Movie Tropes You Hate

[magicdog]

Bringing this over from the Unpopular Opinions thread regarding the film, "Secretariat":

 

The way Sham's trainer was portrayed. Ron Turcotte has stated in a number of interviews that Pancho Martin did not act like a jerk and was a decent guy.

 

 

I hate it when in a movie about competition (especially if based on real events) that the competitors have to be bullies or jerks towards the "hero" for the sake of drama.  This is only the latest film in which a real life person (or their expy) is slandered:

 

• In "Cool Runnings", many of the other bobsledding teams made fun of the Jamaican team.  IRL, they were actually all very supportive of them.

 

• In "The Hurricane" (itself was a very badly mangled mess of lies but that's for another forum) The police detective investigating the murder (Lt. Vincent Della Pesca) was shown to have been a foul mouthed racist bent on framing Hurricane Carter for the crime.  When the movie was released, the family of the detective Della Presca's character was based on (Lt. Vincent DeSimone) rallied to his defense and were angry at his horrible portrayal.

 

• Max Baer, Sr in "Cinderella Man" was portrayed as a jerk and a bully to James Braddock, but according to those who knew him (not to mention his son, Max, Jr.) this was completely wrong.

 

• While not a sports movie, "Titanic" had the same problem when the film portrayed First Officer William McMaster Murdoch as a murderer (who shot two passengers in the film) and eventually committed suicide as the ship went down.    His family were outraged at the portrayal and eventually received a formal apology from the studio.

[Spartan Girl]

A movie trope I despise is the meddling father/father-in-law.  It just gets on my nerves when fathers get so possessive of their daughters they'll stoop to any low to mess with their relationship, even if the guy in question is basically decent.  That's kind of why I liked The Hangover so much: Jeffrey Tambor's father-in-law character was a nice, cool guy to the groom-to-be.  Too bad the one in the sequel went back to the stereotype...

 

I also get annoyed by the movie trope where one big kiss leads to everyone else in the movie kissing.  So cliché and lame.

[Mulva]

I hate manic pixie dream girls. Just once, I'd like to see a would be MPDG get rejected in favor of a nice, sensible, gainfully employed girl.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The lower in economic class non-urban boy is always, always, always more nice, wise, and faithful than the rich city business boy.  Good ol' country wisdom and way of life is the sine qua non of life.

 

If it really is all that, why does 99.9% of Hollyweird laugh at flyover country as they traverse the USA in airplanes?

[katha]

How about that fabulous RomCom staple: Once you've found twu! wuv! it's totally acceptable to lie, cheat and betray your siginificant other because they're obviously boring, bad for you, not your soulmate, take your pick. (Looking at you, Sleepless in Seattle. I know you're trying to tell me that Meg Ryan's creepy stalking is really totally charming...yeah,no.)

Edited May 11, 2015 by katha

[Lonesome Rhodes]

In any gunfight or battle scene, the good guys shoot with fantastic precision and the bad guys can't hit the ocean from the pier.  Army outnumbered exponentially?  Not a problem - the bad guys' officers can't add up 2 + 2 when making assessments and thereby make horrendously bad decisions which basically hand the good guys victory.

[ribboninthesky1]

As a corollary, the good guys can take an incredible amount of physical punishment, yet still come out on top with little more than strategic bleeding on the temples, side of the mouth, or maybe the torso.  The bad guys are often taken down with one punch.  

[Spartan Girl]

Here's another trope I really hate: a female character dumping her boyfriend/husband only to act greviously offended when she later sees him dating someone else. Like she expects him to spend the rest of his life pining for her.

Bottom line: when you dump someone, you have no right whatsoever to get jealous over that they are dating someone else.

[Mulva]

How about that fabulous RomCom staple: Once you've found twu! wuv! it's totally acceptable to lie, cheat and betray your siginificant other because they're obviously boring, bad for you, not your soulmate, take your pick. (Looking at you, Sleepless in Seattle. I know you're trying to tell me that Meg Ryan's creepy stalking is really totally charming...yeah,no.)

