# One sentence summaries that miss the point. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2003, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774 "2003-03-16T09:15:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/141 "2003-03-23T15:30:25Z")
_Cruel Intentions_: A young man wagers his car for the chance to fuck his sister. ---
**Author:** ![FairyDust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@FairyDust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyDust)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/142 "2003-03-25T20:27:08Z")
_Lethal Weapon_ A police detective gets a new partner. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/143 "2003-03-25T21:03:46Z")
Some of these (Buffy the series, and Karate Kid, for instance, seem to hit the point exactly. I wonder if this makes them bad summaries or bad films :D) **Men in Black** Black cop transfers to immigration and is amazed at the extent of the problem, although finally discovers size doesn’t matter. **Men in Black 2** He goes to great lengths to get his job back. ---
**Author:** ![FairyDust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@FairyDust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyDust)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/144 "2003-03-25T21:33:07Z")
_Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery_ A cryogenically frozen British secret agent from the 1960s is brought out of his frozen state in the 1990s to face his arch enemy. ---
**Author:** ![Spiratu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@Spiratu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiratu)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/145 "2003-03-25T21:35:38Z")
Our college newspaper just gave a description of the new movie **Boat Trip** as: Man finds love after accidentally setting sail on gay cruise. I haven’t seen it, but judging from the previews I think that qualifies as missing the point. ---
**Author:** ![Kuli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/94ad74/32.png) [@Kuli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuli)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/146 "2003-03-26T00:29:18Z")
Animal Farm: Some animals take control of a farm. Anthem: A street sweeper invents things, then runs away. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: Four children get lost in a wardrobe and meet a lion and a witch. Fahrenheit 451: A fireman decides he likes books. The Truman Show: A man quits career in television. Office Space: Disgruntled employee accidentally embezzles too much money. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: Two stoners travel to Hollywood. Dogma: Alanis Morisette gets put into a coma. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/147 "2003-03-26T02:24:46Z")
_Paradise Lost_: A couple enjoys a picnic lunch. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”: A man attends a wedding and learns a valuable lesson about being kind to animals. _Romeo and Juliet_: Teenagers discover that disobeying their parents leads to bad consequences. (Sadly, my ninth-grade English teacher thought this WAS the point. Really.) _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_: Knight wears lingerie. ---
**Author:** ![Iacob\_Matthew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Iacob\_Matthew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iacob_Matthew)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/148 "2003-03-26T06:10:55Z")
_Hero_: Disgruntled Chinese military officer lies to his old boss to get revenge, recants. _Urusei Yatsura_: Young man wins over the heart of green-haired barbie. _To Kill A Mockingbird_: Teenage girl fantasizes about the boy next door. _Almost anything by Philip K. Dick_: Bitter man thinks he’s outwitted a conspiracy against him, but deranged woman destroys his chances at peace and happiness. (If we’re allowed videogames…)_Popful Mail_: The Japanese make silly Americans spend several hours trying to time a jump right so they can see their '94 pop culture icons and president mocked. (Actually, this is a better description than the plot…) _Final Fantasy 6_: A witch comes to terms with her father’s disappearence from her life and becomes a normal girl. _Starcraft_: Abused woman at a penal colony screws everyone repeatedly. ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/149 "2003-03-26T06:28:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine \* > \*\*_Romeo and Juliet_: Teenagers discover that disobeying their parents leads to bad consequences. (Sadly, my ninth-grade English teacher thought this WAS the point. Really.) > \*\* Maybe she was reading Arthur Brooke’s version? 😉 One from a composite-text Shakespeare movie (even if I’ve already done the plays it’s based on) – _Chimes at Midnight_: Older man is devastated when a younger man dumps him. Alternate version of _Chimes,_ suggested to me by a friend: Young monarch loses 400 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/150 "2003-03-26T07:04:01Z")
_ **Chicago** _: a young woman realises her long-held dream to dance in a jazz show. _ **The Empire Strikes Back** _: after travelling a long way, a young man is finally reunited with his father. _ **Magnolia** _: a surprising rain storm hits Magnolia Ave, Los Angeles. I’ll stop now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/151 "2003-03-26T08:58:54Z")
