Movie Tropes You Hate

[spaceytraci1208]

Old people using young slang is super annoying. I'd love to punch the screenwriter of Finding Forrester for "You're the man now, dawg!" I'll never un-hear Sean Connery delivering that line...

[Shannon L.]

4 minutes ago, spaceytraci1208 said:

Old people using young slang is super annoying. I'd love to punch the screenwriter of Finding Forrester for "You're the man now, dawg!" I'll never un-hear Sean Connery delivering that line...

Can we make an exception for Barbara Billingsly in Airplane!?   ;)

[spaceytraci1208]

6 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

Can we make an exception for Barbara Billingsly in Airplane!?   ;)

Hell yeah! LMAO 

[Spartan Girl]

Here's one I really hate: the love interest that at first appears like a sweet, wholesome girl...until we later find out she's suddenly become a wild sex kitten.

[Browncoat]

But only after she takes off her glasses and straightens or cuts her hair.  No one can be wild with glasses on!

[proserpina65]

On ‎02‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 1:54 AM, Amethyst said:

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.

Given current airport security, this one doesn't work anymore.  No way would TSA agents let someone through to the gate just so they could declare their love - no ticket, no getting past them.  (Well, except for psychos.)  Hell, you couldn't do that in 2003 when Love Actually used this old chestnut, although I do realize that may have been filmed before the extensive post-9/11 security measures were put in place.

Of course, without this trope on tv, we'd never have gotten Chandler asking some random Arab woman if he could stay with her when they got to Yemen, so . . .

[Popples]

7 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Given current airport security, this one doesn't work anymore.  No way would TSA agents let someone through to the gate just so they could declare their love - no ticket, no getting past them.  (Well, except for psychos.)  Hell, you couldn't do that in 2003 when Love Actually used this old chestnut, although I do realize that may have been filmed before the extensive post-9/11 security measures were put in place.

It wasn't allowed, that's why security chased Sam.

[methodwriter85]

On 2/12/2017 at 1:54 AM, Amethyst said:

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.

The funny thing about Not Another Teen Movie is that the teen comedy seems to be pretty dead right now. You've got the Duff for this decade and that's about it, in terms of teen comedies that were given wide-releases and were relative box-office successes. (Maaaybbbbee Paper Towns.) It seems like most wide-release teen movies released now are some kind of Hunger Games rip-off, or something along the lines of The Fault in Our Stars or some quirky YA fantasy.

I do think one has changed- I don't think the chaste, virginal smart outsider who stands up against the mean popular kids really resonates as much as it did in the 1980's/1990's teen films. There's more of an edge to them now, like Bianca in The Duff or Hailee Steinfield in The Edge of Seventeen. They're also allowed to have actual libidos now, too.

I do think kids are a lot more savvy now than they were when stuff like She's All That or American Pie were hitting the theaters.

Not a movie but I remember the reactions to Twisted, which had a very Joey Potter kind of shy retiring wallflower type as the main actress on the show. People just ripped on her, and a lot of them thought the low ratings were based on the fact that girls these days just don't identify with that kind of character trope anymore. This is the "Look at Me, Look at Me" instagram generation....it would make sense that nobody really wants to be Joey Potter now.

Edited June 8, 2017 by methodwriter85

[proserpina65]

15 hours ago, Popples said:

It wasn't allowed, that's why security chased Sam.

Did they?  I clearly didn't remember that, but then, I hated Love Actually and have only ever watched it the one time.

[slf]

When the man tells the woman he's falling in love with, "You remind me of my [dead] wife." WTF? Awesome. She reminds you of someone else. Part of why you love her is because she reminds you of someone else you loved and can't have anymore. Like, how is that romantic or in any way appealing? Even when they don't have the guy come out and say that it's heavily implied, like in Sleepless in Seattle there are several scenes illustrating how Annie is similar to Hank's dead wife.

 I do not like that.

Edited June 12, 2017 by slf

[methodwriter85]

I really do hate extended fakeouts. Really, it's just lazy and you've wasted our time with things that aren't happening just so there can be a "twist."

[Zola]

Big Bad Villain captures Good Guy/Gal. 

Big Bad Villain ties up Good Guy/Gal to either a bomb, or a meat grinding machine, a laser beam, or some other killing device. 

Big Bad Villain delays killing Good Guy/Gal, but insists on a long convoluted speech as to why he wants to kill Good Guy/Gal.

