Movie Cliches

[Deleted]

Jensational -- Sports movies have the most cliches of any, I think. The thing I've always noticed is that there's always the good, underdog team that you're meant to root for, then there's their rival team -- and the rival team is always downright evil, they cheat and pull cheap moves to win and you're meant to despise them. My question: do the writers make the rival team evil because they think the audience is too dumb to figure out which team they're supposed to be rooting for?

For once I'd like to see an underdog-themed sports movie where the opposing team is comprised of members who are, you know, kinda nice people!

[Mugsy]

What about Bring It On? I think the audience was supposed to root for Kirsten Dunst's cheer squad, but they also made the LA girls likable underdogs. In fact, both teams were victimized somewhat - the LA team by having KD's team leader steal their routines for years, and not having funding to compete nationally; and KD's team by having the professional cheer coach sell them the same routine as he did to several others.

As a viewer, I think we were expected to root for both, an unusual turn to take for this sort of movie.

[satellite]

Stomp the Yard was one cliche after another, but I'm pleasantly surprised that it was #1 at the box office this past weekend.
1. Noble poor guy woos beautiful girl from controlling, wealthy, and stuffy "big man on campus" who just wants a trophy wife and doesn't even know her favorite color.
2. Girl's rich uptight dad tries to blackmail poor guy into breaking it off because poor guy's not good enough for her, and she's all her dad has since her mother died.
3. Poor/ street smart guy is obligated to live the college dream of his brother who was tragically killed.
4. Street smart guy is a great dancer/athlete/ whatever and leads the underdog team to victory against BMOC's group/team, but not before he learns about teamwork and that it's not all about him and his showboating.
5. Street smart guy has a comic relief chubby and/or nerdy roommate/ new best friend.

SPOILER: Click to show

6. This is a repeat of history since poor dude's blue collar uncle stole his now-aunt from his girlfriend's father 25 years ago.

SPOILER: Click to show

[batmom]

That the writers turned their backs on the greatest sports cliche of all time is one of the things I loved about that movie.

[petals]

The cliche that's bothering me most right now is the "flyover states" cliche.

Everyone not in LA or NYC has a hick accent and no future. Their lives have no real meaning until they find that one person who lives a cosmopolitan life--even in small town America. Bonus if it's a member of the opposite sex. Even more bonus points if the unfulfilled character is a cashier.

[Deleted]

That always grates on my nerves. It happens a lot in TV too. But yes, there are tons of movies that fit that bill. I remember really hating Sweet Home Alabama because it made it look like everyone in Alabama was 30 years behind in trends and also really really stupid.

The other flipside to this is that virtually every family living in suburban America is seething with misery and everyone hates each other and has hidden secrets.

Either way, most of Hollywood is convinced that every in America is just miserable.

[Deleted]

That one bugs the hell out of me too. I think it's somewhat related to the one where everyone from New England either came from backwoods Stephen King country or are well-off and live in huge houses in quaint little towns (The Family Stone, I'm looking at you.) Nothing at all about those of us in the middle class from the smaller cities and towns who live in little houses or apartments. Apparently we don't exist.

[chiqui]

Whenever there's an urban romantic drama/comedy/tearjerker the male lead is almost always an architect. Not a contractor; not a drafter; not an interior decorator; an architect. And there will always be a scene of him in a hardhat while wearing business casual to check out a site, or yelling at the main contractor guy about costs or tiles or scheduling or something. See: Sleepless in Seattle, The Lake House, etc. etc.

Just for once, I'd like to a male lead with a normal or unglamorous middle-class job, like insurance adjuster, laundromat owner, or city sewer inspector.

[Deleted]

Women are usually magazine editors. It's bizarre.

I think that's why I enjoyed Office Space so much. They all had really stupid boring normal adult high tech jobs. I actually knew someone who was working on the 2000 switch for a major bank chain so I was amused to her job represented in all of it's boring gloring on the big screen.

[petals]

chiqui said:

Just for once, I'd like to a male lead with a normal or unglamorous middle-class job, like insurance adjuster, laundromat owner, or city sewer inspector.

Yeah, but he'd be unhappy and unfulfilled. Then, he'd quit his job to paint great art or to write the great American novel. And his wife, who will wait until the kids are in bed (but really they'll be peeking through the stair banisters as mommy and daddy yell at each other) to tell him about money problems, will end up being unsupportive and shrieky. And she'll be wrong, because he is doing something great and she's just worrying about mundane things like bills and losing the house.

My god. I've just written a Hollywood screenplay.