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30 Concepts That Work Just Fine In Movies But Fail To Work In Real Life, As Pointed Out By Folks Online
A lot of us love to watch movies and TV shows as it helps to escape reality for a little while. But what if the things that are portrayed in the movies are so far from reality that it even makes it annoying to watch the rest of the movie? Someone online was curious to know these annoying little things that look so good on the screen but are actually nearly impossible to do or just don’t work that way in real life, so they asked Reddit users to share their remarks. The question “What looks fun in movies, but in real life is miserable?” received 6.5k answers that included things such as laying in tall grass, having to perform CPR on someone, or portraying difficult professions as an easy and cool job. Which one of these things mentioned do you find true? Or maybe there is something that is missing from this list? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below!
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High school
Why isn't this no. 1? I had to drop ut of 2 high schools due to mental health issues, and high school was one of the biggest reasons.
CPR. on TV it's just a fun cutesy little water coughing thing that you recover from immediately and in real life it involves breaking ribs and maybe dying anyway
Getting knocked out with a blow to the head.
Movies: like waking up from a nap.
Real life: pain, headache, problems for months if not years.
How about in the movies and TV when they get amnesia from a blow to head? Then they get another blow to the head and their memories come back
Sleeping in the tall grass. I'm sure you've seen the memes but in reality, those fields would be infested with bugs and they'd more than likely bite you
“Nightclubs.”
“What?!”
“Nightclubs, in the movies. It looks cool. You meet friends there, instead of grumpy strangers, and you have fun group interactions.”
“What?!”
A feature-length romantic drama filled with conflict and angst that, in real life, could've been resolved with 5 minutes of discussion and a phone call.
Oh yeah! Paired with these movie scenes where someone tries to announce the most important news which would resolve the whole situation and doesn't get to it.
Digging a hole. Cartoons make it look so easy and quick. In reality hours of back-breaking work will get you six inches down.
Here in Colorado the soil is so hard that even a gas powered post hole digger gives up after about 10 inches. (Insert joke about girlfriend named post hole digger here)
Hanging off a cliff with one hand, attempting to pull yourself up.....while someone else is hanging on you also
Shooting a gun indoors with no ear protection
I was watching Terminator 2 with my dad and he got annoyed how both a shotgun and pistol were being fired in a tiny elevator, and they were all fine when in reality they would be basically deaf at that point
Carrying and drinking hard liquor out of a flask. In movies, it looks kind of normal but in real life, you just look like an alcoholic.
It's why if I carry my own alcoholic beverages I typically carry them in a normal thermos. Some of those flasks look cool, and as much as I want to carry them I'd rather people not think I'm addicted to alcohol when I'm just trying to enjoy life.
Stalking women.
I mean, surprise elaborate romantic gestures from a complete stranger.
(She just calls it "stalking" because she doesn't know me and can't see how romantic and handsome and awesome I am in my head.)
Like Joe in You.... that was one creepy serie but quite well played.
Elaborate pranks. Great for comedies…and also great way to f**k up relationships.
Reminds of April Fool's Day (1st Apr everyone pranks each other and justifies it by saying 'April Fool's! in the UK) one year. There was this lovely guy who would do anything for anybody in our football team and he got 'fooled' big-style. One of the other lads rang him up and told him he'd run out of petrol about 30 miles from home and could he come and help. Of course, he went and nobody was there. Poor sod. He was jolly cross.
Kissing while treading water. Good luck not kicking each other, knocking heads, or getting a mouthful of snot.
When superheroes moving at a very very high rate of speed rescue people just in time when in reality if they did that they would probably break the persons back and neck and various other bones and give them brain damage or a concussion from they brain hitting the inside of their skull or just flat out kill them from moving them so quickly from a dead stop.
Sounds like Sheldon judging Superman for making a lumpy jigsaw puzzle of Lois Lane if the movies were realistic
Military movies where there is always action happening. Really? Really Hollywood? Are you sure people don't sit around 95% of the time doing nothing?
Would you like to watch a 'military' movie with twenty seconds of action and two hours of cleaning weapons? Most movies are not documentaries but entertainment.
True. Also did anyone else notice this picture was provided by "Dildo-Gankings"? 🤨
There's a firm misunderstanding of the purpose of those films. I'm sure the characters get plenty of downtime, or time on duty sitting doing nothing, but that's not the story the film is there to tell. Just because you don't see the sitting around doesn't mean it doesn't happen. And if there is a lot of action actually happening in successive hours/days etc., then it's pretty rare - hence WHY THERE'S A FILM ABOUT IT.
