History WrongGenreSavvy / Film

* ''WesternAnimation/RecessSchoolsOut'': TJ thinks that he and Prickly in the same scenario as the old spy thrillers he's seen and that the DressingAsTheEnemy plan will work perfectly. Unfortunately for them, the mooks are a lot smarter than the ones in those films and can [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome immediately tell they're not real guards]].

* ''Film/TheWrongGuy'' has Nelson finding his boss murdered after he had a huge fight with him. Covered in blood, Nelson goes on the run, clearly thinking he's in a modern-day ''Film/TheFugitive'' and on a ClearMyName quest. What he doesn't know is that the police have the real killer ''on video'' committing the murder and couldn't care less about Nelson who also doesn't grasp the "conspiracy" he's after doesn't exist.

* ''Film/TheWrongGuy'' has Nelson finding his boss murdered after he had a huge fight with him. Covered in blood, Nelson goes on the run, clearly thinking he's in a modern-day ''Film/TheFugitive'' and on a ClearMyName quest. What he doesn't know is that the police have the real killer ''on video'' committing the murder and could care less about Nelson who also doesn't grasp the "conspiracy" he's after doesn't exist.

* Franchise/MonsterVerse: A lot of people InUniverse (particularly before the events of ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'') such as [[Characters/MonsterVerseUSGovernmentAndMilitary Admiral Stenz]] believe that humanity needs to attempt to kill the [[{{Kaiju}} Titans]] using manmade super-weaponry in defence of their right to rule the Earth uncontested and to prevent future destruction and casualties to their cities; and Monarch's arguments against that and tendency towards admiring the creatures make most people see them as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnHmUk_J6xQ that one guy in a monster movie who insists on keeping the monster alive For Science at the risk of causing the end of the world through sheer naivete]]. As it stands, the kaiju in this setting are [[GreenAesop allegories for forces of nature]] -- attempts to up technology to a level which can deal serious damage to Titans ''always'' goes awry, doing nothing but leaving the world in an even worse situation with the Titans than it was before; and humanity is simply reliant on the Titans, many of whom act as antibodies maintaining the world's ecosphere, to survive in the long-term, and Monarch are [[GoodIsNotDumb every bit the Titan experts that they're supposed to be per their job]] with their pro-Titan arguments. This Wrong Genre Savvy is also quite central to the ridiculously-arrogant [[Characters/MonsterVerseHumans Apex Cybernetics]]' EvilPlan to control or exterminate all the Titans in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' and to their downfall.

* In the little-known ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' [[FollowTheLeader ripoff]] ''Creature'', someone says they remember seeing an old movie (specifically, ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'') where they tried to stop the monster from killing everyone with an electrified forcefield. Not too effective against ''this'' monster.

* ''Film/LastActionHero'': Child hero Danny rides his bicycle head-on to play chicken with the main villain's car, reasoning that it has to work because he's the hero in a non-R rated movie where [[ImprobableInfantSurvival the kid would never die]]. Then it dawns on him that he's the PluckyComicRelief instead, and ''is'' vulnerable.
* In ''Film/GalaxyQuest'', the actors of a Franchise/StarTrek-like ShowWithinAShow meet a group of aliens who have based their society on the broadcasts of that show, believing them to be historical records. Guy, who played a RedShirt, goes through the events of the film in a depressed and terrified state, convinced that he's doomed to die to prove the seriousness of the situation. In a pep talk, he's told that maybe in this situation he's actually the PluckyComicRelief. It works, he lives, and winds up getting a starring role in a revival series.
* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'', Elizabeth Swann somehow does it ''twice'':
** She spends a good deal of the movie expecting and hoping one of the pirates she runs into would be like the [[LoveableRogue romantic, dashing rogues]] she reads about in her books, or for them to at least adhere to some honor-among-thieves morality. Over the course of the film she's increasingly disillusioned (Barbossa shirks the code whenever it inconveniences him; the ''Black Pearl'' crew want to rape her; Jack Sparrow's a horny, opportunistic drunk; ''Jack's'' own crew don't bother to rescue their captain once they get their ship, etc.) until the very end. When Will risks his life to do what's right, she sees he's the kind of heroic ne'er-do-well she'd been hoping to see.
** When she first meets Barbossa she believes they are just normal, mundane pirates that would hold her for ransom if they knew she was the Governor's daughter, so she gives her name as "Elizabeth Turner" and claims to be a maid of the Governor. Unfortunately, these pirates couldn't care less about the Governor or ransom and need a Turner to break the curse, effectively guaranteeing she remains a captive aboard their ship.
-->'''Barbossa:''' You best start believing in ghost stories, Miss Turner... you're in one!

