thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 20, 2011 18:13:39 GMT -5
But this time, the couple was unreasonably poor. I watched Ramona and Beezus with my daughter. The guy was a VP, they lived in a small house in Portland, which didn't look well maintained and he drove an old beat-up car. Yet, when he was laid off, they instantly had money problems.
I can totally get on-board with a VP living paycheck to paycheck. I can totally get on-board with him living in a small house with an old car. But both at the same time? At the end of the movie, he took a part time job as an art teacher in an elementary school, so they could keep the house.
It just didn't make any sense. They could have left out the part where he was a VP, and just made him a low-level mouse jockey. Then it would have lined up a lot better.
He also was dressed in his suit for his after-noon interview when waking up the kids for school. The family had a baby. I'm sure walking around in his high powered suit for 5 hours while feeding a 6 month old is what we would all do. No chance that would get the suit dirty or wrinkled.
What movies have you seen that have something small, but totally unrealistic - enough that you can't forgive it.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Feb 20, 2011 18:16:41 GMT -5
Not a movie but a tv show, and just the opposite. Controlled rent or not, how did the people on "friends" afford those large apartments in NYC with the jobs they had? Nope--doesn't make sense to me...
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 20, 2011 18:23:01 GMT -5
I guess I was able to suspend my disbelief (along with the rest of the country) because we don't really understand the whole NYC real estate thing. Every NYC show has a big thing about someone dying and their apartment is up for grabs and there is a bunch of schmoozing and stuff. That just isn't how it is pretty much anywhere else. Everywhere else there are hundreds of available apartments in a 40 mile radius, and the process for getting one is very different. You go see 10 or 15 places and just pick one.
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misspt
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Post by misspt on Feb 20, 2011 18:24:04 GMT -5
Apple: The "Friends" show is the first thing that came to mind when I read this post. The ladies on "Sex and the City" also came to mind.
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Elizabeth
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Post by Elizabeth on Feb 20, 2011 18:33:00 GMT -5
I recently saw a show called "Working Class" and it's a single mom working in a coffee shop. I think she would probably make like $7/hour. The house looks pretty nice, and so do everyone's clothes, hair and make up. I guess they don't want to make shows where people aren't living glamourously no matter what kind of job they have. "Friends" and "Sex in the City" did instantly pop into my mind too.
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vonnie6200
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Post by vonnie6200 on Feb 20, 2011 19:01:42 GMT -5
Personally, I thought "The Brady Bunch" where they had a zillion kids, a nice home and a housekeeper on an Architect's salary was the biggest hoot. You beat me to it - that did me in and I was in college at the time! I think it was the all the great clothes the girls had
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 20, 2011 19:07:01 GMT -5
Pretty much anything about NYC is unrealistic, because it is written by people who live in LA.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Feb 20, 2011 19:21:03 GMT -5
For me it was Star Trek, where humanity had transcended the need for money and people in the Federation focused on the betterment of the human race and culture.
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blackcard
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Post by blackcard on Feb 20, 2011 19:37:07 GMT -5
A V.P. title does not mean V.P. pay. Some organizations have tons of VP's. It no longer means affluence. Sometimes, just a title, to appease the workers egos. GF is a VP of sales for a region of a distribution company. Makes about 50K year, with bonus and commissions. She is one of about 30 to 40 regional VP's. Thats the next step up, after being a regional manger. Which came after being an assistant regional manager. Thats where they start. Nobody is called a sales rep. But selling is all that they do.
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Feb 20, 2011 19:57:47 GMT -5
The apartment belonged to Monica's nana. And the superintendent was going to turn her in but Joey showed him how to dance so he kept his mouth shut.
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shelby
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Post by shelby on Feb 20, 2011 20:21:29 GMT -5
I used to watch super nanny, so these are real people in their real lives. Many times it was a family with 3 or 4 kids the mom stays home the dad works some average job, ie truck driver or police officer. But in each one they had a large nice shiny new mcmansion with brand new furniture and new cars, WTF I thought where do these people live? I still can't figure it out.