Speaking of Sleepless In Seattle, I'm sick and tired of the trope that the member of a love triangle who wears glasses and *gasp* has seasonal allergies is repulsive and loathsome and deserves to be dumped for someone whose body doesn't produce too much histamine for a few weeks of the year.

This also goes for asthma being treated as a character flaw and/or signifier that the asthmatic is weak, socially unskilled and nerdy. It's a lung disease that doesn't cause social problems, and believe it or not, affects strong, athletic and socially skilled people too.

 

Here's another trope I really hate: a female character dumping her boyfriend/husband only to act greviously offended when she later sees him dating someone else. Like she expects him to spend the rest of his life pining for her.

+1,000,000

Edited May 15, 2015 by Mulva

[Wiendish Fitch]

Speaking of Sleepless In Seattle, I'm sick and tired of the trope that the member of a love triangle who wears glasses and *gasp* has seasonal allergies is repulsive and loathsome and deserves to be dumped for someone whose body doesn't produce too much histamine for a few weeks of the year.

This also goes for asthma being treated as a character flaw and/or signifier that the asthmatic is weak, socially unskilled and nerdy. It's a lung disease that doesn't cause social problems, and believe it or not, affects strong, athletic and socially skilled people too.

 

+1,000,000

 

I basically hate the Disposable Love Interest trope. Have you noticed it never makes our protagonist look good? Think about it:

 

1. If he/she is so boring to you, why did you ever get together with them? Surely there must have been something that attracted you to begin with.

 

2. If he/she is a jerk (not necessarily abusive, but unpleasant)... see above. Why would you want to be with someone like that? What attracted you to them?

 

3. If the new love interest is so capable of making you drop your former boyfriend/girlfriend without a pang of remorse, that doesn't reflect well on you, because how do we know your head won't be turned in the future?

 

This trope worked fine in Old Hollywood films, when a woman's main purpose in life was to get married, but nowadays, ladies (gentlemen, too), you don't have to get married or commit to someone you find repellant! You have options! 

[ribboninthesky1]

All of the above is why I was never a fan of the genre.  There may be a handful of movies in which I actually liked the protagonist, but for the most part, I always wondered what was so great about him or her and/or their "soul-mate" that I should give a damn if they ended up together.

[methodwriter85]

The "plain Jane" who always insists she isn't beautiful or attractive yet men fall in love with her.

[spaceytraci1208]

In any gunfight or battle scene, the good guys shoot with fantastic precision and the bad guys can't hit the ocean from the pier. Army outnumbered exponentially? Not a problem - the bad guys' officers can't add up 2 + 2 when making assessments and thereby make horrendously bad decisions which basically hand the good guys victory.

Hahaha, I think you've described this scene from Tombstone

https://youtu.be/-GREE8GdRrc

[Spartan Girl]

Oh, yet another "romantic" trope I hate is when the female character gets pissed off at the guy character and tells him she never wants to speak to him again yadda yadda yadda....and yet she still gets upset when he doesn't call her.

Or better yet, the old not picking up the phone to listen to him on the answering machine routine, and only bothering to pick up the phone one second before he hangs up. Just like what that c*** Mary Jane did to Spiderman about a bazillion times.

See, it's this kind of crap that encourages the backward-ass stereotype that women never mean what they say and that we are all just a bunch of passive aggressive bitches.

[bmoore4026]

Mirror scares.  Just...mirror scares.  I'm always hesitant to look down whenever I'm shaving or brushing me teeth because I'm afraid I'll look up AND THERE'S A FUCKING MONSTER!

 

Also, running through the airport to get to the one true love before they leave on a jet plane.  The runner would be so shot down or tazed to hell and back by airport security if that happened in real life.

Edited May 24, 2015 by bmoore4026

[Shannon L.]

