This article was originally published on Kueez
Has this thought ever crossed your mind while watching a movie: "That would never happen in real life!" Movies make life seem glamorous and full of adventure; the good guys always save the day, and you can meet your soulmate at any given moment. We're so used to having had seen all these things in movies from the time we were young, that we never take a step back to stop and think if it even makes any sense. Luckily the many wonderful users of the internet decided to get together and shatter some of the most ridiculous Hollywood tropes.
1. Men Instantly Grow Beards When They Are Stuck In The Wild
In movies, men who get trapped in the wilderness grow a wild beard overnight. They look like they have been in the jungle for years, yet it has only been a couple of days. However, when a female character is in the wild, she is always perfectly groomed without any body hair.
In real life, it would take at least a month for a man to grow a long, scraggly beard. Also, women would have leg hair, armpit hair, and their eyebrows would need some tweezers. Come on, Hollywood, let's normalize body hair for men and women.
2. People's Houses Are Always Neat And Tidy
Whenever there is a scene inside someone's home, it is always perfectly neat, and there is nothing out of place. It is almost as if no one has ever lived there even though it is depicted as the family's home with several children.
In real life, people have stuff on their counters, and when people have children, it is a whole different story. There are toys and shoes all over the place, and it is not always tidy. People shouldn't feel like they have to have a pristine home all the time because of Hollywood's depiction.
3. People Look Away From The Road And Don't Crash The Car
Don't try this at home, kids! In movies, it seems like whoever is driving can look at the passenger for long periods of time without crashing. The character will take their eyes off the road for what seems like several minutes, and they never hit anything or run red lights.
In the real world, looking away from the road is something you never want to do. It is extremely dangerous, and movies are making it seem like a reasonable thing to do. You should probably keep your eyes on the road and off of the person sitting next to you.
4. Hacking Is Just Fast Typing
Every hacker in every movie ever: "let me just type some random letters into the computer really fast, and I can hack into the CIA database like a piece of cake." They make it seem like hacking is the easiest thing ever, and any teenager with a computer in their bedroom can become a hacker.
Most of the time, the hackers aren't even typing a code; it is usually on the home screen of their desktop or a new tab in their browser. They start typing a bunch of random stuff, and magically they have access to every street camera in America.
5. Waitresses Are Somehow Able To Afford Expensive New York Apartments
We saw this mainly in Friends, but it happens universally throughout many TV shows and films. There is a struggling waitress who somehow lives in a huge apartment, has beautiful clothes, and always has a fridge full of food. However, this could not be further from reality.
Many people in waitressing positions make below minimum wage, and that is not enough to afford rent in a lovely New York apartment like Rachel Green. It is quite misleading to younger generations who watch these shows. Living costs are unreasonably high compared to wages in certain job positions.
6. The Pushy Guy In The Movie Gets The Girl Instead Of A Restraining Order
We see this in almost every rom-com because huge romantic gestures are the only way to win over a woman. The guy keeps showing up in the woman's life and continues to ask her out when she is clearly not interested. Then he makes a significant gesture, and somehow she falls in love with him.
If a man did this in real life, they would be served with a restraining order for harassment. When a woman says they are not interested, it does not mean that they want to be pursued over and over. No means no, and it is not an invitation to show up outside their house with a boombox.
7. People Can Zoom In On A Grainy Image And Make Them HD
If only this technology existed in real life. In movies and TV shows, people will take a grainy picture from a security camera and use a magic tool to zoom, which makes the picture crystal clear. It is a mystery how this technology works, but we wish we knew how to get it.
It would be so convenient to zoom in clearly with the touch of a button, but life is just not that easy. These tools are usually used in shows about criminals where the FBI has a blurry picture of the culprit, and then they zoom in and see an HD face.
8. It Is Possible To Outrun An Explosion
There are plenty of movies where the person runs away from an explosion and then jump-dives onto the ground. They always come away from this incident unscathed. Realistically, they would have horrible burns and cut up by shards of debris, but Hollywood plays tricks on you.
Scientifically, the explosions in movies would take miles to outrun, and there would never be enough time to getaway. However, that would ruin the most significant action scenes in films, so people enjoy the fakeness.
9. The Mom Makes A Huge Breakfast Spread And The Family Only Grabs Some Toast On Their Way Out
If your mom made a huge breakfast spread and you just quickly grabbed a piece of bread on your way out the door, she would be so upset. In movies, this is a typical scene as the kids are running late for school.
First of all, who has time to wake up that early and cook a continental breakfast? Secondly, what does the parent do with all the food that their family didn't eat? You can't really save eggs as leftovers, but that is the power of film, it doesn't have to make sense.
