First there was "jump the shark"...now "nuke the fridge"
06-04-08 | 06:44 PM
#1
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Limited Edition
First there was "jump the shark"...now "nuke the fridge"
***This post contains spoilers to the new Indy movie***
Urban Dictionary
2. nuke the fridge
Nuke the fridge is a colloquialism used to refer to the moment in a film series that is so incredible that it lessens the excitement of subsequent scenes that rely on more understated action or suspense, and it becomes apparent that a certain installment is not as good as a previous installments, due to ridiculous or low quality storylines, events or characters.
The term comes from the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, in which, near the start of the movie, Harrison Ford's character survives a nuclear detonation by climbing into a kitchen fridge, which is then blown hundreds of feet through the sky whilst the town disintegrates. He then emerges from the fridge with no apparent injury. Later in the movie, the audience is expected to fear for his safety in a normal fistfight.
Fans of the Indiana Jones series found the absurdity of this event in the film to be the best example of the lower quality of this installment in the series, and thus coined the phrase, "nuke the fridge".
The phrase is also a reference to the phrase "jump the shark", which has the same meaning, only applied to a television series instead of a film series.
This phrase is not in common use.
"Star Wars didn't really nuke the fridge until Jar Jar Binks was introduced."
"Peter Parker dancing around the bar in Spider-Man 3? Kinda nukes the fridge!"
"The Godfather: Part III nukes the fridge."
"Gremlins 2 more or less nuked the fridge."
Nuke the fridge is a colloquialism used to refer to the moment in a film series that is so incredible that it lessens the excitement of subsequent scenes that rely on more understated action or suspense, and it becomes apparent that a certain installment is not as good as a previous installments, due to ridiculous or low quality storylines, events or characters.
The term comes from the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, in which, near the start of the movie, Harrison Ford's character survives a nuclear detonation by climbing into a kitchen fridge, which is then blown hundreds of feet through the sky whilst the town disintegrates. He then emerges from the fridge with no apparent injury. Later in the movie, the audience is expected to fear for his safety in a normal fistfight.
Fans of the Indiana Jones series found the absurdity of this event in the film to be the best example of the lower quality of this installment in the series, and thus coined the phrase, "nuke the fridge".
The phrase is also a reference to the phrase "jump the shark", which has the same meaning, only applied to a television series instead of a film series.
This phrase is not in common use.
"Star Wars didn't really nuke the fridge until Jar Jar Binks was introduced."
"Peter Parker dancing around the bar in Spider-Man 3? Kinda nukes the fridge!"
"The Godfather: Part III nukes the fridge."
"Gremlins 2 more or less nuked the fridge."
06-04-08 | 07:03 PM
#3
DVD Talk Legend
Sorry, but "nuke the fridge" is really stupid.
06-04-08 | 07:50 PM
#8
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 3,586
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From: Ontario, Canada
I don't care about being spoiled on the new Indy movie, so after reading that quote about him surviving a nuked fridge, I know I won't be missing anything but a hell of a funny scene. I'm laughing at the idea of that right now, it's so ridiculous
06-04-08 | 08:14 PM
#9
DVD Talk Legend
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 18,946
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes
on
3 Posts
From: 75 clicks above the Do Lung bridge...
oh yeah and then he steps out of the fridge and stands right under the mushroom cloud... just stands there watching the mushroom cloud grow, from right under it...
it was a multimedia insult to the intelligence of the viewer...
'nuked the fridge'... i love this one...
it was a multimedia insult to the intelligence of the viewer...
'nuked the fridge'... i love this one...
06-04-08 | 08:48 PM
#10
DVD Talk Hero
Wow, this one is just stupid. Mostly because there's dozens of big movie moments that are far more offensive to reality.
This saying completely hacks the mothership.
This saying completely hacks the mothership.
06-04-08 | 09:01 PM
#11
Originally Posted by RichC2
Wow, this one is just stupid. Mostly because there's dozens of big movie moments that are far more offensive to reality.
This saying completely hacks the mothership.
This saying completely hacks the mothership.
06-04-08 | 09:32 PM
#12
DVD Talk Hero
Jump the shark is the one everybody knows for a reason 
Nuked the fridge just doesn't roll off the tongue.
Nuked the fridge just doesn't roll off the tongue.
Last edited by RichC2; 06-04-08 at 10:03 PM.
06-04-08 | 09:41 PM
#13
DVD Talk Legend
"Hacks the mothership" is way better than "Nuke the fridge".
This whole "nuke the fridge" reminded me of a scene in "Mean Girls".
I couldn't remember exactly what the saying was they were trying to
make popular. So I cheated and went to IMBD's memorable quotes
and it was:
Gretchen: That is so fetch!
Regina: Gretchen, stop trying to make fetch happen! It's not going to happen!
This whole "nuke the fridge" reminded me of a scene in "Mean Girls".
I couldn't remember exactly what the saying was they were trying to
make popular. So I cheated and went to IMBD's memorable quotes
and it was:
Gretchen: That is so fetch!
Regina: Gretchen, stop trying to make fetch happen! It's not going to happen!
06-04-08 | 10:30 PM
#17
DVD Talk Legend
Nuke the fridge. I like it.
Nuke the fridge, jump the shark - same basic idea.
Nuke the fridge, jump the shark - same basic idea.