* ''Film/StrangerThanFiction'' is a unique case, where the main character realizes he's in a story after he starts hearing his own narration. He seeks out help to try to become GenreSavvy, and correctly deduces that in the context of his narrator's story, he's in a tragedy, which is ironically Wrong Genre Savvy as the meta-story (the movie about the story about a man who hears his own narrator, i.e., the movie you're watching) is actually a comedy.

* ''Film/TheReturnOfTheLivingDead'': When confronted with a reanimated cadaver, a group of characters put a pick axe through its brain based on what they know about zombies from seeing ''Night of the Living Dead.'' [[OurZombiesAreDifferent It has no effect.]]
-->'''Burt:''' I thought you said if we destroyed the brain, it'd die!\\
'''Frank:''' It worked in the movie!\\
'''Burt:''' Well, it ain't workin' now, Frank!\\
'''Fred:''' You mean the movie lied?
* In the little-known ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' [[FollowTheLeader ripoff]] ''Creature'', someone says they remember seeing an old movie (specifically, ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'') where they tried to stop the monster from killing everyone with an electrified forcefield. Not too effective against ''this'' monster.
* Tom in ''Film/FiveHundredDaysOfSummer'' grew up on romantic comedies and confused them with reality (and missed the point of ''Film/TheGraduate'', declaring it the perfect love story when it clearly isn't). When he meets Summer, he tries out the LoveAtFirstSight and FourthDateMarriage tropes, completely oblivious that she doesn't feel the same way and only treats their relationship as a fling. When he tries the genre-appropriate action of standing up to the guy hitting on his girlfriend and knocking him out with one punch, the guy gets up right away and kicks his ass. Turns out he's in a {{Deconstruction}} of a love story.

* ''Film/SantasSlay'': Lampshaded when Nicholas [[WeakenedByTheLight tries to shine a light]] in Santa's face, and all it does is annoy him.
-->'''Santa:''' I'm Santa Claus, not fucking {{Dracula}}!
* In ''Film/{{Fresh}}'', the titular character has a friend named Chucky who he brings into the business of running drugs. Unlike Fresh who is a smart teen, Chucky is a LeeroyJenkins who's obsessed with the gangster movies, gangsta rap music, and comic books like ''Comicbook/ThePunisher''. When the two go on their first delivery job at night, they get jacked by rival drug dealers. Fresh warned Chucky beforehand that if they get jacked to drop the book bags filled with drugs and run. However, Chucky, thinking he's in a gangster film, [[TooDumbToLive takes out his gun and starts shooting]] at the adult dealers - missing with every shot. They kill him and Fresh gets away.
%%* In ''Film/TheFrighteners'', Agent Milton Dammers has been driven insane due to the trauma he received from his past investigations into "supernatural" cases (up to and including being tortured by dozens of cults he's infiltrated). As the film begins, he thinks he's an OccultDetective who's tracked down a serial-killing psychic, not realizing that he's actually stumbled into a battle between a NotSoPhonyPsychic and a serial-killing ghost. Dammers's inability to stretch his mind that one extra inch necessary to acknowledge that Frank Bannister isn't the villain results in Dammers [[spoiler:getting [[BoomHeadshot his head blown off]] by Bartlett's living ally Patricia]].
* The title character in ''Film/TheBalladOfBusterScruggs'' is a flamboyant gunfighter straight out of a Hollywood Western. He realizes that the principles of marksmanship don't apply to him, so he regularly attempts risky trick shots [[ImprobableAimingSkills that should be impossible]]. He also thinks that he's the hero of the story, and thus has PlotArmor. In truth, he's a borderline-sociopathic VillainProtagonist (despite his [[AffablyEvil cheery demeanor]]), and regularly murders innocent men for cheap thrills. [[spoiler: At the end of his segment, he's unceremoniously [[BoomHeadshot shot through the head]] while lining up another trick shot, and realizes that he was always just another thug destined to die violently]].
* In ''Film/TheFrighteners'', Agent Milton Dammers has suffered various traumas from his investigations into "supernatural" cases, with the result that he ''thinks'' he's an OccultDetective who's tracked down a serial-killing psychic. In reality, he's actually [[HeroOfAnotherStory stumbled into a battle]] between a NotSoPhonyPsychic and a serial-killing ''ghost'', and it's left ambiguous whether any of his supernatural beliefs are remotely valid or just pure delusion. His inability to stretch his mind that one extra inch results in him [[spoiler:getting [[BoomHeadshot his head]] [[YourHeadASplode blown off]] by Patricia (the killer ghost's mortal lover)]].
* ''Film/BarelyLethal'': Megan is a girl raised since childhood to be an assassin until she fakes her death to escape and decides to live as a normal high school girl. To prepare herself, she does "research" by watching several high school films like ''Film/MeanGirls''. But since these movies do not reflect real life, she ends up weirding everybody out by trying to follow their tropes. She also automatically assumes the cheerleaders trying to befriend her are all AlphaBitch trying to set her up, since that is what happened in ''Film/MeanGirls'', when in reality, their offer was genuine.