Big Bad Villain then flicks a switch, which is basically a count-down to the destruction of Good Guy/Gal - usually offering a couple of minutes before death.

Good Guy/Gal manages to escape because they have something (like a hair grip), that will unlock them and free them, thus making their escape with seconds to spare!

Big Bad Guy is mightily pissed off!

End

 

A lot of action films are guilty of this - James Bond, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon et al.

Why does the bad guy need to give a speech?

Why does bad guy not just kill good guy straight away and be back in time for the big game?

And why when bad guy points a gun at good guy and pulls the trigger, nothing happens! But gives just enough time for good guy to do something to turn the tables and win the day?

But then I suppose that would ruin the fantasy

[slf]

^ That reminds me of this post on Tumblr:

"You know what trope pisses me off the most? When the protag is pointing a gun at somebody and they're like "You won't do it. You're too good" and the person holding the gun is like oh shit I am and they slowly lower the gun while the other person laughs. WHAT THE FUCK. If I were there, and somebody told me "you won't do it" I would immediately shoot them dead without hesitating. Who are you to tell me what I won't do. Musty bitch."

Edited July 17, 2017 by slf

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 7/16/2017 at 5:16 AM, Only Zola said:

Big Bad Villain delays killing Good Guy/Gal, but insists on a long convoluted speech as to why he wants to kill Good Guy/Gal.

Richmond Valentine: "This ain't that kind of movie, bruh."

[spaceytraci1208]

44 minutes ago, slf said:

Who are you to tell me what I won't do. Musty bitch."

"Raggedy" is my go-to adjective, but I think I need to work "Musty" into my lexicon LMAO 

[Zola]

Not so much a trope really; more of a grumble: In some films you always get a couple having hot sweaty sex in bed (you usually don't see anything because it's all implied with some subtle editing); but come the following morning, they wake up and they're both in their underwear! Or the phone rings on the bedside table, and the woman will lift herself out of bed to reach for it, but will make damn sure the sheets are covering her upper chest! But to hide from what exactly?

Personally, sex scenes in films don't do much for me, but for the sake of realistic integrity the director/editor should just skip the whole waking up bit and move on (I can understand the reason why some actors/actresses don't want to do nude shots, and that's fine. But all the same who wears underwear in bed after a night of torrid sex!?)

[dusang]

On 7/18/2017 at 2:59 AM, Only Zola said:

Not so much a trope really; more of a grumble: In some films you always get a couple having hot sweaty sex in bed (you usually don't see anything because it's all implied with some subtle editing); but come the following morning, they wake up and they're both in their underwear! Or the phone rings on the bedside table, and the woman will lift herself out of bed to reach for it, but will make damn sure the sheets are covering her upper chest! But to hide from what exactly?

Personally, sex scenes in films don't do much for me, but for the sake of realistic integrity the director/editor should just skip the whole waking up bit and move on (I can understand the reason why some actors/actresses don't want to do nude shots, and that's fine. But all the same who wears underwear in bed after a night of torrid sex!?)

Not a movie, but it always cracked me up that in the TV show Medium (which had a lot of bed scenes because she'd dream things) the husband and wife usually wore pajamas but if they were shown getting "romantic" as they went to bed they'd wake up without pajamas and even sometimes having swapped sides of the bed from their usual sleeping arrangement. I admired that commitment to realism in a TV drama about a medium solving crime.

Edited July 19, 2017 by dusang

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

On 6/7/2017 at 0:10 PM, proserpina65 said:

Of course, without this trope on tv, we'd never have gotten Chandler asking some random Arab woman if he could stay with her when they got to Yemen, so . . .

To be fair, that episode was in 1998, but also, in order to pull off the plot, Chandler did have to buy a ticket to Yemen. 

[Zola]

Sports films - you have a team down in the dumps, playing in front of an empty stadium, there's discord in the ranks and there's absolutely no chance they will make the finals.

So a new but wily old manager/coach is drafted in and kicks the arse of certain lame egos in the team - there's the initial conflict and plenty of "don't you know who I am?" tropes from the handsome star player, but eventually everything starts to click, they start winning games, the stadium begins to fill, and typically they reach the finals.

But at great cost because the star player is injured and is side-lined on the bench. The team is losing badly with only 10 minutes to go. The manager makes a decision and calls on the star player to get out there, despite his injuries.

