that one out!

I can almost imagine how they would parody it, actually!

[chrisa]

35. Along with this is the "Cannon Fodder" cliché.

Where good security guards or police officers will go up against even the least skilled of bad guys only to fall one by one until the hero shows up and kills all of the bad guys without reloading.

Example: CTU security on "24."

[SoxFan]

48. Red Shirts!

[Zavulon]

61. Holy crap. If those are for sale anywhere, I want some.

Any idea if they are? :)

[SoxFan]

106. Try here

http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/exclusives/9722/

[Zavulon]

152. Vielen Dank, muchos gracias, merci beaucoup and so on...

...thanks a lot, seriously. :)

[krispos42]

75. !

:rofl:

[proteus_lives]

121. That shirt is awesome!!!!!

[sarge43]

22. Slurping, sucking sounds off screen. Slow pan to a man and woman eating

... food!

Old veteran, cop/soldier/firefighter whatever after a violent, scene wrecking moment that his new, punk partner caused says "I'm getting too old for this shit."

In a crisis moment Our Hero grabs The Love Interest's hand and runs. Why the hell is that necessary?

Psychiatrists who turn out to be more unspooled than their patients, especially over populate suspense and cop dramas. Usually see that one coming within the first fifteen minutes.

Nice guys get killed in the first twenty minutes; bad guys the last twenty minutes.

[mitchum]

27. If a character is flying to LA, the plane is pointed toward the left side of the screen...

if they are flying to NYC, the right side of the screen

[Mr. Ected]

29. All Germans are either evil or hapless or both

And all Arabs are evil, period.

Hollywood cliches.

[fujiyama]

63. Not all the Arabs

There's always that one good Arab working with the law enforcement which is accused of being a bad guy, which in itself is a stereotype of these movies.

[chrisa]

33. The bad guy with the hostage.

The bad guy always grabs a young, attractive female with a gun to her head, urging the hero to step back. Then the hero shoots the bad guy in the head. Or, it's the hero's friend that's being held hostage.

Sniper rifle lasers making that whirring noise. For example, on Family Guy when Meg says "God kill me now!" and God has a red dot aimed at her head.

[LostInAnomie]

34. For TV: Any pet that is placed in the care of the show's star will inevitably die...

... and then be replaced with either an exact copy from the pet store, or a similar looking animal that they have painted/stained/dyed to match the original.

From movies: Any female lead in a romantic comedy will fall down, spill something, drop something, knock something over, have a run in with an unruly animal, etc. showing that she is comically uncoordinated, thus human and relatable.

[hedgehog]

36. The two experts needed to consult on the imminent disaster

just happen to have a previous unresolved romantic relationship. Also, one is now available to the other as a result of recent death of spouse or divorce.

[hedgehog]

37. In disaster movies, after the expert carefully places his family

in a safe spot, in the next scene it's revealed that the tsunami/fire storm/asteroid/volcano has changed course. Guess where it's headed now?

[chrisa]

38. Cheap scare scenes.

These can be found in any cheap horror flick.

A character gets startled, goes to inspect an area, and then a cat jumps out in an attempt to scare the audience.

Then, of course, the real killer is there and kills the character soon after.

[Mr. Ected]

43. Or the inevitable terrified bimbo walking backwards into the shadows

Where the slasher lies in wait for her.

[anneboleyn]

73. Yes and the bimbo who walks backward and falls down a few times over tree limbs, etc.

[mitchum]

168. Coppola does a great parody of the "it's just a cat" trope...

with the tiger scene in Apocalypse Now

[frogmarch]

40. The medical examiner eating a sandwich

or something while explaining his autopsy findings to the police.

