Films are like music in that, for the most part, they have to be structured in a particular way or else they won’t make any sense. This is particularly true with regards to the plot of a film. The most common plot structure is the classic three act narrative. Basically, it goes like: Order, Disorder, Order Restored. In other words: Everything in Gotham City seems to be under control, then The Joker shows up, then he’s defeated and everything appears to be fine again.
There are other very common tropes. The hero who has personal problems, the misunderstood villain, the lover that got away, the failure who will only succeed when they learn to love themselves, the self-destructive successful person haunted by their past. It’s basic shit and we can all see it from a mile away, but if these tropes are done well we forget about how familiar it all is.
But some things in films are so overused that they have become cliché, or just tired and eye-rollingly cringey. For example, the ugly duckling. Who would have known that all Anne Hathaway needed to be pretty in The Princess Diaries was contact lenses and a blow dry?
So here’s a list of tropes, stock characters and cheesey dialogue and other various film tropes that I think are so overused, their use in a film tends to turn the film into a comedy.
⁃ If a character coughs into their hand or a tissue, and then looks at it and sees blood, we the audience now know they’re going to die from an illness, but the other characters in the film won’t learn for a while.
⁃ When the hero confronts the villain, and the villain tries to reason with the hero by saying, “You know, we’re not so different you and I.”
⁃ Why does nobody say goodbye at the end of phone conversations? There’s always just a dramatic hang up. If this was a realistic Irish film the scene would drag out for two minutes longer. “Go on, go on, alright I’ll talk to you, yeah, yeah, yeah, bye, bye, yeah, I will yeah, alright go on, yeah, no? Ah stop?! Really?”
⁃ If a female student drops a book and then goes to pick it up, only for her hand to touch a male’s hand who is trying to help her with her fallen book, those two characters are going to end up together.
⁃ A scientist is explaining a complex scientific problem or solution and for the audience’s benefit someone will tell them “In English, doc!”
⁃ How many people do you know that actually drink straight whiskey in real life? And as a simple afternoon beverage at work?
⁃ “Get in, no time to explain.” Cool, I’ll just trust you with my life so. The fact you’re covered in blood and clearly in a panic is absolutely zero cause for concern. Can’t wait.
⁃ A character is being chased and they get into their car and hurriedly begin to start it, twisting the key in the ignition. Uh oh, engine won’t start? Let it chug for a few seconds to amp up the tension so.
⁃ When the film is about high school kids but the actors are all 27-30 years old.
⁃ Two hard as nails characters come face to face and a stare off begins. The tension is so high that we the audience begin to wonder if a fight is about to happen, then suddenly both characters break into a smile and it becomes obvious that they’re old friends. I feel like Vin Diesel does this a lot. What a strange way to greet an old friend. Just say hello. Long time man. How’s your ma?
⁃ Why do a lot of women in films keep their bra on during a sex scene? Because the actor agreed to no nudity in their contract. Fair enough. Most sex scenes in general are unnecessary anyway though. Just have the characters initiate what they’re about to do then cut to the morning after. Audiences aren’t stupid, we can fill in the blanks. But if you’re going to show us some riding at least give us some boobs too. Which leads me on to my next point.
⁃ It’s very easy for women in films to orgasm within like ten seconds of penetrative sex.
⁃ Did a woman who has already had sex at some point in the film just throw up randomly? You know what that means. Better make a trip to Mothercare love.
⁃ In fight scenes or otherwise, if somebody is knocked unconscious and stays unconscious for a few hours, there’s a very strong possibly they’ll have severe lifelong brain injuries. Not in films though. Sure it was only a baseball bat full force to the back of the head mate. Get over it.
⁃ Actors clearly drinking from an empty coffee cup. Just put some fucking water in it if you have to.
⁃ I hate it when mom or dad has gone to all the trouble of making an elaborate breakfast but nothing gets eaten. There’s fresh OJ, coffee, pancakes, bacon, toast, cereal and fruit. But our super cool teen protagonist comes running down the stairs and picks up a single piece of toast and flies out the front door with a “See ya later mom, got to run!” First, have some respect you little cunt. Somehow, your parents found the time in the morning before work to make this huge spread of food, and you just fuck off without a care. Asshole.
