Vault: We Test Movie Cliches In Public

Summary

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The Bert Show: "Vault: We Test Movie Cliches In Public"

Original Air Date: January 6, 2026
Cast: Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy & the Bert Show Cast
Episode Format: Discussion & segment-based, conversational and humorous

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the Bert Show team dives headfirst into Hollywood tropes by testing iconic movie clichés in real life—specifically, those scenes where dramatic or joyous encounters spark spontaneous responses from the public or sage advice from a friendly bartender. The cast recounts previous and new experiments, sharing entertaining results, behind-the-scenes moments, and their signature wit as they explore whether movie magic holds up in Atlanta’s real-world bars, restaurants, and stores.

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Key Discussion Points & Experiments

1. Testing the "Public Proposal" Applause Cliché (01:48)

• Setup: The team previously sent Producer Tracy and Phil into a restaurant, where Phil "proposed" to Tracy in front of the patrons.
• Result: The restaurant erupted in applause, and a coffee shop even offered to cater their "reception."
• Insight: Sometimes, people really want to believe in love stories and enjoy participating, just like in the movies.

Notable Quote:

• "And the coffee shop we went to even offered to cater our reception."
  — Phil Tyranna (02:32)

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2. The "Spontaneous Public Singing" Trope (02:40)

• Setup: Phil and Producer Jen visited a Walmart to test whether starting a well-known song would lead strangers to join in.
• Result:
  • Song: "Lean on Me"
  • Walmart managers watched unamused, but all the McDonald's workers at the in-store franchise sang along from behind the counter.
• Insight: Some bystanders embrace these moments, especially in lighthearted workplace settings, though not everyone is in the spirit.

Notable Quote:

• "All the workers at McDonald's were on the counter singing with us."
  — Phil Tyranna (03:03)

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3. The "Bartender Philosopher" Cliché – A Major Experiment (04:14)

Concept:

• Movie trope: When someone hits rock bottom and orders a drink, the wise bartender dispenses life-changing advice.
• Task: Phil Tyranna visits three bars, delivering an over-the-top “my-life-is-falling-apart” story and asks for genuine guidance.

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A. Stop 1: Southern Sports Bar ("Dixie Tavern") (06:15)

• Bartender’s Advice:
  • "Take some time to relax. Like you said, just collect your old self. Have a few beers and don't think too hard about it, but don't let it take too long to get back into whatever it is you gotta get into. Cause money doesn't last forever." (06:15)
• Team’s Commentary: The advice is generic—lots of clichés, but nothing too profound or actionable.
• Follow-up: Bartender gives more generic advice after 10 minutes, then shifts attention to happier customers.

Notable Quote:

• "Take your time, but don't take too much time. Have a beer, but don't drink too much..."
  — Commentator/Co-host (07:18)

B. Stop 2: Mexican Restaurant Bar (07:33)

• Bartender’s “Advice”:
  • "Margarita. Tequila." (07:56-08:07)
• Team’s Commentary: Advice is limited to “have a margarita/tequila.” Conversation is hindered by blaring Telemundo.
• Result: No pearls of wisdom, just drink suggestions.

Memorable Exchange:

• Phil: "Is that your advice, drink tequila?"
• Bartender: "Yes." (08:13)

C. Stop 3: Irish Pub ("Meehans in Vinings") (09:01-11:41)

• Setup: Phil asks for an Irish bartender. Damien, a gregarious Irishman, joins him for a 20+ minute, empathetic chat.
• Condensed Advice:
  • "Try to stay out of your head as much as you can... surround yourself with good people... get out and do things... concentrate on yourself... go run... you'll feel fantastic... If you need anybody to call on or to hang out with... you're more than welcome to hang out and crush a few beers down, have a good old-fashioned chin wag." (10:20-11:23)
• Extra: Damien offers Phil his number and companionship.
• Team’s Reaction: Damien is universally beloved—kind, genuine, and ready to make new friends, but, of course, part of the advice boils down to having more drinks.

Notable Quotes:

• "A chin wag is just what we're doing. You're wagging your chin, having a bit of a chit chat, nice powwow."
  — Damien, the Irish bartender (11:24)
• "Just get hammered as often as possible."
  — Damien, the Irish bartender (11:40)

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Insights & Takeaways

• Cliché Reality Check: In the real world, movie clichés sometimes play out—you might get applause for a public proposal, but spontaneous singing is hit or miss. Bartenders, however, are rarely film-level sages; more often, their “wisdom” is to relax, surround yourself with good people, and (unsurprisingly) have a drink.
• Universal Bartender Advice: The team observes that, whether at a Southern sports bar, Mexican cantina, or Irish pub, every bartender’s ultimate advice is to have a drink and not dwell too much on your problems.
• Lighthearted Self-Awareness: The episode is filled with friendly teasing and quick quips about stereotypes, pop culture, and each other’s antics, maintaining a playful and relatable vibe throughout.