While I understand that there are many people in this world who are determined and able to do everything on their own, I'm tired of the characters who alienate someone because they "don't need your help!!!".  It's ok to admit that sometimes you need help--even if it's just having someone to listen if you need to talk.  And someone who offers or tries to help means well and doesn't need to be yelled at or humiliated or dismissed because of it.  We're all human--we all have tough times, we all want to think we can do it ourselves, we all want to help loved ones who are struggling and, yes, sometimes we need help.  No one's going to think less of you because of it.

 

(However, I wouldn't like a character to relied on everyone else to solve his/her problems, either, but a balance would be nice).

[hardy har]

One thing I hate in action movies or dramas where the male lead has a job that could put him or his loved ones in danger is when the wife or girlfriend refuses to leave when shit hits the fan. Inevitably, something goes wrong and bad guys come after Male Lead. He then tells the wife or girlfriend that she needs to leave because it's not safe. Aaaaaaand she doesn't because she deserves to know what's going on ..... or something. Which is valid, but someone who loves and cares for you and wants you to be safe has told you that people are out there who mean to do you, at best, immediate physical harm. LEAVE! But she doesn't and, more often than not, she gets kidnapped or is put in some sort of danger later in the movie because her dumb ass didn't leave when her loved one fucking told her too!

I only bring it up because I watched Safe House and there's a scene where Ryan Reynolds finally tells his girlfriend that he's in the CIA and people are after him and I was bracing myself for some bullshit.

She's obviously confused and freaked out, but tells her he loves her and if she stays she will get hurt. And guess what? She leaves. I cannot tell you how happy that made me. For real. It's the only recent action movie I can think of that actually earned its "hero spots his girl in a crowd and there eyes meet" ending.

Edited May 30, 2015 by hardy har

[Wiendish Fitch]

I will own that one of my worst traits is being too soft-hearted, but I still feel the need to vent about one trope that bothers me:

 

I hate it when good and decent (or, at least, comparatively good and decent) characters are bullied, mistreated, abused, mislead, deceived (or all of the above)... and they are never once allowed to get any of their own back. They never grow a backbone and fight back, or find out the truth and call the person on it, the abuser never suffers any consequences, the victim is just a victim, and that's it. The Family Stone has been brought up about a million times already, but it bears repeating; in the movie, poor Meredith (whose biggest crime is being kind of uptight) never is allowed to get even with the people who mistreated her, they never truly apologize, all they get is a half-hearted lecture, stupid kitchen hijinks, and, boom, everything is hunky-dory. Meet the Parents was also like this, in which Greg never successfully stands up for himself, and Jack never truly sees the error of his ways. In fact, Greg's undeserved systematic abuse and humiliation goes on for two more movies. Hannah and Her Sisters had our sweet, titular character's worthless husband Elliot cheats on her (with her sister!), and Hannah is never allowed to find out, get angry, throw Elliot on his ass, and get some of her own back. Nope, she never finds out. Elliot even has the balls to criticize her character, accusing her of "not having enough needs", then the affair ends, and he feels absolutely no remorse about it. As a result, Hannah looks like a foolish, gullible doormat (I'm not saying she is, I'm just saying one could make that observation). She is also mooched on by her whiny, no-talent sister Holly, who never once shows an ounce of gratitude for Hannah's help, and who is actually framed as right and sympathetic for being like this. 

 

Now, back to the whole systematic abuse of someone, one movie that gets it right is the classic Auntie Mame. Towards the end, Auntie Mame throws an engagement party for her nephew and his new fiancee and future in-laws. The fiancee is a shallow bore, and the parents are unimaginative snobs. Certainly undesirable qualities, but these aren't why Auntie Mame sets up an elaborate scheme to embarrass and intimidate them. The real reason? The future in-laws aren't just unlikable, they're genuinely bad people! They're unrepentant anti-Semites who cheerfully endorse building restricted neighborhoods and clubs, and are baffled as to why no one agrees with them! They're vile bigots, and deserve every bit of awful treatment of Auntie Mame heaps on them!