[mitchum]

126. Good one!

[mitchum]

127. Good one!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

41. The Wilhelm Scream.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdbYsoEasio&feature=related

[krispos42]

78. Fuck, I didn't see this before I posted.

:banghead:


Well met, sir. :patriot:

[dixiegrrrrl]

132. Wow...watched both clips. Most interesting. Thanks.

[frogmarch]

42. A child has something important

to say, like the house is on fire or daddy's choking to death or Uncle Toby raped me, but because preoccupied mom dismisses him/her with a "Not now, sweetie" the child remains silent, instead of just blurting it out.

[chrisa]

44. "I have something to tell you"

A member of one sex, usually a man about to tell a girl he loves her, says, "I have something to tell you!"

Then the girl says something like, "Me first! Me and my boyfriend are getting engaged, isn't that great? Now, what were you going to say?"

Then the guy just says something like "You're pretty," or something like that.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

97. And they're usually lifelong platonic friends, with one of them finally mustering up the strength...

....to reveal his/her true feelings, only to learn about his/her friend's engagement.

The rival boyfriend/girlfriend is either a real scumbag/bitch, or simply a hapless dupe not truly meant for their partner.

Eventually, it will end up at a wedding, where there will be a long dramatic speech at the altar, with the wedding being called off. In the event that the rival boyfriend/girlfriend is simply a hapless dupe, said rival boyfriend/girlfriend will not express much dismay that his/her wedding has been cancelled and he/she has been left at the altar, and simply chalk it up to "Oh well, it wasn't meant to be."

[chrisa]

137. Haha. True!

The rival boyfriend is always a total jerk, and treats the female love interest like garbage. Example: Wedding Crashers.

He's never a really nice guy, because the rival boyfriend always needs to be "the bad guy."

[Ohio Joe]

49. This thread has "Jumped the Shark"

:D

[Rabrrrrrr]

50. In re: the fruit stand, one of the Police Academy movies had a "Siskel and Ebert Fruit Stand"

because Siskel and Ebert - esp. Ebert, if memory serves - had railed repeatedly about the cliche of the car chase through the fruit stand cliche.

So the Police Academy folks thought to memorialize them with a fruit stand (through which cars drive, of course) of their own.

[Aristus]

51. Worst movie cliche ev-AR!:

The slow-motion final touchdown pass/field goal/basketball hoop shot/hockey slap-shot/triumphant-boxer's-raised-glove/homerun slam. Invariably the end to the inspirational-coach/misfit-sports-team films.

[EastTennesseeDem]

52. The locked in the freezer episode.

[SoxFan]

53. In any car chase, someone will show up with this

[Initech]

57. Talking animal movies. I'm looking at you G-Force.

:puke:

[MilesColtrane]

58. The Talking Killer

Siskel and Ebert pointed this one out many years ago.

The bad guy has the protagonist at gunpoint about to pull the trigger, but before he does he's got to tell him why he's about to die, or the full extent of his evil plan, thus giving time for a deus ex machina to swoop in and save the day.

Once you're cognizant of this device you'll see it EVERYWHERE.

The other one is the mano a mano showdown.

There always has to be a fist fight between the two main characters at some point near the end of the movie.
Abrams' Star Trek movie is the most recent example I can think of that is guilty of this lazy device.

Frequently, mano a mano is immediately followed by the talking killer.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

107. Re: Mano a mano

Most all fights I've ever witnessed last about 3 minutes tops. In the movies hardly anyone ever bleeds or stops fighting. Them's some tough Sons a bitches in the movies!
:)

[Gidney N Cloyd]

114. Syndrome from The Incredibles: "You sly dog, you got me monologing!"

[Zavulon]

62. Two which you all know, but which I have to point out anyway:

1.) When the hero is fighting ten or so people, only one antagonist attacks at a time while the others watch him be beaten to a pulp by the hero before taking their turn being stomped.

2.) Every square inch in Paris is within visual range of the Eiffel Tower; Every window in the city faces it.

[anneboleyn]

72. Hah! These are fantastic. The first one happens ALL the time and drives me mad.

[fujiyama]

64. The sitcom cliche I can think of

is a couple arguing and then madly making out.