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Memorable Moments & Quotes with Timestamps

• Public Proposal Outcome:
  "They did get a round of applause. And the coffee shop... offered to cater our reception."
  — Phil Tyranna (02:31-02:37)

• Walmart Song Experiment:
  "All the workers at McDonald's were on the counter singing with us."
  — Phil Tyranna (03:03)

• First Bartender’s Cliché Advice:
  "Take some time to relax. Like you said, just collect your old self..."
  — Bartender 1 (06:15)

• Mexican Bartender’s Advice:
  "Margarita."
  — Bartender (07:56)
  "Tequila."
  — Bartender (08:01)

• Irish Bartender’s Heartfelt Guidance:
  "Surround yourself as many good people as you can... concentrate on yourself..."
  — Damien (10:20-11:23)

• Damien's Humorous Addendum:
  "Just get hammered as often as possible."
  — Damien (11:40)

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Conclusion

Wrap-Up: Real-life rarely matches Hollywood’s scripts, but there’s usually some truth—people sometimes do break into applause or song, and bartenders can be both kind and cliché. At the end of the day, the best real-world advice is simple: lean on friends (and maybe enjoy a drink), and don’t take life’s darkest moments too seriously.

Summary of Cliché Outcomes:

• Public proposal applause: TRUE
• Spontaneous singing: PARTIALLY TRUE
• Wise bartender: MOSTLY CLICHÉ (with bonus Irish charisma!)

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For more antics, behind-the-scenes stories, and daily laughs, catch new episodes of The Bert Show.

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Transcript

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[Phil Tyranna]

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[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

Purchased the Birch show from time to time on the show I think we're all pretty big moviegoers here. I think we all dig movies and we have noticed that there are certain movie cliches that you see time and time again. That's why they're cliches in movies and we try to test those cliches to see if they work in real life also. We've done this a couple of different times now.

[Producer Tracy]

Yeah, there was one time where producer Tracy and Phil went into A restaurant. And Phil proposed to producer Tracy to see if the entire restaurant would applause and celebrate their new engagement.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

Cause every time you watch a movie where there's a public proposal, everybody's standing around. And when they did that, we got.

[Phil Tyranna]

A round of applause.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

They did get a round of applause.

[Phil Tyranna]

And the coffee shop we went to even offered to cater our reception.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

Then we sent Jen out one morning to test one of these movie cliches also.

[Producer Phil]

Yeah, Phil and I went to, what was it, Walmart or.

[Phil Tyranna]

No, we went to Walmart.

[Producer Phil]

We went to a Walmart. And we tested the cliche that if you publicly start singing a well known song, that everyone will join in the celebration and start singing with you. And sure enough, we started singing. What do we sing?

[Phil Tyranna]

Lean on Me.

[Producer Phil]

Lean on me. And the workers and the WALMART and the McDonald's that was inside the Walmart started singing with us.

[Phil Tyranna]

Well, actually, to be correct, all the managers of Walmart stood there and looked at us, arms crossed. All the workers at McDonald's were on the counter singing with us.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

Yeah. So we tested two of those cliches, and they both worked out right perfectly well over the weekend, I happened just to be channel surfing when I was in San Diego. And, you know, they just have a couple of different channels for you to check out. And one of the movies on was Cocktail.

[Noom/Hers Advertiser]

Right.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

Okay. And this specific scene stuck out in my mind.

[Phil Tyranna]

Just get canned. I'm looking, looking for something better.

[Commentator/Co-host]

Coughlan's Law.

[Phil Tyranna]

Anything else is always something better. Coughlan's Law. Douglas Coghlan flourished in the last part of the 20th century, propounded a set of laws that the world generally ignored to its detriment.

[Christy]

Me.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

So the cliche here is that when you're down on your luck and you're confused about a situation at your lowest point, if you go into a bar and you order a drink, the wise bartender behind the bar will always have some nugget of wisdom that will pull you out of your depression and make everything just fine.

[Producer Tracy]

Because all bartenders are philosophers from the movies.

[Phil Tyranna]

Right.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

And you see this every time, from time to time in movies. You know, like the wise bartender. So we sent Phil Tyranna out yesterday to go to a couple of different bars with some problems to see if he would get some wisdom from bartenders.

