Worst cliches that you could live without

Cliches in film and TV aren't all a bad thing. Utilizing them can serve as reinforcement of a general public's expectations, aka a meme, to heighten a movie-going experience. However, they work better under modification, homage, and/or creative unorthodox placement. That said, there are many cliches that just need to be retired at this point. Cliches so bad, in fact, all angles of employing them are exhausted. So when you write your list, be sure to put the ones that you are truly, truly tired of. For example, having the hero call a female antagonist a bitch with venom at some point has been seen countless times, whether in action, thriller, or comedy. But for me this is not a tired cliche. It can actually be quite funny, or quite rewarding when voiced properly. The list below reflects those moments that just need to f*cking stop.

TOP WINNER: character runs to bathroom, leans over sink, splashes face with water, breathes heavily, slowly looks up, realizes reflection of face in mirror, ponders. First, I never do this. Never have. I don't even splash my face with water. Second, this is a moment of realization that cheaply announces the true epiphany of the character's change. There are many other ways to realize this; finding out at the faucet should no longer be one of them. Even Breaking Bad, a show known for unique choices in cinematic arrangement, used this in the pilot.

-Woman wearing bra or nightgown during sex or post-coital. Not even lingerie? Usually happens in PG-13 or below films or TV.

-Villains with daddy issues. Talking with my buddy who's a top psychologist in one of our state prisons, I found out most psychopaths and sociopaths actually do not have daddy issues. Many criminals also come from tight family units but choose coherence in different circles or ultimately suffer a personality disorder. While it can happen, and of course daddy issues can result in a neglected kid who grows to be an aimless adult, it doesn't happen as much as the movies say it does (not to bring it up again but I was happy that Breaking Bad took a different approach in light of this, and it was quite effective).

-Heated arguments with zero intelligence. No more yelling, please. And no more screaming. I'm sick of couples or best friends or whoever raising the volume with each exchange and sounding like neanderthals at the same time. And it keeps going, like a game of checkers instead of chess. No wit, no hyperbole, no tension, no creative dialogue, no complexities, just F*ck YOU! F*ck ME? F*ck YOU! DAD WOULD KILL YOU! DAD IS DEAD TIMMY OK DAD IS DAD! I KNOW HE'S DEAD! YOU DON'T KNOW BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW HIM! etc.

-Anything in your run-of-the-mil horror movie. I don't have time to list them all.

-Christians portrayed as fundamentalists. We're just not all like that, although thanks to people like Westboro, fundies seem to get way more attention then us more balanced, pragmatic believers.

-Abrupt frame rate switch to slow motion during a fight scene with a massive bass drone beneath it. Blow/bullet/lazer is delivered with a boom and standard frame rate is restored.

There are many more, but these are the most major for me.

yeah I'm gonna have to make a niiiiiiiice list...

Two that instantly come to mind though are...

- People, usually two, are having a dilemma with some outside (usually dangerous) factors. Person B makes a remark that would render the situation limp, but Person A decides to CHANGE THAT GAME........music stops...a few seconds of silence...and Person A looks up at the camera and says, in the game-changing voice... "NOT ANYMORE!..." or, "NOT THIS TIME!", or another rhythmic phrase against the grain of the current situation. You rebel!

- Protagonist is having a hard time, stuff is up against the wall. Lost my gun, crap. What now? The villain is about to launch a death blow.... BAAAMM! WAAAAIIT A MINUTE! Sidekick has returned to the scene just in time to blow the bad guy away, proving their effectiveness! Don't underestimate that sidekick, protagonist, they probably could have stepped in at any time and just wanted to mess with you. Buy them some Arby's.

One that continually annoys the crap out of me is the villain monologue right before he attempts to whack the hero of the flick. He has to explain all his reasons and gloat and grandstand which, ironically enough, gives the hero time to slip the bonds and grab a wrench/pipe/knife/gun/piece of industrial equipment that allows him to save the day. This cliche is so over-used that it has become ridiculous.