 

See the difference? Again, I'm probably just an ignorant goody-goody, but I hate the feeling of Genovese Syndrome I have when watching good people get treated like dirty tissues in movies! Now, when assholes get served slice after slice of humble pie? That's just karma.

Edited May 31, 2015 by Wiendish Fitch

[Spartan Girl]

Totally and completely agree. It's even worse when the nice characters are led to believe that it's THEIR fault. That was pretty much the case with Meredith: just because she was conservative, the family wrote her off as a bigot, which was totally unfair because despite her different viewpoints she at least TRIED to be nice! And the fact that she felt like she had to apologize to Everett at the end when HE was the one that callously dumped her for her sister WHOM HE ONLY JUST MET just pissed me off beyond belief.

Had the same problem with Crazy Stupid Love. Cal was a nice guy that got cheated on and yet everyone blamed him for the breakup of his marriage because what? He worked too much? That he was so upset that his so-called wife blindsided with a divorce and her affair that he jumped out of a car? And the fact that everyone thought he was that didn't fight for the marriage when she would rather see a TWILIGHT MOVIE rather than let him know something was wrong is just....I have no words.

Which brings me to another big movie trope: double standards. When a guy cheats, he's a jerk, but when a woman cheats it's because she's lonely and bored and somehow all the husband's fault. That's the kind of crap that encourages the stereotype that feminism is about blaming men for everything when it's SUPPOSED to be about women being able to make choices and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for those choices.

Edited May 31, 2015 by Spartan Girl

[CatMack]

I'm really sick of dark and gritty being treated as "better" than more lighthearted fare.  I mean, I think there's room for both.  Not everything has to have the same tone.  But I'm having grimdark overload.  Gritty isn't always better.  Showing violence extremely graphically doesn't always serve the story best.  

[spaceytraci1208]

Again, I'm probably just an ignorant goody-goody, but I hate the feeling of Genovese Syndrome I have when watching good people get treated like dirty tissues in movies! Now, when assholes get served slice after slice of humble pie? That's just karma.

I can't stand watching people get dumped on either. In Office Space, poor Milton gets shat on throughout the movie. It's mostly played for laughs, and it's definitely funny most of the time; but the scene where he's the only one who doesn't get a piece of birthday cake really makes me uncomfortable. So I find it incredibly satisfying that he wins in the end; I don't support arson or theft, but I'll allow it in this instance lol.

Edited May 31, 2015 by spaceytraci1208

[Spartan Girl]

Oh how I loathe the Runaway Bride/Groom Trope. There's never truly a right way to break up with someone, but waiting until you're at the damn altar is a real shitty one. I hate how the movies portray it as romantic when it's really not.

[raezen]

Can I add the trope of the objector at a wedding? Not just a movie trope but it happens in tv weddings a lot too. It was always rude but now with every other reality show showcasing the great cost of a wedding shouldn't it be outright shun worthy at this point?

It's also very unrealistic. Not only have I never been to a wedding where anyone objects I once asked a minister of 32 years if it had ever happened. Once he said, and it was the children of the bride and groom from the previous marriages that tried to object. They got married anyway. No romance involved.

[magicdog]

Can I add the trope of the objector at a wedding? Not just a movie trope but it happens in tv weddings a lot too. It was always rude but now with every other reality show showcasing the great cost of a wedding shouldn't it be outright shun worthy at this point?

 

 

 

It's uncommon but there is a legit reason why the objection is part of the wedding ceremony.  It gives one last opportunity to stop a wedding that perhaps shouldn't occur - it could be the reveal of a bigamous party, (which would nullify the wedding anyway eventually), or to expose any other lies that either party wasn't forthcoming with and would have otherwise not lead to walking the aisle ("You didn't tell me....").  Admittedly, if a member of the family used that opportunity for less than altruistic reasons, it could lead to some bitter feelings in the family.  I can only imagine what the family gatherings were like with the couple whose children objected!

