Much like television's "jumping the shark," the moment where a series heads for the rediculous, "nuking the fridge" refers to the point in a film where you realize how bad it is due to dumb story lines or the fact that the ability to suspend disbelief has been pushed to the point of impossible.
The origin of this phrase comes from the latest Indana Jones installment, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." In the film, Indiana realizes he is in the middle of nuclear bomb testing and seeks refuge in a lead-lined 1950's refridgerator. According to urbandictionary.com, "although lead is radiation proof, lead melts at 620 degrees and is not resistant to the millions of degrees, that say, an atomic bomb would put out." So, the phrase "nuking the fridge" was born.
Other examples of films "nuking the fridge":
George Lucas introduces Jar-Jar Binks in "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace."
The "Batman" film franchise brings Arnold's "Mr. Freeze" to the big screen. "Chill out" becomes the dumbest line of the year.
But is the phrase catching on? On July 7, CNBC ran a story entitled "Have Media Stocks Nuked the Fridge?"
What other films have "nuked the fridge"? Let me hear 'em...
PHOTO: PARAMOUNT PICTURES


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