* ''Film/CatchMeIfYouCan'': Frank impersonates a doctor and a lawyer, but everything he knows about those professions he learned from ''Series/DrKildare'' and ''Series/PerryMason'' respectively. His attempts to use this knowledge in actual medical and legal settings just end up confusing his colleagues.

* Most of the college students in ''Film/TuckerAndDaleVsEvil'' are under the belief that they're in a HillbillyHorrors film and act accordingly (''"Film/{{Deliverance}}"'' is mentioned by them at one point). Except the hillbillies are our ''actual'' heroes; they just happen to suffer from poor communication skills and bad timing. As a result, the students die in various ways thanks to their own stupidity, and one of them [[spoiler:is so driven by his hatred that he becomes a serial killer himself]]. A notable example is when one of the students wants to call the cops with her cell phone and get it all over with, but Chad ([[spoiler:the aforementioned crazy fanatic]]) just smashes her phone and says "[[CellPhonesAreUseless they never work in times like these!]]" (not only did he never check to see ''if'' they work before saying that, none of them ever do later).
* In ''Film/{{Freaky}}'', early on Josh Dormer operates on the assumption that he's basically in a classic slasher film when in reality he's in a modernized, subversive take on the genre. During his and Nyla's first encounter with The Blissfield Butcher (who has actually switched bodies with their friend Millie by this point), he even says this gem of a line.
-->'''Josh:''' [Whist running from "The Butcher"] You're [[BlackDudeDiesFirst black]], I'm [[GayGuyDiesFirst gay]], We're ''so'' dead!
%%* In ''Film/SilentNight'' the sheriff played by Creator/MalcolmMcDowell has a weird version of this, where he believes he is he is in a comedy where he's the star, when in actuality he is in a SlasherMovie, that is admittedly a BlackComedy.
* ''{{Film/Maleficent}}'': When Aurora meets Maleficent, she assumes the fae to be her FairyGodmother because of the books she's read. Nice guess if she were {{WesternAnimation/Cinderella}}, not so much as WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty.
* In ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'', Creator/EmmaWatson is perfectly aware that [[ApocalypseHow the apocalypse]] is happening, but is under the impression that it's a ZombieApocalypse rather than [[CaughtUpInTheRapture the Rapture]].
* In ''Film/KnivesOut'', Fran the housekeeper mentions having watched quite a few [[SugarWiki/AHallmarkPresentation Hallmark Channel murder mysteries]], and [[spoiler: tries to blackmail the killer after engaging in some {{Amateur Sleuth}}ing. This promptly gets her killed since the culprit doesn't immediately back down after being presented evidence of their crimes. Had her savviness gone just a little deeper, she would have known that trying to blackmail the killer is the fastest way to die in old school ''Creator/AgathaChristie'' novels.]]
* ''Film/NannyMcPhee'': Thanks to all the stories they’ve read, the Brown children are certain that any woman their father remarries after their mother’s death [[WickedStepmother will be horrible to them and treat them like servants]]. Derek even produces a book of stories about children with {{Wicked Stepmother}}s as “hard evidence” for the theory. They might be right about their father’s first choice, [[GoldDigger Mrs. Quickly]], but [[MarryTheNanny their father ultimately marries the sweet, angelic scullery maid Angeline]], who has been kind and motherly to the children long before the wedding, and cares for them so much that she willingly went to live with their cold aunt Adelaide so one of them would not be separated from their family.
%%* ''Film/TheHalfOfIt'': Paul believes he finds himself in a romantic comedy where, by seeking the popular girl Aster, he eventually falls in love with the AsianAndNerdy unpopular Ellie. He is actually in a QueerRomance ComingOfAge story, and Ellie is in love with Aster too.
* ''Film/LatePhases:'' Westmark the gunsmith, when asked why he thinks Ambrose is buying bullets, doesn't seem to consider the werewolf angle, just commenting it reminds him of ''Franchise/TheLoneRanger'' and the image of a VigilanteMan with the symbolism of purity in the clamps.
%%* ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina'' is perhaps one of the most celebrated examples of the PluckyComicRelief thinking he's the star. Jack Burton insists on acting like TheHero when he's a SupportingProtagonist at best.
* Colonel Nathan Hardy in ''Film/ManOfSteel'' at first acts like he's the protagonist of a MilitaryScienceFiction action story where [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Kal-El]] is a DefectorFromDecadence and the Kryptonian invaders can be defeated with enough firepower from humanity's military. Truth of the matter is, he's a side character in a [[SuperheroOrigin superhero origin story]] and the newly-christened Superman is the only one who can fight the invaders off on an equal physical level, so in order for the humans to help him, they're going need to be a lot craftier (in this case, sending them off into the PhantomZone).