Said player trots awkwardly onto the pitch; there's a gasp from the crowd and some of the team players. But eventually they click as a team again, and star player manages to get the team almost on level terms.

But ... and here comes another trope.... there's just 15 seconds to go.... the player's injuries are starting to tell...... the team is still 1 point/goal/whatever behind.... the ref calls a foul in favour of our team..... the ball ends up with our star player.... can he make it to the line/score the winning goal/slam dunks ..... there is hushed silence.... the clock ticks down ...... the star player is fighting back the pain....... he looks around the 50,000 crowd..... and instantly spots his ex-wife/children/girlfriend ...... he smiles...... and inevitably wins the day with only seconds to spare!!!

The crowd go wild!

The team goes wild!

The PA guy goes wild!

The wily old coach smiles a knowing smile before heading for the dressing room (my work here is done, he muses)

Star player runs towards where his ex-wife/children/girlfriend is sitting and they kiss and hug!

 

Credits roll

 

Good grief!

Edited September 2, 2017 by Zola

[tribeca]

Weather it's a sports game or a play the lead actor leaves their teammates during the biggest game or performances.  No one else can do their job the same.   After leaving everyone in a lurch they came back at the last minute save the day and are the hero.  No one ever mentions the crappy way they left everything or how much harder every one had to work while they were away. 

Edited September 3, 2017 by tribeca

[GreekGeek]

On 9/3/2017 at 10:42 AM, tribeca said:

Weather it's a sports game or a play the lead actor leaves their teammates during the biggest game or performances.  No one else can do their job the same.   After leaving everyone in a lurch they came back at the last minute save the day and are the hero.  No one ever mentions the crappy way they left everything or how much harder every one had to work while they were away. 

I think this one qualifies as Older than Dirt--see Homer's Iliad. Bonus points if something happens to the hero's friend while the hero is out of action.

Edited September 4, 2017 by GreekGeek

[Andrew C. Wilson]

On 6/3/2015 at 11:16 PM, Amethyst said:

 

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.

Well Kate (Candice Bergen) deserved to be knocked out by Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) for insulting her mother.

[Kel Varnsen]

I watched Christopher Robin with my family last night and while it was good I realized that there are a shitload of movies where a workaholic main character has to learn the lesson that family is more important then the job. And for a lot of them the main character has to learn the lesson through some sort of magic (Christopher Robin, Elf, Hook, Mary Poppins). Seriously the scene where Christopher Robin walks out of the big meeting that could save the company to find his missing kid is almost the same as when Buddy the Elf's dad does the same thing.

[Wiendish Fitch]

27 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I watched Christopher Robin with my family last night and while it was good I realized that there are a shitload of movies where a workaholic main character has to learn the lesson that family is more important then the job. And for a lot of them the main character has to learn the lesson through some sort of magic (Christopher Robin, Elf, Hook, Mary Poppins). Seriously the scene where Christopher Robin walks out of the big meeting that could save the company to find his missing kid is almost the same as when Buddy the Elf's dad does the same thing.

Get out of my head, Kel Varnsen! I find this trope not just annoying, but morally reprehensible. I for one blame the song "Cat's Cradle" by Harry Chapin: if you dare to go to work instead of play catch with Junior, you're a worthless excuse for a human being and death is too kind a punishment! My dad worked 40-60 hours a week at a job he didn't even like all that much, and I will go to my grave grateful as hell for his sacrifice. Yes, he made time for us, but we also understood he had to work and sometimes wanted alone time (which, last I checked, is perfectly acceptable). Oh, and we had this person called Mom who did stuff for us, so we didn't force our poor dad to shoulder every goddamned burden of parenting. 

Just once -just once!!- I want to see a movie where the kids learn that they're being selfish and unreasonable placing too many demands on their poor working parents, that the world doesn't revolve around them, and one fucking missed recital isn't exactly criminal negligence.

Oh, and I saw part of Hook (couldn't finish, it was visually ugly and too shrill), and I thought Peter was absolutely justified in yelling at his kids when they were being too noisy while he was on a work call. I think it's a parent's right to yell at their kids if they're doing something wrong. If you don't set boundaries and call kids out when they're in the wrong, you're going to have some textbook narcissists on your hands.

Edited January 1, 2019 by Wiendish Fitch

[Spartan Girl]

Agreed. That's one of the many reasons I hated the movie Click.

