# Dealbreaker screenplay clichés **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 14, 2022, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002 "2022-03-14T02:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/181 "2022-04-01T21:02:57Z")
Yes, it was. ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/182 "2022-04-01T21:34:13Z")
What annoys me to no end is when the hero and the heroine are chased by the bad guys, and are fleeing on foot. Running holding hands! As if one of them are going to drag the other up to speed… Any idiot understands that holding hands while running is only going to slow them down! The best way to run fast is, ofcourse, to have both hands free. Seen in countless action movies… ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/183 "2022-04-01T23:07:20Z")
When the defendant finally comes clean to their lawyer about what _really_ happened, the lawyer says (incredulous and outraged), “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner??” “Because I knew how it would look.” ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/184 "2022-04-02T02:53:34Z")
> [@solost](#): > > ‘One punch knocks a bad guy out for as long as the plot requires, without hurting them too badly’. > > or… > > ‘protagonist doesn’t want friend or love interest to follow them into danger, so slugs them into unconsciousness (for their own good) so they won’t tag along’. > > Even a head injury that causes just a few seconds of stunned grogginess is likely a concussion, and any head injury that causes prolonged unconsciousnesses probably means severe drain bamage. This finally did Lost for me. Everyone used a rifle butt like a pause button on everyone else. With zero consequences; not even cuts or bruises. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/185 "2022-04-02T16:19:57Z")
> [@Loggins](#): > > Any idiot understands that holding hands while running is only going to slow them down! The best way to run fast is, ofcourse, to have both hands free. Unless running from a bear. Then the way to run faster is kick the other person in the knee. OMG, there is a person I argued with 2 hours ago laying dead with a knife in their chest. I should probably pull it out. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/186 "2022-04-02T16:32:36Z")
…and make sure I get my fingerprints all over the knife! 😯 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/187 "2022-04-02T16:48:12Z")
I ended my post (but apparently used some code so it didn’t show) with Cue police coming into the room ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/188 "2022-04-02T17:12:50Z")
You probably used pointy brackets (I don’t know the real name: \<) Put a backslash [\] in front of the first one and the contents will show up, thus: \ ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/189 "2022-04-02T17:20:35Z")
ty. That’s exactly what I did. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/190 "2022-04-02T17:33:37Z")
Good ones. But there is also “Retired crook blackmailed into ONE.LAST. Heist”. Because of course if they can make you do one last heist, they can make you do another and another and another. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Picard: What are you seeing, Number One? > Riker: Trouble. > > Yes, how about a useful description, you twit! A ship is firing at the Enterprise. Counselor Troi: “I sense hostility”. No shit, thank you for that useless piece of info. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > “Well, that idea didn’t work against the Bad Guys/Monsters/Enemy/Aliens. There was that one small easily fixed flaw. We’ll have to try something completely different against them.” Wilie Coyote would like to subscribe to your newsletter. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Engineering > Kirk: What is it Bones? What’s so important? Bones" Do ye have a wee spot of mustard?" > [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > “This time it’s personal.” Which means every bit of evidence you collect will be tossed out, if not the entire case. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/191 "2022-04-02T17:49:24Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > “This time it’s personal.” Wise Sidekick: “But, last time you said that one was personal… and before… and when your neighbor’s roofer’s mother got kidnapped, you said “THIS TIME it’s PERSONAL!’ So can we just assume that _every_ time will be personal, and skip the posturing? I mean, by now, the perp’s a mile away while you’ve been emoting.” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/192 "2022-04-02T18:17:02Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But there is also “Retired crook blackmailed into ONE.LAST. Heist”. Of course, the One Last Job. I say ‘job’ because it can also be a retired hitman doing one last hit. And they don’t even have to always be blackmailed, just talked into it because “it’s easy money, a walk in the park, piece of cake! It’ll be nothing like that job in Mozambique that went sideways, trust me.” ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/193 "2022-04-02T18:25:14Z")
Or maybe bribed into it with something like “We’ll bust your brother out of that Turkish prison where he’s locked up on what we _all_ know are _totally_ bogus charges.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/194 "2022-04-02T20:00:00Z")
This is hilarious. Happens all the freaken time on TV. > [@Eclipse\_Chaser](#): > > Anything including wild horses which has a shot of a horse rearing and pawing the air, accompanied by a shrill whinnying sound. Frau Blucher? > [@echoreply](#): > > It’s my understanding, and I’m not a military historian, I just watched a bunch of History channel in the 90s, that usually in those types of melee battles the first army that broke formation was the one that lost. The army that stayed coordinated, with soldiers supporting each other, and presenting a coherent fighting force were far more successful. Yes. because remember, once the lines break- you do not know who the foe is. No one wore uniforms. You had to fight in formation. > [@carrps](#): > > Gawd, I wish that series had had more seasons. HBO rule- anything good has to be canceled. See “Deadwood, Rome…” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/195 "2022-04-03T16:50:21Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The Pioneer Women’s Rifle, which when fired in the air with eyes closed will hit a circling brave at 100 yards. I saw a _Mannix_ repeat last night in which a dying man lying prone on the floor somehow performed a contortion in which his right hand emerged from under the left side of his belly holding an automatic, and he fired a single shot at a bad guy on the stairs 50 feet away, killing him. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/196 "2022-04-03T18:39:55Z")
I remember there was a episode of the original Hawaii 5-0, where a sniper, using a scoped rifle , open fire on McGarrett from like the next island or something. Steve was sunning by a pool. First shot missed- understandable, windage, distance, etc= tough shot. Next shot missed as McGarrett was rolling and dodging. Then Steve takes out his snub-nosed revolver, and while dodging fires a single shot and drops the sniper. 🙄 😱 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/197 "2022-04-04T00:02:12Z")
The _ **Five-O** _ team was equipped with magic .38s, obviously. Just like the Stuart in _ **GI Combat** _ comics carried special, high-velocity 37mm rounds that could knock out a Tiger tank at 100 yards. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/198 "2022-04-04T04:53:52Z")
Okay, that… that…actually kinda works. 😱 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/199 "2022-04-04T11:40:05Z")
OK just saw one this weekend. It’s quiet out here, so quiet we need to whisper or they may hear us and find us. But of course you don’t hear their motorcycles/trucks/cars/dune buggies/ATVs/etc. until they are right on top of you. (insert jump scare as they attack) The ONLY movie that gets a pass on this is _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ and the tinker scene. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002/200 "2022-04-04T15:18:00Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > But of course you don’t hear their motorcycles/trucks/cars/dune buggies/ATVs/etc. until they are right on top of you. (insert jump scare as they attack) That reminds me of the surprise “hit by a bus” cliche (…garbage truck, semi, or even just car). Sure, it’s possible to walk out into traffic, not paying attention, in a busy, loud setting like a city and get hit by a bus. And it’s possible that the driver of said bus or other large vehicle was also not paying attention, maybe texting or having a stroke, so makes no attempt to hit their brakes or lean on the horn. But very often I see, for the sake of a jump scare, a person is walking across a completely empty street in a quiet town, with plenty of sight lines, and they’ll pause in the middle of the street, turn around and say to a person they were walking away from “and another thing…(SPLAT!!!)”. bus materializes out of nowhere. Here’s a perfectly egregious example (scroll forward to about 1:45): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IR7Um256bbk/maxresdefault.jpg "Terry Chaney Death Scene - Final Destination (Premonição) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR7Um256bbk) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealbreaker-screenplay-cliches/961002.md?page=11)