Pixie Trix Comix & Hiveworks Community

So I'm writing this paper on cliches in American movies, and have to ask for people's opinions. Cliches can be anything from the "accidentally have their face near eachother with a little slowmotion, then quickly back away to deny their now-so-obvious attraction" to general stuff like "The main actors always end up together at the end" or "the black guy dies first in horror films".

So, what cliches do you see most often?
Which cliches annoy you the most?

This may help you some Fen : http://www.moviecliches.com/

It's a variation of the "black guys always die first in horror movies" cliche, but the "friendly non-human characters ALWAYS die" is rather annoying. Most non-humans in sci-fi/fantasy/horror are pretty interesting characters, but they get killed off so the less exciting main characters can push on.

>< lame!

Also, TVTropes.org could prove useful to you.

Never wear a red shirt.

*looks down*

Oh crap.

aaannnddd...... Terror will only strike when you either a) look away or b ) look at it

THE FIVE PHRASES OF DOOM.
Utter these at your own risk. Saying one guarantees something to go wrong imminently.

1. What could possible go wrong?
2. How hard could it be?
3. What are the chances of that happening?
4. Its fool proof.
5. Trust me.

Greatest culprit for this is Star Wars: Overuse of "I have a bad feeling about this".

Interracial couples don't happen very often, but they always come in packs - it's like a memetic disease. Everybody will be in racially segregated couples, until one day some interracial couple appears, and suddenly minority characters will magically start appearing in order to outfit all the single white characters with minority partners.

On that subject... I've found that lately the 'Token Black Guy' seems to have been replaced by the 'Token Asian Person'.

The cliche that makes me cringe the most is what I think of as the "I learned something today" cliche. This is the cliche where the hero early on in the movie is taught or learns on his own that is helpful. It doesn't have any reason for being included throughout the rest of the movie until the climactic final struggle - when they pull off the trick in question, and it turns the tide for them or it ends up saving the day all together. Because you know if within half an hour of running time if the trick in question isn't used, it's going to be pivotal to the finale.

Argh, I hate that cliche!

Here's one: If a pretty young woman who isn't the top billed star in an R rated horror film is seen topless or fully nude in the early part of a horror film (and *especially* if she is in a sex scene...), she is almost certain to die during the film, often before she gets a chance to put clothes back on. This one probably bothers me the most because it tends to associate a healthy sexual appetite or exhibitionist tendencies with being killed. (And thus denies us the chance to see said woman naked again later in the film, darn it all! ;) )

Another one I'm seeing recently is where the mentor/teacher of the main character early in the film turns out to be the villian by the end. This can be made to work really well in some cases, but is really heavily overused in others, expecially in recent years.

The biggest classic cliche in movies ever: If there's a villian and he/she/it has an evil plan, they *must* explain that plan to the hero at some point during the film.

Of course, that all plays into the vast number of villain clichés that one can find mentioned in the infamous Evil Overlord List—required reading for any aspiring evil overlord that doesn’t wish to become an expiring one.

As it turns out, the rule against explaining plans to the captured hero is #7.

I dislike the way EVERY action movie from Hollywood ends with explosions and the protagonist punching out the antagonist.

Mine kind of goes along with what Radbaron said...in horror movies when the people go up the stairs/into the room/wherever and it's exactly NOT where they're supposed to go. The kind of scene where the audience is shouting, "Don't go in there, stupid!", but of course they always do

Here are some I notice:

1. In action movies, the White Hero MUST have a Black Buddy who can die at the hands of the Baddie so that the White Hero can avenge him. This is known as The Brother Dies First Law.

2. In war movies, the clean cut kid who is Too Young To Die HAS to get it.

3. Bad guys can't hit the broad side of a barn. This is The Law of Evil Marksmanship.

4. After he traps the hero and before he can kill him slowly, the Bad Guy must gloat and talk
enough to explain the whole plot...and give the good guy time to ready his escape plan. Siskel & Ebert called this one
"the Talking Killer." In "The Incredibles," it's called 'Monologuing.'

5. In romantic comedies, the clueless, geeky guy with a sweet personality always wins the hot girl because he CARES about
her. (And if Giz and Dave pull THIS cliche in Menagea3, I will kill them both.)

How about the childhood friends meet as enemies in adulthood thing.

Scaramouche wrote:I dislike the way EVERY action movie from Hollywood ends with explosions and the protagonist punching out the antagonist.

In a similar vein, explosions are completely or at least very nearly harmless no matter how close you are to point of origin provided you are jumping directly away from the point of origin at the time of detonation. In one case, I recall there was a movie where the heroes jump away from a satchel charge (!) at a starting point of just a couple feet away (!!). Only one of them is injured (!!!), and he was injured when he twisted his ankle on landing (?!).