[andromeda331]

55 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Get out of my head, Kel Varnsen! I find this trope not just annoying, but morally reprehensible. I for one blame the song "Cat's Cradle" by Harry Chapin: if you dare to go to work instead of play catch with Junior, you're a worthless excuse for a human being and death is too kind a punishment! My dad worked 40-60 hours a week at a job he didn't even like all that much, and I will go to my grave grateful as hell for his sacrifice. Yes, he made time for us, but we also understood he had to work and sometimes wanted alone time (which, last I checked, is perfectly acceptable). Oh, and we had this person called Mom who did stuff for us, so we didn't force our poor dad to shoulder every goddamned burden of parenting. 

Just once -just once!!- I want to see a movie where the kids learn that they're being selfish and unreasonable placing too many demands on their poor working parents, that the world doesn't revolve around them, and one fucking missed recital isn't exactly criminal negligence.

Oh, and I saw part of Hook (couldn't finish, it was visually ugly and too shrill), and I thought Peter was absolutely justified in yelling at his kids when they were being too noisy while he was on a work call. I think it's a parent's right to yell at their kids if they're doing something wrong. If you don't set boundaries and call kids out when they're in the wrong, you're going to have some textbook narcissists on your hands.

So do I. Most parents or parent if the case maybe have to work to support their kids. I would love if just for once a parent or parents would point that out to their kids. Their job puts food on the table, clothes on their backs and buys their cool toys and/or video game, phone stuff. Would they rather live on the street? Not have all the toys and cool stuff? I get it can sometimes suck to have a parent work so much. My mom worked a ton of hours and a lot of over time and sometimes a second job and yes sometimes she missed my school events which sucked. My dad worked hard too and didn't have a job where could take off during the day to go see his kids play or hang out. But she was working hard to support us and to afford to us on the awesome vacations we went on. Why can't the kids ever learn that lesson? Or their overworked parent or parents decide to make their spoiled kids help out in soup kitchens and other places to see how good they really have it? Or realize how hard it is to be a parent? Or realize how selfish they are being?

[Kel Varnsen]

2 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Just once -just once!!- I want to see a movie where the kids learn that they're being selfish and unreasonable placing too many demands on their poor working parents, that the world doesn't revolve around them, and one fucking missed recital isn't exactly criminal negligence.

The thing that bugs me with these movies is that they always play out the same way. There is never any compromise or middleground found. At the start of the story the workaholic parent is always an asshole who doesn't even bother to try and make time for his/her kids. And then at the end parent learns the error of their ways and completely turns their life around or has some kind of massive career change. It is never a story about a parent who sacrifices to keep a roof over their families head and they almost never has a compromise where parent keeps working their demanding job but just finds a way to spend some quality time with their kids when they can.

[Mabinogia]

Just once in these working sucks go play with your kids movies, I'd like to see the "happily ever after" replaced with the reality of the father losing his job for bunking off to hang with his kids, resulting in them ending up losing their big fancy house, the kids now have to go to some inner city school instead of the nice middle class or better school they are used to. Christmas is just clothes they need instead of toys they want. Then one day the dad looks at his ungrateful little brats, because you know they will blame this all on him and not think they had anything to do with it, ans just says "are you happy now?" 

The movies that really piss me off are the Lifetime style movies where the woman who decided to have a career in the big, bad city instead of staying in her small town and spitting out kids, has to return home, learns that she is shallow and horrible for wanting a powerful job instead of a bunch of kids and gives up the career she has worked so hard for to become a small town plumbers wife and start a family because that is what women should want, not careers, not life in an exciting, bustling city, but a quite life in a small town married to the guy you picked when you were 15 and had few options. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

13 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

Just once in these working sucks go play with your kids movies, I'd like to see the "happily ever after" replaced with the reality of the father losing his job for bunking off to hang with his kids, resulting in them ending up losing their big fancy house, the kids now have to go to some inner city school instead of the nice middle class or better school they are used to. Christmas is just clothes they need instead of toys they want. Then one day the dad looks at his ungrateful little brats, because you know they will blame this all on him and not think they had anything to do with it, ans just says "are you happy now?" 

That would also make a fantastic  SNL sketch.