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blackcard
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Post by blackcard on Feb 20, 2011 20:29:24 GMT -5
<<I thought where do these people live?>> Fantasyland.
In real life, it is like that commercial. "I am in debt up to my eyeballs"
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Feb 20, 2011 20:45:43 GMT -5
The Brady Bunch house wasn't that nice- all 3 boys had to share a room and all 3 girls had to share a room- then all 6 had to share a bathroom. That's pretty modest. I did wonder why they needed a maid when all 6 kids were school age and Mrs. Brady didn't work.
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vonnie6200
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Post by vonnie6200 on Feb 20, 2011 20:48:53 GMT -5
The Brady Bunch house wasn't that nice- all 3 boys had to share a room and all 3 girls had to share a room- then all 6 had to share a bathroom. That's pretty modest. I did wonder why they needed a maid when all 6 kids were school age and Mrs. Brady didn't work. yeah but the girls all had really cool clothes
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Feb 21, 2011 7:27:25 GMT -5
I think Carol Brady worked, they just never said where.
I remember when we were building our house in the 80s, I asked for a 'Brady Bunch bathroom.' It wasn't a 'Jack and Jill' bath.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 21, 2011 8:01:21 GMT -5
I thought that everyone living in a high rise apartment in Seattle in Frasier was stupid. I'm cool with the idea that Fraiser the bachelor did it - but if Nile's wife really came from generational money, wouldn't they have a giant mansion overlooking the water? And Roz didn't even buy a small house - she just raised her baby in a high rise, and when Niles & Daphne got together, they lived in a high rise. I just don't think that is how people actually live in Seattle. At least not every one of them in every phase of their life.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2011 8:54:49 GMT -5
Niles's ex-wife (Merris) did have a mansion, probably just outside of Seattle. I know Roz lived in an apartment, but I thought it was just a typical apartment, not a high-rise.
I second the points about Friends - Phoebe was a masseuse, how the hell can she even afford to SPLIT rent with two other people in that area of NYC? I say the same thing about Will and Grace. Karen lived in a Park Avenue brownstone (or maybe they owned the whole building) and that was believable since her husband was extremely wealthy. But Will, Grace, and Jack lived in a decent part of NYC. Will and Grace lived together in a 2 bed 2 bath apartment with a terrace. I'm no real estate expert, but I'm guessing that would set them back at least $7k/month. He's a lawyer and she's a self-employed interior designer. Jack lives across the hall from them in a 1 bed 1 bath which I'd guess would be about $4-5k/month., and he's an actor/turned TV studio worker/turned nurse. I call bullshit on the whole scenario.
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Urban Chicago
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Post by Urban Chicago on Feb 21, 2011 9:10:55 GMT -5
I just love "Bones", but everyone is supposedly super-wealthy there too! Supposedly they are all government employees, but one of them is the head of a super-wealthy family who does lab work for "fun", Booth was a gambling addict with just an FBI salary, yet he still lives really well and supports his kid in DC, Angela was poor before she married Mr. Trust fund, but still had designer clothes, trips to Paris, etc... Bones herself has her "side job" publishing novels, and her publisher apparently gives her super-expensive cars, pays for her fancy hotels when she's on business trips for her government job, etc...
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Feb 21, 2011 10:16:47 GMT -5
Controlled rent or not, how did the people on "friends" afford those large apartments in NYC with the jobs they had? Nope--doesn't make sense to me...
I believe one of the shows characters inherited the apartment from a deceased relative, like an aunt. It is also very common for renters to have room mates to share apartment expenses in NYC. Many individuals, and I know a few, will do anything to live in the city.
