# Stupid decisions made by a character in a book or movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794 "2008-09-09T16:16:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/41 "2008-09-10T19:00:18Z")
If there was one thing that irritated me, it was Kumar in the beginning with the bong in the airplane. He does something so ENORMOUSLY stupid. It’s not even funny, yet it drives the story. To me, it really smacked of bad writing. You wonder why Harold hangs out with him… it pulls you out of the movie because the only logical conclusion is “the studio paid for two actors, not one.” ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/42 "2008-09-10T19:38:49Z")
Well, board ate my post. Pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/43 "2008-09-10T20:54:54Z")
“Before I kill you, Mister Bond…” ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/44 "2008-09-10T21:08:43Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Even if I agreed with this (and I don’t necessarily do), who was going to kill Adrian? Nite Owl, Rorschach and Silk Spectre were all clearly outclassed by him. Jon was the only one capable of doing so, and he clearly didn’t give a damn about much of anything by then. He killed Rorschach to prevent him from screwing up Adrian’s plan, but killing Adrian wouldn’t have changed matters either way. But it would have; Adrian alive can do yet more damage in the service of his scheme. If Manhattan cared enough to kill Rorschach, he should have killed Adrian too. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/45 "2008-09-10T21:16:03Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > IANAL, but I was thinking the other day about how _stupid_ Tom Cruise’s character in A Few Good Men would have to be to call Colonel Jessup to the stand, betting everything that–at the risk of his entire career and the lives of his clients–he can bluff this hard case into _confessing_. > > I wonder where that character would have ended up in real life? Lionel Hutz: “Sideshow Bob, did you fix the mayoral election?” SS Bob: “No.” Lionel Hutz: (after long pause) “Kids, help me out here.” ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/46 "2008-09-10T21:53:00Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > But it would have; Adrian alive can do yet more damage in the service of his scheme. If Manhattan cared enough to kill Rorschach, he should have killed Adrian too. Unless he was setting him up as an experiment. I could picture that. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/47 "2008-09-11T00:02:32Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Seriously, Marion Crane in _Psycho_ made an incredibly stupid decision in stealing the money. There was little chance that Sam would accept stolen money and there was no way she could possibly have gotten away with it. Barring the unforeseen circumstances that prevented her from returning to Arizona, the real-life consequences would probably have been the loss of her boyfriend, her job and her freedom. You’re correct, but Marion does realize this, and, just before she’s takes a shower, it’s clear she has decided to return the money and accept the consequences. Of course, everyone in **Alien** makes stupid decisions. But everyone in **Alien** is dumber than rock salt. **Memoirs of an Invisible Man** (the book) is filled with stupid decisions by the main character. Most obvious: [ul][li]The army is searching for him in the beginning, but have no evidence that the invisible man actually exists. He decides to talk to the general in charge. So now they know for sure.[/li][li]His girlfriend is a reporter for the New York Times. Now, if there’s anything he needs to keep the army at bay, it’s publicity, but he decides not to bother her about it.[/li][li]He notices that the army is getting ready to surround his apartment. He then spends at least 20 minutes watching as they set things up so that he can’t sneak past them. Then he waits until the army officers are coming up the stairs to try to escape.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/48 "2008-09-11T01:26:02Z")
I recently read _The Lovely Bones_, a novel that started off strong but then lost its way. The worst I could say about most of the latter portion of the book is that it got kinda dull, but there was one scene that really ticked me off. SPOILERS BELOW! The basic premise of the book is that a 14 year old girl (Susie) is raped and murdered but continues to watch her family from a non-traditional kind of heaven. A stupid decision by the _author_ is that one of Susie’s former classmates (Ruth) has an out-of-body experience and Susie is able to take over her body for a couple of hours. At this point Susie has been dead for about eight years and has watched her father suffer both physically and mentally from his fruitless attempts to bring her murderer to justice. Susie’s own sister narrowly escaped becoming another of this serial killer’s victims when she broke into his house to look for evidence. Susie knows he has gone on to kill other girls since her own death. At the moment when Susie takes over Ruth’s body she knows that her murderer is in the immediate area, she’s in the company of another old friend who has a car, and there’s also a phone nearby. So what does Susie decide to do with her brief return to the land of the living? She has a hot shower, has sex with the guy, and then takes a nap. I guess I can’t blame the girl for wanting to get some action, but I think choosing sex over stopping a serial killer is pretty stupid…and selfish. Especially since it’s already been established that in heaven Susie can both meet other people and have anything she wants. She could have been making sweet angel love to guys up in heaven all the time. Oh, the book never addresses how Ruth feels about having her body used for sex by someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Anduinel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Anduinel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduinel)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/49 "2008-09-11T01:37:34Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I don’t read a lot of comics, but that is probably the dumbest comic I have ever read. I’m not a fan myself. First page pretty much undermines the stated premise and telegraphed that this was going to be the kind of story where “genius” really means “protected by script”. Voted for _Urban Myths_ instead. