Movies and television shows are supposed to be forms of entertainment that work by suspending us in a different world for a while. We, as the audience, are just supposed to kick back and enjoy.
But admit it, we've all been watching something and just decided "NOPE!"
One Reddit user asked:
What instantly ruins a movie/series for you?
Look, we're not saying Reddit is full of deliciously petty Betties, but some of the reasons people stop watching things have us legitimately cracking up over here.
Look at these responses
If you've spent any length of time in theater or production, you know it basically breaks down into 2 camps - talent and tech.
The comments section did pretty much the same thing.
The "talent" crowd had major complaints about acting, writing, plot, etc.
High Achieving High Schoolers
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30 something high school students.
To hitch onto this, I'm not a fan of the constant hyper-sexualization of teenagers.
99% of teen dramas could be set in a university. But for some reason Hollywood (or whoever) insists that we watch 25 - 30 year olds pretend to be 16.
Yeah Riverdale is a good example. Literally every "teen" on that show is constantly casually drinking and constantly having sex.
And most of the characters run some sort of actual business or organization.
Ahh yes because I too own a bar or run a Biker Club in my teen years.
Oh of course, I myself am currently the manager of a speakeasy and also a whole ass YMCA. I also intern with the FBI in my somehow existing free time.
Very relatable. It reminds me of my teen years when I ran a rival criminal enterprise and rum company against my father.
Joey
When characters become caricatures of what made them great in the beginning. Prime example is Joey on Friends. Started out as goofy and slightly dumb, ended up functionally brain dead.
One example that really bugs me is how in an early season he explains to Ross what pets going "to the farm" means, but in a later season he believes Chandler when the duck and chicken went "to the farm."
Forcing The Fireworks
Forced romance.
Especially in western action movies, where there is a male lead, and a hot female side character, who shows no signs of being in to each other, but will always end up kissing in the end.
- ogger15
Any TV show that forces romance on the main characters.
You guys have been cool for a few years now all of a sudden you love each other? And you're cops, doctors, firemen, etc? That sh*t don't fly in the real world.
Just stick to shooting bad guys and killing about 30 without any police inquiry or administrative leave. Oh wait. That really does happen.
That Riddick movie where Vin Diesel is just sooooo sexy that even the lesbian goes straight for him, lmao.
Accentuate The Positive?
When the actors can't do the accent of the place they're supposed to be from accurately. Just hire a person from the area. It's so stupid, but once I pick up on it I can't stop focusing on it. It's so distracting.
Even worse is when actors/actresses start of a show/movie with one accent but slowly over the duration of the show revert to their native accents. And then never use the proper accent again.
Also! When there are families where every member grew up together (within the context of the show) but everyone has a different regional accent.
Bogus.
Petyr Baelish changing his accent every single season of Game of Thrones!
Just Kill Them Already!
"If you kill him, you'll become just like him!"
So all those countless goons that were slaughtered don't count, huh?
- Evus1999
What bugs me about this trope is that it ignores the innocent people who are almost definitely going to die if you don't kill the big baddie.
Killing for vengeance or justice might be subject to debate, but killing a certifiably-bad person to stop innocent people from getting killed is not.
- Forq2
My favorite episode of the Mighty Max cartoon was the one where Norman was fighting the guy that killed Norman's father. He has the bad guy backed up to the edge of a cliff and the bad guy says "if you kill me, you'll be just like me"
Norman says "I can live with that" and shoves him over the edge
The "tech" crowd had an awful lot to say, too.
Sound Shenanigans
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When there's too much audio fluctuation. Like you can't hear a word they're saying in a dialogue, then cut to an action scene and volume is so high the neighbors think there's a shootout at your house.
Ugh! This!
Nothing yanks me out of a film more than having to play DJ.
This, definitely. Or when the score is too loud compared to the dialogue.
I wind up having to really concentrate to pick out the words while some bullshit string section saws away mindlessly, ugh. When I watch at home I turn the volume down to virtually nothing and watch with closed captioning on to avoid the auditory overload.
Product Placement
Blatant product placement. It works in certain situations, but when it's "in your face" or overdone, it's distracting. Count the logos in Man of Steel or that shiny new Hyundai Tucson in the Walking Dead that never gets guts on it or dust on it for a couple of seasons.
Michael Bay pretty does this a lot and is pretty unapologetic about it in the Armageddon commentary.
"Yeah it doesn't even fit Liv Tyler's character that she would have that car, but they gave me a lot of money, and that's money I can use for more special effects.."
- 3-Dman
The worst I ever saw was in Bones
"Wow Angela, a Prius? I didn't take you for the type".
"As an artist, I love the spacious cargo area and fold-down seating, perfect for bringing my next piece to the gallery. And the back up camera makes pulling into the loading dock a snap!"