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Plain Old Petunia
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Post by Plain Old Petunia on Feb 21, 2011 11:28:26 GMT -5
I haven't seen the Beezus and Ramona movie, but in the books I believe the husband/father worked in a grocery store as the meat dept. manager. That is what I recall, anyway. Also, when they decided to add a third bedroom onto their 2/1 house, they took a second mortgage to pay for it and the mother took a part-time job to make the second mortgage payments.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 21, 2011 11:37:27 GMT -5
On Friends Ross snagged his apartment when naked guy was moving and everyone was trying to bribe him out of it. Ross got it by getting "naked" too with naked guy. So that is how Ross got his apartment on Friends. I get irritated with Soap Operas. Nobody seems to work because they have all this time to create drama, but all live in super fancy homes and support 3-4 illegiamate children. Even the teenagers live in super fancy houses and apartments. Where is a teenager getting that kind of money? I know they are supposed to be melodramas, but after awhile you start to wonder where the money is coming from to support the 5th illigimate child of the season and why they don't use some of that money to buy a few condoms.
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jkapp
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Post by jkapp on Feb 21, 2011 11:39:59 GMT -5
The only TV show that I can think of that had realistic "poor" housing was The Honeymooners. I guess it just didn't catch on...
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Clever Username
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Post by Clever Username on Feb 21, 2011 11:42:13 GMT -5
Personally, I thought "The Brady Bunch" where they had a zillion kids, a nice home and a housekeeper on an Architect's salary was the biggest hoot.
Simple: A mixture of child support, alimony or life insurance.
Did they ever say what happened to either's first spouses?
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 21, 2011 11:42:24 GMT -5
Remember when they didn't pay the electricity bill and the power was shut off and Rosanne said "Well, Middle Class was fun."
That would have made sense - but this guy was definiately not working in a grocery store. I'm glad the book was a little more realistic - because it just really threw me off for the whole movie. The central theme was that they were worried about money - so it should have been thought through, just a little.
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jkapp
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Post by jkapp on Feb 21, 2011 11:44:00 GMT -5
The completely unbelievable settings I have found are the ones in all the CSI shows...the crime labs are like something out of Star Trek! I've been to an actual crime lab, they look more like a high school chemistry room
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 21, 2011 11:45:39 GMT -5
I have always had the theory that both of the Brady's first spouses died under unusual circumstances, leaving them with lots of life insurance money. I thought it was really weird that these kids just latched onto their step-parent and never mentioned their original father/mother again. The more I think about that show - the creepier it is.
Almost as creepy as Zack & Cody on Deck. Their Mom just left them on a boat with essentially no other adults? Weird!
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Urban Chicago
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Post by Urban Chicago on Feb 21, 2011 15:34:12 GMT -5
I also liked the reality shown in Roseanne. 2 others I can think of were "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The Middle", which is still on now.
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Post by notasbadasithought on Feb 21, 2011 15:58:22 GMT -5
I remember having to remind my sons that all female cops, lab workers, teachers, girl friends, etc. did NOT run in heels, have cleavage all the time, look fabulous all the time, wear fancy designer clothes and live in fancy apartments or houses. I just watch and enjoy the shows! They are, after all, a form of entertainment - right?
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Artemis Windsong
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Feb 21, 2011 16:05:58 GMT -5
CSI solves crimes in one hour. People wonder why the crime against them takes so long to solve. CSI helps me see where the other shows lack of scene control. No gloves, no booties, pick up evidence and move it.
Star Trek: All of us could use a replicator to get whatever we want. Sometime they had to restock supplies. I am waiting for instant travel and a holodeck.
If you have ever watched any of the old movies, the lady of the house was always nicely dressed with a large house or apartment. Zero idea what they did for a living.
This is why TV is a diversion from real life. Green Acres was realistic for an old farm house.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Feb 21, 2011 16:22:50 GMT -5
In just about every sitcom on TV the characters seem to have nicer digs and more disposable income than their jobs would suggest. Some are completely over the top with it, but they all do it to an extent. Audiences just don't want to see characters living in tiny apartments/houses apparently.
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