[methodwriter85]

 

Which brings me to another big movie trope: double standards. When a guy cheats, he's a jerk, but when a woman cheats it's because she's lonely and bored and somehow all the husband's fault. That's the kind of crap that encourages the stereotype that feminism is about blaming men for everything when it's SUPPOSED to be about women being able to make choices and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for those choices.

 

Also, not only is it okay (and even justifiable) when a woman cheats, it's also just a sign of her passion and need to be seen as a sensual woman if she cheats with a younger guy. If a guy does it, he's a dirty old pervert chasing girls young enough to be his daughter. If a woman does it, she's just getting in touch with her long-repressed sensuality. At least in recent decades. Before that, you were Mrs. Robinson.

 

I can't STAND the trope that you should always go for the free spirit over the stable, "boring" one. I always loved Forces of Nature for subverting that one.

Edited June 2, 2015 by methodwriter85

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Also, not only is it okay (and even justifiable) when a woman cheats, it's also just a sign of her passion and need to be seen as a sensual woman if she cheats with a younger guy. If a guy does it, he's a dirty old pervert chasing girls young enough to be his daughter. If a woman does it, she's just getting in touch with her long-repressed sensuality. At least in recent decades. Before that, you were Mrs. Robinson.

 

You must be following the Aloha kerfuffle.

[raezen]

 

It's uncommon but there is a legit reason why the objection is part of the wedding ceremony.  It gives one last opportunity to stop a wedding that perhaps shouldn't occur

It use to be, but it is actually not a given anymore that a wedding would even have this line in it. But really my main objection(heh) about it's over use is it is used for the same romantic trope because apparantley adults can't realize what they really want in a relationship until the very last minute they might lose that person to someone who offered them those things all along. 

 

The last time I saw it used in a fun and different way was on Ellen the sitcom, and that was because the bride, the groom and every single member of the wedding party objected and the minister pointed out that it was a rhetorical question. That was the mid 90's after that I cringed whenever anyone else did it. It starts at 20:10:

[Crs97]

It drives me crazy when the villain cheats during the race and doesn't get penalized! Good guy must either persevere to win or learn the lesson that it's not all about winning while villain takes the prize we all know he doesn't deserve. Where are the refs???

[Spartan Girl]

Here's another movie trope I hate that has to do with break-ups: the Dear John letter/text.  Again, there's no easy way to break up with somebody, but at least do it face to face.  For example, in Addicted to Love the girlfriend not only sends a Dear John letter, she has her FATHER read it aloud to him.  That's just low.

 

And then there's the trope most often used to in romantic comedies where the girl/boy in order to get over the person he/she loves but can't have, agrees to rush marry the Disposable Love Interest.  It's seriously better to marry someone you don't have feelings for than to end up alone?!  Puh-lease.

[Amethyst]

Oh how I loathe the Runaway Bride/Groom Trope. There's never truly a right way to break up with someone, but waiting until you're at the damn altar is a real shitty one. I hate how the movies portray it as romantic when it's really not.

 

God, yes.  And what gets me is that the person being dumped is usually sad for a moment and then goes "Oh, ok.  Well, I hope you and whoever will be very happy together" and conveniently leaves so their now ex fiance/fiancee can make out with their twue wuv.  It's supposed to look like the dumpee is taking the high road by not making a scene, but it never comes across as genuine.   More like "the movie's almost over and we can't end it with the protagonist feeling guilty, so let's just have the dumped person be cool with the whole thing."

 

Sweet Home Alabama is guilty of this.  That's why I didn't blame Kate (Candice Bergen) for insulting Melanie's (Reese Witherspoon) mother.  Was the insult mean?  Sure it was, but look at the context.  Kate's son was being dumped at the altar in front of his family, friends, fellow politicians, the media, etc.  If that was my kid being humiliated, I would have had some choice words, too.  But instead, Melanie gets her undeserved "you go girl!" moment and knocks out Kate, which I just hated.  Ugh, fuck that whole movie.

 

Made of Honor did this, too.  Oddly, both films had Patrick Dempsey.

