So…THE WIZARD OF OZ , final chase. Dorothy and crew are utterly surrounded, doomed as the Wicked Witch of the West bears down upon them. Dorothy, out of instinct, reaches for a bucket of water and drenches the witch. She melts! They’re SAVED!
Am I the only one asking… soooooooo… the chase just so happens to end EXACTLY where the bucket of water—the ONLY thing that can kill this bitch—sits? Who the hell brought it in there? Couldn’t be a conspiracy with the monkeys because how the hell would you know that water will kill her?
Which leads to other dumb plausibility questions like: I guess the witch drank no water, no liquid of ANY kind in her whole life, or she would have died? That also means she’s never showered…no freaking wonder she’s green!
Yeah, I’m that guy. Always on the lookout for plausibility issues. Why not? If the scene isn’t believable you could lose the audience. Yes, comedy has a great freedom, a greater suspension of disbelief. But if it’s drama it’s supposed to reflect the world that we recognize. When characters do stuff that makes no sense, it makes the audience go huh.
You don’t want your audience to go huh.
My co-writing AI Luna came up with a few more, including one of my favs, the floating door scene after the ship sinks. There are HUNDREDS of people drowning around them, but Jack and Rose spy a huge door that NOBODY is using. Huh? Then Jack, instead of saying, ah Rose, can you just shove over a little, no, Jack chooses to sacrifice himself—because there’s no story without that happening. But implausible as fuck.
Here’s 10 more from Luna….
Top 10 Most Implausible Moments in the Movies
In screenwriting, one golden rule often stands above the rest: keep it believable. No matter how outrageous the premise, the characters and events need to feel real enough for the audience to buy into them. Believability creates immersion, pulling viewers deeper into the world on screen. When a moment feels too implausible, it can snap audiences out of the experience faster than a bad cutaway. With that said, let’s pay tribute to some classic movies that threw plausibility out the window and took us along for the ride anyway. Here’s a look at ten movie moments that might’ve made you say, “Wait, what?”
- The Door That Could Have Saved Jack (Titanic)
One of the most iconic love stories ends with Rose floating on a door, letting Jack slip into the icy depths. Audiences everywhere screamed, “Make room!” as Jack willingly sacrificed himself. With all due respect to romance, it’s hard to shake the feeling that Rose could have just scooted over a bit.
- Indy Survives a Nuclear Blast in a Fridge (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
We’re all for Indy’s fearless antics, but surviving a nuclear explosion by hiding in a lead-lined fridge? Not only does the fridge get blasted sky-high, but Indy somehow walks away without a scratch. Sure, he’s tough, but that’s a bit much even for him.
- Speeding Bus Makes a Perfect Jump (Speed)
The laws of physics took a backseat in Speed, where a city bus makes a jaw-dropping leap across a 50-foot freeway gap without touching the ground. It’s thrilling, yes, but this is one bus jump that definitely wouldn’t make it through any real highway.
- Superman Turns Back Time (Superman, 1978)
When Superman flies around Earth fast enough to reverse its rotation, somehow reversing time itself, even comic book fans were skeptical. As cool as it was to see, one wonders what kind of scientific memo they missed before writing this scene.
- Surviving the Volcano by Outrunning Lava (Dante’s Peak)
In Dante’s Peak, Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton are pursued by an explosion of lava, yet somehow manage to outrun it. While the movie’s special effects are impressive, real lava flows at speeds that make even the fastest sprinters look slow.
- Arrows Deflect Bullets (The Avengers)
Hawkeye is a skilled archer, no doubt, but when he starts using arrows to deflect bullets, even superhero fans may raise an eyebrow. Archery skill aside, let’s just say he’d need more than pinpoint accuracy to pull that one off.
- Going from Zero to Hero Overnight (Rocky and Countless Sports Movies)
We love an underdog, but it’s tough to believe a character can go from novice to champion in a short montage. Rocky is a classic example of this, where sheer willpower turns Rocky from an amateur to a near-champion in record time. Inspirational? Sure. Realistic? Not quite.
- The Shark Roars (Jaws: The Revenge)
In Jaws: The Revenge, the shark actually roars, an act that’s as anatomically impossible as it is absurd. Sharks don’t have vocal cords, but apparently, even they had to speak up about the plot by the fourth installment.
- Matrix Bullet Dodging (The Matrix)
Keanu Reeves bending backwards to dodge bullets in The Matrix became iconic, but it’s an impossible move in real life. Even for “the One,” the idea of seeing and dodging bullets mid-flight stretches suspension of disbelief to its limit.
- Jurassic Park Raptors Not Looking Under the Table: A pair of raptors peeking around the lab, while two children hide under a table with terrified expressions. Add a “Can’t see me here!” thought bubble for extra humor.