Ya, because a movie should be days long so they can show all the downtime.
You mean like when I spent a year in Saudi Arabia so I could support and air war that lasted 42 days?
A Vietnam veteran friend of mine says in ALL Vietnam movies, soldiers are too OLD! Drafted kids were 18, some joined early, even officers were only in their 20s. OUCH!
And also all First Responders. 5% action, 1% hooking up with hot squad members in creative places, 10030% waiting for something cool to happen. 12999% sitting around in the day room talking about the cool s**t that happened before then to impress/intimidate the rookies.
Well I mean they do kind of have to fit an entire war or battle into a 2 hour movie so.... I'm pretty sure nobody would watch either if it was people sitting around for an hour and a half and 30 minutes of fighting
Watch Jarhead (the first one)! A brilliant war movie that depicts precisely that.
I would love to watch a "boring" war movie showing the boredom, the hunger, the filth and misery, the fear, and the resignation of real life. Then everyone dies in a sneak attack. You know: like reality.
The same with law enforcement . You may never fire your gun let alone injure or kill somebody.
Our (Army) motto has always been, "Hurry up and wait!" I remember one day we were to do something. We finished the task in about 1/2 an hour and the rest of the day we just sat there throwing pebbles at a can. Literally put a soda can about 5 feet away and here is 7 of us tossing pebbles at a can. Can fills up with pebbles, empty and start over.
1st rule. If you are on time you are late 2nd rule. It is always urgent to wait
And you have to keep a high level of skill and fitness in shitty terrain. You are my heroes.
You're right, they should do a real-time movie, I'm sure people would sit around and watch people sitting around for 12 hours. The movies don't portray it as though it's in real time. A movie is 2 hours long, in a war you're fighting for more than 2 hours at a time.
Two things that surprise me that are poorly represented in movies is vision and sound. In movies they are firing weapons all over the place and talking to each other like it's a regular conversation. You can't hear a God damn thing let alone have a conversation. The other one is fighting at night completely blinds you. It is like waking up in the middle of night and someone flashing a strobe light in your eyes. It's pretty similar to being in a night club with a strobe trying to find and talk to your friends with additional inconvenience of someone trying to kill you.
Well a lot of those movies are WWII. That was a major conflict with many prolonged combat zones
I see it as they have a small moment in time where there is alot going on (depends on the movie)
I knew someone who was in Iraq, and the description I remember getting is "mostly we just sit around indoors and talk s**t".
Montages where they’re working hard, especially if it’s a “glow-up” thing full of exercise and dieting and self-improvement. In reality it kinda sucks. There’s no fast-forward, no silly music.
I mean, with some earbuds and a pocket-sized device you can get the silly music. Not too sure about the time travel, though
Theme parks!! They don't show that you have to wait over an hour+ for the best ride(s) and how expensive the food cost in there.
My dad was a police officer (with a damn straight moral compass, I *know* what you’re thinking.) and he said that it was pretty much 80% paperwork.
The movie Hot Fuzz was considered noteworthy because they listened to a cop saying how it's mostly paperwork and you never see that in the movies *so they actually put that in*.
Fighting. Srsly, don’t do it. I have six felony charges and can not do anything that I wanted to do in younger years. No one likes an aggressive person. You’re not gonna get any babes, or whatever.
Fighting on top of a moving train. Always make me think of the Archer episode where he was so excited to fight a guy but soon found out the reality of it really sucks!!
Hanging up on people. In movies, it makes you look badass and mysterious. In real life, it makes you look like an inconsiderate a*****e and will prompt a "wtf happenned" callback.
Nobody ever says "goodbye" on the phone in films & TV. It's weird. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/may/10/why-do-characters-never-say-bye-on-the-phone
Moving, painting and fixing up houses/apartments
I'm a weirdo but I love moving! I love to pack everything down and to unpack it all at the new home and putting it in the new spot. 😁 the only thing I hate about moving is getting everything moved from one place to new. I guess you could say that I love moving except the actual move of things. Lol.
Conversations. Always have the perfect thing to say and everything flows. A lot of convos in movies would be considered very abnormal in real life if you really picture it.
Hacking and software development in general. God I wish it was actually as badass as people make it out to be.
