# I just inadvertently watched three movies with the exact same plot. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639 "2005-04-28T23:44:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/21 "2005-04-30T16:01:18Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Do men need a good reason to go on a road trip? Can’t speak for us all, but I require that my reasons are always three millihelens pretty, or better. I watched a whole bunch of chick flicks a few weekends ago (involuntarily; I lost a bet) and if you asked me about their plots now I’d probably come up with a perverse crossover almost, but not quite entirely unlike the originals. They are all the same damned thing. I think their main attraction is that same pleasant forgettability of their plots. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/22 "2005-04-30T16:32:50Z")
Awhile back there was a movie critic spot on NPR (Bob Garfield, maybe.) He was catching up on a handful of hit movies he hadn’t seen yet. There were three that seemed, at first, to be very different. (Pirates of the Caribbean, some cop movie, and some futuristic sci-fi thing.) As he saw them, he realized that they all were about “He’s a take-charge guy, who doesn’t play by the rules, and he’s in trouble with his captain.” Ever since then, my wife and I have often laughed to find other shows (and a few political stories) that fit that same “He’s a take-charge guy, who doesn’t play by the rules, and he’s in trouble with his captain” mold. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/23 "2005-04-30T21:29:12Z")
> [@KSO](#): > > _Road Trip_–Guy accidentally sends video of himself having sex with another woman to his girlfriend so he and his buddies drive to wherever the girlfriend is to get the tape– Road Trip has the same exact plot as Overnight Delivery. Guy trying to get across country before a package reaches his girlfriend, only to realize they aren’t in love anymore anyway: Breckin Meyer=Paul Rudd (the guy) Rachel Blanchard=Christine Taylor (old girlfriend) Amy Smart=Reese Witherspoon (new girlfriend) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/24 "2005-04-30T21:35:00Z")
> [@Stark Raven Mad](#): > > I watched a whole bunch of chick flicks a few weekends ago (involuntarily; I lost a bet) and if you asked me about their plots now I’d probably come up with a perverse crossover almost, but not quite entirely unlike the originals. They are all the same damned thing. I think their main attraction is that same pleasant forgettability of their plots. Girl meets guy Guy is already in a committed relationship to a woman who isn’t quite right for him Girl creates strain on the relationship with wacky hijinks Guy almost gets married to old girlfriend Girl confronts guy with feelings at last, most innappropriate minute Guy realizes he is in love with the new girl and they live happily ever after or What being a psycho bitch looks like from the girls perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/25 "2005-04-30T21:54:07Z")
You forgot: Girl falls in love with rich man Thinks he’s too good for her as she is Pretends to be something she isn’t Gets caught at it He loves her anyway because she’s hot ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/26 "2005-04-30T22:38:20Z")
_The Three Amigos_ _A Bug’s Life_ _Galaxy Quest_ A troupe of bumbling performers are mistaken for the real deal by a society under siege by evil marauders, and are recruited to save the day: initially, they misunderstand the nature of their contract, until a preliminary skirmish establishes that they are in a real conflict. Soul searching and threats of resignation ensue, until they finally come together as a team to concoct a cunning plan based on their performance expertise, and the villains, who have previously dismissed the troupe as buffoons, are soundly routed. Valuable life lessons are learnt. ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/27 "2005-05-01T12:47:25Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > _The Three Amigos_ > > _A Bug’s Life_ > > _Galaxy Quest_ Never thought of it that way before. But, you’re right!! ---
**Author:** ![audreyayn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@audreyayn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audreyayn)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/28 "2005-05-01T19:51:13Z")
…did you just use a Cartman pick up line on him? ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/29 "2005-05-01T20:28:40Z")
The plot of _Three Amigos_ is very similar to the plot of _Seven Samurai_, except that in the latter the men hired to defend the town are actually competent warriors. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/30 "2005-05-01T21:31:35Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > And, if you drop the need for there to be two buddies, you’ve got the Odyssey with essentially the same plot. > [@friedo](#): > > Two idiots embark on a road trip for thoroughly stupid reasons, wreak havoc along the way, and are chased by people who think they are not, in fact, idiots, but especially talented and brilliant terrorists or criminals. :dubious: Well, there are a _few_ other differences, such as Odysseus (a) not being an idiot and (b) generally having havoc wreaked upon him rather than wreaking it on others (except for Polyphemus, who wreaked first). I suppose that you might consider that he was being “pursued” by Poseiden, but Poseiden was doing so because he knew exactly who Odysseus was. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/31 "2005-05-01T21:53:05Z")
> [@Bob Scene](#): > > The plot of _Three Amigos_ is very similar to the plot of _Seven Samurai_, except that in the latter the men hired to defend the town are actually competent warriors. And _Seven Samurai_ begat _The Magnificent Seven_, which begat _Battle Beyond The Stars_ {which also starred Robert Vaughn}. While we’re talking Kurosawa and Westerns, _Yojimbo_ begat _A Fistful Of Dollars_, which begat _Last Man Standing_. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/32 "2005-05-01T22:26:44Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Well, deep down inside, it goes further back than that. Dickens’ _Pickwick Papers_ has essentially the same plot. _The Pickwick Papers_ has a **plot?** (I’m seriously asking – I couldn’t force myself past the first one-fourth of the book; but what I read did not inspire hope it might get better, or develop a plot of any kind.) ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639/33 "2005-05-01T22:41:24Z")
_An Officer And A Gentleman_ spawned an entire _genre_ of movies. As the lesser of two evils, a smart arsed ne’er-do-well embarks on a challenge in order to avoid an immediate inconvenience, with the intention of shirking this responsibility too. As his ordeal tries him physically and mentally, he confronts the demons which make him a smart-mouthed slacker, and finally faces a gruelling ordeal in which he triumphs. Demons are conquered. Valuable life lessons are learnt. He gets the girl. This plot template has influenced everything from _Police Academy_ to _Ghostbusters_ to _Good Will Hunting_, as well as every Adam Sandler movie ever made. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-inadvertently-watched-three-movies-with-the-exact-same-plot/301639.md?page=1)