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“Drinking From Obviously Empty Cups”: 50 Unrealistic Movie Details That Frustrate Viewers
Many of us love watching films as a form of escapism. I don’t really want to know what it’s like to run an empire selling illegal goods or to get stranded in the forest after a plane crash. But it’s fascinating to immerse myself in these stories through a screen!
However, if a movie is meant to be set in our world, audiences will only truly connect to the characters if they’re believable. That's why cinephiles on Reddit have been discussing the most unrealistic and eye-roll inducing choices directors make that immediately take viewers out of a story.
It’s understandable for artists to take some liberties when writing scripts, but it’s difficult to take the plot seriously when the hero can magically survive dozens of life-threatening injuries. Enjoy scrolling through this list, and be sure to upvote the film details that frustrate you too!
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#1
When people just like show up unannounced. Especially romantic movies. The girl always looks flawless. If a guy just showed up at my doorstep. The most likely result would be me in men's sweats with a bun on top of my head eating Cheetos out of my belly button.
UPDATE: to answer all of your questions, I have a really deep belly button.
RELATED:
#2
Girl falls in love with a crazy a*****e and the more she loves him the less of a crazy a*****e he becomes. Newsflash, in real life loving a crazy a*****e doesn't fix him, it turns him into a crazier a*****e.
#3
When someone tries to figure out a password. They'll look around the room and be like, "Paris! Her favorite city - that must be her password!" And it works. F**k all y'all.
#4
When the characters don't communicate. Seems like there are a lot of movies/stories where there is some sort of dilemma but if they just sat and talked for a minute and explained what happened it would be fine. Seems like lazy writing sometimes.
#5
People with 'normal' jobs (waiter, teacher, etc) having a cool, large apartment in one of the most expensive cities in the world (NY, LA, London, etc).
#7
The "ugly girl" in movies is actually super hot but just wearing glasses and has her hair in a bun.
#8
No one ever finishes a meal or their drinks. They always leave half full plates on the table or open a beer, take one sip, and leave it on the counter never to touch it again. Wasteful bastards.
#10
When someone is being chased by a car. Why the f**k do they ALWAYS continue running on a straight road?! You obviously cannot outrun a car.
#11
When they "enhance" a photo in order to get the information they want. YOU CANT ENHANCE THAT S**T LIKE THAT, A GRAINY PHOTO WILL STILL BE A GRAINY PHOTO, YOU'VE JUST BLOWN IT UP IN SIZE.
#12
When two people want to talk privately and they casually step like 5 feet away in the same room, like nobody else in the room wouldn't be able to hear them.
#15
Inaccuracy in portrayal of pregnancy. Like oh 10 weeks and the baby is kicking. Or when "it's time" the woman is rushed to the hospital and goes through a birth in a few minutes. All LIES!!!!
#17
Covering someones mouth in duct tape. S**t don't stick to wet, humid surfaces. Breathing causes humidity. Might not fall clean off, but it wouldn't stifle speech.
Edit: Too many of you know too much about how many times to wrap tape around someone's head lol.
#18
Drastic age differences between couples for the sake of casting a young hot actress in the role over one that's realistically more the equal to the actor.
#19
In a dystopian future where water and resources are scarce, everyone has the magical ability to shave their legs, chest and armpits and groom their eyebrows.
I'm willing to forgive well kept hair, but the whole "waxed body" thing is dumb.
#20
It gets to me when people are driving and they move the steering wheel way to much for driving on a straight road. Do that in real life and you're all over the road.
#21
When people are pretending to play instruments and they clearly have absolutely no idea what they are doing. The prop department could at least teach them how to hold the f*****g things, it makes me so angry.
#22
When one character says, "Quick, turn on your TV!" and the other character just happens to be on the right channel. Ugh. No. There're like 800 channels with basic cable.
#23
When people smoke weed in movies and react as though they are under the influence of some seriously psychoactive hallucinogens and act like complete fools.
#24
People being "knocked out" by head trauma without ill effects. I'm sure there are people who think that's how it actually works, and that's a dangerous misconception. It's important to take head injuries seriously.
#25
It really grinds my gears when a character pulls another character up to safety with one arm from the edge of a cliff.
#26
No one says good bye before they hang up. How many times do you say good bye and the other person still has more to say? How do movie characters always know the conversation is over??
#27
How everyone being interviewed by the police at their job - keep working as though they couldn't be bothered to stop, you know... for a murder investigation.