* ''Film/BloodRedSky'': [[InspectorJavert Colonel Drummond]] thinks he's in a mundane airplane thriller like ''Film/NonStop'' and dismisses the warnings to the contrary from both the wounded pilot, whom he thinks is the lead hijacker, and the sole escapee. However, he's actually in a vampire horror film. [[spoiler: He waits for nightfall to assault the airliner for the supposed cover of darkness, sending his team to their deaths and allowing the vampires to almost escape.]]
* ''Film/TheTerminator'' does this with the LAPD. Traxler and Vukovich are competent investigators who quickly catch on to the T-100's pattern and leak the story to the press to flush out Sarah Connor so they can place her in protective custody. When the cops bring Sarah and Kyle Reese in, they take them to a heavily-occupied precinct for protection while detectives prepare to search for the Terminator. Of course, they aren't dealing with a serial killer but a nearly-indestructible cyborg who [[CurbStompBattle makes quick work of the police]] when he arrives.

%%* Princess Anna ThinksLikeARomanceNovel or an idealized FairyTale, while ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' is a FracturedFairyTale. She thinks LoveAtFirstSight equals TrueLove, and after singing a romantic duet, she can totally [[FourthDateMarriage marry a man she just met]]. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:said man turns out to be the PrinceCharmless who only pretended to love her to get to the throne.]] She assumes she needs TrueLovesKiss to break the curse, but the ActOfTrueLove that saves her turns out to be [[spoiler:her own HeroicSacrifice.]]
%%* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': [[BigBad Tai Lung]] seems to believe he's TheHero of the story, which WordOfGod has said was intentional, and is why Tai Lung has golden eyes — [[ColorMotif the color gold represents glory and heroism]]. Tai Lung's scenes are framed as an archetypical action HerosJourney: he is betrayed by his master and denied prestige he feels he deserves, and is imprisoned for years before escaping, and he fights his way back to his homeland (including an encounter with a QuirkyMinibossSquad of his master's pupils) to confront his old master and his new favorite student and claim the destiny they denied him. Unfortunately for Tai Lung, he ''isn't'' TheHero of this story, Po is.

* ''Film/NannyMcPhee'': Thanks to all the stories they’ve read, the Brown children are certain that any woman their father remarries after their mother’s death will be horrible to them and [[CinderellaCircumstances treat them like servants]]. Derek even produces a book of stories about children with {{Wicked Stepmother}}s as “hard evidence” for the theory. They might be right about their father’s first choice, [[GoldDigger Mrs. Quickly]], but [[MarryTheNanny their father ultimately marries the sweet, angelic scullery maid Angeline]], who has been kind and motherly to the children long before the wedding, and cares for them so much that she willingly went to live with their cold aunt Adelaide so one of them would not be separated from their family.

* Most of the college students in ''Film/TuckerAndDaleVsEvil'' are under the belief that they're in a HillbillyHorrors film and act accordingly (''"Film/{{Deliverance}}"'' is mentioned by them at one point). Except the hillbillies are our ''actual'' heroes; they just happen to suffer from poor communication skills. As a result, the students die in various ways thanks to their own stupidity, and one of them [[spoiler:is so driven by his hatred that he becomes a serial killer himself.]] A notable example is when one of the students wants to call the cops with her cell phone and get it all over with, but Chad ([[spoiler:the aforementioned crazy fanatic]]) just smashes her phone and says "[[CellPhonesAreUseless they never work in times like these!]]" (not only did he never check to see ''if'' they work before saying that, none of them ever do later).