[Phil Tyranna]

And. And you'll. As you'll hear it, it worked and it failed at the same time. Here was the situation. So I went into a bar, and here was the story I came up with. Went in, I had my sunglasses on. The whole Time, Head down. Bartender. Hey, can I get you something? Yeah. I'd order a beer and I'd say something to the effect of, man, they're not lying when they say it comes in threes. Piqued their curiosity. And then I'd say, well, it started Sunday night. Found out that my parents of 50 years just got split up. Oh, that's too bad. Last night my biatch of a wife walked out on me and took the kids. Oh, man, I hate to hear that. And finally at work today, I just got canned. So my parents got split up, my wife left me. Now I don't have a job. And by then they're all just kind of looking at me wide eyed, going, wow, wow, this guy's got some problems. And so from there I would simply ask them. So you being a bartender, you've been doing this for many years. I'm sure you've had people come to you needing advice. Your advice from someone who's seen this to someone who could use some words of wisdom. Can you help me out? Can you help a brother out?

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

Now, can you mention which bars you went to?

[Phil Tyranna]

Yeah, sure, sure. Especially the last one.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

Okay, the first one here is. This one is labeled Advice Redneck.

[Phil Tyranna]

Yeah, this was more of a sports bar. And this is more. I still don't want to know the name of this one, but it's over on Windy Hill. And if anybody's been there, they'll know it because it's very southern, you know.

[Commentator/Co-host]

Why can't you say the name of it?

[Phil Tyranna]

Well, it was Dixie Tavern. I love that place.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

Okay.

[Phil Tyranna]

And it was great. And the guy behind the counter is really. Yeah, it's fun. It's so much fun. But I didn't want it to be labeled as redneck. But this was the funnest. This was the.

[Commentator/Co-host]

It's called Dixie Tavern.

[Phil Tyranna]

It's Dixie Tavern.

[Christy]

All right.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

This is the bartender giving you.

[Phil Tyranna]

So walk in there, have, you know, have my advice. I have my problem laid out to him. And the advice that this wise bartender who's seen it all, this is his advice.

[Bartender 1]

Take some time to relax. Like you said, just collect your own self. Yeah, just collect your mind and just get you set right. Have a few beers and don't think too hard about it. But don't let it take too long to get back into whatever it is you gotta get into. Cause money doesn't last forever.

[Phil Tyranna]

And with that, he walked away.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

He's just throwing out cliches.

[Phil Tyranna]

Yeah.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

If you can't stand the heat, get outta the Kitchen.

[Christy]

You're right.

[Phil Tyranna]

That lasts forever.

[Commentator/Co-host]

You know, bird in the hand is worth two in the bun.

[Phil Tyranna]

And he checked back with me about 10 minutes later into my second beer. And I tried to talk to him a little bit more, but he didn't really have much to say after that. So he spit out some wisdom and went back to serving people who were a little more happy.

[Producer Tracy]

Well, and what part of his wisdom was to drink, drink? So, I mean, in bartender. I mean, you know, he's trying to have some beers.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

I don't think I could make out the first part of it.

[Bartender 1]

Take some time to relax. Like you said, just collect your old self. Just collect your mind and just collect your old self. Have a few beers and don't think too hard about it, but don't let it take too long. Arm to get back into whatever it is you gotta get into. Money doesn't last forever.

[Commentator/Co-host]

He's like the 50, 50 advice guy. Take your time, but don't take too much time. Have a beer, but don't drink too much. We just want to sit around and collect your thoughts, but you need to get out there and get on with your life. So he figures he can't miss. He'll throw everything out.

[Phil Tyranna]

All right, second place problem was not quite solved there. Still needed some more insight. So I thought maybe I should go international. So I hit Roswell Road and went to a Mexican restaurant. Went up to the bar again, same scenario to the bartender asking for some advice. And this is what he gave me. What would I. What. What should I do now? Yes. You don't know.

[Irish Bartender (Damien)]

Margarita.

[Phil Tyranna]

I'm sorry?

[Irish Bartender (Damien)]

Margarita. Margarita.

[Phil Tyranna]

Margarita.

[Irish Bartender (Damien)]

Tequila.

[Phil Tyranna]

Tequila. Is that your advice drink Tequila?

[Christy]

Yeah.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

Not exactly a pearl of wisdom, right?

[Commentator/Co-host]

Why do all the Mexican bars have to have Telemundo on so loud? It's always so loud. Like, you go into, you know, like a regular sports bar, and they're like, the TVs are all on, but they're turned down. You go into a Mexican restaurant or bar and it's always so loud.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

And half the problem with that also when you're watching the game is they never write out what cities are playing each other. It's always three initials. And I'm trying to figure it out for an hour. Bln.

[Christy]

I got nothing.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

I don't know.

[Commentator/Co-host]

And you think you know, and it's like BLO versus Pne. And you're like, oh, yeah, that's the Belize National Organization playing the Peru League. N. And then you find out it.

[Phil Tyranna]

Was like Spain playing France, so left the Mexican restaurant. Still a little bit confused. Then I thought the old cliche, if you need good advice, go to an Irish pub, find an Irishman, and I will tell you the name of this bar. This was Meehans and Vinings. Went down there, walked in, talked to the bartender for a second, realized he wasn't an Irishman, and said, you know what? I'm in an Irish bar. Do you have an Irishman Thinking he would say, no, as a matter of fact, I do. And he's at work today. Irishman comes walking up to the bar. He's. Now, granted, he's working. He's on the clock right now. Sits down next to me, proceeds to talk to me and become my best friend for over 25 minutes.