⁃ When characters have full plates of food in front of them in a restaurant but then rush off to do something more important, leaving all the food behind. That shit must have been expensive. And for that matter, did you already pay for it? Most places bring you the bill at the end, so now I’m assuming you’re doing a runner. Saved by the Bell were always at this.
⁃ Smoking a joint calms most people down. They’ll want to watch a film and eat some food or else just put their headphones on and relax. For others it makes them anxious or gives them chest pain. That’s about it. In films though it causes people to act like they’ve drank half a litre of vodka and everything is hilarious or fascinating. Sometimes they see colours or shapes as if they’re on the strongest acid available. And then suddenly they get the munchies like they haven’t eaten in days and start shoveling food into themselves as if they’ll never eat again. Particularly first time smokers on screen.
⁃ What’s the story with drug deals in films? People walk up to a dealer and hand over cash and the dealer hands over the drugs and both people walk away without a word spoken. What? Is the dealer not going to count the money? Is the user not going to check out the product? And not so much as a “Lovely flaked buzz off that stuff there lad. Nice head high. So what’s your buzz for evening then bud? Yeah, yeah, gewon, sound, talkcha.”
⁃ When someone forces themselves on to a character (almost always a man forcing himself onto a woman) for a kiss (usually a creepy boss or coworker) and the woman’s boyfriend shows up just in time to see the kiss but leaves dejected just in time to miss seeing his girlfriend push the creepy man away and slap him.
⁃ In a scary movie or thriller when a character is hiding from the villain, and everything goes completely silent right before the villain appears out of nowhere. Is this villain the fucking wind?
⁃ What sort of amateur villain goes to all the effort of coming up with an elaborate scheme to blow up a building and kill countless innocents only to install a bomb with a countdown timer on it? Just blow the fucking place up.
⁃ Also, when villains capture the hero, why do they always have to explain to the hero where the hero went wrong in their attempts to stop the villain, thus giving the hero’s mates just enough time to save the hero and stop the villain? Scott Evil in Austin Powers makes a good joke about this. “Wait, we have a time machine? Why don’t we just go back in time to when Austin Powers is taking a shit or something and just kill him then and there?”
⁃ “You just don’t get it, do you?”
⁃ “Everything you told me was a lie?”
⁃ When one character grabs another character who is acting hysterical and shakes them while shouting “Get a hold of yourself.” Or else in a similar scenario when instead of shaking the hysterical character they just slap them and then the character snaps out of it and says “Thank you. I needed that.” If someone slapped me like that I’d be swinging digs at them.
⁃ In a horror film, if a character is looking in a bathroom mirror that opens up like a medicine cabinet, and they open said medicine cabinet, expect to see someone behind them when they close the cabinet again. Same goes for if they bend over to splash water in their face. When they stand up straight again, expect to see someone behind them.
⁃ A police man or detective is at a crime scene. There’s a bag of indistinguishable white powder. What does the detective do? Dips their finger inside and tastes it. “Yep, that’s cocaine.” Are you mental you mad bastard? Could have been acid or rat poison. Get that shit to a lab first.
⁃ “I’ll have a beer.” Which one? There’s like 20 on tap. Be specific you prick.
⁃ Is your character an overly confident, highly condescending person and you want them to seem extremely intelligent? Better give them a British accent so. On the other hand, is your character a lovable salt-of-the-earth type who ain’t got no time for your fancy ways and doesn’t understand basic fancy person etiquette cos they is a beer and BBQ type of guy? Best introduce them while they’re fixing up a car engine in a barn or riding a horse through a farm. And give them a Southern accent like Texas. The city gal who was once afraid to get dirt on her ‘spensive shoes will soon be all misty-eyed for that there fella, ya hear?
⁃ If you want your reckless police officer to solve a crime, have their superior take them off the case. That way they can act outside the law and save the day, thus earning back their job.
