# Entertainment options: what's your absolute dealbreakers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2006, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821 "2006-07-17T05:47:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/21 "2006-07-17T15:16:37Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] 1. _Psychics taken seriously in detective work._ [/QUOTE] For me it isn’t the presence of a psychic. It’s any connection to a real-world psychic. I quite enjoyed Medium until I learned that it was based on a real person, and we were supposed to believe that stuff like this really happened to someone. Sorry, but no. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/22 "2006-07-17T15:21:37Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] I’d except Star Trek III & IV from this rule. [/QUOTE] IV, yes. III, no. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/23 "2006-07-17T15:27:39Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] IV, yes. III, no. [/QUOTE] Maybe you should just go ahead and endorse the even-numbered Star Trek movie rule. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/24 "2006-07-17T15:30:12Z")
romantic comedies. There has to be something really extra-intriguing about a romantic comedy to get me to watch it. The presence of Drew Barrymore and/or Adam Sandler Almost anything put out by the Disney Channel Any movie that looks interesting at the beginning and has an interesting premise… and then ten minutes into the movie, it becomes apparent that there will be stupid romanceness. Bonus points if it’s apparent that the audience is supposed to be surprised by it. Any high school movie that involves trying to be popular. There’s almost no way you can make that kind of movie NOT dumb. Almost anything with a pop singer trying to act ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/25 "2006-07-17T15:31:35Z")
[QUOTE=SurrenderDorothy] romantic comedies. There has to be something really extra-intriguing about a romantic comedy to get me to watch it. [/QUOTE] Oh, yes. And people look at me weird when I say this. I watch sci-fi and fantasy yes, but you watch overly perfect romantical stories and I’m the one living in fantasy??? (Not directed at Dorothy but a generic “you”) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/26 "2006-07-17T15:33:59Z")
Currently, the presence of Owen Wilson and/or Vince Vaughan. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/27 "2006-07-17T15:43:48Z")
Remakes are my bete noir. As to the OP _Medium_ is one of the 4 or 5 TV programs I watch at the moment. I think the acting, the production and the scripts are all very good and I love the way they stretch the bounds of their “world” to keep it interesting. I mentioned the fact that I liked it at work last week and one of the guys said, “I don’t like it. I don’t think it is very realistic.” I just laughed at him and asked him why he even **thought** it would be realistic - it is about a psychic who works with the local DA after all. I pointed out that I could get past that just as I do when I watch _Family Guy_ - Stewie and Brian?? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/28 "2006-07-17T15:54:09Z")
Talking ‘real’ animals, arggghhh. Babe, Bambi, Watership down… give me a bacon, vanison and rabit stew please. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/29 "2006-07-17T15:57:25Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask] Remakes are my bete noir. As to the OP _Medium_ is one of the 4 or 5 TV programs I watch at the moment. I think the acting, the production and the scripts are all very good and I love the way they stretch the bounds of their “world” to keep it interesting. [/QUOTE] I don’t disagree with any of that, but the fact that Medium is contributing to real-world psychics, even indirectly, leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Some people don’t buy Domino’s because of the owner’s politics, I don’t watch Medium. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/30 "2006-07-17T16:03:20Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask] I mentioned the fact that I liked it at work last week and one of the guys said, “I don’t like it. I don’t think it is very realistic.” [/QUOTE] Maybe he was talking about the characters? (I haven’t seen the show.) I’ll happily watch a far-fetched sci-fi/fantasy show, but I’m a stickler for character motivations and behavior. Put your characters into an unrealistic setting, but don’t have them _react_ unrealistically! ---
**Author:** ![rhiannon777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dfb087/32.png) [@rhiannon777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhiannon777)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/31 "2006-07-17T16:11:45Z")
Stories that make adultery/cheating okay because the people who are cheating together are REALLY in love, and they’re not REALLY in love with their spouses/partners. The one that first comes to mind is the movie Serendipity with John Cusack, but I know there are others. ---