#28
When a car has no headrests so we can see the people in the backseat, once you notice it, you can't un-notice it.
#30
Binoculars. F*****g binoculars. You know that s**t you see when a character is using binoculars and you see their POV and then there's two circles? That's not how f*****g binoculars work. You see one g*****n oval. Yet every time you see someone use binoculars you see some venn diagram b******t. It's like no one in Hollywood has used a pair of f*****g binoculars before.
#31
Socially awkward people magically obtaining a vibrant social life with no effort because cool people for some reason find them valuable and want them as friends.
#32
Defibrillators - They don't bring back people from the dead. *Edited* - as in they are not used to re-start a stopped/flatline/asystole) (my new word of the day) heart.
#33
That nobody seems to need to go to the bathroom. Ever.
Edi: Ok not ALL movies. But never just natural. Like rom coms drinking all night? Where's the broken seal? No one's ever like, hang on I have to pee every 5 seconds.
#34
Cars don't explode when shot at. That's lazy filmmaking.
*edit*
TIL, people like their cars exploding, gawshdurnit.
*edit edit*
Also, I call it lazy filmmaking because, well, it f*****g is. If you want to build excitement or intensity, do so with a better plot or with better pacing. Not random, arbitrary explosions. Unless, you are looking to make just a stupid action flick, it's a silly thing to waste the money on shooting.
#35
How acceptable it is to break up a wedding/relationship. D**n near every movie that has one being broken up ends in applause and kissing.
I'm pretty sure if you walk in on a wedding for the "girl of your dreams" in real life, you're gonna get your a*s kicked by either 50% or 100% of attendees.
#37
Characters picking up obviously empty suitcases. I know it's dumb of me to get so annoyed, but the prop guy couldn't put a sand bag in there? It immediately takes me away from the story when I see actors lifting giant bags like they're King Kong picking up a matchbook.
#38
When there's a gun fight and car doors stop high caliber rounds
**Edit**: The pedants on this site wouldn't be happy if I was specific down to the bullet's grain, so p**s off you know what I mean.
#39
When people pause before shooting someone, giving them a chance to do something completely unrealistic to get away. If there's somebody dangerous and I have a gun pointed at them I'm going to just shoot, no questions asked. I'll drop my pun after k**ling them.
#40
Whenever someone is "hacking" or doing anything with computers, they bleep and bloop and make all kinds of sci-fi sounds like that. That would be the most annoying s**t ever.
#41
When the character who wears glasses takes his glasses off during "serious business" moments. Have fun squinting pal.
#42
Outrunning explosion fireballs, or hiding from them, like a fireball rolling down a hallway they escape by ducking into a side room or closet.
#43
When the "perp" is being interviewed by a cop and asks for a lawyer but the cop goes something like " okay but that'll make you look guilty" or some other b******t like that. Asking for a lawyer is the magic stop button in police interviews, they aren't allowed to ask you anything else until you speak with a lawyer.
#44
Incorrect sound effects. I hate the sword drawing SCHWING sound, and the "I just lifted my gun" ka-click.
#45
What really grinds my gears is whenever they show a scene of a car pulling away from ANYWHERE, the tires ALWAYS screech or burn-out.
#46
I absolutely hate when a couple is fighting or arguing really aggressively and that somehow turns into them having s*x. WUT.
#48
Sprinklers. Someone holds up a lighter and suddenly everyone in the building is soaking wet.
If you manage to trip a sprinkler head, every sprinkler in the building doesn't go off. If they did, they'd all have to be replaced and that s**t gets expensive. The life safety system will trigger and the alarms go off, but only the sprinklers in the area that is hot will trip.
Edit: Since everyone on Reddit likes to make a point, yes, deluge systems do this. I have yet to see a movie in a high hazard situation where someone is trying to set off the fire safety systems. More often they want to blow those places up.
#49
The President "Clears" someone for an "ultra classified" mission.
He/She doesn't have that authority. That's not how it works.
Edit: for more information on how clearances work (in the US).
#50
People dying immediately, as soon as they are shot, stabbed, etc. In reality, this is extremely unlikely for anything other than a perfect shot to the head or heart. Why can't we hear the moaning and gurgling, and see the shooting victim writhing and bleeding out as the hero tiptoes past him?
#51
Aliens have ability to travel across universe but can't beat humans in military combat. Think of it like a Civilization game technology tree - how did you get to intergalactic space travel without researching nuclear weapons?
#52
When a cell call goes through with no delay, or a laptop fires up in .1 second, or a hacker gets into a secure account in 5 clicks of a keyboard.
