I'll take a beer

roxics

roxics

Veteran
So many times I've heard some variation of that line said in a movie while a character is in a bar. I wonder why the writers don't just make up the name of a non-existent beer. Is there something I'm missing? Are they being vague for some purpose or are they just not very creative?
 
"Bartender, I'll take a Studgeyser. No no no, wait, I think I'd rather have a Griller Lite. No, my bad, please make it a Gross Eh Quiche. "
 
If they say the name of a fake beer, then they have to be sure it is a fake beer name and not the name of a real beer. Also, if they said the name of a fake beer, it would distract the audience from the real purpose of the scene as they try to figure out if they ever had Hop Stupid beer and where they can get it.
 
I am from beer country (average consumption per person is like 2 times more than germany which is second) and I find this very normal. There are pubs which have only one brand. So you just say beer. Or there is one brand which is “leader” and if you don’t want that you must specify it othervise you just say beer.
 
Paul F said:
If they say the name of a fake beer, then they have to be sure it is a fake beer name and not the name of a real beer. Also, if they said the name of a fake beer, it would distract the audience from the real purpose of the scene as they try to figure out if they ever had Hop Stupid beer and where they can get it.
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But it can also be a cool thing. Tarantino has Red Apple Cigarettes in his films for example. Kevin Smith has MOOBY'S fast food. Then of course there is ACME. Can't forget that one.
 
Props departments make up beer names all the time, zoom in on the bottle labels in any small to medium size feature or even many series. Some serious creativity at work there.

As far as dialog, I have to agree that fake names would be more distracting to the audience than just "beer" is.
 
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I agree. As a homebrewer, it kind of makes the character look like an oaf since the beer revolution has been underway for quite some time now. But the scene or character would need to call for it or it would seem best to stay generic. Good catch on this.

On a similar topic, my wife and I notice how whenever things are difficult or a big problem is averted characters most always turn to whiskey. Sort of like the whiskey council has paid the movie industry to be the drink of choice. Doesn't everybody pullout the bottle all the time at work? :)
 
Whiskey is so much better than beer for a problem scene. It has more gravitas. Beer is wimpy. Whiskey is serious. Everything about the action of pouring a whiskey is so much more interesting, classy, and serious than it would be for a beer.
 
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Just make up a name. Then see how many hipsters try to order it in real life. Sort of like what happened with Zoolander: "Orange Mocha Frappuccino!"
 
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