Sleeping In Bras, Impossible Superhero Costumes, And 21 More Movie Details That Make It Difficult For Audiences To Suspend Their Disbelief
There you are, enjoying a lighthearted sitcom, when the question that has haunted the Internet since the first day of its existence strikes once again: how do these parents have time during the week to make a full breakfast, stacks of pancakes and waffles included, and how do their ungrateful children have the nerve to walk out with only a piece of toast?
In fairness, toast is great, but still.
These seemingly small details can be enough to break the illusion of a TV show or movie, so there were a lot of responses when Redditor u/sickfloydboy asked r/movies, "What are the small things that scream 'movie set' for you?" Here are 23 of the minor tropes, clichés, and prop choices that never fail to distract audience members.
Responses may have been edited for length and/or clarity.
1."I always notice whenever computers are used, everything makes a sound. A loading bar, or a window opening up, always has a noise associated with it. No computer does that!"
2."A text from 'Mom' or 'Dad' where it's the first message in the conversation. Is everyone just deleting all messages or what?"
3."Empty cup acting gets me every time!"
4."For me, it's an interior shot of someone driving a car and paying absolutely no attention to the road. Bonus if they're just twisting the steering wheel all over the place."
5."Wrapped gifts with lids."
6."Anyone can park right in front of the building or house they want to visit, even in busy cities like San Francisco or New York City."
7."My friend told me movie rain always looks fake, and now I can't unsee it."
8."In historical films, everybody is from the same era (and pretty hip). Meaning, all the fashion, architecture, and decor is up-to-the-minute, when really you’d see a variety, with the older and poorer generations sticking to older fashions and decor and only the young, trendy, and wealthy having access to the latest goods."
9."Houses or apartments in general. Too many movies have characters who always seem to own or rent a place that is far above the realistic budget that the character in the movie could afford."
10."Alleys in NYC. We have like three in the entire city."
11."When something is supposed to be set in the Midwest or East Coast and all the exterior shots are very clearly brown and dry California. Even with fake snow, you can still tell it’s California because of the sun."
12."Everyone sitting on the same side of the kitchen table so no one’s back is to the camera. Drives me up a wall when I see it."
13."Paper grocery bag with a baguette and celery or carrots sticking out the top that falls over to unleash loose oranges."
14."Superhero costumes always being one-piece and seamless, with no apparent zippers or fasteners. How do they use the bathroom?"
15."Showing an animal, and playing an animal sound effect that doesn’t match with the actual animal. The screech noises that eagles make in movies are always hawk noises because the sounds that eagles actually make aren’t very majestic-sounding."
16."Oh, when someone drinks a BRAND NEW soft drink through a straw and it sounds EMPTY!"
17."Books on bookshelves. Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s West reporters (books lawyers used to use to look up caselaw). Once you start noticing, you see them EVERYWHERE."
18."Any phone number with 555 ruins the immersion for me."
19."No bald people. I mean, no male pattern baldness. Especially in speaking roles. Watch a movie pre-2000s or especially in the '70s and '80s. You see a lot of male pattern baldness."
20."Too many always burning torches on the walls on any medieval set."
21."Sleeping in bras. NO woman is sleeping in her bra unless she passed out the night before from too much partying or absolute exhaustion. Moreover, the bra is often the FIRST thing to get taken off in real life. (Looking at you, Carrie Bradshaw)."
22."People that don’t smoke pretending that they are smoking. Like, sucking smoke into their mouth and blowing it back out without inhaling."
