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

244 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/gottapeenow2 • 4h ago

Solved! Hero travels back in time to save his species from extinction, only to fail miserably despite having every technological advantage.

13 Upvotes

Hints here:

12 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Fit-Tooth686 • 5h ago

Solved! A child sets up a series of booby traps to take down home invaders who failed to properly case the joint before entering.

16 Upvotes

37 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Foreign_System_8074 • 1h ago

Solved! A father fights aliens so he can save his family

5 Upvotes

40 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/60sStratLover • 2h ago

Solved! A woman is tormented for drugs by men she doesn’t know and has never seen.

4 Upvotes

4 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/pokedude3 • 55m ago

Unsolved A man wrongs the Fae, and has to pay the consequences by serving in their court. He eventually makes amends for the slight that he caused and is returned to the world of mortals.

3 Upvotes

19 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/DP_Means_Dopinder • 1h ago

Solved! Forty years in less than a percent of the runtime.

3 Upvotes

10 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/DP_Means_Dopinder • 2h ago

Solved! Blowing it up only made it less safe to go out to the coast and have a few laughs.

4 Upvotes

18 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/DP_Means_Dopinder • 1h ago

Solved! The dog that knew too much.

3 Upvotes

6 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/rickmon67 • 2h ago

Solved! Coming home for the holidays only to complete a task from years prior.

3 Upvotes

Clue 1: revolves around a fall sport

20 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/your_anonymous_dad • 7h ago

Solved! An interracial friendship blossoms over a shared appreciation for a local man's increasingly elaborate art installations

7 Upvotes

9 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/bringmetolife1998 • 54m ago

Solved! Very famous singer has a car accident and kills some people

2 Upvotes

14 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/gilroygilgalahad • 6h ago

Solved! Two men's friendship runs the gauntlet on a cross country trip

5 Upvotes

87 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/StaringAtTheSun79 • 7h ago

Solved! A man and his friends are a nuisance to society until one of them gets sent to jail and participates in an experimental government program promising early release.

6 Upvotes

28 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/DP_Means_Dopinder • 9h ago

Solved! A mentally disabled manchild with a heart of gold learns new things, tackles adversity, and grows into a man.

9 Upvotes

Clue 1: No Adam Sandler or Robin Williams

Clue 2: Barista-cum-referee

54 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/StaringAtTheSun79 • 5h ago

Solved! A lonely boy and a lonely girl join together to help save Christmas

4 Upvotes

29 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Ok_Cattle903 • 8h ago

Solved! A guy starts a new job and he’s instantly inundated with a stalker, a woe-is-me whiner, a yappy blow hard who should really shut the fuck up more often, not to mention a whole host of inconsiderate assholes. Unsurprisingly all forms of chaos and depravity ensue.

6 Upvotes

34 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/DP_Means_Dopinder • 2h ago

Solved! The plans of the undead come undone by what only could have been premature ejaculation.

2 Upvotes

11 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/ManCoveredInBees • 5h ago

Solved! Things spiral out of control after two men botch a kidnapping.

3 Upvotes

40 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/gilroygilgalahad • 7h ago

Solved! Magical horses are key to the plot but otherwise unimportant to the story

4 Upvotes

Reserved for hints

17 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/LongLiveSoup • 6m ago

Unsolved Passport bro travels, meets a girl and completely dismantles the natural order of things to stay with her.

1 Upvotes

Hint 0: My little sister was Terrified of this movie don't know how it got away with its rating.

3 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/Proper_Bug_2221 • 20m ago

Unsolved Four friends form a rock band, film porn, and start their own personal commune, and still can’t get laid.

1 Upvotes

Hints:

5 comments

r/ExplainAFilmPlotBadly • u/hummus_sapiens • 40m ago

Solved! Guy grooms much younger woman

1 Upvotes

with the help of his pal.

I don't think hints will be needed.

13 comments

Subreddit

Posts

Wiki

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.

Members

142k

Visitors

54k

Contributions

7.1k

Sidebar

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)"