10. Wherever The Character Goes, There Is Always An Open Parking Space
Of course, no one wants to watch a character search for 20 minutes for a parking space. However, it is odd that whenever the characters need to be somewhere, there is a parking spot right in front of the building.
In real life, it would have to be your lucky day to quickly find a spot right in front of where you need to be. It is especially fake when they show people finding a space in a busy city because everyone knows that it is an impossible feat.
11. Everyone Wakes Up Looking Flawless
"I woke up like this!" Everyone in movies wakes up with their hair perfectly quaffed, and their makeup is already done. It is incredible how they look gorgeous after tossing and turning all night. Have you ever woken up looking photo read? We certainly haven't.
Usually, when people wake up in real life, their hair is messy, and your face is not entirely made-up. Many people need to brush their hair, wash their face, and moisturize to look somewhat like the people waking up in movies.
12. No Matter How Loud The Music Is In The Club, People Can Have Full Conversations
Have you ever tried to have a conversation in a bar or club while the music was at full volume? It was probably unsuccessful because it is so hard to hear people when there is music playing and other people talking. However, in movies, it seems that no matter how loud the music is, people can perfectly hear each other.
People make it seem so easy to have these chit chats while the DJ is blasting the bass. In White Chicks, they have a full conversation and start dissing each other across the dance floor. In a real club setting, the people would be screaming, "What? I can't hear what you said."
13. DNA Results Come Back Within An Hour
In many TV shows and films, police will collect DNA samples from crime scenes, and within an hour, they have the results. They don't have to fill out any paperwork, and the lab has no other samples to take care of; it is like they are just free to take care of that specific sample.
However, this is not how things work. There is a specific way to process the samples, and the detectives have to fill out a bunch of paperwork. Crime scene investigations do not move along so quickly in real life because the bureaucratic process is much slower than people think.
14. Situations Are Easily Avoidable If The Person Explained What Is Happening
Have you ever gotten frustrated while watching a movie because a situation could have been avoided if someone explained the situation? Like in Friends, if Rachel were able to explain that she was only talking to Mark, maybe Ross wouldn't have cheated on her.
Imagine how some movies would have a different ending if someone took the time to explain what they were doing. So many of the saddest character breakups wouldn't have happened if someone explained.
15. Women Can Run In High Heels Without Tripping
Movies are often made about unusual people who can kick butt and take names. However, running in high heels and doing action-packed stunts seems like a reach. For most women, it is painful to walk around in heels for an entire day let alone start running away from bad guys,
Have you ever tried running in high heels? Most of the time, people look like they are shuffling along, hoping not to break an ankle. The women in the movies are full-on sprinting away from explosions and people shooting at them.
16. People Make New Friends The Day They Move To A New Town
From personal experience, we know for a fact that the movies exaggerate this one. Every time a character moves to a new city, they somehow make friends within a few hours of unpacking their stuff. It is almost as if they were just waiting for the person to move in so they could become friends.
In reality, when you move to a new city, it is a little more difficult to make new friends. Unless you are still in school, you have to find activities where there will be people with similar interests. This is a more accurate way of how people make friends in a new city.
17. Bombs Always Have A Countdown Clock
Unless criminals and terrorists have manners, a bomb does not have a countdown clock. In the movies, all the good guys have to do is pull a few wires before the clock hits zero, and everyone is saved. The bad guys seem to make the job much easier for the heroes.
In real life, bombs are secret, and people have remote detonators. There aren't countdown clocks and wires to cut for the bomb to stop because that would be too easy. Instead, the real bad guys make situations much more dangerous than those in Hollywood.
18. People In Their Twenties Have Upper East Side Penthouses
If you have ever watched Gossip Girl, you will remember the lavish apartments they lived in on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. These huge penthouses had fine art and the best views, but the people who lived in them were still in high school or their early twenties. That doesn't seem too realistic.
Living in a multi-million dollar penthouse is a pretty unattainable goal for a teenager. Even when you get your first job, the salary will not be enough to afford one of these penthouses. Movies make it seem like earning millions is an easy thing to accomplish.
19. Everyone Is Physically Fit And Attractive
In movies, the entire cast is always attractive, even the extras. It makes sense why they cast people who are naturally attractive because that is what the audience wants to see. People want to watch pretty people because it is more pleasing to the eye.
It wouldn't be as exciting for an audience to see average looking people because that is what we see every day. While there are beautiful people everywhere, it is not like looking at movie stars with a special filter on. The movies are magic, and we know that is not what real life is like.
20. Henchmen Politely Wait To Fight The Main Character One-By-One
Whenever the hero fights the villain's henchmen, they always politely wait to fight one at a time. While they could fight the hero altogether and win, they choose to get beat up one at a time because the hero is always victorious.
