We asked the members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us what movie tropes and clichés they hate, and they had A LOT to say. Here are the best submissions.
Note: Some submissions are from this Reddit thread because they're too good not to include.
1. 'When there's a very loud, very public 'I love you' speech. They are gross and embarrassing, and when the audience whoops and cheers, it makes me roll my eyes. I tune out the rest of the movie or show."
2. "When there's a private detective who is a grumpy ex-cop playing by their own rules."
3. "When the hero has a spouse who is neglected because the hero is doing their job. So tired of this stupid plotline."
4. "I hate when a character says that something will never happen, and then that exact thing happens a second later. It’s so overdone."
—lt63
5. "When a character decides to go to the cops about a supernatural thing (either a killer, phenomenon, or conspiracy) that sounds totally unrealistic, and of course the cops don't believe them or do anything about it and laugh in the character's face instead."
6. "When someone on foot is being chased by a car, but the car cannot seem to catch up with them for over a minute. It should take about five seconds max to catch the person who is on foot."
7. "When people cheat on their partners with no remorse, but it's played as finding true love or soulmates."
8. "It drives me crazy when they do flashbacks to a character as a kid, and all of a sudden, they as a kid have brown eyes, and somehow as they get older, their eyes change to blue or vice versa."
9. "When the villain has captured the hero and there’s literally no escape, and instead of killing the hero while they have the opportunity, they decide to explain their whole plan and gloat and taunt the hero for SO LONG that backup arrives to save the hero. Just kill them while you can!"
10. "When a character has a dog and they come home and don't have to walk the dog."
11. "When a character is on a motorcycle or a vehicle without a windshield and doesn't have eye protection. It's impossible to keep your eyes open with direct wind in your eyes at 50 mph."
12. "When a character dies with open eyes and another character hovers their flat hand over the dead person's face, and then the open eyes are magically closed."
13. "When people having sex in horror movies are usually the first ones to die."
—K
14. "When one character texts another and there are no previous messages. If you’re texting your mom, boyfriend, or any friend ever, then you have a chat history."
15. "When people have sex, and afterward, the woman covers her chest with sheets and runs to the bathroom wrapped in said sheets. It's been, what, 60, 70 years? Even more? If you can't imagine a creative and realistic way not to show a woman's breasts, then don't shoot a sex scene."
16. "When getting shot in the shoulder is portrayed as an injury so minor that all you need to do is hold it for a little while. Then, in a day or so, it’s as if it never happened."
17. "When a prosecutor introduces a surprise witness or evidence in the middle of a trial. You would get disbarred for pulling something like that."
18. "When teenagers are ripped beyond belief, looking like they’re 26."
19. "If any woman between the ages of 16 and 50 vomits, it means she's pregnant."
20. "When a character says, 'I have to tell you something' to another character, and the other character totally ignores them and interrupts with some lame statement or observation. Then the first character doesn't tell them the important thing they need to say."
21. "When someone is fighting another person, falls to the ground, reaches with their hand, and magically, there's something there they can use to end the fight."
22. "When movies and TV shows perpetuate the ridiculous trope that the third date is the sex date. This is not a real thing. People don’t go out with someone three times, then magically drop their pants and hop in the sack."
23. "I hate the funny fat best friend or the quirky Black guy on the side or the smart Asian kid who has a cameo. Like, damn, marginalized people can be the main characters in stories that aren't just about their trauma!"
24. "When they turn on the TV at the exact moment a relevant news report starts."
25. "The misunderstanding trope where the significant other walks in on their spouse doing something that looks kinda suspicious without context, and the spouse goes, 'Wait, I can explain!' One to two hours later, their partner goes, 'Why didn't you just tell me you weren't cheating on me?' I think that's why I hate most rom-coms."
26. "I hate how, in horror movies, they'll be stuck in the woods and there's a lazy line about there being no service, and no one ever checks their phones again. I mean, if I was in danger, I’d be checking my phone for service every five seconds. My main goal would be to get service on that phone."
27. "When people say, 'As you know...' I hate it when movie characters say this because it is the most obvious way of explaining exposition to the audience."
28. "If your plot can only be maintained by your characters not having a simple conversation to resolve things, you're a bad writer and I don't like you."
29. "I hate obvious 'We’re siblings!' exposition, like when we meet characters for the first time and one calls the other 'Sis.'"
