History WrongGenreSavvy / Film

* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'': Ralph, being from an '80s platformer, has no clue what kind of violence he could find in a bug-infested, 21st-century, ScienceFiction FirstPersonShooter. He thought it would be like ''VideoGame/{{Centipede}}''.

* 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.]]

* ''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, 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/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.

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

** 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.

* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'':
** When Priya first appears, she's reading a ''Twilight'' pastiche. When she sees Mei's transformation, after calming down from the initial shock, she asks if Mei is a werewolf.
** When Mei sees her new red panda form in the mirror, she instantly assumes she's become the star in a classic werewolf story, and everyone who sees her new form will be terrified and repulsed by it - her schoolmates, her friends, and even her parents. Fortunately, she's wrong on all points.

* ''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.]]

* ''Film/Nope'': Ricky "Jupe" Park thinks he's in an ABoyAndHisX story where be befriends [[spoiler: a bunch of aliens in a flying saucer, due to having survived an attack by an enraged chimp in the past because the animal had a bond with him (it actually didn't, it was mostly luck, making it another example of the trope)]]. He's actually in a [[spoiler: [[AttackoftheKillerWhatever monster movie]] and the 'flying saucer' is in reality a giant animal that eats him without a second thought]].

* ''Film/[{Nope}}'': Ricky "Jupe" Park thinks he's in an [[ABoyAndHisX]] story where be befriends [[spoiler: a bunch of aliens in a flying saucer, due to having survived an attack by an enraged chimp in the past because the animal had a bond with him (it actually didn't, it was mostly luck, making it another example of the trope)]]. He's actually in a [[spoiler: [[AttackoftheKillerWhatever monster movie]] and the 'flying saucer' is in reality a giant animal that eats him without a second thought]].

* ''Film/Nope'': Ricky "Jupe" Park thinks he's in an [[ABoyandHisX]] story where be befriends [[spoiler: a bunch of aliens in a flying saucer, due to having survived an attack by an enraged chimp in the past because the animal had a bond with him (it actually didn't, it was mostly luck, making it another example of the trope)]]. He's actually in a [[spoiler: [[AttackoftheKillerWhatever monster movie]] and the 'flying saucer' is in reality a giant animal that eats him without a second thought]].

* ''Film/Nope'': Ricky "Jupe" Park thinks he's in an [[ABoyandHisX]] story where be befriends [[spoiler: a bunch of aliens in a flying saucer, due to having survived an attack by an enraged chimp in the past because the animal had a bond with him (it actually didn't, it was mostly luck, making it another example of the trope)]]. He's actaully in a [[spoiler: [[AttackoftheKillerWhatever monster movie]] and the 'flying saucer' is actual a giant animal that eats him without a second thought]].

* ''Film/Nope'': Ricky "Jupe" Park thinks he's in an [[ABoyand HisX]] story where be befriends [[spoiler: a bunch of aliens in a flying saucer, due to having survived an attack by an enraged chimp in the past because the animal had a bond with him (it actually didn't, it was mostly luck, making it another example of the trope)]]. He's actaully in a [[spoilers: [[AttackoftheKillerWhatever monster movie]] and the 'flying saucer is actual a giant animal that eats him without a second thought]].

* In ''Film/TheWolfman2010'', psychiatrist Doctor Hoenneger decides to try and treat Lawrence's 'delusion' that he's a werewolf by making Lawrence experience a full moon while surrounded by witnesses. This might have been effective and helpful to Lawrence in a psychological thriller about a man who only had mental delusions about lycanthropy, but unfortunately for Hoenneger, Lawrence really ''is'' a werewolf.

** 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). [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome 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]].

%%* 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.

* 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]].

* The title character in ''Film/TheBalladOfBusterScruggs'' is a flamboyant gunfighter straight out of a Hollywood Western. He's an [[ImprobablyAimingSkills implausibly skilled gunfighter]] with a [[AffablyEvil cheery demeanor]], who only [[KillingInSelfDefense shoots people who are threatening him]], and consequently assumes that he's the hero of the story. In truth, he's a borderline-sociopathic VillainProtagonist who appears to enjoy provoking life-and-death conflicts, confident that his PlotArmor will protect him. [[spoiler: At the end of his segment, he's unceremoniously [[BoomHeadshot shot through the head]] by an even better gunfighter.]].

* 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]].

-->'''Barbossa:''' You best start believing in ghost stories, Miss Turner... you're in one!

* 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, 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.

* 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.

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* ''Film/{{Altitude}}:'' Mel initially suggests that the group is being exposed to a PsychologicalThriller experiment to see how people react to extreme stress. Actually, they're being stalked by an EldritchAbomination.

* ''Film/GalaxyQuest'': A comedy spoof of Franchise/StarTrek, 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. He is so obessed with the sci-fi tropes that he never considers the possibly that tropes common to comedy genres may be in play; eventually, one of his colleagues gives him a pep talk by suggesting he's actually the PluckyComicRelief instead of the RedShirt. It works, he lives, and winds up getting a starring role in a revival series.

* 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.

* ''Film/VisitingHours:'' When Colt kills an elderly woman in Deborah's old room while thinking she's Deborah, most people are convinced that the woman (who is wealthy and has a large family) is the victim of an InheritanceMurder.