14 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

The movies that really piss me off are the Lifetime style movies where the woman who decided to have a career in the big, bad city instead of staying in her small town and spitting out kids, has to return home, learns that she is shallow and horrible for wanting a powerful job instead of a bunch of kids and gives up the career she has worked so hard for to become a small town plumbers wife and start a family because that is what women should want, not careers, not life in an exciting, bustling city, but a quite life in a small town married to the guy you picked when you were 15 and had few options. 

Interestingly, The Family Man dared to utilize this trope with a male protagonist. Granted, I don't care for The Family Man much (I have Nicholas Cage cooties), but props to the screenwriters for thinking outside the box.

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Interestingly, The Family Man dared to utilize this trope with a male protagonist. Granted, I don't care for The Family Man much (I have Nicholas Cage cooties), but props to the screenwriters for thinking outside the box.

Never saw it. Not a Nick Cage fan. He kind of seems like cooties to me. lol But it's at least nice to see men fall victim to the "small town values rule" trope.

[andromeda331]

5 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

Just once in these working sucks go play with your kids movies, I'd like to see the "happily ever after" replaced with the reality of the father losing his job for bunking off to hang with his kids, resulting in them ending up losing their big fancy house, the kids now have to go to some inner city school instead of the nice middle class or better school they are used to. Christmas is just clothes they need instead of toys they want. Then one day the dad looks at his ungrateful little brats, because you know they will blame this all on him and not think they had anything to do with it, ans just says "are you happy now?" 

The movies that really piss me off are the Lifetime style movies where the woman who decided to have a career in the big, bad city instead of staying in her small town and spitting out kids, has to return home, learns that she is shallow and horrible for wanting a powerful job instead of a bunch of kids and gives up the career she has worked so hard for to become a small town plumbers wife and start a family because that is what women should want, not careers, not life in an exciting, bustling city, but a quite life in a small town married to the guy you picked when you were 15 and had few options. 

Hallmark loves that one too. And of course Sweet Home Alabama did that too. God forbid the woman stay in the Big City where she's lived for several years and been working hard at a great job, is able to keep it or get promoted and get the guy! Why can't she have both? Why can't she want both? No, that can't happen. We're suppose to see "signs" that she's unhappy because she's working so hard even though its usually either for a promotion coming up and/or she loves her job. She hasn't been home in years. Well, that would suggest she doesn't want to move home to a small town.  

[methodwriter85]

And note the the small town is always a beautiful little Stars Hollow type of town with bustling little shops and cafes, not a real small town with severe economic problems and everybody shopping at a Wal-Mart.

Edited January 2, 2019 by methodwriter85

[Wiendish Fitch]

3 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

And note the the small town is always a beautiful little Stars Hollow type of town with bustling little shops and cafes, not a real small town with severe economic problems and everybody shopping at a Wal-Mart.

 

That's what I love about Gone Girl: North Carthage is a small town that's a complete and utter shithole. There's a homeless problem, tons of stores are out of business (and there's no indication anything new will ever replace them), there's an abandoned shopping mall where reprobates hang out, your choice of home is either a crappy old house or a soulless McMansion, and there is nothing to do except drink or get pregnant, it's absolutely horrid. Maybe it was a nice place in Nick Dunne's youth, but, like him, it's obsolete and gone to seed. 

Yes, I know, North Carthage is fictional, but I've seen small towns not dissimilar, and I applaud Gillian Flynn for not sentimentalizing small town life, especially in the modern age. 

Edited January 2, 2019 by Wiendish Fitch

[Shannon L.]

4 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

And note the the small town is always a beautiful little Stars Hollow type of town with bustling little shops and cafes, not a real small town with severe economic problems and everybody shopping at a Wal-Mart.

And everyone in town loves each other. They're always there to help and their doors are always open to friends, acquaintances and strangers alike!  (The exception is typically one grumpy old man that everyone just laughs off)

[Mabinogia]

2 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

(The exception is typically one grumpy old man that everyone just laughs off)

Don't worry about him. Somehow our heroines journey of remembering her place will somehow heal the wound that made him grumpy in the first place. (Of course he's probably grumpy because he's stuck in a town where everybody knows everybodies else's business and everyone is all smily and waving at each other like some demented Stepford town. If it's set at Christmas time there will be a little kid who is just so adorable he/she melts everyone's heart, even grumpy old man who probably just wants to be left the hell alone. lol (I feel like I usually identify most with the Grump in these movies haha)

[Dandesun]

Meanwhile, over in England those little villages are full of fucked up secrets and fucked up people and everybody knows some dirt on someone and it all comes out after someone gets murdered and either a little old lady or a detective inspector have to put the pieces together.

