# Movie trope - beaning someone at a distance with a thrown object **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 30, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675 "2021-09-30T18:30:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2021, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/21 "2021-09-30T23:20:15Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Extreme example, but this is what OP brings to mind for me: I knew I had seen that trope many times but _Superman 2_ was the only one that I could specifically remember. But all that I could google up was this, so I thought that I had misremembered! [https://vimeo.com/64640068](https://vimeo.com/64640068) ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/22 "2021-10-01T10:05:03Z")
Now I’m a bit confused, because I remember the thrown object scene specifically from watching the Superman II VHS when I was a kid. Apparently that’s now that’s a “lost cut” or something? But I never saw the cut you posted at all. This is how film studios mess with people with aging brains, changing films years after release… ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/23 "2021-10-01T12:22:41Z")
Another _Simpsons_ example (at 0:30): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dxh5Mr_UzwQ/hqdefault.jpg "Homer heckles Ned in The Simpsons") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxh5Mr_UzwQ) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/24 "2021-10-01T14:01:04Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Now I’m a bit confused, because I remember the thrown object scene specifically from watching the Superman II VHS when I was a kid. Apparently that’s now that’s a “lost cut” or something? But I never saw the cut you posted at all. Yeah, I definitely remember seeing it in the theater, specifically the “He will never become a man!” line, because it was so chilling. I don’t think this was a cut scene at all. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/25 "2021-10-01T14:17:48Z")
There was a Richard Donner director’s cut released about 15 years ago, where he undid changes made by Richard Lester after Donner was fired from the film in 1980. I suspect the scene in question was one of Lester’s and was part of the original film, but is absent from Donner’s director’s cut. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/26 "2021-10-01T14:45:22Z")
> [@steepone](#): > > There’s an episode of Death In Paradise where Inspector Poole hits a fugitive with a fishing net float I recently saw that episode. Poole makes the throw like a cricket pitcher (bowler?), and then says “I honestly didn’t expect that to work!”. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/27 "2021-10-01T18:47:52Z")
Has anyone suggested this for addition to TVTropes yet? And are there any good examples of subversion? (I.e. someone makes a ridiculously long throw, but you expect it to hit because that’s what happens in movies, but then it doesn’t.) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/28 "2021-10-01T18:58:01Z")
> [@naita](#): > > (I.e. someone makes a ridiculously long throw, but you expect it to hit because that’s what happens in movies, but then it doesn’t.) Surely there’s some basketball movie in which a ridiculously long throw misses the hoop thus results in a loss but I can’t think of any right now. ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/29 "2021-10-01T20:12:00Z")
Napoleon Dynamite. When the uncle beans Napoleon with his brother’s steak…brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/30 "2021-10-01T20:24:47Z")
“If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” - Patches O’Houlihan ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/31 "2021-10-01T20:31:58Z")
Not a huge distance, but deserves some credit for being improvised on the spot by a drunk extra. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-B4SVSmSZW8/maxresdefault.jpg "Hey, Malkovich, think fast!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B4SVSmSZW8) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/32 "2021-10-01T20:45:24Z")
Bahahaha that captures the spirit if not the distance. I’m still laughing. ETA went down a rabbit hole and came up with the understanding that it was actually not improvised by a drunk extra. Here’s Malkovich doing an AMA… > **[r/IAmA - I am actor / director John Malkovich - AMA!](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1i0xvf/comment/cazwzsm/)** > > 3,604 votes and 5,670 comments so far on Reddit ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/33 "2021-10-01T20:55:20Z")
[Home Alone 2](https://youtu.be/rUittqo9shA) - brick off the roof. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/34 "2021-10-01T22:05:33Z")
What about the Three Stooges? I know they did that a lot very close but I don’t remember about long distances. ? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/35 "2021-10-02T00:36:38Z")
Modern Family [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/5mh4eXrQ34U/hqdefault.jpg "Modern Family - Mother's Day") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mh4eXrQ34U) ---
**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:** [October 2, 2021, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/36 "2021-10-02T00:48:03Z")
Oh, no! Bette Midler! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/F9mpQe9V94E/hqdefault.jpg "Oh no! Bette Midler!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9mpQe9V94E) OK, so it wasn’t **that** far. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/37 "2021-10-02T00:51:36Z")
The last two get right at what I imagined ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2021, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/38 "2021-10-04T01:13:37Z")
_Damnation Alley_ had a young kid save the movie’s leading lady from a menacing redneck by bopping him in the head with a rock from a distance. It made a cartoony bonk noise, as I remember. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/39 "2023-03-12T16:00:12Z")
I was browsing HBO, came across The Lego Movie, and landed on this scene: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jlgHk5Gcg8A/maxresdefault.jpg "The LEGO Movie | "Escape from Bricksburg" Clip [HD]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlgHk5Gcg8A) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675/40 "2023-03-12T17:07:46Z")
From “Major League”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ds3v8O_MrM0/hqdefault.jpg "Up your butt Jobu scene from Major League") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds3v8O_MrM0) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-trope-beaning-someone-at-a-distance-with-a-thrown-object/951675.md?page=3)