[Orrex]

65. A spiritually ambivalent character who achieves peace/wisdom after embracing/reaffirming faith

[Drunken Irishman]

66. Slasher movies...

Post-Halloween:

Someone vanishes, either they're 'killed' or just inexcusably disappear years before the movie takes place.

20 or so years later, the killer returns to seek vengeance on those who fucked him over in his past life. Specifically drunks, big-boobed women and teens having sex.

This was done in nearly every 80s slasher movie.

Post-Scream:

Something bad happens to a teen -- either an affair with a parent, a murder of a loved one or they're murdered.

Then people involved all start dying off one by one and NO ONE KNOWS WHO THE KILLER IS.

At the end, though, the killer is unmasked and the reason is told in some convoluted story.

[Arugula Latte]

70. A character who is doomed does the "death foreshadow cough"

[anneboleyn]

79. Gran Torino should have been fined for this -- it happens at LEAST a hundred times.

[anneboleyn]

80. Man/Woman jostle for control sexually to show who is in charge.

Or random out-of-plotline sex scene -- in the beginning of Becoming Jane the father of Jane Austen (Tom Wilkinson) disappears under sheets to perform well you know while mother of Jane Austen moans/writhes.

[alarimer]

89. That scene in Becoming Jane seems anachronistic to me.

Did such an act even exist in those days? Did they even know about such things?

[anneboleyn]

142. Well, sure Shakespeare and Chaucer reference such things -- but plotwise it seemed weird to me.

[raccoon]

157. My guess is probably so, but the average person didn't know about such things.

Hollywood once again scraping the barrel.

[wickerwoman]

71. The soundtrack of any movie set in the 60s/Vietnam era must contain:

"For What it's Worth" Buffalo Springfield
"Fortunate Son" CCR
"Voodoo Chile" and/or "All Along the Watchtower" Jimi Hendrix
"Gimme Shelter" Rolling Stones

Not bad songs in and of themselves but *sooooo* overused in movies.

[anneboleyn]

77. And/or "Get Together" and any random Doors song

[mitchum]

123. And Vietnam movies rarely or never contain soul or country music...

which is rather odd considering the demographic groups who found themselves unable to avoid being sent there.
But, then again, most filmmakers don't come from those groups.

[krispos42]

74. The Wilhelm Scream

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_scream

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdbYsoEasio

[anneboleyn]

81. Skinny/emaciated actress is actually kung fu champ who kicks arse of all the NFL-types fighting her.

This one seems unlikely but is very popular now -- I'm thinking Angelina Jolie or (especially) Keira Knightley at their skinniest (most skinny?).

[LynneSin]

101. Even worse - a crowd of thugs will each take their turn acting the hero

I mean geez, there are 30 of you don't just stand there in a circle watching one of your folks being taken out - all of you at ONCE go for him. Hero killed.

[Sabriel]

82. There's always a parking spot RIGHT in front of where they're going

We call it a "Hollywood spot" when it happens in our family.

And the headrests are always missing in the interior shots.

[mitchum]

83. Monsters and aliens have the same standard for female beauty as humans...

they never carry off an unattractive woman
or a bulldog
or an ironing board

[Evoman]

84. People speaking in accents when they should be speaking in another language.

Quite common, though I've been thankfully seeing it less now.

So you want to portray a bunch of Russians speaking (i.e. k-19 widowmaker)...your choices:

1)Let them speak Russian, but translate using captions...my favourite.

2)Dub them completely, so a bunch of Russians sound like a bunch of Americans. A rational choice, but not very common.

3)Have a bunch of Russians speak English in Russian accents. Makes no sense at all. Why would an all russian crew speak english? If star of the movie does not speak the language, then this the cliche that is most often used.

[wickerwoman]

109. Oooo.... the absolute worst for this was Alexander

where, because Colin Farrell (who is actually really good at accents) got to use his Irish accent to play a Greek man, they then made Val Kilmer, who was playing his father, use an Irish accent too.

