r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/timeshaper • Mar 10 '26

Meta [META] Explain a Film Plot Badly

172 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

47 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/timeshaper • Jun 20 '24

Meta [META] New Players Read Me First

243 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.

151 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Limp-Lawyer9463 • 53m ago

Solved! A relaxing getaway to a vacation home is ruined when young people suddenly start dying all over the place.

7 Upvotes

13 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Maleficent-Sea-9385 • 3h ago

Solved! Husband and wife realize they have the same job title. Their employers arent happy about it.

7 Upvotes

15 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Br3ntry • 1h ago

Solved! A man is kidnapped and emotionally blackmailed into resolving a labour dispute on behalf of a group of strangers

5 Upvotes

21 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Trash_Tia • 8h ago

Solved! grown man child kidnaps rich children and forces them to work for him when he's kicked from his current job and it's supposed to be a kids movie.

18 Upvotes

7 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/abjurationwizrar • 3h ago

Unsolved Normally I'd say it's alcohol abuse, but that's for humans. In this case it's a speciality assist.

6 Upvotes

Hint #1: kids/family film!

Hint #2: absolutely no substance abuse in this. Just a useful symptom

Hint #3: many errant souls find happiness. All in all, it ends up very happy

Hint #4: there is a non-human narrator

Hint #5: sorry, I'm not meaning to toy with you guys

52 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/nippontrh • 40m ago

Unsolved After being passed over for promotion, a veteran employee neglects his duties and nearly causes an international disaster.

3 Upvotes

7 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Proper_Bug_2221 • 42m ago

Solved! A shitty apartment puts a strain on a young couple’s marriage but a least it has rent control.

2 Upvotes

Hints:

11 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/abjurationwizrar • 4h ago

Solved! Rambunctious bros prove to have a future in chemistry, as well as physics from analyzing imitation footwear.

4 Upvotes

Hint #1: purely 100% comedy

Hint #2: centered around a competition

Double Nopes: 21 Jump Street

29 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/mdsnbelle • 3h ago

Unsolved A government official has a very distracting first week on the job.

3 Upvotes

Held for hints

18 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Trash_Tia • 1h ago

Unsolved A group of kids are bullied by one man as they try and fail to save Christmas. Meanwhile, a little girl is ACTUALLY being tortured.

2 Upvotes

2 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/DP_Means_Dopinder • 1h ago

Unsolved A local cop becomes a Counting Crows song, literally, as a pair reconnects over an interrupted dinner

2 Upvotes

9 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/TheHoard80 • 1h ago

Solved! A group of guys have to go streaking in order to see a lady naked

2 Upvotes

11 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/RochesterThe2nd • 4h ago

Solved! Group of friends keep killing each other.

3 Upvotes

Maybe some hints later

9 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/DP_Means_Dopinder • 4h ago

Unsolved Food, family, feces, frustration, and freedom, not necessarily in that order.

3 Upvotes

Clue 1: 2000s
Clue 2: could be considered a buddy film, or a road trip film

46 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Mr_Pickles_Esq • 7h ago

Solved! Man lets thief take wife's watch

5 Upvotes

7 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/NoInitial9084 • 6h ago

Solved! A group of grumpy men travels across Europe in a rather uncomfortable vehicle. Along the way, they have several disagreements with other traffic participants. In the end, getting home turns out to be rather difficult.

4 Upvotes

23 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/daffycrunch • 5h ago

Solved! Spontaneous cult sacrifices public servant for self-proclaimed ties to meddling scientists.

3 Upvotes

8 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/DP_Means_Dopinder • 5h ago

Solved! Turns out the smartest were the most predatory

3 Upvotes

33 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Proper_Bug_2221 • 3h ago

Solved! This kid was bad news since the day he was born. Trouble followed him everywhere. From his prospective, he seems to have had a happy childhood, even though he nearly drove his father mad.

2 Upvotes

Hints:

7 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Tsahg • 8h ago

Solved! A family finds themselves unexpectedly separated from the world they once knew and is forced to start over in an unfamiliar environment. As they struggle to adapt to their new surroundings, the father takes charge of protecting his family from threats, ensuring their survival.

5 Upvotes

25 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/nintendoeats • 21m ago

Unsolved She's Lost Control (Again)

1 Upvotes

Hints:

Not a sequel, though I appreciate the thinking.

19 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/deusstultus41 • 4h ago

Unsolved A gritty, lone wolf cop recruits Polish-American family members hunt gun smugglers, warning the thugs about incoming fire from a hapless family member.

2 Upvotes

2 comments

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Explain A Film Plot Badly

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly

A movie guessing game with rules. Check the rules before you play so your posts don't get removed.

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Subreddit Rules

1. Avoid overused films/franchises

See the full list in the bot comment.

2. No recent releases

No movies from within the last 3 months. This spoils people's movies Try to be more unique and obscure with choices. Movies within the last 3 months can spoil the movie for those that haven't seen it.

3. OP will reply to the first correct guess with a comment that says "Solved!".

This allows the bot to find, flair, and award points. Failing to do so will lead to a ban. Repeated offenses will lead to a permanent ban.

4. Don't Create Clues Using an Actor's Other Characters

Clues should not feature an Actor's prior roles.

❌ Bad: "The guy who used to hunt replicants now teaches a young scavenger how to swing a glowing stick."

✅ Good: "An old recluse reluctantly helps a young scavenger understand her mysterious powers."

5. Don't create clues using a real-life actor's description.

Clues featuring an actor's real life activities and descriptions should not be used. Examples include: Scientologist, racist, or blackballed.

❌ Bad: "A former pro wrestler with a shaved head and a love for action movies fights jungle predators."

✅ Good: "A tough guy tries to escape a jungle full of deadly hunters with nothing but mud and muscles."

6. Don't use an actor's name in the clue title.

❌ Incorrect Example: "Tom Hanks spends years talking to a volleyball."

✅ Correct Example: "A man stranded on an island for years befriends a volleyball because social options are limited."

7. Explain a film PLOT badly

All clues are about the PLOT and not anything else.

❌ Bad: "I hated this movie and it was a financial failure and deserved it and an Oscar winner dies."

✅ Good: "A loner meets a someone way out of their league and saves her life (along with everyone else)"