12 Things That Are Normal in Movies but Would Never Happen in Real Life

There's a movie language that we've all come to accept. These tropes and things that happen all the time on screen have become accepted as normal in movies and TV shows. But if we really think about it, some things that happen in movies all the time would actually never happen in real life. One Reddit user asked people to compile the things that are viewed as "normal" in movies and on TV that are actually totally unrealistic, and they came up with some good ones.

Bombs in movies always have a very visible countdown clock, but that's mostly for suspense-building purposes. As VoiceOfRealson points out, real bombs do not usually have a very large, outward-facing countdown clock. When you think about it, that would be absurd.

It's so annoying when people in movies are sleeping in gorgeous, full faces of makeup and styled hair. Zackaryharribo23 pointed out how unrealistic this is. If your characters don't look like sweaty sleep gremlins when they first wake up, maybe reconsider hair and makeup for that scene.

Jennysau writes that "cars exploding on impact" is not a thing that happens in real life. If they did, there would be lots of explosions every single day. Sure, the explosions add dramatic effect, but they're not very realistic.

According to inkseep1, hacking is not just typing really fast nonstop and then saying, "I'm in." Who knew?

It also bothers inkseep1 when police take DNA samples from a crime scene and then have the results in like, an hour. That just doesn't happen. There's a whole lot of process and paperwork we don't see in movies and TV shows that depict crime scenes and investigations.

I never really thought about this one before, but unless a special point is being made, the characters' houses in movies and TV shows are usually very neat and tidy. Rebekahanncurtis points out that this is very unrealistic. Even the most put-together person will have a glass out or mail on the table. 

Unlike the last one, I notice this one every single time it happens, and I'm not alone. Goggleboxdogooder writes that it's extremely unrealistic when someone goes up to a bar and asks the bartender for "a beer" or "a whiskey" and the bartender gives it to them without asking the brand. It just doesn't happen in real life. I know they probably have to stray away from saying brands on screen, but there has to be another solution!

SirFrogger writes that most "knockout drugs" we see used in movies and TV shows don't work very fast. Chloroform is always used to instantly knock someone out when in reality, it can take up to 10 minutes for chloroform to knock someone unconscious. 

Why do people in movies hang up the phone without ever saying goodbye?! Faerieunderfoot doesn't understand it, and neither do I. Sure, it's probably a bit of a timesaver, but to me, it's so distracting!

I love this one. Mishajones points out that unless someone is supposed to be sick, no one in movies ever sneezes or coughs or clears their throat during conversation. These things totally happen in real life, but they're practically non-existent in movies.

Huazzy brings up a great point: No one in their right might would meet a friend at a predetermined time and place with no explanation as to why, but this happens all the time in movies. "I have a hard time getting friends to meet up for legitimate reasons with advanced notice," they write. "Meanwhile, movie characters come together in an abandoned warehouse in Brazil like... 'Why'd you call?'" 

IWillCube points out a very frustrating thing in a lot of romcoms. Often in movies, persistence and pushiness from men are portrayed as romantic traits when, in real life, if dudes behaved that way, they'd be seen as extremely creepy and weird. I don't know about you, but if I made it clear I wasn't interested in a guy and he showed up at my house with a boombox, I would probably lock all my doors and windows.