[anneboleyn]

143. YES -- Nazis always have ENGLISH accents (Conspiracy, etc.)

[mitchum]

173. As do the Romans in bible movies

[keithjx]

176. My favorite way to deal with this was

in Hunt for Red October....
KJ

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

85. the dramatic bidder at the auction

all bids are in. they think whatever is sold

and then someone stands and solemnly says

"one...million...dollars"

followed by

"gasp!" "murmur" "gasp" from the room

[Tabasco_Dave]

86. Man/woman hate each other, become friends, then fall in love.

99% of the time it's always the woman who's the bitch and the guy being nice.

[Orsino]

88. It's the moment in almost any movie, after the hero has been introduced...

...that "the girl" shows up. The camera lingers on her just long enough to tell you that she is going to be the romantic interest.

[chrisa]

90. The Coach nobody believes in

The coach that nobody believes in gets a bunch of inner-city, misfit kids on his team, or a bunch of bumbling rednecks. Then, they get to the country finals for that sport against an arrogant coach and his team. The arrogant coach is always someone from the other coach's past, and they're rivals. In the end, the team nobody believed in overcomes adversity and wins the tournament.

[peekaloo]

91. dramatic chase scene on dirt roads with tires squealing.

[anneboleyn]

148. Didn't the Dukes of Hazzard do this like a thousand times per episode?

[chrisa]

92. Local Cops Vs. The FBI Cliché

If it's a movie about the FBI, the local police force is always a bunch of bumbling red necks who are incompetent.

If it's from the local police point of view, the FBI are always arrogant, bureaucratic, humorless people who have a bunch of technology and don't know how to use it.

[Justyce]

93. Cops' investigations always lead to the strip club... nt

x

[BlueIris]

94. Those goddamned panoramic clapping shots in boxing and other sports films.

HATE.

[chrisa]

112. Haha.

Not just sports movies either. They did that in Air Force One at the end, where everybody in the room was clapping after Harrison Ford killed the bad guy at the end.

[peekaloo]

95. Tom Cruise listed in the acting credits.

}(

[Auggie]

96. The microphone feedback when someone, unaccustomed to public speaking,

tries to make a profound announcement.

[MilesColtrane]

119. Good one.

I hate that one.

It only makes any kind of sense if they are holding the mic in their hand and moving around, but it's always just stationary on a stand.

[anneboleyn]

144. Bridget Jones! Good observation, this!

[mitchum]

174. I always make the "microphone feedback sound" whenever I test the mic at soundchecks

[LynneSin]

99. No matter what, there is always a parking space available right in front

Even if said parking space is needed in front of a busy nightclub, hip restaurant or right downtown in a major city.

I actually do like the remake of "the Italian Job" but it bothers me with one of the early scenes. Charlize Theron is driving in downtown Philly with her Mini Cooper. Her office is in one of the downtown high-rises and she's able to get a parking space right in front. In reality, you can NEVER get a parking space just like that in Philadelphia.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

151. How about being able to drive from New York to DC in less than 4 hours WHEN ALIENS ARE ATTACKING!!!!

Okay, that's basically just one movie, Independence Day, which despite having some of the largest plot holes and implausible leaps of logic in cinematic history, is still an enjoyable movie to watch despite its many flaws.

Still, I cannot fathom that someone thought it was plausible for anyone to believe that Jeff Goldblum and his dad were able to make it from New York to DC in less than four hours. You can't even make it from New York to DC in the middle of the night in light traffic in less than four hours. Factor in that millions of people were fleeing New York and DC along with Jeff Goldblum and his dad. Not to mention they would have to drive through Philly and Baltimore in the process, and my guess is that most people in those cities wouldn't have much desire to stick around, either. Do you know how seriously crazy the highways would be? Oh, and weren't they driving a beat up old car at 50 miles per hour?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

