Movies

The Sims Fans Already Dread 1 Obvious Running Gag the Movie Will Inevitably Go For

The Sims Fans Already Dread 1 Obvious Running Gag the Movie Will Inevitably Go For
Image credit: Electronic Arts

If you’ve ever been (or spoken to) a Sims player, you know what we’re talking about.

Summary:

  • Margot Robbie ’s upcoming The Sims movie already has everyone’s attention.
  • The Sims fans, however, desperately don’t want the film adapting some of the game’s longest-running gags.
  • The pool ladder gag, for one, has been around for too long, and everyone will be expecting it, making it a no-go.
  • This gag revolves around players removing pool ladders, leading to their characters’ inevitable drowning.

After a couple of decades of utterly disastrous attempts, video game adaptations are finally going strong now. Hollywood directors and screenwriters got a hang of how to turn an interactive art form into a non-interactive one, and the latest adaptations have been great — but there’s more coming, including the most unexpected ones.

Recently, we learned that a The Sims movie is currently in development. While a peculiar choice for a video game adaptation as it is, it leads its creators to a dilemma: there are certain running gags that are asking to be added into the movie, but fans are already hating their future movie versions. You know the ones.

The Sims Movie: the Pool Ladder Dilemma

Every fan community has its running gags, some of which are really quite old. This makes them lowkey signature for their communities… But also, very repetitive. Among The Sims fans, the swimming pool ladder is perhaps one of the oldest things — and there’s nearly no way the movie will not try to throw this gag into the mix.

The Sims Fans Already Dread 1 Obvious Running Gag the Movie Will Inevitably Go For - image 1

Sure, it’s been a popular joke in the community for ages. But… Just leave it, okay?

“The thing I dread most about this is all the easy jokes. I don't want any more bits about removing pool ladders or having them stand still while their house burns down. I want to see babies set on the literal floor, <...> I demand the cow plant, and I want everyone to be married after knowing each other for 6 sim hours,” Reddit user theimmortalfawn wrote.

The Sims’ Pool Ladder Running Gag, Explained

Most The Sims fans agree that adding even a reference, let alone an entire scene centered on the good old pool ladder would be a terrible mauvais ton… But since not everyone interested in Margot Robbie’s acting career is a Sims connoisseur, this begs for an explanation. So, what is the dreaded swimming pool ladder gag?

Long story short, in The Sims, characters (sims) used to be unable to climb out of swimming pools without using ladders… And swimming for hours or days on end leads to severe exhaustion and drowning. Players often abused this mechanic to get rid of undesired sims quickly by making a pool, waiting for them to go in, and removing the ladder so that the poor sim would inevitably drown.

It’s a long-running joke in the community, but it’s something so old that a brand new movie definitely doesn’t need it — mainly, because everyone will be expecting it.