S**t takes time, bro.
#53
Playing video games. They look like they are having a seizure with the controller. Really it would be terribly boring because your hands/fingers don't really move that much.
#58
Laboratories with bottles of red fluids and blue fluids. Movie makers should visit real labs before filling flasks with water and fiod coloring.
#60
Castle gates that open inwards. Why make it easy for a battering ram and difficult for defending troops to storm out?
#62
Ever since I learned how to perform CPR, every CPR scene ever. No injury to the unconscious person, the person doing it always bending their elbows...etc. Makes it unrealistic to someone who may have to actually perform it in a real life situation someday.
#63
A man struggling to tie his tie, only to be alleviated by a wife or girlfriend who perfectly executes a half windsor. In what universe does that exist
edit: apparently women are way better at this than I've experienced.
#66
The concept of time is lost on filmmakers. Examples, both from The Dark Knight Rises, because I was watching it this weekend:
1. The Wall Street robbery - Sunny out when Bane and Co. go in. When Bane says, "Time to go mobile." they had 8 minutes to go. Dusk when they go out. Batman joins the chase and all of a sudden, night time! And the transmission of the laptop finished just as Batman got to it. So approx 15-20 minutes from sunny day to night time!
2. Stopping the bomb at the end - Talia says they have 11 minutes. Bomb timer shows approx 11:55 and counting down. [Stansfield][EVERYONE](http://i.imgur.com/tpiPYkd.gif)[/Stansfield] takes their little ol' time to get to their vehicles. The Bat shows up and there's still approx 10:55 left on the bomb timer. You mean to tell me that it only took 1 minute for Batman to get to the Bat and for Talia and him to catch up to the truck carrying the bomb? But wait, there's more! Batman and Catwoman taking out the other tumblers, timer now shows a little over 5 minutes. Talia crashes the truck, timer shows under 2 minutes. Batman hooks up the bomb to the Bat, makes out with Catwoman, talks to Gordon, and flies the bomb out into the water in under two minutes?!
#67
Over-explanation of things that a. wouldn't really be explained by anyone with half a brain could figure out anyway.
#68
Honestly, representation and/or lack thereof. Every public place, workplace, educational institution, every scene is filled with about 90% white people, all heterosexual couples, you never see old, disabled, fat or even "unattractive" bit players. If someone is unattractive or fat it's part of their character.
#70
You can always tell when an actor doesn't smoke, because they won't inhale their cigarette. It doesn't really p**s me off, but it sticks out pretty badly sometimes.
#71
Bumping into a beautiful woman making her drop everything she's holding. Help her pick it up and lock eyes.
Beautiful women don't carry that much s**t around!
#77
My roommate feels that when a person is making a phone call- if the screen dose not shut off after being lifted to their face, the movie/show is ruined.
What do you think ?
Kohl_Keene 11 months ago
Newborn baby is placed on mom completely clean right after, and the size of a six month old
Alewa 11 months ago
To be fair, it might be hard to find parents willing to let their absolutely newborn baby act.
Load More Replies...
Ahnjunwan 11 months ago
Doctors yelling at nurses like she is stupid and does not understand what his highness is talking about. First of all, you do not yell at other people unless they can not hear you very well. Second, nurses are professionals sometimes with a very looooong experience, they do their job, the doctors doing their job. I hate it very much if nurses are shown as some sort of uneducated helper who botch whatever the doctor is doing because of incompetence. As a doctor, yell at the nurse just because the situation is tense and you will very much regret that. Also, the doctor is not the nurses boss, tell her to make you a sandwich and get you a coffee, she will very likely tell you to fck off 😂
Kohl_Keene 11 months ago
Newborn baby is placed on mom completely clean right after, and the size of a six month old
Alewa 11 months ago
To be fair, it might be hard to find parents willing to let their absolutely newborn baby act.
Load More Replies... Ahnjunwan 11 months ago
Doctors yelling at nurses like she is stupid and does not understand what his highness is talking about. First of all, you do not yell at other people unless they can not hear you very well. Second, nurses are professionals sometimes with a very looooong experience, they do their job, the doctors doing their job. I hate it very much if nurses are shown as some sort of uneducated helper who botch whatever the doctor is doing because of incompetence. As a doctor, yell at the nurse just because the situation is tense and you will very much regret that. Also, the doctor is not the nurses boss, tell her to make you a sandwich and get you a coffee, she will very likely tell you to fck off 😂
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