Ooh! I wanna play! \*\* Dark City\*\*: A man wants to visit the beach. \*\* Strange Days\*\*: Ex-cop finds true love on New Years’ Eve. \*\* E.T.\*\*: A child developes a strange illness, but gets better. \*\* The Quiet Earth\*\*: A man experiments with cross-dressing. \*\* Dogma\*\*: Shit-monster attacks stoners. \*\* Silverado\*\*: English immigrant learns how to survive in the old west. \*\* Breaker Morant\*\*: Trial of a war criminal. \*\* Deathtrap\*\*: Two writers have a disagreement over a plot point. \*\* Requiem for a Dream\*\*: Soon-to-be game show contestant gets a new TV. Oh, ick. I’d better stop now. ---
**Author:** ![FairyDust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@FairyDust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyDust)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/152 "2003-03-26T14:44:17Z")
Well, if you MUST stop, okay. But please come back and add more. The ones you both posted were GREAT! Made my morning! _grins_ ---
**Author:** ![FairyDust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@FairyDust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyDust)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/153 "2003-03-26T14:45:28Z")
:smack: Sorry for the typo. I meant Darth Nader. ---
**Author:** ![Isaac\_Cashman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a9a28c/32.png) [@Isaac\_Cashman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isaac_Cashman)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/154 "2003-03-28T16:34:00Z")
Some more of Dick Francis: “For Kicks” Australian horse breeder visits Britian. “In The Frame” English painter visits Australia.“Smokescreen” English actor visits South Africa. “Second Wind” English meterologist visits various locations in North America. “Wild Horses” Blacksmith leaves library to movie director. “Break In” Steeplechase jockey meets girl. “Bolt” Steeplechase jockey almost loses girl. ---
**Author:** ![FairyDust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@FairyDust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyDust)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/155 "2003-03-30T05:34:51Z")
_The Mummy_ A beautiful Egyptologist and a handsome rugged French Foreign Legion soldier travel to Egypt and fall in love. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/156 "2003-03-30T08:15:26Z")
_Star Trek: The Motion Picture_ Spock mind-melds with an alien probe, which turns out to be from Earth but gives him hallucinations. _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan_ Spock mind-melds with McCoy, then sacrifices himself in a painful manner. _Star Trek III: The Search for Spock_ McCoy starts acting like Spock, who is later reincarnated and takes his mind back. _Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home_ Spock time travels to 20th century San Francisco, dresses like a hippy, and mind-melds with a whale. _Star Trek V: The Final Frontier_ Spock runs into his insane half-brother, who tries to mind-meld with God. _Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country_ Spock mind-melds erotically with a traitorous Vulcan woman, while her Klingon co-conspirator quotes Shakespeare. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/157 "2003-03-30T08:53:20Z")
Okay, **FairyDust** , ya talked me into it 😉 **The Bounty** Mel Gibson has trouble putting his jacket on. **Foul Play** Wannabe disco stud meets the wrong girl. **Time Bandits** A young lad takes pictures of short people. **Clockwise** Headmaster kidnaps young student. **Mallrats** A man tries to see one of those “Magic Eye” images. **Farenheit 451** Fireman quits his job. **Logan’s Run** Refugee meets old man with many cats. **Breaking Away** A used-car salesman tries to get his son to join the buisness. **Interview With a Vampire** The hard life in nitty-gritty New Orleans. **Raiders of the Lost Ark** A man overcomes his fear of snakes. **Outland** Some stupid cop messes things up for the company. **Just about every Dick Francis novel** Former jockey, probably hurt at some point, with some well-connected friend, gets in trouble, goes somewhere, gets beat up, redeems himself. (sorry, **Isaac** …) ---
**Author:** ![Soup\_du\_jour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Soup\_du\_jour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup_du_jour)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/158 "2003-03-30T09:08:17Z")
_No Mans Land_- The difficulty of language barriers. _The Matrix_- Never accept strange pills from strangers. They may cause you danger. _Panic Room_- Installing cameras in your house helps in communicating with would-be thieves. _Home Alone_- Grand larceny for dummies. ---
**Author:** ![mozart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mozart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozart)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/159 "2003-03-30T23:25:54Z")
Love story. women dies and realizes she not sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774/160 "2003-03-30T23:39:03Z")
_The Book of Genesis_: A mad scientist creates life out of nothing, but it turns on him and he has to destroy it. _The Book of Revelations_: Whatever you do, don’t pet the horses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sentence-summaries-that-miss-the-point/161774.md?page=9)