In real life, people would gang up on the person fighting alone, and the person would be overpowered. Most of the time, people aren't fighting henchmen, to be fair. Also, if there were henchmen in real life, they wouldn't be polite and wait their turn.
21. Stalking Is Normalized And Romantic
In movies and TV shows, stalking seems to be a normal situation. A man will see that a woman dropped her book, then he follows her for three hours. After finally gaining the courage to approach the girl, the man says, "I followed you for a while because you dropped your book."
Oddly enough, those "smooth" moves work on the girl, and she starts dating him. In a real situation, the man would be arrested for stalking. For example, in the show You, the guy stalks and hurts people, but miraculously is never caught by the cops.
22. People Meet At A Predetermined Time And Location Without Planning
Have you and your friends ever met in an abandoned warehouse without planning the meeting? We are going to guess that your answer is no because people don't show up at the same place without intending it. People need to plan ahead, so they know what time and place to meet.
In movies, groups of people meet in foreign countries, and their friends don't ask questions. How do these people know precisely what time to meet? They never speak about these plans, but they just show up at the right time.
23. No One Says Goodbye When They Hang Up
Have you ever noticed that people in movies don't say goodbye? Whenever someone is talking on the phone, they end the conversation by hanging up abruptly. Isn't it odd to not conclude a call with "goodbye" or "talk to you later?" It almost seems rude that they are just hanging up.
In reality, almost everyone says some kind of departing words to wrap-up their calls. Without that conclusion, it almost feels like you left a conversation open-ended, and no one wants to do that. It is like you left things unsaid.
24. If You Are Beautiful You Can Have Your Ph.D. And Work On The Biggest Project In The Company By The Time You Are 23
In many movies, a woman can have her Ph.D. in astrophysics, finished all her studies, and be in charge of the biggest project in her organization by the time she is 23 if she is pretty. These academic pursuits take years of studying and hard work, and it would be impossible to finish it by that age.
While a woman's level of attractiveness does not determine her intelligence, it seems that in Hollywood, the beautiful people the time frame of earning a higher-level degree. Unless they are child prodigies who skipped most of middle school and high school, it is unlikely.
25. An Unplanned Pregnancy Causes Two People To Fall In Love
In these rom-com scenarios, the uninterested woman who is way out of the guy's league has a one night stand, and they become pregnant. Then this pregnancy brings them together, and they fall madly in love. Has this ever happened in real life? We would love to hear that story.
Why would the woman have a sudden change of heart for a guy she is not attracted to? These unrealistic romantic fantasies are setting a high standard for young and impressionable teens who may believe that this is how you find your life partner.
26. People Always Have An Unwrapped Baguette Sticking Out Of Their Paper Grocery Bag
In any movie where the character goes to the grocery store, they come back with a single paper bag of groceries that always has an unwrapped baguette sticking out of the top. Sometimes they have fresh carrots or leeks, but nothing is ever wrapped or in small plastic bags.
While this might be more normal in France, in other parts of the world, it is unlikely to see someone walking down the street with a fresh loaf of bread hanging out of their grocery bag. Also, why is the bag always paper? Why isn't it reusable or plastic?
27. The Hacker's Code Always Works On The First Try
Whenever a hacker is trying to get into a database or system, they type in the code quickly and gain access on the first try. They never have to try more than one code, which is slightly suspicious if you ask us. It also mysteriously takes them less than a minute to get into the system.
While no one wants to watch 20 minutes of someone typing code during an action movie, it is still very unbelievable. Also, do they have lightning speed internet? We have never seen a real computer load that quickly in real life, but we would like to have their internet speed.
28. There Are Unlimited Bullets And The Shot Is Always Accurate
We aren't gun experts, but we are almost positive that they run out of bullets at some point. With the help of Hollywood magic, these guns have unlimited ammo, and the shot always hits the bad guy 100 percent of the time. That seems highly unlikely, but then again, these are movies.
In the movie First Blood, Rambo never reloads his guns; he is always locked and loaded throughout the film. You never see where he gets more ammunition, you just know that he has a lot to spare.
29. No One Ever Has To Use The Toilet
Have you ever heard someone in a movie say, "I need to go pee?" Probably not because no one wants to waste screentime with a bathroom break. However, it seems unlikely that these characters never have to use the restroom.
In action movies, characters will be running around for days fighting criminals without stopping to use the bathroom even once. An average person has to use the toilet between six to eight times a day, but these clearly aren't ordinary people we are talking about.
30. Waking Up From A Coma And Being Able To Fully Function
Whenever someone has been in a coma, no matter how long they have been there, they can wake up and walk. Miraculously, after not using any of their muscles for years, they can get up and move as nothing happened to them. The best is when the character yanks out all the wires and leaves the hospital.
