# Minor Movie Cliches **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985 "2011-06-10T16:15:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/21 "2011-06-10T23:29:54Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Then there’s the guy who gets a promotion to an executive position that he clearly doesn’t deserve, and gets his own office. He spends the first 10 minutes playing with the automatic pencil sharpener. [Peter Griffin doing just that.](http://www.miloop.com/film_view.aspx?movie=16830) > [@tdn](#): > > Comedy cliche: An angry character yells at other characters, then storms out of the office, slamming the door behind him. He then comes back in and says "Wait a minute, this is MY office! YOU leave! On _Psych_, Shawn and Gus are arguing over something while at the office. Shawn starts to leave in a huff, then asks Gus, “Peacoat or windbreaker?” Gus says, "windbreaker Shawn grabs it and leaves. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/22 "2011-06-11T04:05:22Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > People only talk like this in the movies, **Son of a Rich** … only in the movies. It’s so cool when your kids first realize that they’ve seen a scene way too often in movies/on TV. And the concept of a cliché takes root. And soon, they’re riffing on it. So now, my son and I do the move where one of us’ll start to exit, say “Well, have plenty of breakfast. This could be a long day.” Open door, look over shoulder, lock that gaze. “A. Long. Day.” ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/23 "2011-06-11T06:48:34Z")
Oh. Hell yeah. X-men: First Class has a brother! Dude, what the fuck?! I actually googled to see if Darwin was a real mutant or something the director made up. I should have seen it coming since Darwin wasn’t in any previews I saw. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/24 "2011-06-11T15:41:57Z")
Speaking of “X-Men First Class”, one that occurs there (and, well, pretty much every adventure movie since at least 1995) is the Dramatic Backward Head Turn: Big climactic fight scene takes place, many minor characters are defeated / killed / disposed. Finally, either the main protagonist or antagonist (Character a) will be standing in a dramatic pose, surveying the carnage. His nemesis (Character B) quietly walks into the scene behind him. We see a wide shot of Character A from behind, his back to the audience. As he stands in Dramatic Pose, he sloooooowly turns his head, to look over his shoulder at Character B (and by default of the camera angle, at the theater audience.) * * * The “nothing” cliche: popular in romantic comedies. Character A & Character B are a happy couple. But unbeknownst to Character A, Character B has done something (usually inadvertantly) that will negatively impact Character A in some way. About halfway through the movie (before A has discovered the horrible misdeed), Character A will be rushing out the door somewhere. But Character B will be sitting in a chair nervously, and then… Character B: Honey, I have something I have to tell you. Character A: Yes dear, what is it? (Pause) Character B: Nothing. Forget it. Character A walks out, without asking a single question. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2011, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/25 "2011-06-12T11:57:18Z")
When a genuinely Good Guy falls in love with a genuinely Hot Girl, the Hot Girl is dating or engaged to The Jerk, who is good looking, rich with daddy’s money, and will openly cheat. The Good Guy ends up with the girl and The Jerk ends up humiliated. Yes, I’m watching The Goonies, and yesterday saw The Wedding Crashers, and have seen The Wedding Singer. > [@](#): > > Character B: Honey, I have something I have to tell you. > > Character A: Yes dear, what is it? > > (Pause) > > Character B: Nothing. Forget it. > > Character A walks out, without asking a single question. Character B: What are you going to do? Character A: Something I should have done a long time ago. (Exit camera right.) Quincy (Jack Klugman) was a ninja master at this. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/26 "2011-06-13T03:47:46Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Character B: What are you going to do? > > Character A: Something I should have done a long time ago. (Exit camera right.) Begin saving for retirement? Take better care of his teeth? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/27 "2011-06-13T12:26:36Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Just about every horror movie has the scene where suspense builds, and builds and then just when you expect it … a cat jumps out, or something equally innocuous. So the audience breathes a sigh of relief, only to be followed in about 2 seconds by the real killer, or whatever! Very clichéd. I’ve heard that called a **Bus** , or **Busing** , originally done in the movie [Cat People](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_People_%281942_film%29#Production) (using a bus instead of a cat of course). Mine has always been hanging up the [phone](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APUQeQalRsU) without saying goodbye. I mean, why would it be so hard to say “Later” or “See Ya” or anything! ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/28 "2011-06-13T13:59:17Z")
When two characters are talking to each other in a car, the car rarely has a rear-view mirror. Drives me crazy, it does. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/29 "2011-06-13T14:14:08Z")
“…and an asshole, and a goat felcher!\He’s standing behind me, isn’t he?” ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/30 "2011-06-13T15:00:35Z")
Paul F. Tompkins had a great bit about this horror cliche: So the good guy has finally made it to the bathroom, getting a brief respite from all the horror happening outside, and he looks in the mirror as if to say, “Just you and me, buddy. It is a _mess_ out there. What say we treat ourselves to a little cold water on the face?” So he bends down, and splashes some cold water on his face, and straightens up, and HIDEOUS MONSTER IN THE MIRROR!!! Tompkins goes further with it, saying how this scene used to get him every time, and he’d imagine it happening in his own bathroom, until he realized that his bathroom was so small that it couldn’t happen without the words “excuse me” coming into play. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/31 "2011-06-13T15:20:42Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > Mine has always been hanging up the [phone](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APUQeQalRsU) without saying goodbye. I mean, why would it be so hard to say “Later” or “See Ya” or anything! And that they hear a dial tone when they’re on a cell phone, and someone hangs up. And that someone ALWAYS hangs up when asked a “difficult” question (“So, Stephanie…will you go out with me?” -click- “Hello? Stephanie?”) And no one ever waits for their change when buying something. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/32 "2011-06-13T16:04:57Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > … > > And no one ever waits for their change when buying something. Change? Hell, they never paid in the first place! ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985/33 "2011-06-13T17:49:29Z")
This always bothers me: two characters silently maintaining ridiculously prolonged eye contact. Happens in lots of different situations, with characters who might not even know each other. I just don’t think people actually do this in real life unless they’re itching for a fight. Another fave peeve: If you’re spying on someone, simply park across the street from their car and wait for them to show up. Render yourself and your car invisible by parking two car lengths down. To the front or rear, makes no difference - You’re invisible. Similar/related movie science: A villain/suspect being followed or watched usually has no peripheral vision; A hero/protagonist in the same situation often can see 360 degrees without turning his head. . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-movie-cliches/584985.md?page=1)