** Danson and Highsmith are a CowboyCop pair that have lived their lives like ''Film/BadBoys'' starring Creator/SamuelLJackson and Creator/DwayneJohnson. They are insanely reckless yet beloved as super-cops and have seen a lot of action films. They are the DecoyProtagonist pair because they jump off a freaking building with nothing to stop their fall in the apparent belief that something will appear as they do (they even say "aim for the bushes" when there's not even any there). [[RealityEnsues They get splattered]] [[EpicFail all over the pavement]] and Gamble and Holtz spend a couple of minutes during the funeral scene wondering [[WhatWereYouThinking just what the hell were they thinking]].

* ''WesternAnimation/RecessSchoolsOut'': TJ thinks that he and Prickly in the same scenario as the old spy thrillers he's seen and that the DressingAsTheEnemy plan will work perfectly. Unfortunately for them, the mooks are a lot smarter than the ones in those films and can [[RealityEnsues immediately tell they're not real guards]].

* ''Film/NannyMcPhee'': Thanks to all the stories they’ve read, the Brown children are certain that thus any woman their father remarries after their mother’s death will be horrible to them and treat them like servants. Derek even produces a book of stories about children with {{Wicked Stepmother}}s as “hard evidence” for the theory. They might be right about their father’s first choice, [[GoldDigger Mrs. Quickly]], but their father ultimately marries the sweet, angelic scullery maid Angeline, who has been kind and motherly to the children long before the wedding, and cares for them so much that she willingly went to live with their cold aunt Adelaide so one of them would not be separated from their family.

** ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'':
*** Spider-Man watched the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' movies, and automatically assumes Mantis is a creature similar to a Xenomorph, frantically begging her not to lay eggs inside of him.

* Frank from ''Film/CatchMeIfYouCan'' impersonates a doctor and a lawyer, but everything he knows about those professions he learned from ''Series/DrKildare'' and ''Series/PerryMason'' respectively. His attempts to use this knowledge in actual medical and legal settings just end up confusing his colleagues.

* ''Film/NannyMcPhee'': Thanks to all the stories they’ve read, the Brown children are certain that thus any woman their father remarries after their mother’s death will be a WickedStepmother who will be horrible to them and treat them like servants. Derek even produces a book of stories about children with {{Wicked Stepmother}}s as “hard evidence” for the theory. They might be right about their father’s first choice, [[GoldDigger Mrs. Quickly]], but their father ultimately marries the sweet, angelic scullery maid Angeline, who has been kind and motherly to the children long before the wedding, and cares for them so much that she willingly went to live with their cold aunt Adelaide so one of them would not be separated from their family.

* Likewise, Martin from ''Film/LoveSimon'' thinks he’s the DoggedNiceGuy protagonist who’s questionable decisions and over-the-top romantic gestures will help him [[StandardHeroReward get the girl]]. Sadly, he’s not the protagonist, but rather the [=AGtagonist=]. And He DidNotGetTheGirl, either.

* Likewise, Martin from ''Film/LoveSimon'' seems to think he’s the DoggedNiceGuy protagonist who’s questionable decisions and over-the-top romantic gestures will help him [[StandardHeroReward get the girl]]. Sadly, he’s not the protagonist, but rather the [=AGtagonist=]. And He DidNotGetTheGirl, either.

* Likewise, Martin from ''Film/LoveSimon'' seems to think he’s the DoggedNiceGuy protagonist who’s questionable decisions and over-the-top romantic gestures will help him [[StandardHeroReward get the girl. Sadly, he’s not the protagonist, but rather the [=AGtagonist=]. And He DidNotGetTheGirl, either.

* Likewise, Martin from ''Film/LoveSimon'' seems to think he’s the DoggedNiceGuy protagonist who’s questionable decisions and over-the-top romantic gestures will help him GetTheGirl. Sadly, he’s not the protagonist, but rather the AGtagonist. And He DidntGetTheGirl, either.

*** Thor makes it clear over the course of the film that he thinks he's TheHero of a revenge epic, destined to overcome all obstacles to slay his enemy. This is shown when he tells Rocket that no matter what fate throws at him, Thanos is going to end up just as dead as every other enemy he's fought. Unfortunately, the film's actual protagonist is [[VillainProtagonist Thanos himself]], and Thor ends up being the TragicHero whose need for personal revenge causes him to fail at the last minute.