[VanillaBear85]

Which brings me to another big movie trope: double standards. When a guy cheats, he's a jerk, but when a woman cheats it's because she's lonely and bored and somehow all the husband's fault. That's the kind of crap that encourages the stereotype that feminism is about blaming men for everything when it's SUPPOSED to be about women being able to make choices and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for those choices.

Isn't this rather new though? I could be mixing this up with television, books, or real life, but I thought the woman was generally viewed as at fault no matter which party cheated.

[Spartan Girl]

Made of Honor did this, too.

 

 

Well, at least in Made of Honor, the Disposable Groom got to punch Patrick Dempsey in the face.

[Bastet]

Sweet Home Alabama is guilty of this.  That's why I didn't blame Kate (Candice Bergen) for insulting Melanie's (Reese Witherspoon) mother.  Was the insult mean?  Sure it was, but look at the context.  Kate's son was being dumped at the altar in front of his family, friends, fellow politicians, the media, etc.  If that was my kid being humiliated, I would have had some choice words, too.  But instead, Melanie gets her undeserved "you go girl!" moment and knocks out Kate, which I just hated.  Ugh, fuck that whole movie.

 

Other than a few funny lines and a great supporting cast, I have no use for that movie.  So it's probably no surprise that I share in your decided lack of joy over Melanie taking out Kate.  It's not cool to insult someone based on who they are rather than what they do, so using the mom's southern-ness to insult her is uncalled for.  But Melanie is doing such a shitty thing, and Candice Bergen is so great, that I laugh at "Why don't you go back to your double-wide and fry something" when I otherwise wouldn't.

[Spartan Girl]

How about the trope where the love interest gets mad at the guy for a stupid reason that turns out to be one giant misunderstanding?  For example, in The 40-Year-Old Virgin when Trish finds all that porn stuff and automatically jumps to the conclusion that Andy is some kind of sex offender.  I didn't get that.  Yes, it was embarrassing but she didn't even bother to hear him out until he chased after her and crashed through that billboard.

[topanga]

On 5/15/2015 at 7:03 PM, methodwriter85 said:

The "plain Jane" who always insists she isn't beautiful or attractive yet men fall in love with her.

And if it's a teen movie, she'll always have two hot guys chasing after her, which infuriates the popular/previously hot/mean girls. 

[methodwriter85]

9 hours ago, topanga said:

And if it's a teen movie, she'll always have two hot guys chasing after her, which infuriates the popular/previously hot/mean girls. 

Aww, She's All That. The Duff looks like it was going to have that, until

Spoiler

it turned out Hot Blond Musician Guy only asked Bianca out so he could get an in with her hot friends.

Speaking of mean girls, they're always over-the-top mean. Not just a bitch who alternates between being a total snide bitch while bringing in little snippets of niceness to keep her followers happy, but just over-the-top bitchery.

I love watching John Hughes films, but people like Bennie were just so unrealistic. Speaking of John Hughes...

It's completely normal for extremely rich kids to go to public high school, leading to moments where a rich kid falls in love with someone from the wrong side of the tracks. In movie world, snobby parents are okay with sending their little future leaders of the world to public schools instead of exclusive private schools.

[Lugal]

I hate the Former-Navy-SEAL trope. Note: not about Navy SEALs doing Navy SEAL things, but where a throwaway line at the beginning tells us the character is a former Navy SEAL just for the badass points and it has no bearing on the rest of the movie.

[slf]

One Man Against of All of Nature. Man survives a blizzard with barely more than a coat- either ice forms on his face and he turns a little blue but is otherwise fine, or he does develop frostbite but outside of making him walk funny and wince in pain it doesn't really affect him. Man falls into a raging river that's sweeping away boats and bears alike and he's able to either grab a twiggy branch and pull himself to safety or he actually goes over the waterfall and survives the enormous drop unscathed. Man encounters a bear, the bear roars and paws at the man, the man yells back and swings a torch or branch at the bear- the bear respects this and leaves. Often times all of these things in the same movie. In serious, Oscar-bait movies. 