100. People will pick up/hang up telephones without saying "Hello" or "Goodbye"

[Starbucks Anarchist]

102. Parking is never a problem, and nobody locks their car's doors.

[Z_I_Peevey]

131. No one ever locks the apartment

or house, either. No one ever has to locate keys before leaving to go anywhere.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

103. In sitcoms, no matter what time of day or what time of year,

the fat, slovenly husband will always be watching "the Big Game" on TV (with it usually never being specified as to what teams are playing in said "Big Game" or even what sport the "Big Game" is). Meanwhile, the frustrated wife will then determine that her slovenly husband must immediately accompany her to go shopping or some other equally unmanly activity.

Hilarity ensues.

[PVnRT]

104. Bad science in general

I'm looking at YOU, "The Core."

Scientists/engineers taking 30 seconds to analyze a problem no one has ever seen and coming up with a solution, then saying that they're 100% sure this is the solution.

Dark, brooding laboratories. I'm looking at YOU, "CSI." No way you could get work done in an environment like that, to say nothing of contamination.

Laboratory instruments that display molecules instead of graphs and raw data.

A scientist telling the non-scientist "Look at this." What the fuck are they supposed to see? You're the expert, asshole, explain it.

Sounds in space. Actually, only a minor annoyance, but it would be nice to see some directors attempt to show that space has no sound every once in a while.

Space fleets fighting large battles that resemble the Coral Sea. Space fighters banking in turns. Against what? No air resistance up there.

Tracer rounds that don't start fires. Every gun owner I've ever spoken with says those things always start a blaze wherever they end up.

[Richardo]

105. "They're at 234 West 138th Street" "I know where that is"

No you don't.

Or, if they need directions:

"Go to 38th, make a right, two blocks, left on Harborside, three lights, turn right on Hillsdale, it's the second loft on the left"
*not writing it down* "Got it"

[chrisa]

110. A place where everyone goes to make out.

In all High School dramas, especially older movies, there's a place, usually on a hill with a view of the whole city, where everyone goes to make out or do it in their cars.

[Initech]

111. Toilet = funny

[sakabatou]

113. The power of a gun is inversely corrlated to its size

[LynneSin]

129. And only the heros actually have any skill in using their guns

The criminals all seem to shoot like they are a 10 year old picking up a gun for the first time.

[chrisa]

116. Biting a grenade with your teeth and throwing it.

[SoxFan]

141. Pineapple grenades

They always use WW II style grenades, not the "baseball" variety that have been in use for decades.

[raccoon]

117. Woman removes glasses and suddenly no longer needs them.

I last saw that in ROCKY, so I don't know if it's still being used. But in old movies, it was quite common.

[anneboleyn]

146. And, person suddenly "realizes" that he/she no longer truly needs heart meds, asthma meds, etc.

[Lars39]

120. Men's bathroom scene, with men peeing at urinals.

That one gets old.

[SoxFan]

122. New Orleanians with thick Southern drawls

Or, occasionally, a bad imitation Cajun accent. Never the Yat accent, which is closer to a New York accent than an Alabama drawl.

[chrisa]

125. New Orleans

Whenever a character is in New Orleans, there's either a parade or funeral in the street.

[mitchum]

128. A few years ago, a friend and I did a recording called "The Grisham Project"...

which was a soundtrack for a movie based on a non-existent generic John Grisham book set in New Orleans.
Of course, we had a street funeral song.

[raccoon]

158. Or a jazz band wandering around--maybe part of a parade. LOL nt

[petronius]

130. Bad guys drop dead when shot, good guys linger for tear-jerking last talk...

[dixiegrrrrl]

133. Partner gets shot, hero briefly looks at him and says" You'll live".

in best Dr. voice.


or partner gets 6 bullet holes, manages to lie around and talk for a bit before dying, never losing consciousness or screaming in pain from SIX bullet holes.

