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Most of us skeptics by nature blame films, *cough cough* romance movies, for being far-fetched and nothing like real life. However, the scriptwriters are not to blame for why you don't get flowers sent to your office. Yet, they are to blame for the expectations they raise. Either way, it's widely accepted that certain things that work in movies simply don't work in real life. These are the so-called film tropes — a set of cliches overused in movies.

One of which is when a leading actor (ref Tom Hanks in The Terminal (2004)) hops in a random taxi they caught on the street and asks the driver to take them home. Just home, no address or anything. As if the cab driver knows where each of his passengers' homes is. Funnily, this movie trope was "exposed" in How To Be Single (2016) with a snarky comeback from a taxi driver. Yet, this is just one of the many movie tropes that have been used, recycled and used again in filmmaking.

Horror movie tropes arguably rank second (if not first) in frequency. A cabin in the woods is probably the most prevalent theme in teen screams. However, tropes in movies go beyond the romance and horror genres. When a user on AskReddit asked, "What happens in movies or TV that seems to be normal and you think to yourself 'that is not what people in real life do'?", thousands of trope-hunters revealed the most common movie tropes recurring on the silver screen.

Below, we've assembled this movie tropes list from the many answers people left in the thread, revealing the most frequently recurring cliches/tropes in films. Make sure to give the cliches you see way too often an upvote and write down any more movie tropes or 'things that don't happen in real life yet do in films' missing from the list in the comments!

#1

"A Woman Rejects A Man And He Keeps Pestering Her With Gifts And Attention Until She Changes Her Mind. In Real Life, That’s Called Stalking And She Won’t Appreciate It"

Patrick Verona fire

squirrels33 Report

#2

"Women Can Be In The Jungle For Weeks, And They Don't Have Hair Growing Anywhere. Men Immediately Begin To Grow A Beard"

Tom Hanks in movie Cast Away

Dream_babe Report

#3

"Getting Eaten By Dinosaur. Rarely Happens In Real Life"

Omar Sy in Jurassic Park

logicalmaniak Report

#4

"Being A Young, Aspiring Artist Living Alone In A Nice, Spacious Apartment In A Prime Area Of A Big City Like New York Or LA"

Johnny Depp in movie Secret Window

SDFDuck Report

#5

"Women Running Around In Heels With Perfect Hair And Makeup, And The Dirt And Sweat Making Their Hair And Makeup Look Even Better"

Jurassic Park woman run

ISeeMusicInColor Report

#6

"School Buses Honking And Waiting For Kids Who Are Still In The House. If I Wasn’t At The Bus Stop When The Bus Arrived, It Would Drive On By. It Didn’t Stop. It Didn’t Honk"

Yellow School Bus from Simpsons

DannyC990 Report

#7

"No One Using A Computer Ever Uses A Mouse. It’s Just Constant, Frantic Typing"

John Krasinski The Office computer type

Santos_L_Halper_II Report

#8

"Having Highly Confidential Conversations About 4 Foot Away From The People They Are Talking About, And Not Being Overheard"

David Schwimmer in Friends wearing black shirt

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#9

"Everyone Has One Paper Bag For Groceries, And It Has A Celery Stalk And Loaf Of French Bread Sticking Out The Top"

Lois from Family Guy wearing green shirt and taking groceries

ArachnidBeneficial61 Report

#10

"Running Upstairs In Horror Movies. If There Was Something Chasing You, Wouldn’t Head For The Door To Get Outside?"

Jack from the Shining talking and wearing red shirt

Horrorwriterme Report

#11

"Guessing The Passwords Of Other People Correctly"

Chris Hemsworth in movie Blackhat computer

Transitionals Report

#12

"If A Simple Miscommunication Happens, No One Stops And Clarifies With The Other Person. Like If One 10 Sec Conversation Can Derail An Entire Plot Thread I'm Not Interested"

Lord of the rings table meeting

bleedsdaylight121 Report

#13

Girl Vomiting Means Pregnant, Hiccups Means Drunk, Coughing Means Seriously Ill

Rick and Morty drinking

MrSpotgold Report

#14

"Ordering A Beer Without Specifying What Brand Of Beer They Want"

William H. Macy in Shameless bar drinking

ShermanKrebbs Report

#15

"People Splashing Cold Water In Their Faces And Looking In The Mirror To Indicate A Character Is Upset"

Leonardo Dicaprio in movie The Wolf of Wall Street face wash

Robot-XL-5 Report

#16

"Young Singles Living In Million Dollar Condos That Overlook The City"

Tony Stark Wearing Black shirt

kwinner7 Report

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#17

"On The Phone Making Plans: 'Ok, Meet Me At 5?' 'Sure.' And That’s The Whole Plan. Where Are You Meeting?"