[Christy]

Nice.

[Phil Tyranna]

This guy was so cool. He was buying me beers. I tell you, when I came back to the meeting yesterday, because we had a meeting here after, you know, later on the afternoon, I was half buzzed because they just kept buying me drinks and saying, you know, what can we do? And you'll hear it in here. Now, granted, this is a 20 minute conversation condensed into a minute and a half.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

So he heard all your problems and sat down with you, and this is what we got.

[Phil Tyranna]

He didn't even hear them from me. He heard him from the bartender. And the bartender said, hey, man, you know, he's looking for an Irishman's advice. Can you go talk to him and help him out a little bit? And sure enough, he came over, pulled up a stool next to me and sat down. And he's an Irishman. So you'll hear some beeps because they have coarse language.

[Commentator/Co-host]

Why did you go all the way to the bar? Why didn't you just listen to a U2 album?

[Phil Tyranna]

And that Bono.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

Bono will speak to you, to your soul. All right, here you go.

[Phil Tyranna]

Where's Helm for you, Belfast. Ah, beautiful.

[Irish Bartender (Damien)]

You know, as far as myself, what I've always done is try to. I mean, I try to stay out of my head as much as I can because, you know, I just go through analysis, paralysis. You know, I'll start going crazy up there. Just surround yourself as many good people as you can. But just, you know, stay close to good people and try and do as many things as you can. Like, if people. If you got people, you know, like at golf, if you like to golf and get out, get out on the range, get out on the golf course, man, I like to golf and hang out. So concentrate on yourself, man. I'll tell you, I've been doing more and more over the last Two years than I've ever done in my entire life. I run every day, man. I didn't run a day. Go run, man, to the endorphins. You feel fantastic. I'll tell you what, if you need, if you need any good, myself, belief, need anybody to call on or to hang out with, you know, have a few beers. I mean, I got Thursdays off, Saturdays off, I got Mondays off. You know, you'll be more than welcome to hang out and crush a few beers down, have a good old fashioned chin wag.

[Phil Tyranna]

What is that?

[Irish Bartender (Damien)]

A chin wag is just what we're doing. Just have a chin wag. You're wagging your chin, having a bit.

[Phil Tyranna]

Of a chit chat, nice powwow.

[Irish Bartender (Damien)]

The good thing is, man, you're coming into spring, you're coming into summer and your spirits are going to be lifted anyway just by the weather. You're going to start feeling better. Oh yeah, that's okay. Now on top of that, just get hammered as often as possible.

[Phil Tyranna]

That guy was great. There you go, bro.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

That guy was great.

[Phil Tyranna]

Meehans. Yeah, Mee hands and vinings.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

That guy was great. I love him. And I'm off on Thursdays. I'll sit down and talk to you.

[Producer Tracy]

Cell phone number.

[Commentator/Co-host]

Dude, he offered me to pick you up after he found out that your wife left you and he trying to hit on you.

[Phil Tyranna]

I don't. Yeah, I don't know if he. I don't know if he was just really felt bad or if my story was that convincing. I mean, again, this was a 20 minute conversation and this guy was really cool. And then when he found out that my brother has an Irish girlfriend, he was more excited, wanted to hang out. He was like, call, call your brother, get your friends together. You need to stay busy. You need to come out. And as he said, call your brother, you need to get together, come hang out with us, we'll pound a few. I mean, he went on and so cool. And then.

[Show Host (possibly Birch)]

That's correct.

[Phil Tyranna]

And then at one point he was like, well, come on, let's. Let's go pound a few. Let's go have some more. And then. And I was like, I gotta go, I gotta go. Well, if you need a number, I'll give you my number.

[Producer Tracy]

What's his name again?

[Phil Tyranna]

I can't. Damien, I think was his name. Damien. And then for me, hands inviting. So I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go. Yeah. And. But the best part about this was that I noticed after doing this assignment, all three bartenders gave me the exact same advice. And that's the last clip I gave you.

[Irish Bartender (Damien)]

Margarita.

[Phil Tyranna]

Margarita.

[Irish Bartender (Damien)]

Tequila.

[Phil Tyranna]

Is that your advice? Drink tequila? Yes.

[Irish Bartender (Damien)]

And then on top of that, just get hammered as often as possible.

[Bartender 1]

Have a few beers, don't think too hard about it.

[Phil Tyranna]

Drink.

[Christy]

Drink.

[Producer Tracy]

They are bartenders and they want a big tip.

[Phil Tyranna]

The Birch Show.