25 Movie Cliches You Will Never Want To See Again

Posted by , Updated on November 21, 2023

Have you ever watched a movie that was ruined by a moment you saw happening a mile away? You knew it would happen because it’s been repeated a gazillion times in so many different films.

Whether it’s an evil mirror in a horror film or a bomb that is diffused in seconds, Hollywood puts the same cliches in movies over and over again.

Some of them fit the plot nicely, but others are overplayed; quite frankly, they need to disappear … and fast. So, get ready for 25 Movie Cliches You Will Never Want To See Again.

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25

The simultaneous head tilt

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You will usually find this cliche in comedy movies. A group of guys is watching an adult movie. You don’t see the movie, just “sound effects.”

As these sounds get louder, all the guys tilt their heads to the left or right, hinting that the actor in the film is doing something very unusual. It should be noted that all these guys, for the most part, have straight faces.

24

No change necessary

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It’s near the climax of that romantic comedy. The male main character is taking a cab to the airport to stop the female love interest from getting on that plane. The male character hands the cab driver a bill, not even hearing how much the cab ride costs or looking at how much he gave to the driver.

He just hands over any amount of money and runs out. It would probably be better to take an Uber next time.

23

In English, please

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There is some sort of disaster going to happen. So, a really smart doctor-type person has the solution. Rather than saying it in a way that makes sense, they use big, scientific words to show off their superior intellect.

The hero of the movie, who is actually going to stop said disaster says the famous line, “In English, please.”

22

The social outcast sidekick

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In just about every action or thriller movie, there is a character who helps out the good guy. This person is usually much smaller or in horrible shape. They offer some kind of comedic relief and don’t do much except maybe distract the bad guy with their antics, unconvincingly, but for some reason the villains buy it.

Even though the sidekick didn’t really do anything, the hero thanks them in an attempt to remain humble.

21

The drug deal gone wrong

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We’re not saying that drug dealers are the most honest people in the world, but movies always have a drug deal where someone gets double-crossed. Okay, how is this big drug dealer still in business if they keep ripping people off?

One can only assume it’s not the first time they screwed someone over. Eventually, these people are going to talk, or someone is going to find out, and then no one is going to want to do business with them.

20

Small-town could-have-been

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In just about every movie that takes place in a small town, there is a local who is bitter, fast-tempered and has a huge drinking problem.

This person was some kind of athletic bigshot at the prime of his life, who then blew his big chance at going pro, because of some incident (most likely involving an accident).

19

Is that all you got?

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The villain of the movie has beaten the hero to a pulp. The hero can barely stand. His face is a bloody mess. Almost every bone in the hero’s body is broken. The bad guy thinks he has won and walks away.

The hero, with a stone-cold look on his face, says to the bad guy, “Is that all you got?” Of course, the villain goes back to finish the job but ends up getting killed by the good guy.

18

Yeah, you better run!

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Our main character is outnumbered by the bad guys. They are circling him or her. Just when we think our hero is about to be massacred, the group runs away.

The main character sees them run, gets confident and says, “Yeah, you better run!” Little do they know, there is some gigantic creature behind them waiting to attack.

17

They're behind me, aren't they?

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It seems that no one pays attention to their surroundings in films. When someone is talking trash about another person, they will go on and on. The group they are talking to all of a sudden looks past the person rambling, hinting that they should stop talking.

The person talking will stop and, without turning around, say, “They’re behind me, aren’t they?” Yes, they are always going to be there.

16

Isn't breakfast the most important meal?

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The wife in many movies will cook a big breakfast for her husband because she loves him and wants him not to be hungry throughout the day. The husband can never eat breakfast but just grabs a piece of toast and eats it as he runs out the door, kissing his wife goodbye.

What happened to the food? Seriously man, just eat it … you can be a little late. And to the wife, don’t make such a fancy breakfast next time; just give him a protein bar.

15

Just when the case is almost solved

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The lone cop with an attitude is about to blow the case wide open. They have all the evidence to bring down the bad guy, but just when they are about to do this, their superior decides to suspend them because of a pending investigation.

Don’t worry, though. The policeman will completely ignore any warning to stop working the case. He’ll catch the bad guy and save the day.

14

The ugly pretty girl

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To be fair, this cliche is not seen nearly as much as it used to be, but it’s still annoying. A perfect example of this is in the movie She’s All That.

A shy, nerdy girl who wears glasses and doesn’t wear makeup or designer clothes gets a complete makeover and becomes the hottest girl in school. She just got contacts, put her hair down, and put on some make-up.