[tennisgurl]

Oh yes, the Hallmart Christmas movie town. A perfectly quaint little town where everyone is happy and perfect and full of small town quirk and folksy wisdom. Inevitably, one Christmas, some hard working career lady (or fellow) shows up. They might have lived their years ago and are coming back to settle family business, are here for some business thing, or they just had their car break down or get stuck in the snow on the way to The City, and how they’re stuck in Quaintsburg, and have to be there for Christmas. Despite their love of their business of business, they start to find they love Quaintsburg, and it’s Christmas pageant everyone attends, and ice sculpting competitions, and ESPECIALLY the handsome/pretty owner of the local BnB/bookstore/bakery, who happens to be a widow/widower with an adorable little kid. They admit that the career that they spent their lives building is actually garbage by the end, and the only thing that can REALLY make them happy is a freakingly clean and whitebread town and a person who wears only plaid to kiss you! Screw those years in law school, you just needed a baby, and a Christmas sing along! 

Edited January 3, 2019 by tennisgurl

[methodwriter85]

On 1/2/2019 at 2:32 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

That's what I love about Gone Girl: North Carthage is a small town that's a complete and utter shithole. There's a homeless problem, tons of stores are out of business (and there's no indication anything new will ever replace them), there's an abandoned shopping mall where reprobates hang out, your choice of home is either a crappy old house or a soulless McMansion, and there is nothing to do except drink or get pregnant, it's absolutely horrid. Maybe it was a nice place in Nick Dunne's youth, but, like him, it's obsolete and gone to seed. 

Yes, I know, North Carthage is fictional, but I've seen small towns not dissimilar, and I applaud Gillian Flynn for not sentimentalizing small town life, especially in the modern age. 

 

I read the book and the McMansion they lived in was only affordable because it was a stalled McMansion development, which was perfect for the time period. Like there were empty and unfinished houses littered around them. It's been years since I've seen Gone Girl so I don't remember if they kept that in the movie but I loved it because I'm from a state that had so many McMansion and McHouse developments that stalled/permanently ended because of the Recession.

In any event, cutesy small towns are only able to be cutesy small towns because they're a bedroom community/retirement home for the rich. Or there's some kind of tourist draw, like a beach or a ski resort. If you want to live in a real Stars Hollow, you're going to be paying a shit load of money.

Edited January 4, 2019 by methodwriter85

[VCRTracking]

There's a lot of jokes on Twitter this week making fun of the cliched things they do in a movie that a real person with that job would never do starting with "Hello, I'm a *insert occupation here*, I.."  I think this is the tweet that started it, with people responding with their own "Hello, I'm a..."

Edited January 4, 2019 by VCRTracking

[Shannon L.]

5 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

There's a lot of jokes on Twitter this week making fun of the cliched things they do in a movie that a real person with that job would never do starting with "Hello, I'm a *insert occupation here*, I.."  I think this is the tweet that started it, with people responding with their own "Hello, I'm a..."

I saw that yesterday and it's a rabbit hole!  It's really cute and some of them are down right funny.  I had to quit after 10 minutes or so or I'd have been there for way too long.

[Shannon L.]

On 1/1/2019 at 1:33 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

Get out of my head, Kel Varnsen! I find this trope not just annoying, but morally reprehensible. I for one blame the song "Cat's Cradle" by Harry Chapin: if you dare to go to work instead of play catch with Junior, you're a worthless excuse for a human being and death is too kind a punishment! My dad worked 40-60 hours a week at a job he didn't even like all that much, and I will go to my grave grateful as hell for his sacrifice. Yes, he made time for us, but we also understood he had to work and sometimes wanted alone time (which, last I checked, is perfectly acceptable). Oh, and we had this person called Mom who did stuff for us, so we didn't force our poor dad to shoulder every goddamned burden of parenting. 

Just once -just once!!- I want to see a movie where the kids learn that they're being selfish and unreasonable placing too many demands on their poor working parents, that the world doesn't revolve around them, and one fucking missed recital isn't exactly criminal negligence.

Oh, and I saw part of Hook (couldn't finish, it was visually ugly and too shrill), and I thought Peter was absolutely justified in yelling at his kids when they were being too noisy while he was on a work call. I think it's a parent's right to yell at their kids if they're doing something wrong. If you don't set boundaries and call kids out when they're in the wrong, you're going to have some textbook narcissists on your hands.