Jim Carrey with phone

bees_knees5628 Report

#18

"Wearing Shoes On Their Beds. Like Who Actually Does That?"

Spider Man Across The Spider Verse Peter Parker and Gwen

Cain_Soren Report

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Donkey boi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wearing shoes in the house!!! I made the police take their shoes off before they came in my house!

N Miller
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one comes up a lot. And let's face it, it's just not a realistic use of screen time to have the character remove their shoes, deliver their four minutes of plot important dialogue, put their shoes back on and leave. We just have to let this one go

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Cynthia Wilkins
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Again, not unrealistic. I avoid shoes anytime I can, but I know lots of people who don’t take them off until they’re going to sleep.

Skorm Carter
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's me! I have my shoes on all day. I felt vindicated recently when my Dad shattered his toe inside in a super freak accident. Also, I am in no way judging you for your choice to go shoe-less! To each their own.

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marianne eliza
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh jeez. Get over it. Unless you're out walking in paddocks, puddles, mud, or raw sewage, and have white carpets, keep your shoes on. Stop trying to sanitize your world. It's better for a person's immune system to have some nature around them. Especially children. I walked through my horse's paddock barefoot. Same with the chicken yard when feeding or collecting eggs. Barefoot as often as possible, even now (63f). And a very robust immune system. Besides, my pets carry so much in, what little I carry in on my bare, hairless feet is miniscule compared to my hairy Labs and cats. Decide what you will be proud of and thinking about on your deathbed. I doubt it will be clean carpets.

georgios pahatouridis
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

you get over it. You don´t have to walk into mordor to take all this dirt inside the house.

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Skorm Carter
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mop my floors once a week so I really don't understand the big deal about wearing shoes inside. I mean, unless your entire house has carpet, I guess.

georgios pahatouridis
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

so you tell us, that mopping the floors ONCE A WEEK, will keep the house clean for the rest of the week, where there are 6 days of getting all the dirt from the outside, in your house. Ok

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The Original Bruno
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or climbing the rose trellis (which supports all of 15 pounds) to climb into the young, teenage girl's closed by unlocked bedroom window. I've tried it hundreds of times and it NEVER works.

Jeffrey Johnson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What's wrong with shoes on the bed? Shoes in the house are also common, I'm not removing my shoes every time I come inside. What a hassle.

ConstantConstance
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe this depends where your from? Maybe not the bed thing, but shoes in the house is common in some places and not in others

Misha Writer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depends on what I'm actually doing. If I an not going anywhere, shoes off. If I'm sitting on my bed for a bit before I go out and I've got shoes on, I don't take them off to put them back on.

timebleeder
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I did when I was a teenager so did most of the people I hung out with. We were 90s goth kids wearing combat boot who smoked. We were in and out so much taking our shoes off everytime was tedious. Just don't get the shoes close to the pillow area.

Scp_049
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why use a picture of a movie that I'm pretty sure isn't even out yet?

Katie Howerton
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unfortunately I know a lot of people who do. I try to have people take their shoes off when they enter my home

Lil mish
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Somebody Just get rich trust me you will dump the flip flops

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#19

"Crying Without Face Getting Puffy And Red And Ugly"

Cry Baby Johnny Depp

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#20

"Absolutely Everything Related To Pregnancy And Especially Childbirth. You Don't Just Instantly Rush To The Hospital"

The Office pregnant scene

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#21

"Doctors Performing Surgery Without Safety Glasses"

Grey's Anatomy characters wearing surgery clothes

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#22

"Hitting Someone On The Head With A Whiskey Bottle To Knock Them Out. Pretty High Risk Of Killing Them"

Tom hardy in movie Legend fight

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#23

"Knocking On The Door And Someone Opening It Within Two Seconds"

Lois Griffin door

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#24

"Throwing An Unspecified Amount Of Money On The Bar And Walking Out"

Will Smith in movie Focus

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#25

"Going To A Friend's Place, Staying There For All Of 30 Seconds To Talk About Something Plot-Relevant, Then Just Leaving Right Away"

Matthew Perry in Friends door scene

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#26

"When A Couple Wakes Up In Bed Together (With No Wild Bed-Head Hair, Mind You) And Just Start Making Out"

Ian Somerhalder in Vampire Diaries bed

VictorBlimpmuscle Report

#27

"Scenes Where Someone Is Painting Something, Like A Wall Or A Chair, Wearing Nice Clothing, With No Tape, Coverings, Or Paint Splatter Anywhere"

Persons painting walls red and blue

Money4Nothing2000 Report

#28

"Taking Turns Talking. Like In Cop Shows When One Cop Begins An Explanation, Then The Next One Picks Up The Story At A Seamlessly Convenient Spot"

Let's be Cops fake cops

madcats323 Report

#29

"Furiously Making Out While Coming Through A Front Door"

