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{{quote|''The [[Tagline]] on the cover says "An action-packed thrill ride!" This line is so generic it's almost invisible. It says nothing! I defy you to come up with a more forgettable box quote. For bonus points use the words Fast, Furious, Rollercoaster and Tour de Force...
''Ugh, No-holds-barred, I forgot that one.''|'''[[The Spoony Experiment|The Spoony One]], reviewing ''[[Wing Commander (film)|Wing Commander]]'' [[The Movie]]'''}}
Also known as "reviewer-speak."
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Coming up with original reviews for multiple works within the same month, week or issue can be hard. That's why many reviewers, amateur critics, and even travel writers will use certain stock words, phrases, and terms for works.
Some examples of
[[Reviewer Standard Comparisons]] is a [[Sub-Trope]].
{{examples}}
* "Riveting". When was the last time you saw that word used outside of a movie review context? Apart from [[Stealth Pun|metalwork class]] that is?▼
** Oh yeah. [[Neurotically Yours|Foamy The Squirrel]] even railed against this during one of his famous rants.▼
** [[Dave Barry]] once claimed to have been [[Lampshade Hanging|"literally riveted to [his] seat, by literal rivets."]]▼
* Action movies and books will usually be "Thrilling," "Suspenseful," "Gripping," and "High-Octane," among many others.▼
** Expect any action-comedy review to feature the word "romp" at least once.▼
** Every action movie has at some point been referred to as a "roller-coaster ride" or "thrill ride". Directors are typically called "visionary" for reasons which are often unclear.▼
* Family comedies will usually be "Fun for the whole family" or something to that effect.▼
* Comedies in general will always be "hilarious" and "laugh-out-loud funny!"▼
* Documentaries will often be "thought-provoking" or "controversial"▼
* Film reviews of blockbusters often feature "This Year's X": "''[[Star Trek (film)|Star Trek]]'' is this year's ''[[Iron Man (film)|Iron Man]]''", for example. "The Next X" is similiar, also for [[Viewers are Morons|people who can't comprehend that something can stand on its own without being compared to something else.]]▼
* "Smart, sexy and..." fill-in-the-blank. "Cool," "fun," and "action-packed" work.▼
* The "It's ''[[Die Hard]]'' [[Die Hard on an X|On An X]]" line that's popped up in reviews for the past 22 years.▼
* Bright Lights Film Journal's [http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/banned.php Banned Words].▼
* Peter Travers, the film critic for ''Rolling Stone'', often peppers his reviews with cliche phrases like "crackerjack thrillride," "enjoy the air conditioning," or "check your brain in at the door" to describe action movies that require little attention.▼
* Few action film set-ups are as overworked and meaningless as the old one-two punch of invoking the "unstoppable chain of events" that will have you "on the edge of your seat."▼
* The posters for ''[[Dumb and Dumber]]'' parodied this with fictitious review quotes such as, [[Captain Obvious|"It's a movie experience for anyone who goes to see it"]] and [[Fridge Logic|"I laughed til I stopped."]]▼
* Many reviewers have taken after Roger Ebert's 'two thumbs up' signature. Sometimes something else will be substituted depending on the movie, ie two paws or some such.▼
== [[Literature]] ==
* [http://www.examiner.com/x-562-Book-Examiner~y2009m3d11-The-top-20-most-annoying-book-reviewer-phrases-and-how-to-use-them-all-in-one-meaningless-review The top 20 most annoying book reviewer cliches and how to use them all in one meaningless review]
* Literary critics in particular tend to use the phrase "tour de force", usually apropos of extremely pretentious or confusing works.
* "Page-turner" comes up often.
* The ''[[Discworld]]'' book ''[[
* If the novel accurately captures a teen's voice, expect the phrase "like [[The Catcher in The Rye|Holden Caulfield]]" to pop up somewhere.
* [[Stephen Colbert]] and [[Jon Stewart]]'s books mock this consistently. Some highlights (paraphrased).