It's Just a Scratch. Man gets shot but barely bleeds. He proceeds to beat the hell out of the bad guys, often getting hit directly on his bullet wound and only yells in pain before continuing to fight and save the day. He does not bind the wound at any point and doesn't collapse from blood loss or pain. Sheer manliness is keeping him standing.

On 5/11/2015 at 0:42 PM, katha said:

How about that fabulous RomCom staple: Once you've found twu! wuv! it's totally acceptable to lie, cheat and betray your siginificant other because they're obviously boring, bad for you, not your soulmate, take your pick. (Looking at you, Sleepless in Seattle. I know you're trying to tell me that Meg Ryan's creepy stalking is really totally charming...yeah,no.)

Thank you! I have Sleepless in Seattle, I think there are enjoyable elements in the film including Tom Hanks' grumpy but lovable dad, but how Annie treats her perfectly lovely fiancee always annoyed me. Especially toward the end when she confesses everything and he's actually sympathetic and doesn't hold it against her that she's spent the past few months chasing after another man. SiS really is the weirdest romcom- the leads spend maybe five minutes together onscreen, the woman not only stalks the man, she stalks his son too, and she "fell in love with" the man by listening to him talk about how much he loved his dead wife. 

As much as I love Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping I'd have to say this movie was the biggest offender, though not exactly in the same way. Lucy lies and pretends to be the fiancee of a man in a coma, accepts the affection and gratitude of his family (including an elderly lady with a heart condition), 
develops a relationship with his brother, then when the man wakes from his coma she lies to him, then she accepts his proposal! All of this because she didn't have the decency to pipe up and say "Oh, I'm so sorry, there seems to be some confusion! I'm not his fiancee." Like, the fact that she saved his life would have certainly endeared her to his family so they wouldn't have cared about the brief mix-up. She really had no reason to lie.

[topanga]

1 hour ago, slf said:

As much as I love Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping I'd have to say this movie was the biggest offender, though not exactly in the same way. Lucy lies and pretends to be the fiancee of a man in a coma, accepts the affection and gratitude of his family (including an elderly lady with a heart condition), 
develops a relationship with his brother, then when the man wakes from his coma she lies to him, then she accepts his proposal! All of this because she didn't have the decency to pipe up and say "Oh, I'm so sorry, there seems to be some confusion! I'm not his fiancee." Like, the fact that she saved his life would have certainly endeared her to his family so they wouldn't have cared about the brief mix-up. She really had no reason to lie.

But when Lucy was going to 'fess up to the family, her boss told her not to ("If you tell them now, you might as well shoot Grandma"). I agree that it was an unrealistic contrivance, but everyone in that movie was so darned likable--from Sandra Bullock down to the fake fiance Peter Gallagher and his Oscar-worthy performance as a coma patient and later as a narcissistic, one-balled bastard. In my mind, all is forgiven. 

[slf]

No, I definitely agree, the movie works in spite of itself. It's just that the premise, when you get down to it, is nuts and something you might get arrested for in real life, lol. But the cast really did make that movie. Looking back, either I'm just favoring the movies I grew up with or casting was generally much better in the 90s; most romcoms now have at best one likeable lead and most of the supporting cast is forgettable. Lucy's boss, the landlord's son, every member of Peter's family, the nurse in the hospital, the orderly (a young Rick Worthy!), even the cops who don't even get names - everyone was just spot on.

[PepSinger]

21 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Aww, She's All That. The Duff looks like it was going to have that, until

  Reveal hidden contents

it turned out Hot Blond Musician Guy only asked Bianca out so he could get an in with her hot friends.

Speaking of mean girls, they're always over-the-top mean. Not just a bitch who alternates between being a total snide bitch while bringing in little snippets of niceness to keep her followers happy, but just over-the-top bitchery.

I love watching John Hughes films, but people like Bennie were just so unrealistic. Speaking of John Hughes...