[cemaphonic]

135. Check out Tv Tropes if you haven't already.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage

sorry about your free time:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife

[TheCentepedeShoes]

136. RUN!!!

or DRIVE!!!
or SWIM!!!
but whatever you do
DON'T LOOK BEHIND YOU!!!

[dixiegrrrrl]

140. which makes them immediately look, then freeze, then huge eyes.

then death, if it isn't a star/lead.

[chrisa]

138. The "Final Showdown" Cliché

Which has to be the most used action cliché ever, behind characters jumping away from exploding cars.

The biggest example I can think of is Lethal Weapon. Despite the fact that a bad guy might be a crazed killer, a cop will do a non-sensical "honor fight," instead of holding the bad guy at gun point, such as fist fighting. Then, the good guy wins, and the bad guy always tries to cheat at the end, which gets him killed.

[triguy46]

139. Amesiacs having to be re-conked on the head to get back to 'normal'

[anneboleyn]

145. The inevitable "jury nodding/becoming convinced of underdog prosecutor's case" pan.

[Yavin4]

147. Conspiracy Meetings Near Washington Monuments

In every movie and TV show, there are always shadowy guys meeting in front of the U.S. capitol on the mall, in front of Lincoln memorial, etc.

You'd get the feeling that if the FBI would just wander outside every now and then they'd snuff out these conspiracies.

[anneboleyn]

149. Doesn't this happen in JFK (the meeting b/n Kevin Costner and Donald Sutherland)?

[Yavin4]

150. Yep. They literally Walk The Entire Mall

It was also used in the TV show 24 this season.

[begin_within]

153. The loaf of french bread in the bag of groceries.

[chrisa]

159. Grocery Bags

Whenever a grocery bag falls over, oranges roll out.

[begin_within]

154. If you want to solve a mystery, look through venetian blinds.

Separate two slats of a venetian blind and stare through them for a few seconds, summarizing the clues, then suddenly turn away, "The butler did it!"

[begin_within]

155. Never say "goodbye" on the phone, just hang up.

Say, "He's at your place now? I'll be right there." and hang it up without saying, "Bye" or anything. Instead, turn to the other person in the room and say, "Let's go."

Also, if you are having a phone conversation (especially an argument with a boyfriend or girlfriend), and they hang up on you, take the phone away from your ear and stare at the phone. As if the phone did it.

[Mad_Dem_X]

160. I was just going to post this one.

No one ever says "goodbye" before they hang up. That's one of my top ten movie pet peeves. LOL

[Yukari Yakumo]

156. Some of mine...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BoobsOfSteel
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Pettanko

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BadassAdorable
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DungeonBypass

[Bucky]

161. "Before I blow up the planet, I will now pause and explain my entire evil plan to you"

"We're just alike, Mr HeroMan, you and I. We're the flip sides of the same coin. You're just like me. Mu. Hah. Hah."

[Bucky]

163. Always walk away slowly from a big explosion. Do NOT turn around to look at it.

It's more badass that way.

[chrisa]

164. Disappearing from a bus going by.

Where a bus / train / truck will go by a character that is being chased, and when the bus / train / truck drives by the character (momentarily obstructing our view of him or her), that character will be gone. The character seemingly had enough time to escape out of sight in the split second that the moving vehicle obstructed our view of him or her.

They parodied this cliche in Family Guy, where a truck goes by, and then Brian and Stewie are shown a few feet to the right saying "Huh, I guess we should have gotten on that truck."

[Auggie]

166. In WW2 movies (made during the war) there's always a guy from Brooklyn

[Doc_Technical]

170. Car crash sound used in many old TV shows and movies.

This sound used in the song "Transfusion"
by Nervous Norvus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euaH8mUiFHs

[TrogL]

177. Aircraft crashing sound effect

...of an overspeed propeller when it's a jet or helicopter that's actually crashing.

Wonderfully parodied in 'Airplane'.

[chrisa]

178. Getting someone's attention late at night by...

Throwing a pebble at their window.