Riverdale Jughead Kiss

PalpableMoon Report

#30

"Every Time Anyone Sneezes People Assume They're Sick, Like Don't They Ever Get Random Sneezes"

Jonah Hill in movie Get Him to the Greek sneeze

jatinvj-sumba-d-else Report

#31

"The Stupid Slow Motion Kiss Or Hug As The World Is Falling Apart"

Dwayne Johnson in movie Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw kissing

puckmonky Report

#32

"Getting Fired From An Office Job And Walking Out With A Box That Has A 3-Foot Tall Plant Sticking Out"

The Office Ed Helms holding box

EstebanSays Report

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#33

"Suppressors On Firearms Making Them Whisper Quiet"

Keanu Reeves in movie John Wick 2 subway fight

Samura1_I3 Report

#34

"Car Gets Hit, Scratched, Rolled, Goes Off A Cliff, In A Car Accident... It Blows Up"

Fast And Furious car destroy

Moln0014 Report

#35

"Just Asked A Random Girl: "Hey Wanna Get Dinner Tomorrow? I'll Pick Up At 5". You Dont Have Her Adress Or Her Phone Number"

Couple eating in the restaurant outside

reddit.com Report

#36

"Turning On A Shower And Jumping Right In Without Checking The Water Temperature With Their Hand First"

Meg from Family Guy taking a shower

Money4Nothing2000 Report

#37

"Find A Parking Spot Right In Front Of Their Building"

Family Guy Warwick Mall with Christmas decorations

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#38

"Wake Up At 6am No Matter What Time Of Year And It Is Bright And Sunny"

Dwayne Johnson in movie Fast And Furious Hobbs And Shaw sunglasses

peoplecallmeamy Report

#39

"Drinking Heavily Without Consequences"

Vin Diesel angry and driving a car

pure_la_croix Report

#40

"Instantly Drying, Even Though They Just Jumped Into Water Fully Clothed"

Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron walking and wearing red and blue shorts with blue shirt

l4i2n0ks Report

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#41

"Dreaming Of Kissing A Beautiful Woman, But Actually You're Just Being Licked By An Animal"

Stewie and Brain from Family Guy talking and Brain licking wall

I_Am_Terry Report

#42

"Highschool Bullies In Movies"

Peter parker lift Flash

oiquake Report

#43

"Waving 'Full' Coffee Cups Around"

Matt Leblanc in Friends sitting on the couch

JustABoyAndHisBlob Report

#44

"Putting Baby In A Playpen When Your Friend Visits And Said Baby Doesn’t Scream"

Lois Griffin strong holding Stewie

dudettte Report

#45

"Soldiers Running Towards The Enemy Instead Of Hanging Back And Setting Up Suppressing Fire"

Captain America and Avengers running

HECUMARINE45 Report

#46

"Computers Doing A Soft Priiiiiip Every Time A Line Of Text Appears On Screen"

CSI cyber computer

V02D Report

#47

"Walking Into Friends' Houses Without Knocking"

Lois and Peter swinging door

ninjoid Report

#48

"People Opening The Oven Only To Be Surprised And "Oh No" To A Completely Black Roast/Turkey/Meat Of Some Kind. And Then Have Smoke Just Billowing Out Of The Oven"

Peter Family Guy cooking Meg

HeliumIsotope Report

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#49

"The Amount Of Ultimatums In "Romantic" Movies Is Appalling"

Lucy Fairy Tail crying

TemptCiderFan Report

#50

"Make The School Dance A Big Deal"

Rick and Morty flu

Salty-Tortoise Report

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#51

"Elite Soldiers/Agents Making Elementary Mistakes When Handling Firearms"

"Elite Soldiers/Agents Making Elementary Mistakes When Handling Firearms"

zerbey Report

#52

"When They Are Playing Video Games And Just Turn Off The TV"

"When They Are Playing Video Games And Just Turn Off The TV"

CJroo18 Report

#53

"A Cop Is Chasing A Criminal. They Get Into A Fight, The Cop Gets Hit In The Head, There's Blood On His Face, The Criminal Gets Away"

"A Cop Is Chasing A Criminal. They Get Into A Fight, The Cop Gets Hit In The Head, There's Blood On His Face, The Criminal Gets Away"

7elevenses Report

#54

"Literally Everything Aaron Sorkin Has Ever Written. Non-Stop Razor Sharp Dialogue With The Most Quick-Witted Responses And Comebacks. It's So Perfect It's Distracting"

"Literally Everything Aaron Sorkin Has Ever Written. Non-Stop Razor Sharp Dialogue With The Most Quick-Witted Responses And Comebacks. It's So Perfect It's Distracting"

digitalmdsmooth Report

#55

"They Remove The Headrests From Cars So You Can See The Actors Better"

"They Remove The Headrests From Cars So You Can See The Actors Better"

Kent_Knifen Report

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