# Useful advice you've gotten from the movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 16, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137 "2017-06-16T18:39:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/41 "2017-06-16T23:30:40Z")
That I should have read the book, instead. Like “True Grit”, an absolutely lovely little book by Charles Portis, that barely takes the length of the movie to read. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/42 "2017-06-16T23:39:37Z")
Always… no, _never_ go out in a blizzard. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/43 "2017-06-16T23:40:58Z")
What uncommonly good advice have you learned from the movies? That if I’m cruising with a date, and I want to increase my chances of scoring I should play side 1 of Zeppelin 4. But I try, and keep coming up with Kashmir. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zl-CriM6vx0/hqdefault.jpg "Fast Times At Ridgemont High - the 5 point plan") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl-CriM6vx0) ---
**Author:** ![Flare4roach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7cd45c/32.png) [@Flare4roach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flare4roach)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2017, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/44 "2017-06-16T23:51:44Z")
When you step over the line you risk entering a world of pain. A world of pain. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/45 "2017-06-17T00:10:01Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, “wouldn’t it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them?” So now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe. That’s from Babylon 5, right? One of my favorite quotes from a show or movie. JMS was a great writer, but man did he pretty much just have one genius idea that pulled all his talent out. Sense8 was neat, but a mess. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/46 "2017-06-17T00:24:26Z")
Party on. And be excellent to each other. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/47 "2017-06-17T00:29:00Z")
Serious answer among the snark. I struggle with depression, and sometimes it’s hard to find the energy to do whatever it is that I need to get done. Shit tends to pile up until it’s a staggering workload that becomes harder to deal with as there’s so much more to do. There are two quotes, one from a movie, one from a book, that I hold on to that helps me deal with life and keep it manageable. Movie: In _The Matrix_, at the beginning, Trinity is fleeing from an agent. She jumps across an alley from a rooftop, crashing through a window in a building on the opposite side and tumbles down a flight of stairs. She lands at the bottom, draws her guns, and targets the window, awaiting the pursuing agent to come flying through. If she stays, she’s dead, but if she gets up and turns to run, she is no longer targeting the window, and the agent may right then come through and kill her. She has to move, and she says to herself, “Get up, Trinity. Get. Up.” Then she gets up and flees towards her exit from the matrix. When things seem overwhelming and I don’t want to deal with it, I hold onto those words and use them to find the motivation to face the day. It helps break the inertia and get me moving. Book: In one of Richard Marcinko’s books about the adventures of Navy SEALS, he offers a quote from one of his SEAL instructors: “You don’t have to like it, you just have to do it.” Which is true. There’s all sort of shit in life that you don’t want to face, but ignoring it isn’t an option. For some this comes easy, but it’s a struggle for me. Remembering these words helps give me a kick in the ass to get things done. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/48 "2017-06-17T00:42:50Z")
Ah, you mean “Pain don’t hurt”. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/49 "2017-06-17T00:57:56Z")
They fuck you at the drive-through. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/50 "2017-06-17T01:13:46Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Do or do not. There is no try. This is probably the worst out of that whole stupid Jedi “philosophy.” Some other movie had it right, paraphrasing because I don’t remember the movie or the exact words: sometimes to try and fail is more magnificent than to succeed. 17 quatloos to whoever can source and cite the exact quote. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/51 "2017-06-17T01:32:39Z")
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/52 "2017-06-17T12:38:55Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Always… no, _never_ go out in a blizzard. Always, uh, never forget to check your references. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/53 "2017-06-17T12:55:57Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > This is probably the worst out of that whole stupid Jedi “philosophy.” Some other movie had it right, paraphrasing because I don’t remember the movie or the exact words:\*\* sometimes to try and fail is more magnificent than to succeed. > \*\* > 17 quatloos to whoever can source and cite the exact quote. That’s the same as “do or do not”. “There is no try” means you don’t make a half-hearted attempt. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/54 "2017-06-17T14:42:58Z")
Or, to make the point in a Scots accent, “Losers whine about doing their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queen.” On other topics: “Helluva thing to kill a man. Take away everything he has, and everything he’s ever gonna have.” (from memory) “Complaints always go up, never down.” ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/55 "2017-06-17T16:22:13Z")
If you’re a nubile teenage girl in a revealing nightie going to bed in an creepy old house and the lights go out and you hear noises, for god’s sake, DO NOT GO INTO THAT BASEMENT (ATTIC, WHATEVER) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/56 "2017-06-17T16:32:34Z")
Always bring a saw when you go out looking for a tree for that “fun, old fashioned family Christmas.” And check for squirrels. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/57 "2017-06-17T16:37:57Z")
Keep your friends close, your enemies closer. Coffee is for closers. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/58 "2017-06-17T17:12:12Z")
In all my life, I’ve never put a baby in a corner–take that for what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/59 "2017-06-17T17:44:29Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Sweep the leg. Mercy is for the weak. A man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137/60 "2017-06-17T18:09:44Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > This is probably the worst out of that whole stupid Jedi “philosophy.” This, a thousand times this. “Do or do not, there is no try” is one of those sound-good but totally inane, empty, smug, out-of-touch pieces of movie advice or movie “sage wisdom” that there is. You can’t do something without trying. When Stephen Curry goes for a 3-pointer, he can’t just “do” it, as if anyone can automatically make a ball go into a basket from thirty feet away on command. He is “trying” to make a 3-pointer. Even Curry, perhaps the best 3-point NBA shooter that there is, still has perhaps a 30-40% chance of missing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useful-advice-youve-gotten-from-the-movies/789137.md?page=4)