A Cliche By Any Other Name

I love the movies. I have grown up watching movies to the point that there are some that I have memorized to the point that just by hearing a snippet of even the musical score I can tell you what movie it is, what scene and what's happening. You can argue that that level of knowledge is a bit... unhealthy, but still, I think it's probably healthier than any of the other obsessions that people can develop over time. Still, despite my love of movies, there are times when I feel that screenwriters these days are simply rehashing old films with 're-imaginations' or 'updates' simply because they are running out of ideas. There are the occasional remakes that are better than the originals or that take the concepts of the originals and expand upon them to make them seem new once again. But one thing they still can't seem to get away from are the cliches. Most every movie out there these days is full of cliches and you can never seem to be rid of them. Here are some of them that are quite common:

Buddy Films: These are the movies where two people are partnered together. They are initially reluctant to team up and are always at each others throats but then they end up some place (usually a bar or other seedy place) where a fight ensues and they end up saving one another. Friendship ensues and then it's off to tackle the real issue of the movie. Whether it is international eco-terrorists or the local grocer, no villain is any match for a pair of buddies.

Laptops: My mom, who did IT purchasing for a number of years, finds this cliche to be one of the most outrageous. Apparently there is nothing laptops can't do. Just when you think you can't hack into a secure government system or override the latest and greatest bomb's timer, just boot up your laptop and you can save the day. I mean is there anything laptops can't do? There have been films whereby laptops have been used to hack into alien technology. And I'm not talking about illegal aliens, I'm talking about aliens from space. I guess Microsoft has Windows running everywhere.

High Speed Chases: High speed chases are a must and in these cases, the villains will likely be given such high end vehicles as BMWs or Mercedes Benz's. They will have at least one passenger with more ammunition for his machine gun than most Army units are supplied for a month. During chase scenes police cars will not show up unless something needs to be smashed or crashed. If the hero is being chased, he will be in the most decrepit car known to man. If he is doing the chasing he will be in a taxi cab.

Gun Play: When it comes to shootouts, no one will be a better shot than the hero and no one will be a worst shot than the villain. Now one can argue that the hero is more focused but when you've got villains firing endless clips of bullets at the hero at a fairly short distance, something somewhere has to hit doesn't it? Apparently not. Plus, just when you think your hero has had it and is cornered, the one buddy who has been missing from the scene will suddenly show up and fire a shot that would put most snipers to shame.

Kids: Kids are a strange occurance in a lot of movies. Unless it is a family drama or the "Spy Kids" movies, they are rarely the protagonists. They will have some small bit to play. If it is an action movie they will be hostages or the person to be saved at all times. If it's a comedy, they will be the source of all smart ass comments and observations on life. Whatever the case, in most films, kids are shown to be much more intelligent than their older counterparts. Regardless of the situation, they will generally be cool as cucumbers and will never break a sweat. And if the kid is particularly whiney or a cry baby, you know that they will survive to the end.

Dogs: Dogs are generally used in the same manner as kids except that they don't really speak. They are the ones who hear the enemy approach, who know when something's the matter and can generally solve any mystery long before their human friends are even aware that something is amiss. They are faithful companions and rarely die but are often left behind only to have to run to catch up creating tension as to whether or not the dog will actually survive the ordeal or not. I guess no one wants to deal with the ASPCA even fictionally.

There are many many more that I could list but time draws short but I'm sure you can think of many others. But whatever the cliche, I will still enjoy the movies as much as I ever have, even if I remember seeing the original of the movie they are attempting to remake next. Whatever the case, I will keep going to the movies and I'm sure the rest of you will too! So before the summer movie season slows down, go on and spend a hard earned $20 bucks on a movie ticket and another $40 on soda and popcorn and enjoy the magic of the movies!