The #1 Cracked Gist

What is this?

What is the Cracked Gist?

The focus of each Cheat Sheet is called The Gist. Think of the concise humor of the Craptions section crossed with our Pop Culture articles. Your goal here is to summarize everything anyone needs to know about the subject of your cheat sheet in one hilarious paragraph (500 character limit).

A few things to keep in mind:

  1. Don’t feel the need to rip every movie that you write a gist for. It’s perfectly fine to have a positive, passionate opinion about a film. OR: You don't have to love the movie, but you don't have to hate it either. Being negative does not mean you are being funny. We are never dismissive in our pop-culture articles.
  2. Focus on contributing to movies you have seen, and thought about.
  3. Avoid using the first joke that pops into your head. We're not looking for you to summarize the jokes other people would make. We're looking for you to make interesting and unique observations about the subject you're summarizing.
  4. Try to keep swearing to a minimum. Sometimes, well-placed profanity can help a joke land. Most of the time, a swear word makes your joke feel forced.
  5. There's no one correct way to write a Gist. If you can summarize everything we need to know about the movie in 10 words, that can be funny. It can also come off as glib. If you're having a tough time figuring out how to strike that balance, go to the movie section of Cracked, and study up.

Here are some samples that should give you a good idea of the wide variety of Gists that can work:
The Dark Knight
Independence Day

  • +2

When Sinbad goes on the run from mobsters, he shacks up with an unsuspecting white family after claiming to be a childhood friend of the patriarch. Naturally, because he's black, he teaches them about sass and basketball and ultimately wins them over even after admitting he's a filthy liar who brings gangsters into their lives. The film also features a subplot in which we are led to believe that somehow Jeffrey Jones is an accomplished runner despite being totally fat.

jekelish
Add Your Gist

Houseguest (1995)

Source: TMBDb.org

Information Not Available

Consensus: No consensus yet.

Overview
  • Rating:
    PG (USA)
  • Theatrical Release:
    January 06, 1995
  • Budget:
    Not Available
  • Box Office:
    Not Available
  • Runtime:
    1 hrs 53 min
  • Produced by:
    Joe Roth Roger Birnbaum
  • Screenplay by:
Director
Randall Miller
Cast
Phil Hartman Gary Young
Sinbad Kevin Franklin
Kim Murphy
Tony Longo
Kim Greist
Freebase CC-BY
Source: Houseguest on Freebase, licensed under CC-BY
Cracked Gists
500 characters left
  1. When Sinbad goes on the run from mobsters, he shacks up with an unsuspecting white family after claiming to be a childhood friend of the patriarch. Naturally, because he's black, he teaches them about sass and basketball and ultimately wins them over even after admitting he's a filthy liar who brings gangsters into their lives. The film also features a subplot in which we are led to believe that somehow Jeffrey Jones is an accomplished runner despite being totally fat.

    jekelish
    • +2

More Movies

The Town

Released: September 08, 2010

Box Office: $154,026,136

Cast Away

Released: December 07, 2000

Box Office: $429,632,142

Twister

Released: May 10, 1996

Box Office: $494,471,524

Elsewhere ...