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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
Bahaha! I wish this worked. I'd knock the TBI right outta my husband's brain. 🤣🤣🤣
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This was especially true in old movies - like from the 1940s. You could could knock a person out with a blow of any amount of force with any object to any part of the head. Then the person would wake up a minute later and say "Hey, what happened?"
Concussion in 2001, developed epilepsy a few years later. I’ve spent a long time with my head in MRI machines.
Yep. I got plowed at the dog park by two large dogs who were chasing each other. Knocked me unconscious for a good while, destroyed my right leg and foot. In a wheelchair for 5 months and had to learn to walk again. Don't remember having a headache, but I can't remember the accident, either. Started losing my vision about a year later and still wasn't diagnosed with post concussion syndrome for almost another year. Now I have permanent nerve damage in my leg and foot, and permanent brain damage, too. Can't ever drive or live alone again. Turns out there's a brief window where medication and therapy can help your brain heal - after that, the focus is on keeping it from getting worse. But it was my 3rd concussion and apparently the damage builds with each subsequent concussion.
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I copped a football to the back of the head when I was in highschool. It didn't knock me out, but it did give me a nasty concussion. To this very day when I see people kicking a ball around I cringe and hurry past with my head tucked down just in case.
Yes, this is my number #1 per peeve in movies! Well, really, it's the whole suite of injuries that would probably kill you but in the movie/show doesn't even slow them down! Like the car wreck scenes. One movie legit had a dude with no seat belt crash the car into a tree at high speeds, come out of the windshield, showed what looked like his freakin' neck breaking (thought oh he died!) but nope, he just sits up 5 seconds after, and is fine! NBD!! (Spider head) ugh, that's just the worst offender I can think of but there's so many examples I could do a whole blog of just that!
Concussion from a car accident. Wasn't wearing a seatbelt and the accident caused a rollover. Hit every window and at some point went out. Only plus side it landed right side up. Had migraines for weeks and still have balance issues 10 years later.
Customer at my job was bringing a package of cookies from the bakery up to the register while her husband was waiting. Suddenly, she tripped, fell, knocked herself out and lay unconscious and while 911 was being called, blood from her head started pouring out onto the floor. When she came too, she tried to stand up but, we asked her not to move. Hope she's okay.
I got a concussion as a child, no one told me i could have problems for years, or ANY of the stuff in the comments! This explains so much! >:( . They dont believe i was truly blacked out because i was "talking" but idr any of it and i remember clearly the moment i woke up. A dot of vision appearing in the center of the blackness and getting bigger until i could fully see. Since then I've had vertigo, bad depth perception, and chronic nausea to name a few... Can it really last decades though?
Yes, it absolutely can last decades. Concussions have really only been taken seriously, especially in the non-athlete population, in the last few decades. You may want to look at talking to your primary care doctor or your neurologist to see about getting you in to a neuro-ophthalmologist for your sight issues as well as vestibular therapy for your balance problems. I hope this helps ♥️
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yup. 3 concussions within 2 weeks. i would start blacking out if i accelerated or braked too quickly. i couldn't ride a bike or rollerblade for a year. still, 5 years later, get vertigo at heights. i used to do roofing. not anymore.
Four months worth of concussion and blew fistulas in my ears AGAIN. That made for surgery #3 for my right ear.
Concussion in 2019 and still having seizures three years later. Not nearly as bad, but I'm no longer allowed to drive outside of town due to having one while driving a month ago. Thank God my husband was in the passenger seat because it could have been bad. Things got good and jumbled up in my head because anxiety gives me focal seizures in my left arm, but those don't happen often. My absence seizures happen several times a week and come on with no warning so I do on occasion end up on the floor with no memory of getting down there.
Have had over 20 traumatic brain injuries, with five rendering me unconscious. No, gotta say NONE were like a nap. Not even the first, when I was six and I awoke on my cousin's basement floor in my snowsuit with a goose egg and a broken arm. (PSA: don't go down stairs in moon boots, kids!)
Stage 4 concussion in 2016 due to a near fatal car wreck. Still don't remember anything the week before the wreck or a week after. Spent three days in ICU (not just because of the head injury; I also broke the entire left side of my body), and had to have a note written because every time I woke up they had to explain all over again why I was there.
Head injuries, in general! My cat freaked out and scratched my head pretty good, it hurt worse than anything the whole time it healed!
I've been knocked unconscious and woke up feeling just fine, no pain, no problems, just a little time lost during what I like to call the forced naps
Got my head stuck in a bowling machine in 2005. Still have double vision.
Batman has straight up murdered/mentally crippled hundreds of people with this
If you coshed someone hard enough to 'knock them unconscious' there's a good chance you'll kill them. Internal bleeding, to say the least.
man, not even close, I mean only from the blow. The most possible way to kill them is if they stay unconscious while falling and bang their head on the floor.
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I always wonder what the Hardy Boys lives were like as they got older 🤣
It was hell for some like the over weight girl .the fat boy The poor kids who have to go into school with thrift store or second hand cloths .the shy ones the ones who just do not fit in .kids.the girl who wanted to impress the jock who she thought was cool to be the object of their jokes .high school bullies the teachers over look and parents allow .because if my child was in school today i would drum it in their heads bulling hurts really bad to not cause more pain to help those who ate being picked on .but they never change they want to be adults. In almost adult bodies mentally kids .parents send kids so bad then when confronted it is the teachers fault that this kid has no respect for teachers or elders the same you see in their parent .kids god help them and god help the world for the ones left broken or behind .
I am an amateur boxer. IT happened to me a couple of times. It was exactly like in the movies, they woke me up after a minute and I asked what happened.
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?
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