I was thinking about this today and there is an opposite  scenario that sometimes comes up that also annoys the hell out of me:  if someone's family, especially his/her children, is at stake and the only way out seems to be to quit whatever job they're doing, then they get a guilt trip by the rest of the group for "quitting" or "failing them" or "being weak", etc.

[topanga]

6 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I saw that yesterday and it's a rabbit hole!  It's really cute and some of them are down right funny.  I had to quit after 10 minutes or so or I'd have been there for way too long.

Is there a hashtag or another way to search for them? 

I don't go on Twitter often, but when I'm do, I'm always stuck there for a while. #Birdbox got me good. LOL

[Shannon L.]

1 hour ago, topanga said:

Is there a hashtag or another way to search for them? 

I don't go on Twitter often, but when I'm do, I'm always stuck there for a while. #Birdbox got me good. LOL

There's not a hash tag, but here's the link:

https://twitter.com/_roryturnbull/status/1080183740637241344

[topanga]

On 1/4/2019 at 4:42 PM, Shannon L. said:

There's not a hash tag, but here's the link:

https://twitter.com/_roryturnbull/status/1080183740637241344

Hilarious. Thanks 

[HunterHunted]

On 1/1/2019 at 3:33 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

Just once -just once!!- I want to see a movie where the kids learn that they're being selfish and unreasonable placing too many demands on their poor working parents, that the world doesn't revolve around them, and one fucking missed recital isn't exactly criminal negligence.

First, I have to include my own anecdote. On the day of my maternal grandmother's funeral, my dad got non-stop work phone calls. My mom was angry, hysterical, and screaming, "Don't they know where you are? Don't they know what day it is?" I replied, "In the grand scheme of things and in the estimation of nearly everyone on the planet, dad's job is way more important right now than your mom's funeral. I know you don't want to hear this." My dad is a nuclear expert. My grandmother's funeral happened to randomly coincide with the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

I happened to watch some of the DC animated movies over the holiday. The only kid in them who absolutely does NOT want their parent to stop "working" is Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne's nearly feral son who has been raised from birth to be the leader of the League of Assassins. Batman learns about Damian when Damian is about 10. The irony of all of this is that Batman has to teach his unbelievably skilled and dangerous single-minded vigilante son to be a well-adjusted person at roughly the same age that Batman himself stopped being the well adjusted Bruce Wayne and the same age that he dragged his various wards into his crazy person vigilante war. It sort of culminates in a joke in the Death of Superman where Batman can't make it to a Justice League meeting because he has to go to a parent teacher conference at Damian's school.

Thinking about Damian made me consider the flipped version of the too busy parent, which is wacky parent, serious kid. It often involves some bonding experience where the kid learns to loosen up a little and the parent learns to be a little more responsible.

[Spartan Girl]

The trope of the villain using The Dead Parent/Family Excuse. It's awful to lose a parent to murder or some horrible event. But you're going to inflict that pain on other kids and families of the innocent people you kill to achieve whatever master plan you have?!

Guess what, you're ten times worse than whoever did it to you! 

So fuck you Kilmonger, Black Manta, Zemo, etc.

[tennisgurl]

You know what I am sick of? The Unnecessary Asshole Villain. 

You know this person. The asshole who exists in a movie where the main conflict is internal, or is more societal, or some kind of natural disaster. They dont really do anything to make the story more interesting or add real conflict that wouldn't have existed anyway, but the writers think that their movie needs a human adversary so the audience will have someone to booo at, because they think the audience is to dumb to have a movie without some mustache twirling asshole to root against. Its not enough for them to save a building on fire or survive a war or combat drug addiction, we have to have someone to blame for everything! Or else, people might have to deal with the fact that sometimes conflicts just happen without someone to blame! Its usually just a waste of time, an annoyance no one wants to deal with, a poorly written cardboard cut out to hang out and menace our heroes, or a hurdle that means nothing, or even actually hurts the story. Its just pointless, and often keeps us away from the actual, interesting conflict. 

