23 Movie Tropes And Clichés That Hollywood Needs To Retire Because People Absolutely Despise Them

We recently made a post that shared the movie tropes and clichés that people on Reddit hate. The BuzzFeed Community had a lot to say about the issue and responded with even more of their movie pet peeves. Here are some of the best ones:

1. "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."

—christine61390

2. "Every time there is a wedding where they have a friend marry them, the friend ALWAYS make the same joke about how they got ordained on the internet. It’s getting really old."

—stellal4a527e2d6

3. "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."

—keshawii

4. "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."

—s444dfcf99

5. "My pet peeve is when pregnant women are just walking and talking normally and then suddenly the movie has them 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."

—etconner

6. "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."

—jade4321

7. "I hate the evil, bad, abusive stepparent trope that's supposed to justify the protagonist's own bad behavior or irrational decision."

—prolix

8. "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."

—lizjs

9. "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?"

—sharnelll

10. "I hate when a character laughs and then goes, 'Oh, you were serious.'"

—Midnight In Avalon

11. "When the 'unattractive" friend isn't unattractive. They just stick a pair of glasses on them and apparently that makes them look 'unattractive.' As a kid who grew up in the '90s wearing glasses, it perpetually offends me."

—thelonedoodler

12. "I hate obvious 'We’re siblings!' exposition like when we meet characters for the first time and one calls the other 'sis.'"

—rebeccam4e04c2006

13. "When a character coughs, it always means they’re going to die. It’s never just a cough."

—lilyb427672241

14. "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."

—jennyporterw

15. "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 like it never happened."

—fuddyduddydude

16. "When movies and TV shows proliferate 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. "

—akpisano

17. "When people have a conversation in the middle of the street and a car hits one of them or is about to hit them."

—sammachado

18. "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."

—justanokiegemini

19. "I hate how every horror film starts with the characters moving into a new house."

—bekiballs

20. "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?"

—anjar

21. "When people can hold down minimum wage jobs like a server and live in huge apartments on their own in big cities where rent would be astronomical."

—jbmasta

22. "I hate when they leave the front door open in the middle of a make-out session and go at it. Unless they’re exhibitionists, why?"

—nguoam

23. And of course, "When the parent makes their kids a five-star buffet and the kids just take a piece of toast and leave."

—Moonlxght

Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.