It's completely normal for extremely rich kids to go to public high school, leading to moments where a rich kid falls in love with someone from the wrong side of the tracks. In movie world, snobby parents are okay with sending their little future leaders of the world to public schools instead of exclusive private schools.

I TOTALLY believe this. Maybe it's because I didn't grow up in a city, but I think that's totally normal. I went to a public high school, located in a wealthy neighborhood, in a Southern college town, and we had kids there who lived in the projects plus people who lived in the extremely wealthy neighborhoods surrounding the school. Zoning. Sometimes, it has to do with the school's athletics.

Edited July 9, 2016 by PepSinger

[methodwriter85]

See, I grew up in a state that had forced busing desegregation back in the 1970's, and that in turn created a very strong private school system while the traditional public schools withered. Anyone with at least a little money sent their kids to private schools, or a charter.

Edited July 9, 2016 by methodwriter85

[GreekGeek]

Another annoying rom-com staple: the couple with totally different income levels/education levels/lifestyle preferences/ political views/ priorities in life who bicker constantly but are still Meant For Each Other.

The "ugly" woman who becomes beautiful after removing her glasses.

[BatmanBeatles]

Quote

Another annoying rom-com staple: the couple with totally different income levels/education levels/lifestyle preferences/ political views/ priorities in life who bicker constantly but are still Meant For Each Other.

See Sweet Home Alabama.

[magicdog]

Quote

As much as I love Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping I'd have to say this movie was the biggest offender, though not exactly in the same way. Lucy lies and pretends to be the fiancee of a man in a coma, accepts the affection and gratitude of his family

I agree although it reminded me of the 30s screwball comedies in which a person is mistaken for someone's fiancee or something.

[SmithW6079]

On 7/9/2016 at 1:19 PM, GreekGeek said:

The "ugly" woman who becomes beautiful after removing her glasses.

But only when accompanied by a swish of her hair as she removes the pencil holding her bun in place.

[Guest]

18 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

But only when accompanied by a swish of her hair as she removes the pencil holding her bun in place.

There's an old movie I love (it's one of the Rock Hudson, Doris Day ones - Lover Come Back, I believe) where the supporting male actor says to a less attractive female character that he always wanted to try that - he takes off her glasses, has her shake her hair down, and then says "No, it really doesn't."  It's funny to see a movie acknowledge the trope.

[methodwriter85]

I'm really glad that the whole "only bad girls say yes while good girls always say no" trope seems to be disappearing from teen movies in the past decade. I fucking hated that trope so much. Shailene Woodley may have her detractors, but she did get to play a good teen girl who also can have sex and not be labeled a slut in three roles. I just vomit when I think of what Fox forced 90210 to do to Brenda because she dared to have safe, loving sex with her boyfriend.

Fifty years ago, Splendor in the Grass just ripped into that trope and exposed it for the hypocritical p.o.s. mindset it is. It's a shame that it remained/remains relevant for so long.

Edited October 12, 2016 by methodwriter85

[NutMeg]

On 10/11/2016 at 7:46 AM, SmithW6079 said:

But only when accompanied by a swish of her hair as she removes the pencil holding her bun in place.

Oh, I love that one.

Years ago, I was sitting in an airport café with a female colleague in Spain. At another table there were a group of business people, one of them a very attractive woman with a severe hairpin and glasses. My coworker mentioned how she could totally picture her going wild, and mimicked taking off the glasses and added "and they she shakes her hair", and I still remember how we giggled because it was such a trope, and there it was, in real life.

[Amethyst]

On 10/10/2016 at 6:46 PM, SmithW6079 said:

But only when accompanied by a swish of her hair as she removes the pencil holding her bun in place.

LOL!  They parodied this in Not Another Teen Movie.

One trope I can't stand: the mad rush to the airport/train station/boat before the sweetheart leaves, and the hero/heroine absolutely must tell them right then and there how they feel!  

I could see this one making sense before social networking and more convenient methods of travel were available, but now?  You would think the sweetheart was leaving the planet.

Edited February 12, 2017 by Amethyst