I already talked about Hans in Frozen as an example of this, where it felt like Disney just needed a villain because they felt like their movie needed a villain (even if the actual conflict is about Elsa's emotions and the sisters bond), but I would also count some of Disney's other recent Twist Villains, like the bad guy from Zootopia. She is certainly more needed than Hans, as a movie about a mystery actually does need someone to be the person the good guys catch, but I almost wish that they had gone at a different angle, as the evil conspiracy really wasn't all that important to the theme of the movie. The real bad guy is racism and stereotypes and how fear can make people (well, animals) susceptible to manipulation. Really, I almost wish they had made the lion mayor the bad guy, and make him somewhat well intentioned, as he was in the movie, and that would even fit in with the theme of the movie, that everyone has good and bad, everyone is capable of doing evil for reasons they think are justified or having their own prejudices, even good people. But, we need a big evil speech at the end of the Disney movie, so here we are. 

This also happens a lot in disaster movies, or sports movies. They arent movies that really need a villain, but writers seem to think that people wont be interested in a teams rise to the top, or a massive disaster in which countless people died without some random dickhead they can hate. Like Cal in Titanic (because the sinking of the freaking Titanic clearly needed more drama!) or every government weasel or asshole rich person in a Roland Emmerich disaster movie, or Jonas from Twister, they're just assholes who we root to get a comeuppance, because the audience cant root against a tornado or an ice burg, but they CAN root against some dick who has nothing to do with the actual story, but is an asshole, so we have some human face to put on this disaster, even though they rarely have anything to do with the actual incident or plot.

Possibly the worst one however, is when a movie decides that a true story needs a villain, so they turn someone involved in the story who was a totally normal person, and makes them an asshole, because real life often doesent have villains, but they need one, so now this random guy is the bad guy of this story, because our underdog hero needs a villain to defeat or I guess his defeat wont be good enough! Like how in Cinderella Man, they decided to make the main characters main boxing competitor, Max Baer, a real life famous boxer and nice guy, a total sadist who brags about killing people in the ring, and is generally a smug piece of shit. Because the real bad guy in this story is the Great Depression, and Russel Crowe cant punch the Great Depression in the face, but damn it, we need Russel Crowe to punch a bad guy in the face, so this guy will have to do I guess. Or in Frost/Nixon, they wanted to avoid making Nixon just the bad guy, so they made his chief of staff the bad guy instead. Except, his most bad guys moments, like when he threatened Frost against making Nixon look bad, never happened. In fact, he and Frost got to get along really well, and he ended up convincing Nixon to do the interviews! These are really much worse for me, because not only does making some random person the bad guy cheapen a real life historical event, it hurts the imagine of actual people, even people that might still be alive. It even sucks if its people that have been dead for ages, like Mehmed the Conqueror in Dracula Untold, who is shown to be a religious fanatic who wants to convert everyone in Europe to Islam... despite one of the things most historians most remember about him was his religious tolerance! Hell, some movies do this to whole cultures, like the Sioux in Dances with wolves, or the Persions in 300.  And its often not even needed, as the actual story is just as good, if not better, than the made up version with the bad guy added. Its just so stupid, and when you actually start dragging real people into your stupid need for a cartoon bad guy for the good guys to defeat, so good can triumph over evil and everyone can feel good at the end. No one has to think of moral complexity here! 

[HunterHunted]

6 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

You know what I am sick of? The Unnecessary Asshole Villain. 

You know this person. The asshole who exists in a movie where the main conflict is internal, or is more societal, or some kind of natural disaster. They dont really do anything to make the story more interesting or add real conflict that wouldn't have existed anyway, but the writers think that their movie needs a human adversary so the audience will have someone to booo at, because they think the audience is to dumb to have a movie without some mustache twirling asshole to root against. Its not enough for them to save a building on fire or survive a war or combat drug addiction, we have to have someone to blame for everything! Or else, people might have to deal with the fact that sometimes conflicts just happen without someone to blame!

My siblings and I call these villains "Burn the Churchers."

[topanga]

I’ve seen this trope in a lot of movies and on TV lately: a kidnapper/serial killer is holding a victim in a locked room. The good guy/girl/cop manage to get inside the house and unlock the room. Then they stand in the doorway and stare at the kidnapped victim long enough for the kidnapper/killer to sneak up behind them and whack them over the head with something. 

[Spartan Girl]

I am officially sick of The Hero Showing Mercy to the Villain Trope.  I don't care if it's to show the hero's morality, it's just dumb.  Because 99.9 percent of the time they're never grateful and they just stab you in the back once your back is turned.