What cliched, so-often-repeated scene drives you nuts?
For me, it’s the scene, recently used in a number of teary Hollywood family crap movies (cf. “Stepmom”) where a parent and two or more of their spawn is shown bonding by singing and dancing along to a Motown classic. In these idiot scenes, the children and mother usually bound along in amazingly choreographed fashion, using hairbrushes and wooden spoons as microphones, to the tune of “Chain of Fools” or whatever Motown song they snagged the rights to. This fantasy sequence is intended to please late baby boomer fools with an idealized version of what it would be like to have children who aren’t sullen and distant and prefer listening to bands with names like “The Bloody Stool.” Aside from the fact that it’s stupid and overdone, how many kids today would know Motown from Moe Szyslak?
And do you really think, 15 years from now, we’ll be subjected to scenes of a mother and her offspring happily dancing around in their pyjamas and lip-synching the Beastie Boys’ “Paul Revere”? I sure hope not.
What horrible scene, which you have seen in WAY too many movies, must you never see again for fear that you may be driven to homicide?
For a year or two there, every chick flick had a scene where the female characters bonded, drank light alchohol, and then danced in a circle around a table. MTV even parodied it in one of the VMA award show skits. One example of the ridiculous table-dancing is Practical Magic.
I Totally agree bonding dancing wins the award for most nauseating movie cliche EVER.
My runner-up - The irrationally obstructionist wife/fiance/girlfriend confrontation scene:
"But Honey, if I don’t go thousands of people are going to die. "
“If you walk out that door, I won’t be here when you return.”
Where the Mad Scientist™ gets his comeuppance for daring to Tamper in God’s Domain™, even if it was for the cause of trying to improve the world. (Like curing disease, creating an unlimited energy source, bringing dead people back to life, etc.)
I know, I know…it’s going to be around forever. But it still pisses me off. :mad:
You don’t see this as much anymore, but both me and my brother really hate the bit where the ( male ) hero and villain fight, while the female protagonist shreiks and/or dithers. Run away or smack the bad guy with a vase/rock/chair, you idiot. :rolleyes:
My brother reserves special disdain for a version of this scene in one old movie. The hero and villain fight over a gun, while the female lead shreiks over and over. The gun goes flying and lands at her feet. She looks down at it - then looks up and starts shreiking again.
The misunderstanding scene in all romantic comedies where, having previously attempted to reveal his “secret” only to be prevented, the hero now finds it revealed to the horror of his true love. She immediately dumps him with no chance to explain himself.
I don’t actually hate children, but sometimes I hate them in movies. I’m tired of seeing a dangerous situation artificially created in a movie because a small child sneaks out of a house and goes running into the most dangerous situation it could possibly find. (Saw that the other night in the pilot of “Invasion”.) Next time that happens, they should just forget about the kid. “It’s all right, Honey; we’ll make another one. A smarter one this time.”)
I hate the cliche where the hero, after being beat up (really stomped), stabbed, shot, disemboweled, dismembered and blown up, still has enough strength to beat the crap out of a bad guy, who is in excellent shape (not all mangled up).
The other cliche is really annoying. Every time a villain or monster is chasing the hero and the girl, she ALWAYS falls down, twists her ankle and starts screaming. Anyone that scared will try to keep running, even if the whole leg is smashed, not just sit there.
The Feminist* Idiot–Hero tells her to stay put (out of harm’s way) while he goes after the Bad Guys. Feminist hackles go up (“No man’s gonna tell ME what to do!”), idiot mode switches on, and FI winds up a hostage just as the Hero is about to capture the Bad Guys.
*Remember we’re talking cliches, guys. Please don’t dogpile me over my choice of terminology!
Any time anyone “learns something about themselves”. This usually happens after the character is rich and famous and loses it all. The stupid part is when they get it all back in the end.
An inept thief or snotty little kid wants to team up with the hero, who pretends to leave him behind only to change his mind 5 seconds later.
Walk away, dammit! The “comic relief” isn’t worth the risk of having to rescue your stupid side-kicks from their self-induced life-threatening situations. Most annoying example: that little “prince” brat in Red Sonja.
