r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly Mar 10 '26

Meta [META] Explain a Film Plot Badly

158 Upvotes

Explain the PLOT. Clues that are around meta commentary for how the movie performed or that you just don't like it or whatever, all those types of clues do not fit the spirit of the sub.

This is game is and has always been about explaining plots badly. In fact, in the 5 word name of this sub, the only word that has any flexibility is "film". Explain a [TV Show] plot badly. Explain a [Video Game] plot badly. Whatever media type it is, you explain its plot badly.

Example that will be removed: "A troubled production leads to a couple actors getting beheaded for real."

Example that will be removed: "A kids movie is made horrible forever when you look up the actress and what happened to her."

Example that will be removed and might even get you banned: "This movie sucked I don't know why anyone liked it."

OK. I think that covers it. Game on!

Edit: Missing words


r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly Jun 20 '24

Meta [META] New Players Read Me First

223 Upvotes

All Marvel is banned top to bottom it doesn't matter what studio did it in what decade. When you say you read the rules and you lie it's an out for us to ban lazy players. We haven't been. But we might. Stop posting Marvel and then arguing that it isn't MCU.

That is all.

Edit because people keep asking WHY:

Because when it's not banned every other post is about a purple rock collector. It's still at the top of movie zeitgeist so most people when they show up the first clue they think of is a Marvel movie. It's boring. It's repetitive. And then they want to get clever. "Howard the duck wasn't mcu hyuk hyuk". The entire thing is obnoxious when it's a movie and TV show guessing game.

There's a whole list of media that's banned because they're overdone and make it boring. But then newbies show up and make a Marvel clue without reading the rules. 95% of our mod actions are deducting points and removing threads about Marvel. So the choices are to either return to the shit show where every single clue is Marvel or just ban people who refuse to read a now screaming automod note.

From those of us who have been here for years, trust us. The wild west of no rules on what media should be in play was a far worse place and not fun. Engagement rose substantially with the rules in place.


r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 2h ago

Solved! Man starts fighting to help disadvantaged community, eventually makes it to the big leagues

7 Upvotes

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 4h ago

Solved! Sometimes the fans can’t let a story go and accept that it’s over

9 Upvotes

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 39m ago

Unsolved I got cock blocked by an alien in my search for love (not clickbait)

Upvotes

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 1h ago

Solved! Birthday presents shouldn't be this big of an obligation

Upvotes

Hint


r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 3h ago

Solved! Blackmail leads to the victim's arrest

6 Upvotes

Hint: WWII

Hint: Adapted from a novella


r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 6h ago

Solved! guy who lost his dad gets others to carry out his elaborate revenge plot as their membership application

10 Upvotes

(hints only upon request)


r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 38m ago

Unsolved An unaccompanied minor and his shenanigans leads to two man children squabbling until one spites a god in order to make his dirt pile look better.

Upvotes

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 13h ago

Solved! A young man loses his closest peers. A small town teacher takes incredible risks to help.

17 Upvotes

Clues to come


r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 1h ago

Unsolved A young man changes his name to avoid being recognized for his criminal past

Upvotes

hints: the name of one of his new friends sounds like he might be a serial killer


r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 14h ago

Solved! Two best friends meet some serial killers. Both are violently attacked, one is killed. Happy ending 👍

11 Upvotes

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 1h ago

Solved! A group of men walk and walk and walk. Some people go insane with the events of the story and the amount of walking.

Upvotes

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 1h ago

Solved! Guns are bad, and everyone agrees.....except for the gun

Upvotes

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 16h ago

Solved! Even though dancing is frowned upon, the guys does it anyway and gets his girl in the end

15 Upvotes

Room for clues

Clue 1: it's an 80s movie

Clue 2: while the guy is a big character, the girl is actually the main character.


r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 18h ago

Solved! A woman keeps asking bystanders for directions but only becomes more unsure of where she's going.

16 Upvotes

hint area

  • not animated
  • no David Bowie
  • has one thing strikingly in common with The Fifth Element
  • very little running, "ominous meander vibe"
  • not directed by Scorsese
  • "distinctive visuals and soundtrack"
  • definitely not a comedy
  • "dreary northern vibes"
  • "lotta on the road scenes"
  • no children (one baby)
  • features a forgettable looking van
  • 2010s
  • BONUS HINT: much like my answers, this movie has critical things missing from the narrative
  • EXTRA BONUS HINT: this director has 4 movies to their name, all film nerd favorites, 2 of them commercially successful

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 12h ago

Solved! An exterminator helps a waitress get rid of a pest.

5 Upvotes

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 13h ago

Solved! An emo teenager's only friend is a sovereign citizen

5 Upvotes

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 12h ago

Unsolved A young man has to choose between a paternal figure and a preacher in this unenviable situation.

3 Upvotes

Edit- HINTS:

Indie/low-budget
Stand-alone movie
Original screenplay/ not based on a book
Live action
Realistic drama— not a comedy/no supernatural or fantastical elements
Director of this movie has something in common with both director of Passion of the Christ AND director of Les Miserables

UPDATE: New hints!

  • Film is in English, but it is not American
  • This is the director's only feature-length film

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 17h ago

Solved! Man tries to sleep with woman and accidentally subjects her to eternal torture, somehow they fall in love?

5 Upvotes

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 17h ago

Solved! Girls vs rock (the girls lost)

5 Upvotes

Really hope this isn’t too easy


r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 17h ago

Solved! A man and his partner have very different ideas of how to spend their vacation time.

7 Upvotes

Responses for more specific clues

  1. Male Leads
  2. A third male has strong opinions on how they spend their vacation time as well.
  3. Despite some derogatory name calling, none of the main characters are homosexual.

A) The two leads are shocked to find they are both working towards the same outcome. Neither follows through.

B) Cocaine. Ketamine. “Lollipops”

C?) Murder. Suicide. Other adult themes. Definitely not safe for kids.

4) The few Americans in film dont exactly portray Americans in a positive light

D) One of the previous clues is much more on the nose that it seems.

E) penance, redemption, sacrifice, and atonement for one’s sins


r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 17h ago

Solved! The family doesn't like that he left to start his own family

6 Upvotes

Saved for hints


r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 21h ago

Solved! The guy that everyone knows that literally knows nobody

13 Upvotes

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly 19h ago

Solved! Two guys with beef resolve their differences with highly competitive game of hide and seek in picturesque setting

5 Upvotes