**Author:** ![JustAnotherGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58f4c7/32.png) [@JustAnotherGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustAnotherGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/32 "2006-07-17T16:11:50Z")
[QUOTE=badbadrubberpiggy] YES! This irks me even more when it’s a movie that’s based on a book, and there’s no overt romance in the book. [/QUOTE] ::cough::cough::Hitchiker’s Guide::cough: Really obnoxiously bad science. Sappy, sacharine romantic stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/33 "2006-07-17T16:14:49Z")
[QUOTE=rhiannon777] Stories that make adultery/cheating okay because the people who are cheating together are REALLY in love, and they’re not REALLY in love with their spouses/partners. The one that first comes to mind is the movie Serendipity with John Cusack, but I know there are others. [/QUOTE] Yes! The Horse-Whisperer! What a gold-plated bitch, she claims to love her husband and yet she’s sleeping around behind his back. I am so with you. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/34 "2006-07-17T16:20:57Z")
[QUOTE=SurrenderDorothy] Any high school movie that involves trying to be popular. There’s almost no way you can make that kind of movie NOT dumb. [/QUOTE] There’s a very intelligent ainme series called [His and Her Circumstances](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202430/) that sort of twists the whole high school popularity thing around. It starts with the two central characters already the most popular kids in school (and the ones that also always come top in class – it’s in a Japanese high school, so that is credible). As the series progresses, they accept that they were both covering up their insecurities in different ways, and there’s more to life than being popular and being top in class. So it’s the becoming-most-popular story in reverse, and hence it’s one that you might like. (It’s also published as manga, under the title “Kare Kano”). ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/35 "2006-07-17T17:28:09Z")
[QUOTE=Menocchio] I don’t disagree with any of that, but the fact that Medium is contributing to real-world psychics, even indirectly, leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Some people don’t buy Domino’s because of the owner’s politics, I don’t watch Medium. [/QUOTE] What about Domino’s politics? ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/36 "2006-07-17T17:30:38Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] What about Domino’s politics? [/QUOTE] The owner of Domino’s is a very big “pro-life” supporter and gives money from Domnio’s profits to anti-abortion groups. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/37 "2006-07-17T17:31:07Z")
[QUOTE=rhiannon777] Stories that make adultery/cheating okay because the people who are cheating together are REALLY in love, and they’re not REALLY in love with their spouses/partners. The one that first comes to mind is the movie Serendipity with John Cusack, but I know there are others. [/QUOTE] I haven’t seen it awhile, but I don’t think Cusack & Beckinsale’s characters ever actually cheat; both are close to making a commitment to another but having cold feet and want to make sure they’re not missing something they were destined for. That said, I hate stories when one character leaves his or her bride/groom at the altar for another character, and no one even acknowledges that this is a horrible thing to do. The best thing about _Four Weddings and a Funeral_ (apart from John Hannah’s character) was Hugh Grant’s character acknowledging that he was a horrible,horrible person. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/38 "2006-07-17T17:38:13Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Wiseguy] The words ‘Based on a True Story’ usually cause me to bail (think Pearl Harbor, Titanic, The Perfect Storm, et al) [/QUOTE] How does **Titanic** involve the words “Based on a True Story”? ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/39 "2006-07-17T17:41:49Z")
Historical fiction in which the protagonist has the morals and worldview of a 21st person. It drives me insane. _Ahab’s Wife_ is the first example that comes to mind. The heroine thinks like a late 20th century liberal feminist, not like a 19th century woman: “The Indians are our friends! It’s wrong to kill whales!” It’s like watching a movie set in the 1600s in which all the characters are wearing blue jeans. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821/40 "2006-07-17T19:04:08Z")
[QUOTE=JustAnotherGeek] ::cough::cough::Hitchiker’s Guide::cough: Really obnoxiously bad science. Sappy, sacharine romantic stuff. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that’s the one that came to mind first, though there are PLENTY of them ☹ I’ll also agree with talking babies/animals, with the exception of cartoons, since pretty much everybody talks in cartoons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entertainment-options-whats-your-absolute-dealbreakers/364821.md?page=3)