{{quote|"Best book ever. Or maybe I'm dead and Colbert's taking advantage of this fact by signing my name to this review. Either way, you got to admit, he's got guts." -J D Salinger.
"A must-read! I laughed, I cried, I lost ten pounds!" -''Stephen Colbert'' }}
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** In the same vein, if it has anthropomorphic woodland creatures, especially if they're mice, it'll be "perfect for fans of ''[[Redwall]]''."
* ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' has also had the same ''Entertainment Weekly'' quote on every book in the series, dating back to the very first:
** "Think ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' [[X Meets Y|starring]] [[Raymond Chandler|Philip Marlowe]]."
* If it resembles a better-known work in the same genre, you might see "invites comparison to..." This can [[Compliment Backfire|backfire]], however. ("Invites comparison to ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. ''Lord Of The Rings'' was great. This is crap.")
* Some variant of "I couldn't put it down" often turns up in positive reviews, although this at least MEANS something. As literary types, critics are naturally uncomfortable using wacky and zany [[neologism]]s like "unputdownable".
** Almost as common is the tongue-in-cheek review of a [[Doorstopper]] that says "I couldn't pick it up..."
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* If any non-fiction book discusses psychopaths or "evil people" in general, expect the adjective "chilling" to be abused ceaselessly, though it is questionable whether any of these books have ever lowered someone's body temperature.
** This doesn't apply only the non-fiction, of course. Apparently every single mystery novel ever is "chilling" as well.
* When [[Monty Python]] was asked to review ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', [[John Cleese]] decided to go with stock phrases; naturally, the others [[Lampshade Hanging|pointed it out]]:
{{quote|''Really entertaining and fun.'' -- '''John Cleese'''
''I know for a fact that John Cleese hasn't read it.'' -- '''Graham Chapman'''
''Really entertaining and fun.'' -- '''[[Michael Palin]]''' }}
* One episode of ''[[Spin City]]'' had the Mayor asking his staff for their reviews of his performance as mayor. Paul's review consisted entirely of lines like these he stole from various movie reviews, including the line, "Stallone is pure adrenaline."▼
* On episode of ''[[30
==
▲* "Riveting". When was the last time you saw that word used outside of a movie review context? Apart from [[Stealth Pun|metalwork class]] that is?
▲** Oh yeah. [[Neurotically Yours|Foamy The Squirrel]] even railed against this during one of his famous rants.
▲** [[Dave Barry]] once claimed to have been [[Lampshade Hanging|"literally riveted to [his] seat, by literal rivets."]]
▲* Action movies and books will usually be "Thrilling," "Suspenseful," "Gripping," and "High-Octane," among many others.
▲** Expect any action-comedy review to feature the word "romp" at least once.
▲** Every action movie has at some point been referred to as a "roller-coaster ride" or "thrill ride". Directors are typically called "visionary" for reasons which are often unclear.
▲* Family comedies will usually be "Fun for the whole family" or something to that effect.
▲* Comedies in general will always be "hilarious" and "laugh-out-loud funny!"
▲* Documentaries will often be "thought-provoking" or "controversial"
▲* Film reviews of blockbusters often feature "This Year's X": "''[[Star Trek (film)|Star Trek]]'' is this year's ''[[Iron Man (film)|Iron Man]]''", for example. "The Next X" is similiar, also for [[Viewers are Morons|people who can't comprehend that something can stand on its own without being compared to something else.]]
▲* "Smart, sexy and..." fill-in-the-blank. "Cool," "fun," and "action-packed" work.
▲* The "It's ''[[Die Hard]]'' [[Die Hard on an X|On An X]]" line that's popped up in reviews for the past 22 years.
▲* Bright Lights Film Journal's [http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/banned.php Banned Words].
▲* Peter Travers, the film critic for ''Rolling Stone'', often peppers his reviews with cliche phrases like "crackerjack thrillride," "enjoy the air conditioning," or "check your brain in at the door" to describe action movies that require little attention.
