Fiction vs. Reality, 50 TV & Film Clichés That Work On Screen But Fail in Real Life

Which one do you hate the most?

Damjan

• Published in Interesting
• January 23, 2023

Movies don't have to do a lot with reality. And that's a good thing because our reality is often pretty dull.

Who would wanna watch a movie about that? On the other hand, sometimes, the writers go overboard and use cliches that are totally unbelievable.

They can even ruin our movie experience. Most of us skeptics, by nature, are quick to criticize films, particularly romance movies, for being unrealistic and nothing like real life.

But while scriptwriters can't be blamed for why you don't get flowers sent to your office, they can be held accountable for the expectations they raise. It's widely accepted that certain things that work in movies just don't work in real life.

These are the so-called movie tropes — a set of cliches that are overused in films. For example, the leading actor hopping in a random taxi they caught on the street and asking the driver to take them home without giving an address or any other information.

This trope is even lampooned in the movie How To Be Single (2016) with a cheeky response from the taxi driver. It's not just in the romance and horror genres that these tropes are used, however.

A user on AskReddit recently 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'?" prompting thousands of answers that revealed the most commonly used cliches and movie tropes.

So, we've compiled this movie tropes list from the responses, highlighting the cliches you see way too often.

1. "Soldiers Running Towards The Enemy Instead Of Hanging Back And Setting Up Suppressing Fire"

2. "Ordering A Beer Without Specifying What Brand Of Beer They Want"

3. "Knocking On The Door And Someone Opening It Within Two Seconds"

4. "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"

5. "Getting Fired From An Office Job And Walking Out With A Box That Has A 3-Foot Tall Plant Sticking Out"

6. "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"

7. "When A Couple Wakes Up In Bed Together (With No Wild Bed-Head Hair, Mind You) And Just Start Making Out"

8. "Highschool Bullies In Movies"

9. "Turning On A Shower And Jumping Right In Without Checking The Water Temperature With Their Hand First"

10. "Guessing The Passwords Of Other People Correctly"

11. "No One Using A Computer Ever Uses A Mouse. It’s Just Constant, Frantic Typing"

12. "Every Time Anyone Sneezes People Assume They're Sick, Like Don't They Ever Get Random Sneezes"

13. "Dreaming Of Kissing A Beautiful Woman, But Actually You're Just Being Licked By An Animal"

14. "Crying Without Face Getting Puffy And Red And Ugly"

15. "The Amount Of Ultimatums In "Romantic" Movies Is Appalling"

16. "Running Upstairs In Horror Movies. If There Was Something Chasing You, Wouldn’t Head For The Door To Get Outside?"

17. "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"

18. "Make The School Dance A Big Deal"

19. "Hitting Someone On The Head With A Whiskey Bottle To Knock Them Out. Pretty High Risk Of Killing Them"

20. "Car Gets Hit, Scratched, Rolled, Goes Off A Cliff, In A Car Accident... It Blows Up"

21. "Getting Eaten By Dinosaur. Rarely Happens In Real Life"

22. "Find A Parking Spot Right In Front Of Their Building"

23. "Computers Doing A Soft Priiiiiip Every Time A Line Of Text Appears On Screen"

24. "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"

25. Girl Vomiting Means Pregnant, Hiccups Means Drunk, Coughing Means Seriously Ill

26. "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"

27. "Absolutely Everything Related To Pregnancy And Especially Childbirth. You Don't Just Instantly Rush To The Hospital"

28. "On The Phone Making Plans: 'Ok, Meet Me At 5?' 'Sure.' And That’s The Whole Plan. Where Are You Meeting?"

29. "Waving 'Full' Coffee Cups Around"

30. "Women Running Around In Heels With Perfect Hair And Makeup, And The Dirt And Sweat Making Their Hair And Makeup Look Even Better"

31. "Going To A Friend's Place, Staying There For All Of 30 Seconds To Talk About Something Plot-Relevant, Then Just Leaving Right Away"

32. "Just Asked A Random Girl: "Hey Wanna Get Dinner Tomorrow? I'll Pick Up At 5". You Don't Have Her Address Or Her Phone Number"

33. "Women Can Be In The Jungle For Weeks, And They Don't Have Hair Growing Anywhere. Men Immediately Begin To Grow A Beard"

34. "Scenes Where Someone Is Painting Something, Like A Wall Or A Chair, Wearing Nice Clothing, With No Tape, Coverings, Or Paint Splatter Anywhere"

35. "Wearing Shoes On Their Beds. Like Who Actually Does That?"

36. "Instantly Drying, Even Though They Just Jumped Into Water Fully Clothed"

37. "People Splashing Cold Water In Their Faces And Looking In The Mirror To Indicate A Character Is Upset"

38. "Putting Baby In A Playpen When Your Friend Visits And Said Baby Doesn’t Scream"

39. "Doctors Performing Surgery Without Safety Glasses"

40. "Walking Into Friends' Houses Without Knocking"

41. "Drinking Heavily Without Consequences"

42. "Suppressors On Firearms Making Them Whisper Quiet"

43. "Having Highly Confidential Conversations About 4 Foot Away From The People They Are Talking About, And Not Being Overheard"

44. "Throwing An Unspecified Amount Of Money On The Bar And Walking Out"

45. "Everyone Has One Paper Bag For Groceries, And It Has A Celery Stalk And Loaf Of French Bread Sticking Out The Top"

46. "Young Singles Living In Million Dollar Condos That Overlook The City"

47. "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"

48. "Wake Up At 6am No Matter What Time Of Year And It Is Bright And Sunny"

49. "The Stupid Slow Motion Kiss Or Hug As The World Is Falling Apart"

50. "Furiously Making Out While Coming Through A Front Door"

Movie cliches are an integral part of the movies, and they are used to provide familiarity and comfort to viewers. They can provide a sense of familiarity to the audience and help create a certain atmosphere.

Movie cliches can also be used as a shorthand to quickly get the audience up to speed on the plot and characters. For example, a scene of two lovers sharing a romantic kiss on a beach is an instantly recognizable cliche that will quickly communicate to the audience what kind of movie they’re about to watch.

So, they serve a purpose... Do we like them? Not always...

Damjan