what elements determine a film as being classified as a Typical Hollywood film?

Lovin life: what elements determine a film as being classified as a Typical Hollywood film?
What is a Hollywood movie. How is it really different from a documentary or a experimental film? I’ve seen some of them that actually use actors in it besides regular people.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Gail M
Lots of spectacular disasters – fires, fights, tsunamis, anything with Tom Cruise or Jennifer Aniston in it, explosions, impossible situations, amazing escapes

Answer by waia2000
The script is just a cut and paste job, there is not a single original thought – very predictable.

Answer by mimi
special effects
cookie cutter script
pure good guy and pure bad guy
happy ending
predictable

Answer by peterknh
There’s a pretty clear “hero” formula for the “typical Hollywood film” – particularly action/adventure movies, science fiction, dramas, and even (believe it or not) comedies and romantic comedies. The formula goes like this:

1) Main character has a tragic flaw. Some issue or barrier they’re dealing with.
2) A crisis or opportunity develops – resulting in a quest
3) There’s a car chase or something like that. It involves a pursuit & race.
4) Usually the hero(es) must push through darkness, descend into the earth or sea, or go into foreign/unfamiliar territory.
5) A climactic confrontation happens, where the hero must overcome or conquer their flaw for the greater good (this usually involves a sacrifice of some kind)
6) The hero succeeds, gets the girl/guy/new companion, happy ending, roll the credits

This formula goes all the way back to some of the earliest mythology & fiction (Jonah and the Whale, Beowulf, The Odyssey, etc.) To give some examples of how it applies to Hollywood movies today, look at any Indiana Jones movie. Indy is afraid of snakes, has no spiritual faith, and he’s awful at personal relationships (1st movie; ex-girlfriend. 2nd movie; girlfriend. 3rd movie; his father. 4th movie; his own son.) A new artifact crisis happens, there’s all kinds of chases, and Indy has to go into caves/tombs/etc. He faces his fears, sacrifices his “prize” (keeping the object/artifact), and overcomes his relationship issues. The village/country/world is saved, happy ending, roll the credits.

Pick any big Hollywood movie and you’ll see the formula; Star Wars? Yup. Iron Man? Yup. District 9, Gran Torino, Shrek? Yup. Halloween, Alien, 2012, or Poseidon? Yup. It’s A Wonderful Life, Jaws, ET, Something About Mary, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Night at the Museum, American Pie, Knocked Up, The Hangover… you’ll see the pattern is there almost everywhere you look.

James Campbell called this pattern the “monomyth” and wrote about it in a book called “The Hero With A Thousand Faces.” It’s a really eye-opening examination of classic stories & literature, and how the model continues today in modern Hollywood films & entertainment.