▲* Few action film set-ups are as overworked and meaningless as the old one-two punch of invoking the "unstoppable chain of events" that will have you "on the edge of your seat."
▲* The posters for ''[[Dumb and Dumber]]'' parodied this with fictitious review quotes such as, [[Captain Obvious|"It's a movie experience for anyone who goes to see it"]] and [[Fridge Logic|"I laughed til I stopped."]]
▲* Many reviewers have taken after Roger Ebert's 'two thumbs up' signature. Sometimes something else will be substituted depending on the movie, ie two paws or some such.
▲== Music ==
* "For fans of (list three bands, one or two of those whose names are thrown around too much in their genre, and one that seems a bit out of left field)."
* "Sophomoric" has become a cliche phrase within music reviews. As has the infamous "[[Sophomore Slump]]" that critics use to describe [[Follow Up Failure|disappointing follow-up records]].
* Have you ever heard "whiskey-soaked" to describe anything but a blues or classic rock album?
** "Whiskey-soaked" is the stock phrase to describe [[Tom Waits]]' voice.
* Bill Anschell's "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130511005722/http://www.billanschell.com/jazzcritic.html How to Be a Jazz Critic]" is basically a list of these.
* It seems that every rock single that gets released these days is an "anthem" of some kind. "An indie-rock anthem," "an anthem for today's generation," etc.
* Any variant on "Their old stuff was better" will do.
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* Guitar solos are always "blisteringly fast," or played with "lightning speed."
** Alternatively,"searing" or "blazing."
* There's a very nice list of these sorts of phrases on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120728004512/http://www.bored.com/findcliches/music.htm this page.]
* When reading any review for a guitar, amp or effects pedal, expect any of these terms: Crunchy, gritty, bluesy, blistering, searing, fat, chunky, wide, smooth, biting, nasty, squeals, scooped, tinny, rich, warm, hollow, tubey and sings.
** And in a video review, no matter what they're reviewing, if they're playing a guitar they will make their O-face the whole time.
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* For [[Bob Dylan]], it's "best since ''Blood on the Tracks.'' Way to brush over decades worth of great material.
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==▼
* ''[[Dilbert]]'' mocks this when Dogbert starts a film reviewing business, providing the review the filmmaker wants for a price. One man asks what the price is for "Best movie so far this year" for a film coming out January first.▼
▲== Live Action TV ==
▲* One episode of ''[[Spin City]]'' had the Mayor asking his staff for their reviews of his performance as mayor. Paul's review consisted entirely of lines like these he stole from various movie reviews, including the line, "Stallone is pure adrenaline."
▲* On episode of ''[[30 Rock|Thirty Rock]]'' has Pete use the stock acting description to say that Tracy Morgan is phoning it in. Then clarifies that this is [[Not Hyperbole]], he's doing the scene over the phone from his dressing room.
== [[Video Games]] ==
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* Before the whole recent push towards being obsessed with [[Retro Gaming]], it was common to see any post-1999 2D game being described as having "SNES graphics" in a bad way. Now people are starting to learn what SNES graphics ''really'' were.
* "Innovative," which gets dragged out whenever a game or peripheral uses an unconventional gimmick. They beat this horse particularly hard when the [[Wii]] and [[DS]] came out, but they learned their lesson when competing [[Waggle]]-devices were released.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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** Given some episodes of recent years, [[Hilarious in Hindsight]] too.
== Other Media ==▼
▲== Comics ==
▲* ''[[Dilbert]]'' mocks this when Dogbert starts a film reviewing business, providing the review the filmmaker wants for a price. One man asks what the price is for "Best movie so far this year" for a film coming out January first.
▲== Other ==
* Whenever an [[Video Review Show|internet-based critic]] reviews something bad, expect [[Refuge in Vulgarity|a lot of]] fecal and/or sexual metaphors and swears.
* "Pedestrian" sees a lot of use among the more pretentious media critics.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼
[[Category:Stock Phrases]]
[[Category:Criticism Tropes]]
▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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