Most of us skeptics by nature blame films, *cough cough* romance movies, for being far-fetched and nothing like real life. However, the scriptwriters are not to blame for why you don't get flowers sent to your office. Yet, they are to blame for the expectations they raise. Either way, it's widely accepted that certain things that work in movies simply don't work in real life. These are the so-called film tropes — a set of cliches overused in movies.
One of which is when a leading actor (ref Tom Hanks in The Terminal (2004)) hops in a random taxi they caught on the street and asks the driver to take them home. Just home, no address or anything. As if the cab driver knows where each of his passengers' homes is. Funnily, this movie trope was "exposed" in How To Be Single (2016) with a snarky comeback from a taxi driver. Yet, this is just one of the many movie tropes that have been used, recycled and used again in filmmaking.
Horror movie tropes arguably rank second (if not first) in frequency. A cabin in the woods is probably the most prevalent theme in teen screams. However, tropes in movies go beyond the romance and horror genres. When a user on AskReddit asked, "What happens in movies or TV that seems to be normal and you think to yourself 'that is not what people in real life do'?", thousands of trope-hunters revealed the most common movie tropes recurring on the silver screen.
Below, we've assembled this movie tropes list from the many answers people left in the thread, revealing the most frequently recurring cliches/tropes in films. Make sure to give the cliches you see way too often an upvote and write down any more movie tropes or 'things that don't happen in real life yet do in films' missing from the list in the comments!
This post may include affiliate links.
"A Woman Rejects A Man And He Keeps Pestering Her With Gifts And Attention Until She Changes Her Mind. In Real Life, That’s Called Stalking And She Won’t Appreciate It"
80% of Bollywood in a nutshell. The worst thing about it is that boys look up to the “heroes” of the movies and do the same to their crushes. It’s happened to me before
"Women Can Be In The Jungle For Weeks, And They Don't Have Hair Growing Anywhere. Men Immediately Begin To Grow A Beard"
Also, somehow womens makeup never gets smudged when traversing through rough terrain and getting coated in dirt, sweat, and mosquito bites, but the second they have an "emotional moment" their mascara runs down their cheeks in an entirely unrealistic way.
"Getting Eaten By Dinosaur. Rarely Happens In Real Life"
"Being A Young, Aspiring Artist Living Alone In A Nice, Spacious Apartment In A Prime Area Of A Big City Like New York Or LA"
"Women Running Around In Heels With Perfect Hair And Makeup, And The Dirt And Sweat Making Their Hair And Makeup Look Even Better"
LOL I'm a film and TV makeup artist and any time I question the realism of how it should be applied, the response I always get from the director is "it's not a documentary!" lol
"School Buses Honking And Waiting For Kids Who Are Still In The House. If I Wasn’t At The Bus Stop When The Bus Arrived, It Would Drive On By. It Didn’t Stop. It Didn’t Honk"
"No One Using A Computer Ever Uses A Mouse. It’s Just Constant, Frantic Typing"
Just as annoying as seeing people using a laptop without a charging cable. And then not switching it off overnight.
"Having Highly Confidential Conversations About 4 Foot Away From The People They Are Talking About, And Not Being Overheard"
"Everyone Has One Paper Bag For Groceries, And It Has A Celery Stalk And Loaf Of French Bread Sticking Out The Top"
"Running Upstairs In Horror Movies. If There Was Something Chasing You, Wouldn’t Head For The Door To Get Outside?"
"Guessing The Passwords Of Other People Correctly"
"If A Simple Miscommunication Happens, No One Stops And Clarifies With The Other Person. Like If One 10 Sec Conversation Can Derail An Entire Plot Thread I'm Not Interested"
Girl Vomiting Means Pregnant, Hiccups Means Drunk, Coughing Means Seriously Ill
"Ordering A Beer Without Specifying What Brand Of Beer They Want"
True. Living in /somewhat/ of a beer state; you HAVE to specify, and then again. "I want "version", of 'brand'."