30. "When characters who are about to kiss for the first time get interrupted. Every damn time. How many fucking times are they going to write that?"
31. "When people just park anywhere. When they're running into city hall or the courthouse or the police station or an airport or wherever, they just park here literally right in front of the front door. Not only is that illegal, but it's not even physically possible in most cities or towns. They never show our heroes schlepping it from a parking garage two blocks away."
32. "Everything about being 'knocked out.' In real life, if your head is hit hard enough to render you unconscious, it's called a concussion. It's not something you can just wake up from."
33. "When characters say, 'You have to trust me' or 'There's no time to explain.' In 9 out of 10 cases, there's definitely time to explain, and the explanation would take less time than trying to convince the other party to just trust you."
34. "When a character explains something in technical language and the other person says, 'Uh, in English?' It's painfully unfunny and overdone."
35. "When the main character is randomly saved by some other character we haven't seen for the last 20 minutes who just sneaks up from behind and shoots or hits the villain over the head. And literally NOBODY heard them coming, even if it's wide open in a field."
36. "When someone is doing a lecture, their friend or colleague enters the room, and five seconds later the bell rings. The lecturer then gives instructions for the next lecture to the students while they are leaving the room."
37. "When a date is made and they just conclude with, 'OK, see you tonight at 8!' Like, where are we meeting? What are we going to do? Do I have to have dinner before? Will it include drinking, so do I leave my car at home? What do I wear?"
38. "I hate when the guy who bullies the gay kid ends up being gay. It's even worse when they end up with the kid they bullied."
39. "I hate the 'evil guy sacrifices himself in the end, so he's good!' trope. Like, WTF, just because they died doesn't erase the abuse, murder, and terrible acts they already committed. It's absolutely not a healthy way to portray people in real life, either."
40. "When characters in high school have parties every week. As a high schooler, I can tell you we don’t have that many parties, and no one wants to clean up their entire house after that."
41. "Looking away from the road to have a full conversation while driving. It's almost satisfying when there is a crash."
42. "Every time there is a wedding where they have a friend marry them, the friend ALWAYS makes the same joke about how they got ordained on the internet. It’s getting really old."
43. "When a character coughs, it always means they’re going to die. It’s never just a cough."
44. "I really hate when characters have just had sex and they have to get up, and mysteriously, they have underwear on. Find some other way to get around the issue."
45. "My pet peeve is when pregnant women are just walking and talking normally, and then suddenly they double over in agony, indicating that they are now in labor. In reality, labor ramps up from short, mild cramps to long, powerful contractions over multiple hours, often days. It's not like a sudden punch in the gut out of nowhere."
46. "I hate when a man falls on top of a woman with his face in her cleavage. It's not funny. It's never been funny."
—[deleted]
47. "I hate how every horror film starts with the characters moving into a new house."
48. "I hate it when a car breaks down on the side of the road and they open the hood, and a bunch of steam or smoke comes out. That has never once happened to me or anyone I know."
49. "I hate the evil, bad, abusive stepparent trope that's supposed to justify the protagonist's own bad behavior or irrational decision."
50. "I hate when a character laughs and then goes, 'Oh, you were serious.'"
51. "When the 'unattractive" friend isn't unattractive. They just stick a pair of glasses on them, and apparently that makes them look unattractive. I'm a kid who grew up in the '90s wearing glasses, and it perpetually offends me."
52. "When people have a conversation in the middle of the street, and a car hits one of them or is about to hit them."
53. "I hate when they leave the front door open in the middle of a makeout session and go at it. Unless they’re exhibitionists, why?"
54. "When people can hold down a minimum-wage job like a server and live in huge apartments on their own in big cities where rent would be astronomical."
55. "One of the worst is when the heroes or cops knock on a door and it either falls open or it’s unlocked. Then, instead of turning on the lights, they go through the house with flashlights and shine 'em up and down in every room. Who IRL does that?"
56. "I hate how, in scary movies, the kids, mom, or whoever will tell the dad the house is haunted or possessed and he NEVER believes them. I think you can tell by the hysterics if your child or spouse is being serious."
—Lia
57. "I have a huge issue when characters use cellphones and either don't end the call with some kind of goodbye or press the end button when the other person has already hung up. We've been using cellphones for years now. Why don't they know how they work?"
58. And lastly: "When the parent makes their kids a five-star buffet and the kids just take a piece of toast and leave."
What are some other movie tropes and clichés that you hate? Let us know in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.