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/50 "2008-09-11T01:59:24Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Unless he was setting him up as an experiment. I could picture that. Hmmmm; so could I, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/51 "2008-09-11T03:18:21Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > At the moment when Susie takes over Ruth’s body she knows that her murderer is in the immediate area, she’s in the company of another old friend who has a car, and there’s also a phone nearby. So what does Susie decide to do with her brief return to the land of the living? She has a hot shower, has sex with the guy, and then takes a nap. In all fairness, how is she going to convince anyone? “I know Susie Salmon’s murderer!” “What? You do? How?” “I _am_ Susie Salmon! I’m her spirit living up in heaven, I just took over Ruth’s body temporarily!” “…” As for boinking angel guys, I think it was implied that Susie had a crush on that boy (I can’t remember his name) specifically. But yeah, the fact that Ruth doesn’t know about the sex _is_ pretty creepy–a weird little parallel to Susie’s assault in the beginning of the book, if you think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/52 "2008-09-11T03:58:48Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > There are plenty of lawyer jobs outside the Navy, and a good many locally controlled public defender offices want lawyers who will just lay down. Heh. Slight hijack, but - do you know many public defenders? I know a few, and quite a lot of people who’re planning to _become_ public defenders. I don’t know one who’d be willing to “lay down” for anything, or work for anyone who wanted them to. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/53 "2008-09-11T05:17:43Z")
_Every_ decision made by Denis Leary’s character on _Rescue Me_ is stupid. #1 would probably be the time he kidnapped his (non-custodial) kids. BRILLIANT. This is, of course, the point. ---
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/54 "2008-09-11T09:05:53Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Seriously, Marion Crane in _Psycho_ made an incredibly stupid decision in stealing the money. There was little chance that Sam would accept stolen money and there was no way she could possibly have gotten away with it. Barring the unforeseen circumstances that prevented her from returning to Arizona, the real-life consequences would probably have been the loss of her boyfriend, her job and her freedom. I have to disagree with this. Like **RealityChuck** says, what Marion did was undeniably stupid, but the movie takes pains to _show_ that her actions are stupid, even within the context of the movie. She feels trapped in her current life and is so desperate for a better one that she does something rash and impulsive without taking the time to think it over. As Norman says, we all go a little crazy sometimes. And Marion agrees, describing her actions as having deliberately stepped into a trap. As the story progresses, she begins to realize how stupid what she did actually was and by the time she’s finished talking to Norman over dinner, she’s decided to take the money back to Phoenix and face the music. As for the consequences she would have faced had she not died, she would have taken the money back to Phoenix, spent a year or so paying back the part of it that she spent on the car, and gotten on with her life. Sam might have dumped her, but not necessarily. For that matter, if she’d returned to Phoenix before the private investigator was hired, Sam wouldn’t necessarily have found out about her stealing the money; after all, the detective himself says that the police hadn’t been notified and that his clients didn’t _want_ to bring the police into it if they didn’t have to. That also means that she wouldn’t have gone to jail. Though you’re probably right about her losing her job. Even though the film’s title refers to Norman, I’ve always thought that early audiences, not knowing they story beforehand, must have thought it referred to Marion at first. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/55 "2008-09-11T11:45:54Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > But it would have; Adrian alive can do yet more damage in the service of his scheme. If Manhattan cared enough to kill Rorschach, he should have killed Adrian too. Makes me wonder all of a sudden, Doctor Manhatten zapped Rorschach, knowing (he must have, given his nature) how the future would work out. So does that mean nothing comes of Rorschach’s diary in that nut job paper? ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/56 "2008-09-11T12:31:54Z")
“Dr. Grant, I was wondering if you’d like to visit my Tropical Island which happens to be full of Dinosaurs, but it’s all completely safe and protected by Computers, so nothing could possibly go wrong…” ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/57 "2008-09-11T13:03:51Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > Makes me wonder all of a sudden, Doctor Manhatten zapped Rorschach, knowing (he must have, given his nature) how the future would work out. So does that mean nothing comes of Rorschach’s diary in that nut job paper? I wouldn’t bet on it. Remember Manhattan’s enigmatic little goodbye ? Adrian : “I did the right thing, didn’t I ? It all worked out in the end ?” Manhattan : " ‘In the end’ ? **Nothing** ends. Nothing **ever** ends, Adrian." ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/58 "2008-09-11T13:16:35Z")
Alien…Ripley going back for the cat. I mean seriously, I have three cats and I love them all to bits, but in that situation. Dead cat. I can always get another. Are cats almost extinct in the future so this “Jones” is invaluable? I doubt it, else why would it be on mining ship? Dangerous, extremely deadly hostil, hard to kill alien life form on the loose, ship about to explode like a supernova, all other crewmembers killed in a gorey grisly painful way and she goes looking for the cat. Idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/59 "2008-09-11T13:19:57Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I wouldn’t bet on it. Remember Manhattan’s enigmatic little goodbye ? > > Adrian : “I did the right thing, didn’t I ? It all worked out in the end ?” > > Manhattan : " ‘In the end’ ? **Nothing** ends. Nothing **ever** ends, Adrian." I remembered that, which made me think the diary had been revealed, but then why off poor Rorschach? ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794/60 "2008-09-11T13:21:00Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > Dangerous, extremely deadly hostil, hard to kill alien life form on the loose, ship about to explode like a supernova, all other crewmembers killed in a gorey grisly painful way and she goes looking for the cat. Idiot. Was that after someone else had already been taken by the Alien, while looking for said cat? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-decisions-made-by-a-character-in-a-book-or-movie/462794.md?page=4)