"People Splashing Cold Water In Their Faces And Looking In The Mirror To Indicate A Character Is Upset"
"Young Singles Living In Million Dollar Condos That Overlook The City"
ok but the example here is iron man,, like, his whole thing is that he's a billionare . this trope is better shown in movies where their only job is a waiter and they have a huge apartment?
"On The Phone Making Plans: 'Ok, Meet Me At 5?' 'Sure.' And That’s The Whole Plan. Where Are You Meeting?"
"Wearing Shoes On Their Beds. Like Who Actually Does That?"
Wearing shoes in the house!!! I made the police take their shoes off before they came in my house!
"Crying Without Face Getting Puffy And Red And Ugly"
Or being pregnant but only having the belly. Sorry, but pregnancy isn’t just the bump. Your body changes pretty much all over the place, and you don’t give birth and hop out of the stirrups with your skinny pre-pregnancy body back, especially if you’re not a teenager or someone blessed with a hyper fast metabolism.
"Absolutely Everything Related To Pregnancy And Especially Childbirth. You Don't Just Instantly Rush To The Hospital"
LOL I worked on the series "Private Practice" and every single birth scene they had us makeup artists spray them with tons of water until they were soaking wet and the actress would scream bloody murder. We used to joke that epidurals were banned at that hospital, lol
"Doctors Performing Surgery Without Safety Glasses"
"Hitting Someone On The Head With A Whiskey Bottle To Knock Them Out. Pretty High Risk Of Killing Them"
"Knocking On The Door And Someone Opening It Within Two Seconds"
"Throwing An Unspecified Amount Of Money On The Bar And Walking Out"
I’m glad I’m not the only one bothered by that. I always wonder, is that the correct amount?
"Going To A Friend's Place, Staying There For All Of 30 Seconds To Talk About Something Plot-Relevant, Then Just Leaving Right Away"
"When A Couple Wakes Up In Bed Together (With No Wild Bed-Head Hair, Mind You) And Just Start Making Out"
"Scenes Where Someone Is Painting Something, Like A Wall Or A Chair, Wearing Nice Clothing, With No Tape, Coverings, Or Paint Splatter Anywhere"
"Taking Turns Talking. Like In Cop Shows When One Cop Begins An Explanation, Then The Next One Picks Up The Story At A Seamlessly Convenient Spot"
"Furiously Making Out While Coming Through A Front Door"
My ex actually tried that one on, thinking it was "hot" and "romantic" (we were both young idiots). It ended with me bashing my elbow on the wall and yelling "will you STOP THAT!"
"Every Time Anyone Sneezes People Assume They're Sick, Like Don't They Ever Get Random Sneezes"
"The Stupid Slow Motion Kiss Or Hug As The World Is Falling Apart"
"Getting Fired From An Office Job And Walking Out With A Box That Has A 3-Foot Tall Plant Sticking Out"
"Suppressors On Firearms Making Them Whisper Quiet"
Everyone walking around not seeing a bunch of dudes running around with guns that have "longer" barrels now lol. Silencers and suppressors don't make the guns invisible plus why are you guys running? Should I run too??
"Car Gets Hit, Scratched, Rolled, Goes Off A Cliff, In A Car Accident... It Blows Up"
That’s because, way back in the days before safety testing of automobiles (thank you Ralph Nader!), cars could catch fire or blow up on impact, as for some reason the fuel tanks were generally just put where they fit, even if that was the absolute worst place. So, the trope was created back in the early days of filmmaking when cars were so much more dangerous, by their safety-ignoring design, than they are now. You’d think someone would’ve updated the trope by now, but of course why would they do that if they can make a scene more dramatic by using it? They forget that audiences are a bit more sophisticated now, and aren’t as willing to suspend their disbelief as they used to (unless of course the story isn’t trying to be realistic, like a movie based on a fairytale or sci-fi or something). Any movie that’s trying to go for today’s realism had better rely on more updated versions of well known tropes. Cars don’t blow up on impact. Women don’t fall in love with their stalkers. The bad guys’ guns won’t always miss the hero, and the hero’s gun won’t kill all the bad guys surrounding them.