Then she shows off the lane assist and they get arrested for drunk driving.
- akefay
One of the Paranormal Activity movies was awful with it.
"Guys, I heard something. Let's turn on the XBOX KINECT and see what it shows us."
What's going on guys? -- "We just found a ghost using our XBOX KINECT!"
"I'm so startled! Let's turn on the XBOX KINECT to lessen our startledness."
It's been awhile since I've seen it, but those might be direct quotes.
Shakycam
Action sequences filmed in Shakycam.
I'm looking at you, Paul Greengrass, or at least I would be if the picture would stabilize for just a second.
When I went to see the hunger games and they already had shaky cam for when Katniss was just jogging I went, "Oh no...."
That's why I just can't stand the "found footage" style of movie.
Like so many rave over the first Blair Witch and scorn the second but to be honest I prefer the second simply because it doesn't give me a headache from the bouncing around of the camera.
Justin
When it has been adapted from a book and they change things. When doing what was in the book did would have been just as easy or easier to replicate on screen. I will still give all adaptations a chance before dismissing them. E.g. The Passage series by Justin Cronin. Loved the books, but the Fox series changed people's race, gender, and literal storylines. Why?
Boring
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When fun characters have kids and their whole role gets reduced to being parents.
Titans
I know I shouldn't be bothered by this, but the fans usually ruin the show for me.
I'm watching Attack on Titan Season 4 right now, and the fans are berating the animators for using CGI when they only had like 10 months to make the season while other seasons had much longer, and they're sending death threats to the creator for - I kid you not - the MUSIC choice in one of the episodes.
I love the show but boy do the fans make me feel like I'm supporting something that's not worth supporting, which I know is incorrect, but it just bugs me.
Kill the Killer
Not killing the serial killer.
You know, that scene where the serial killer is knocked out and the main characters start running instead of hitting his head with a f*cking hammer.
Edit: Or shooting him right in the head.
babies...
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When the childfree character, suddenly decides to have kids. Like wtf this happens in every show. Big Bang Theory with Penny. Even a progressive show like Brooklyn Nine-Nine with Jake and Gina not wanting kids at first then having them.
Just Go
Series mainly for me. Shows that have longer episodes but when the episode is just talking about stuff that is irrelevant, something we already know, or dragging conversations out when they could of ended a while ago.
- Oscer560
I feel this with the border patrol series. If they covered each case beginning to end it would only be a quarter as long. Instead they have 3 stories in parallel, but when changing between each one they throw in a recap, for every scene.
The Good, the Bad
In films: Convoluted circumstances of getting together.
In series: Characters making the same mistakes and never learning from them - Nurse Jackie going back on drugs, The Flash where Barry goes back in time to mess with the time line Again.
Poor Writing: Sorry, how many times did the H50 writers crap all over Danny William's character to make Steve look good?
Brain Games
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Episodes where some or all characters forget all their memories and lives and are put into a new alternate reality and slowly figure it out to escape back to their original lives.
Those sort of episodes are the kind I never get through.
Screenshots
Trailers.
No seriously, stop showing us three seconds of every scene in the film. Now I know what to expect as soon as we enter a location because I recognize it as "the cave with that fight scene" or "the office where they were making out" or "that cliff that she almost falls off". The second the scene opens I know where it's headed now if I watched the trailer. and that SUCKS!
Do it Right
'Representation'
When movies shoehorn in representation for no valid reason. "This character is gay" The character will never act on it, and it adds nothing to the conflict. "This character is gay" can do good things for a plot. For something like a murder mystery, it could change everything about the case.
But more often than not, it gets shoved in so they can tout it about on twitter and show off how 'progressive' and 'inclusive' their media is. It's so incredibly frustrating. I just want to see good tv, I want an interesting story. Instead, I've burned half an hour on virtue signaling television that has added nothing to the story, which is kind of the only thing I am there for.
I hate poor representation of characters in media, especially when it is done solely to draw in an audience, rather than tell a story. Just represent characters as is appropriate to the character, not the audience. Look at Critical Role, a wonderful web series. The characters portrayed feel alive, and at least one off the top of my head is blatantly gay, but it is in character for her. It works. This kind of thing can be done, but the media repeatedly does it incorrectly, all to pander to a group they don't understand.
So now that you've read what everyone else has to say, I'm going to confess that I'm a big "tech" person when it comes to this. I can forgive ridiculous plot points, insufferable Mary Sue characters, and loose ends like WHOA.
But let one boom mic drop into the shot or have something on set be out of place and I pick up on it right away. There is an episode of the original American Gladiators that I distinctly remember from childhood because one of the obstacles was starting to come apart and I was upset that I couldn't put my hand through the TV and fix it.
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When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.