11 Movie Cliches You Couldn't Live Without

6. Unrealistic Depictions Of Going To A Bar

X Men Origins Wolverine Explosion
Warner Bros.

The Cliche: Here's a cliche so widespread there's not much point even calling out individual films: a character will head to a bar with a few buddies, they'll order some drinks but always just say "a beer" or "some beers" rather than an actual brand, and then never actually seem to pay for said beers.. Bars don't work like that in real life, obviously.

Why It's Awesome: This really just comes down to screenwriting economy: as distracting as it can be to the sticklers among us, having characters actually pay for their drinks is the last thing on a screenwriter's mind and takes up precious seconds of screen time that really aren't worth it.

Does anyone really want to sit through Vince Vaughn actually paying for the beers he consumes in his movies? It would serve no narrative purpose, so why bother?

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.