"Just Asked A Random Girl: "Hey Wanna Get Dinner Tomorrow? I'll Pick Up At 5". You Dont Have Her Adress Or Her Phone Number"
They go home, have sex, instant love, dude breaks her heart, dude says he's sorry, have sex again. Rinse and repeat :).
"Turning On A Shower And Jumping Right In Without Checking The Water Temperature With Their Hand First"
Há joke's on you, i Never check the water temperature with my fist. I use my foot.....
"Find A Parking Spot Right In Front Of Their Building"
"Wake Up At 6am No Matter What Time Of Year And It Is Bright And Sunny"
I live below the tropic of cancer and I can confirm that where I live, the sun begins rising at 6:30 minimum
"Drinking Heavily Without Consequences"
"Instantly Drying, Even Though They Just Jumped Into Water Fully Clothed"
"Dreaming Of Kissing A Beautiful Woman, But Actually You're Just Being Licked By An Animal"
"Highschool Bullies In Movies"
IMHE, bullying involves the entire student body singling out one victim, rather than one bully and a few toadies picking on a victim. More like a flock of chickens than lions and wildebeests.
"Waving 'Full' Coffee Cups Around"
"Putting Baby In A Playpen When Your Friend Visits And Said Baby Doesn’t Scream"
"Soldiers Running Towards The Enemy Instead Of Hanging Back And Setting Up Suppressing Fire"
Yea... I was gonna make a snarky joke, but then i realizei this dude is right....
"Computers Doing A Soft Priiiiiip Every Time A Line Of Text Appears On Screen"
"Walking Into Friends' Houses Without Knocking"
Yes! I never understand how everyone in movies leaves their doors unlocked 24/7
"People Opening The Oven Only To Be Surprised And "Oh No" To A Completely Black Roast/Turkey/Meat Of Some Kind. And Then Have Smoke Just Billowing Out Of The Oven"
"The Amount Of Ultimatums In "Romantic" Movies Is Appalling"
"Make The School Dance A Big Deal"
But it's the school dance it's A BIG DEAL be there for your kid you absent parent
Note: this post originally had 55 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
So I guess movies and TV shows are actually not realistic. Who would've thought...
True, but their unrealistic stuff actually fools people in real life, and not just stupid people. Like CPR and defibrillators: They never do CPR right (always bending their elbows and other techniques that are just wrong) Defibrillators can't restart a stopped heart, that's not what they're for. They fix an irregular rhythm (too fast or two slow AND uneven) they're a reset, not a jumpstart. That screws with people in life threatening situations.
Load More Replies...
Driving a car with the column shift lever all the way up meaning the car is in park. Moving the steering wheel left and right as if driving a slalom course. 50 year old military people wearing stripes normally earned after a year or two. Fist fights. A two-way radio conversation carried on normally with no one saying "over." British actors playing an American, speaking in a perfect American accent but then referring to their cell phone as their mobile.
If a column shift lever is up it could be in the 3rd or 5th gear as well
Load More Replies...
I'll add, you want to destroy whatever is in a computer, so you smash the monitor, as if that does anything at all.
So I guess movies and TV shows are actually not realistic. Who would've thought...
True, but their unrealistic stuff actually fools people in real life, and not just stupid people. Like CPR and defibrillators: They never do CPR right (always bending their elbows and other techniques that are just wrong) Defibrillators can't restart a stopped heart, that's not what they're for. They fix an irregular rhythm (too fast or two slow AND uneven) they're a reset, not a jumpstart. That screws with people in life threatening situations.
Load More Replies... Driving a car with the column shift lever all the way up meaning the car is in park. Moving the steering wheel left and right as if driving a slalom course. 50 year old military people wearing stripes normally earned after a year or two. Fist fights. A two-way radio conversation carried on normally with no one saying "over." British actors playing an American, speaking in a perfect American accent but then referring to their cell phone as their mobile.
If a column shift lever is up it could be in the 3rd or 5th gear as well
Load More Replies... I'll add, you want to destroy whatever is in a computer, so you smash the monitor, as if that does anything at all.
