More often, Mary is surrounded by cliched characters.

Mr. Ockrent's staging is far less imaginative when it comes to giving the cliched characters even an appearance of novelty.

Gee-whiz computer graphics shoehorned around cliched characters, lame dialogue and weak stories.

One reviewer felt that the running time allowed the cliched characters to be developed in more interesting directions.

Kuravlyov, however, turned down each one of them because he did not wish to play clichéd characters.

In Kirkus Reviews, the book was said to exhibit a "bold, slashing view of the tiresome banality of evil" but criticized the use of "clichéd characters".

The only cliched character is the gangster, Bowen (William Walker), who delivers his threats in portentous low-bass grumblings.

These are no cliched characters in a remake of "All About Eve," but real people in a real-life backstage Broadway drama.

Ms. Barzee, too, has a pure-lined, heartfelt way with a song that saves a clichéd character from camp.

The sport that Mr. Barden makes of these clichéd characters can be funny.