Hacking is always shown to be this big exciting screen of code with a ‘I’m in’ uttered twenty seconds later. In reality it’s a long time trying one attack after another, or trying to lure someone into giving you their password (which is easier than conventional hacking) and why we pay professional companies to test our security.
A vacation with little kids.
Done that with 3 kids. The two oldest spent a week being EXTREMELY excited about not being at home. The youngest spent the first evening vomiting all our ALL her clothes and my bf's. He had to wear my pants for a day until his own were washed and dried. Lol. But our conclusion to that week: never ever travel again just us 5. Lol
Smashing a window with your fist
I got into a little kick watching police body cam videos on YouTube and even with a baton they had to hit it several times before it broke.
Spontaneously breaking into song in the middle of public.
I'm oblivious to my surroundings.... when there is a nice song playing in the supermarket, I'll sing and dance, but I do however learned to control the volume and space around me XD
A few people have said fighting, but I feel like it should be specified that *winning* a fight is not a fun experience irl. Most people in actual serious fights aren't gonna have some kind of plot-relevant, narratively satisfying thing on their mind that makes the inevitable bruises/fractures feel like they were worth it for the sake of justice or something, and not just more avoidable suffering that you wish you could've stayed home for instead.
If you win, you'll be happy you're alive, of course, but I have a sneaking suspicion you'll be minorly traumatized at what you had to do to the other person to win. Also, it's gonna hurt. It's gonna REALLY hurt.
Note: this post originally had 48 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Also known as "Fiction isn't the same as reality and that's somehow disappointing". I mean, really?! Would any of you seriously watch a realistic military movie where it's 95% non-action? Or a non-montage travelling sequence where it *really takes* 8 hours to get somewhere, much of it staring out of the same window? Or the tedious paperwork involved in much of police detective procedures? The whole point of movies and fiction is that it *isn't* like real life.
It's batman, but he looks mangled from all the fighting and he walks to danger for an hour each episode because the city is too crowded with cars and the bat signal only works if it's cloudy so he only comes out of the bat cave a few times a year. We get to watch drink his morning coffee for an hour straight at the beginning of every episode....
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Shopping in a supermarket and grabbing whatever looks good without checking the price.
They always come home with one single non-descript paper bag with lettuce, carrots, apples and if its a crime show then lots of alcohol
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Suffocating is also one. It takes much longer to kill someone by strangling them than what they show on tv.
I mean... in certain countries like South Korea that's normal. They even go for regular hangovers.
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No mention of the convenient open parking space in front of a building in NYC?
Back in the '70's, Mannix, Cannon and Rockford Files cracked me and my brother up! Those guys ALWAYS got a parking spot in front of the building! 😂
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I could add lots more: Making love in the sand. When people win in the roulette, taking all the chips from the table, and not waiting for the croupier to pay to you. When the ventilator machine in ICU starts to alarm, soon after the patient codes...that does not happen. P.S. I am a former croupier and current nurse.
1;30 a.m. here so I am sleepy, but what is a "croupier "?
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I wouldn't want to watch movies without many of these unrealistic elements. They would be incredibly boring. Also sword fighting. Everyone is just dancing around each other, nobody uses any possibility to attack and they aim for each others swords and not their bodies.
My brother went to kick the bathroom door in (medical emergency) and thought it would open like the movies. Didn't open. Made a hole in the door.
In a city: always finding a parking spot in front of the building they're going into.
Movie: Not running away but deciding "I've had enough!" and facing off and defeating a psychotic killer. Real life: Running away and either escaping or being caught and killed by the killer.
How about whenever you need a parking spot... BAM! first place you look! There aren't many movies where people spend a lot of time driving around looking for parking
I'd add "Taking awesome pictures in the rain or at the beach" If you have a great phone or pricey camera rig, the absolute LAST thing you want to do is screw it all up with water or sand. Hard pass for me!
Epilepsy - My most common type of seizure is begin stiff and staring blankly. It's called a "Focal onset impaired awareness seizure". I sometimes have the convulsions, which I call a TV or Movie Seizure. I also have a seizure syndrome called Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures which do not involve the brain in anyway. Also that flashing lights trigger seizures. Not all people are triggered by lights. I unfortunately am. Police and Fire Rescue lights in the dark can trigger seizures in me. Also fast moving pictures for example the intro to "The Big Bang Theory". I cannot watch it.
