I was talking to some friends, as well as reading different messages on various internet message boards, and I have had many people tell me, and I've read many people post, about films that they hated because they "didn't have a plot or purpose". Now obviously that is such a moronic statement, but I'm sure you all hear that same thing.

A few recent films that I've heard people say this about are Lost in Translation, Napoleon Dynamite, and Garden State. When people say that about such films, how do you guys respond to it...if at all? What other films do you hear people say this same thing about?

I cant think of too many other statements that irk me as much as this one, when talking about film.

One that comes to mind is Robin Williams in Toy's- What were they thinking??

I can think of a statement that irks me more: it isn't realistic.

Well I hate it when someone defends a film by saying that it's just a popcorn movie! or you're supposed to turn your brain off!. Granted, there are films that work for that purpose, but many will apply it to every movie in existence as opposed to explaining what exactly was enjoyable about said film.

Boondock Saints

If one just watched FOTR and not TTT or ROTK, you'd think it was one long chase scene.

I'm guilty of this. I admit it. Said it right after watching Mulholland Dr.

I just don't get it.

Kids didnt realy have a plot

I thought films that have no plot or purpose are justified by being called "character studies."

the big lebowski.


all the dude wanted, was his rug back.


these are some of my favorite movies, btw.

One movie I recently watched that I think actually deserves this criticism is Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. I know it's aimed at older kids/early teens, but that doesn't excuse the fact there is no direction to this movie. It just seems like a random serious of events in her life, without any real chracter arc or continuity to the events. The whole time I kept thinking, "What the hell is the point of this?" They could have shuffled most of the scenes around and it would have made just as much sense.

Ghost World. I guess I just didn't "get it."

I usually like films that other people call plotless, and meaningless.

With that being said, I thought Coffee and Cigarettes, was a major waste of my time, and I really saw no value in watching it.

Farenheit 9/11

The Station Agent - but I really liked it.

I <3 huckabees.

I really didn't see the point and I was left bored through it all.

Agreed! Things that could've been plot points (if there really WAS a plot) are dropped without explanation. That film was the disappointment of the year for me; I was so excited to see it, too.

Nah just kidding. I understand. My love for this movie is actually just pure entertainment value. I don't really hold it in any higher regard.

Although I did enjoy the movie, I didnt think there was much of a plot to The Passion of the Christ. Granted, I think there was purpose to it, just not really a plot. Which asks another question, can a movie have purpose without a really having plot, or have a plot but really not have a purpose?

According to dictionary.com, a plot is: "The pattern of events or main story in a narrative or drama." So really, most movies, even ones you would call character studies, have a plot. If you wanted to find a film without a plot, you might be able to point to something like Andy Warhol's Empire, but even then you could argue that the passage of time constitutes a plot.

That being said, there are films that lack direction or coherence. Some do that on purpose, others because the people involved weren't talented or intelligent enough to realize their film was lacking one or both of these things. And sometimes it's because the studio carves it up before release, a la Once Upon A Time In America or Until The End of the World.

^ indeed.

I'm actually shocked by most of the responses to this thread. I am of the belief that any film has a plot, no matter how obvious or how small. It can be anything as major as a group of interesting characters on a quest to destroy a ring...or as simple as a young man returning home, coming to some sort of self realization.

There is a huge difference between a film with a lack direction or coherence and a flat out lack of a plot.

Which is just what I said.

Yes, I was simply referencing what you had just said by typing it out in the same words, as I agree with you.

I think you just answered your question. You are taking those comments too literally, I think when people say that there wasn't a plot means there really wasn't a focus or a purpose to the movie. I for one enjoy a movie with a good plot whether that is a twisting convoluted epic or a simple story of one characters hurdle it just has to be good.

Purpose is a different story altogether. Did the characters (or the film itself) in the film accomplish something? One of the reasons why I didn't like Counte of Monte Cristo so much was because the whole purpose of the movie, a story of the dangers of revenge, was totally demolished when he was able to take revenge without any consequenses. That and the new york pirate really irked me but that's a different thread altogether.