⁃ When a character needs blood for some magic spell or a blood pact, and they slice a knife down the palm of their hand. Are you messing? Just get the knife and knick your thigh or the top of your forearm or some shit. Your palm? Really? That’s gonna take ages to heal and be so inconvenient for basic functions, like using your sword or driving your car or even just pushing doors open.
⁃ The good guys are all in a room and they feel defeated because they don’t know how to defeat the villain. So someone (usually the token idiot of the gang) says a stupid throwaway line like “Well I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.” And then the secondary main hero has a eureka moment and says “What did you just say?” So the other idiot character replies “It wasn’t meant to be?” And then the eureka moment character gets all exited and says something stupid like “Oh my God Gordy, you’re a genius. Bee! We can use bees! The villain revealed earlier that he’s allergic to bee stings. All we have to do is get a load of bees and then we…” And then they explain to everyone else how they’ll defeat the villain. After their explanation they’ll kiss or hug the idiot character and call them a genius. Problem solved.
⁃ “I did NOT sign up for this.”
⁃ Unpopular boy loves popular girl, even though the popular girl is a horrible person. So the unpopular boy asks his best friend, unpopular girl best friend, to help him get the popular girl. But in the end, unpopular boy will realise he doesn’t want popular girl. He wants what’s been right in front of him the whole time – unpopular girl best friend.
– Are both characters in your film only pretending to be a couple and never in a million years would you ever expect such different people to be a real couple? Well, guess what’s going to happen? Yep. Likely starring Eva Mendes, Sandra Bullock or Reece Witherspoon.
⁃ “But Chad, I don’t get it? Winning state is all you’ve ever wanted.” “No, dad. It’s all you ever wanted.”
⁃ The Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Basically, the carefree female who only exists in the film to teach the male lead how to appreciate life more and to inspire him. Think Zooey Deschanel in any role she’s ever played.
⁃ Is it even a Vietnam war film without Jimi Hendrix music, Credence Clearwater Revival or Buffalo Springfield?
⁃ If a native population is facing extinction at the hands of colonial rulers, send in a white male character to live amongst the natives and learn their native ways so that the final battle is all the more poignant. See: The Last Samurai, Avatar, Pocahontas, Dances with Wolves etc.
⁃ If you have a one-dimensional tough female lead who “can handle herself,” make sure she tells the male lead that she grew up with four brothers, ideally after she’s punched a man who just hit on her or said something sexist.
⁃ It’s not just the characters who become stock characters. The actors playing those characters often play the same roles in every film. Particularly lesser known actors. For example, do you you need the perfect actor to play the tough female lead who can handle herself? Get Michelle Rodriguez.
– Do you need an actor to play an awkward, nervous, stuttering but intelligent assistant? Likely as a politician’s aid, scientist, or sidekick to a villain? Get Toby Jones.
⁃ Do you need an actor to play the role of a generic boss or police chief – someone who isn’t a star but is also sort of recognisable, so they’ll just fill the gap and get the job done? Get this guy. Kurt Fuller.
⁃ Do you need a generic Mexican gangster? Get this guy. Noel Gugliemi.
⁃ Do you need a solid actor who can always do the job well but audiences never know what the actor’s name is? Get this guy. William Fichtner.
– Do you need another excellent actor to play a takes-no-prisoners type of villain or authority figure with a menacing voice? You need Charles Dance.
⁃ Do you need an actor to play an authority figure, likely a politician or king, who is brash and arrogant and doesn’t listen to the lead character until it’s too late? Get this guy. Brian Cox.
Do you need an excellent actor to play a typical middle-aged, average joe looking American man but the role of the character in the plot is less one dimensional than the character may seem based on appearance? There’s only one man for the job. John Carroll Lynch.
– Do you need an actor to play the old person who says inappropriate but funny things at the wrong time? Unfortunately for you, Ellen Rose Albertini died in 2015.
⁃ Do you want guarantee your film is nominated for an Oscar, no matter how terrible it is? Make it a biopic, preferably a music one so the great songs distract the audience from how bad the film actually is.
And one last one. Do you want to let your audiences know there’ll be more to this character even though the character seemingly died? Simple. Have the dead character twitch or open its eye just before cutting to black.