PARKING is a fantasy in every movie in a BIG city. A convenient parking space just "happens" to be available right where someone needs to be, not 2 - 5 blocks away . . . no paying, no meter, rarely see anyone lock a door. In reality any large city now has parking problems. Nothing is convenient! You will be walking. And nobody . . . NOBODY ever whips out their wallet to pay for things!
Running in movies annoys me, they seem to be able to sprint for miles and be experts at parkour. In reality they would probably manage about 10 seconds and then would feel like their lungs were about to explode and collapse wheezing and panting.
That's why, just watch anime, you know it almost always complete bull****.
Smoking cigars. You have to keep puffing to keep it lit and the heat from the smoke makes you want to spit
Also known as "Fiction isn't the same as reality and that's somehow disappointing". I mean, really?! Would any of you seriously watch a realistic military movie where it's 95% non-action? Or a non-montage travelling sequence where it *really takes* 8 hours to get somewhere, much of it staring out of the same window? Or the tedious paperwork involved in much of police detective procedures? The whole point of movies and fiction is that it *isn't* like real life.
It's batman, but he looks mangled from all the fighting and he walks to danger for an hour each episode because the city is too crowded with cars and the bat signal only works if it's cloudy so he only comes out of the bat cave a few times a year. We get to watch drink his morning coffee for an hour straight at the beginning of every episode....
Load More Replies... Shopping in a supermarket and grabbing whatever looks good without checking the price.
They always come home with one single non-descript paper bag with lettuce, carrots, apples and if its a crime show then lots of alcohol
Load More Replies... Suffocating is also one. It takes much longer to kill someone by strangling them than what they show on tv.
I mean... in certain countries like South Korea that's normal. They even go for regular hangovers.
Load More Replies... No mention of the convenient open parking space in front of a building in NYC?
Back in the '70's, Mannix, Cannon and Rockford Files cracked me and my brother up! Those guys ALWAYS got a parking spot in front of the building! 😂
Load More Replies... I could add lots more: Making love in the sand. When people win in the roulette, taking all the chips from the table, and not waiting for the croupier to pay to you. When the ventilator machine in ICU starts to alarm, soon after the patient codes...that does not happen. P.S. I am a former croupier and current nurse.
1;30 a.m. here so I am sleepy, but what is a "croupier "?
Load More Replies... I wouldn't want to watch movies without many of these unrealistic elements. They would be incredibly boring. Also sword fighting. Everyone is just dancing around each other, nobody uses any possibility to attack and they aim for each others swords and not their bodies.
My brother went to kick the bathroom door in (medical emergency) and thought it would open like the movies. Didn't open. Made a hole in the door.
In a city: always finding a parking spot in front of the building they're going into.
Movie: Not running away but deciding "I've had enough!" and facing off and defeating a psychotic killer. Real life: Running away and either escaping or being caught and killed by the killer.
How about whenever you need a parking spot... BAM! first place you look! There aren't many movies where people spend a lot of time driving around looking for parking
I'd add "Taking awesome pictures in the rain or at the beach" If you have a great phone or pricey camera rig, the absolute LAST thing you want to do is screw it all up with water or sand. Hard pass for me!
Epilepsy - My most common type of seizure is begin stiff and staring blankly. It's called a "Focal onset impaired awareness seizure". I sometimes have the convulsions, which I call a TV or Movie Seizure. I also have a seizure syndrome called Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures which do not involve the brain in anyway. Also that flashing lights trigger seizures. Not all people are triggered by lights. I unfortunately am. Police and Fire Rescue lights in the dark can trigger seizures in me. Also fast moving pictures for example the intro to "The Big Bang Theory". I cannot watch it.
PARKING is a fantasy in every movie in a BIG city. A convenient parking space just "happens" to be available right where someone needs to be, not 2 - 5 blocks away . . . no paying, no meter, rarely see anyone lock a door. In reality any large city now has parking problems. Nothing is convenient! You will be walking. And nobody . . . NOBODY ever whips out their wallet to pay for things!
Running in movies annoys me, they seem to be able to sprint for miles and be experts at parkour. In reality they would probably manage about 10 seconds and then would feel like their lungs were about to explode and collapse wheezing and panting.
That's why, just watch anime, you know it almost always complete bull****.
Smoking cigars. You have to keep puffing to keep it lit and the heat from the smoke makes you want to spit