Even if you have only been in a coma for two weeks, your muscles will atrophy, and it will take time for them to rebuild strength. Also, usually, these people are put into comas because of head injuries, yet their speech is unchanged. That doesn't seem scientifically possible.
31. Detectives Can Look Through A 30-Page File In One Second And Know All The Information
In movies involving detectives, the person will get a file with over 30 pages, glance at it for a second, and miraculously know all the information inside. While no one wants to watch a character read for thirty minutes, they could at least make it seem like the detective took the time to look through the file.
We aren't sure how fast you read, but we certainly can't skim information and remember it that quickly. Most people do not have photographic memories, but these detectives do. They read a page once and can remember where the person's mole is three days later.
32. Cars Explode On Impact
If you have ever seen a car crash before, you know that the car doesn't automatically explode on impact, unless you are on the set of a movie. As a child, we used to think our car would explode if it hit something because that is what Hollywood has taught us to believe.
This idea of exploding cars dates back to the early models of automobiles because fuel tanks were flimsy, and they were in impact zones. Today, cars are well made and much safer. Therefore, a vehicle is not going to explode if it hits a pole or a wall.
33. People Don't Scream In Agony When They Get Shot
When someone gets shot, it is agonizingly painful, yet people in movies never scream. Even when a person is stabbed, they seem to continue fighting or act like there is nothing wrong with the blood pouring out of their body.
Maybe the actors are acting shocked, so they don't feel pain. Although, it seems unlikely that you wouldn't be scared that you are injured and need immediate medical attention.
34. Women In Disaster Situations Seem To Always Have Perfectly Groomed Eyebrows And Makeup
Whenever there is a situation in a movie where a woman is in a disaster situation or war zone, her hair may be matted, and clothes are torn, but she has perfectly groomed eyebrows and makeup. It is odd because you never know where she got access to a tweezer, but not a hairbrush.
If it were a real disaster situation, the woman wouldn't be able to keep her appearance neat and tidy; she would have excessive facial hair, dirty skin, and unkempt hair because beauty isn't the first thing people think about when they live in a war zone.
35. There Is A Yellow Tint When The Movie Is Set In Mexico
Many people have noticed recently, that American-made movies set in different countries like Mexico or South America have a yellow tint to them. The movie could be filmed on the streets of LA, but if it is supposed to be set in Mexico, the color will be yellowed for some unknown reason.
It is as if they said, "screw seeing things through rose-colored glasses; let's change everything to yellow-tinted lenses." It makes no sense, and people have begun to question why editors change the color so much.
36. People Recover From Serious Injuries Quickly
No matter how serious an injury is, the characters in a movie can recover within a few days. If they have a head injury, it might take a week to recover, but that is pushing it in terms of film. If they have a broken arm, their cast is gone in the next scene because no one needs their bones to heal correctly.
Unless we are not understanding the timelines of these films, then these characters have something special that allows them to heal overnight. Maybe all the characters in movies have the same healing powers as Wolverine so that they can recover quickly.
37. Background Music Makes Life So Much Better
Can you imagine if your life was set to background music? That would make each day so much more exciting. You could tell when things are going well because the music is light and upbeat, and then when the music changes, you will know something terrible is about to happen.
Whenever a character is having a good day, the songs are joyous, and they make you want to skip around. However, when the songs change to dark and mysterious tunes, you know danger is lurking around the corner, and the music is a warning sign.
38. Serial Killers Give You Time To Get Away
In any horror movie where someone is being chased, you always want to yell through the screen because they had time to get away, but chose not to try. The killer will stand and stare at them, clearly giving them a chance to escape, but the person is too frightened to move.
If the victim does decide to run, they usually get themselves into a situation where they can no longer escape. The person will run into a room without a window or into an attic where there is no way out. These situations make you want to pull your hair out because no one would ever do that in real life.
39. Scientists Conclude Information Within Minutes
Not only do movie scientists conclude accurate information within seconds of looking at something, but they are also experts in every field of science. For example, the physicist in Annihilation finds that the tree formations are because of a mutation even though that is not her area of expertise.
In real life, many scientists would avoid commenting on things that are not in their field of study. While there can be many areas of science that cross over, we are going to say that sometimes Hollywood is grasping at straws.
40. Horror Movie Graves Are Dug Quickly And Uniformly
In horror movies such as It, the villain can uniformly dig graves within minutes. The graves are always symmetrical, and they take no time to dig and shape. It is an odd phenomenon that we may never understand.
Also, these evil characters never break a sweat while they are digging upwards of four or five graves. Do evil people not perspire while doing manual labor? We are sure gravediggers would confirm that it takes more than a few minutes to dig a deep grave.