The one black/African American who always dies in horror movies.

Running away from a killer? The car isn't going to start.

Running away from a killer and you are female? You will trip over a root and fall down.

You stabbed the killer and are now slowly walking up to ensure he's dead. He's not. You will need to kill him at least one more time...possibly twice...but then right before the end credits you'll see his fingers twitch and you'll know a sequel is coming.

Boy and Girl "meet cute". Boy and girl start dating and everything is fine (cue relationship montage with romantic song). Boy and girl have some kind of stupid misunderstanding that could be solved by just talking...but instead they split (cue sad montage with sappy music). Boy and Girl get back together right before the end (cue monologue of guy telling her how he can't live without her, how life has no color, how he needs her to be the first thing he sees when he wakes up in the morning, etc). Roll credits.

S.D. wrote:

You stabbed the killer and are now slowly walking up to ensure he's dead.  He's not.  You will need to kill him at least one more time...possibly twice...but then right before the end credits you'll see his fingers twitch and you'll know a sequel is coming.  

The dreaded "It's not over !" ending. Every slasher movie uses it.

dont have much of a script - no problem. Just do a time-warp episode!

I car skids during a car chase scene, bumps into some thrashcans, and suddenly the car won't start..... That is before tye 4th or 5th try, of course. Yeah. That is how cars work  

A female friend once commented that homicidal maniacs only ever try to kill girls who wear matching underwear and as a result she feels pretty safe.  

The only reason a "Hero" in an action film has either a wife or daughter is so they can invariably be kidnapped at some point during the course of the film. Then of course follows the threatening phone call, assorted scenes of wife and/or daughter in captivity, the hero figuring out where they are and then the eventual ass-kicking and tearful reunion.

This plot device NEEDS TO DIE RIGHT NOW. It never needs to be used again. But there are probably 10 action films currently in production that have variations on this scene.

the best one is the car that explodes for no apparent reason after flipping over.

...or shooting a single bullet into the gas tank causes the car to explode.

S.D. wrote:

...or shooting a single bullet into the gas tank causes the car to explode.

thats a good one too!

--Uttering few last important words before dying from a gunshot

--Dumb blonde hot chick in suspense/thriller/horror movies always doing stupid things without caution (you know she'll eventually going to die)

Man holding a pistol, (then after a strenuous dialogue) pulls the trigger in an attempt to kill someone pointblank who isn't holding a gun...it won't fire (click!) 

Villains capturing the hero and instead of getting rid of the nemesis right away, starts talking about the further plan, giving the hero to time either get loose or get rescured by the sidekick.

People running away from very slow explosions!



 

One cliche that doesn't get enough love these days



Gotta love an 80's montage!  

My fave is the horror movie "cheap scare" involving a cat.

Whenever a character is hiding in a house/barn/etc. from a killer/monster and is frantically opening doors/cabinets/etc. looking for a weapon or an escape route, a cat will invariably jump out at him/her from a dark corner (with a loud "MEEEEEEEOWWWWW!") causing him/her to jump and scream.

The character will then usually laugh nervously/sigh with relief ("Oh, it's just a cat!") and will relax juuuuust long enough for the killer/monster to sneak up behind him/her and kill him/her.

See: "Alien" (Ripley's cat jumps out of the air vent), the opening scene of "Friday the 13th Part II" and dozens of other films...

Fat Freddy wrote:

My fave is the horror movie "cheap scare" involving a cat.

Beautifully lampooned in a halloween episode of Community.

exact33 wrote:

the best one is the car that explodes for no apparent reason after flipping over.

...yep:lol!: 

A lot of them are covered on the Evil Overlord List.

http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html

Don't think it's seen much in movies these days but I always hated the cop tastes a substance to see if it is cocaine. The flaw being what if it was poison or some other dangerous substance.

It turns out the bad guy wanted to be caught all along! I've seen this one in a good few modern movies.