13

Healthy eaters are evil

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She’s cool, pretty, sassy, intelligent, and when she eats, she will order the most calorie-stacked, deep-fried food that she can find. You know, the type that will surely give anybody a heart attack. Apparently, the fact that she doesn’t care what she eats just shows how awesome she is.

But the girl who exercises daily and eats healthy (because, in reality, she’s a good role model) is uptight and vindictive … most likely an evil cheerleader.

12

Children are much smarter than adults

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Okay, we know that there are some really smart kids in the world, but in many movies that have kids playing a role, those kids are always the ones to offer some great wisdom that gets the main character to see a truth that was right in front of them the whole time.

Oh, and these kids are usually quiet throughout the rest of the film.

11

Angry girlfriend throws clothes out window

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Before this happens, the guy usually says something like, “How mad do you think she’ll be?” Oh, and it’s never just clothes. It’s a radio, a T.V., a video game console, or just about anything that will make a noise and break easily.

One more thing, if the guy has no clue why this is being done, some other person will shake their head and say, “What did you do to piss her off?”

10

That's really an animal kissing

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You know the scene. It’s a beautiful tropical island. There are two people (a man and a woman) sitting on a blanket. The man is looking deeply into the woman’s eyes, and she is looking back at him.

They begin to passionately kiss, and then the scene cuts to the guy sleeping in his bed. He is being licked in the face by his dog, or cat, letting him know that it’s time to feed them. Ew!

9

We aren't so different, you and I.

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How many times does the villain say this to the hero? Yes, yes you are very different. Perhaps you both feel like society has wronged you but one of you decided to become a megalomaniac and wipe out humanity and the other decided to stop you from doing so.

You may have heard Dr. Evil say this to Austin Powers. While that may have been poking fun at the overused line, it’s still being used way too much.

8

We got company!

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Oh, goody! Did they bring pie? No, of course not, because it’s not “good” company. It’s the bad guys who have found where the good guys have been hiding and now there is going to be some big shoot out (or an explosion) as the good guys escape or defeat the evil villains.

They can never say, “Bad guys! We need to leave.” No, it’s always, “We got company.” Sometimes this line is used when people are being followed in a car.

7

Flying a plane is super easy

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Who cares if you have absolutely no experience flying a plane? You just need to talk to some guy over the radio and push whatever button he tells you.

Did we also mention that the plane is spiraling out of control and about to crash on the ground in 30 seconds or so? Also, your anxiety is probably very high right now, but you’ll be all right.

6

The sexy female villain

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You’ll easily be able to spot the femme fatale in any movie. They are the most seductive person in the establishment, and they hardly ever smile. They just look at their prey and calculate what sociopathic, evil act they are going to commit.

Sometimes they wear sunglasses, even indoors, because why wouldn’t they? It’s important to look the part in every scene.

5

Mirrors in horror movies are bad

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There are a few cliches that mirrors are responsible for in horror films.

The first type is a scene that shows absolutely nothing behind one of the characters. They open the mirror, which is a cabinet, to get something, then they close it and the evil, creepy, thing is behind them.

The second scene usually involves someone looking in the mirror and it appears like a normal reflection. But when the person looks away or bends down to splash water on their face, the reflection doesn’t move. It is some kind of evil entity instead.

4

Just snip a wire

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Diffusing a bomb is super easy. All the hero does is snip a wire. Of course, he doesn’t know what wire to cut, so just as the timer reaches 00:01, he cuts the red wire (or is it the white one? blue?), thus diffusing the bomb and saving the day.

Movies need to have no-wire bombs. Seriously! Wires in bombs = crappy bombs.

3

Waking up in a hospital

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The person who has woken up from a coma decides to rip their I.V. out and escape immediately. There never seem to be any physical repercussions from this, even if the I.V. is supposedly keeping them alive. They just tear it out.

They are also able to walk away, despite being horribly injured. It would be a great idea if they let the professional doctors treat their injury, but no, they have to be stubborn.

2

The long, drawn-out "No!"

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When this line is said, there is always a dramatic death right after, or sometimes 10 seconds before. This is the point in the movie where the antagonist thinks he has broken the protagonist by killing his best friend or love interest.

Sometimes the villain will kill that person up close, or blow up a building that they’re in. When our hero sees this, he or she will fall to their knees and scream, “No!”

1

Never look back at an explosion

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Explosions must not be very loud or startling … at least in films. We can’t think of a single movie that has an explosion where the person doing the damage turns around to see what they’ve done.

Even just a simple flinch would suffice, but nope, they’re way to cool for that. They just walk away with a bit of a swagger. (They have probably been practicing with explosives since childhood.)



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