Tropescilloscope: Idiot Ball

A character who is normally much more competent starts acting stupid in order to drive the plot forward. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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Does Not Like Shoes Serial Killer A Date with Rosie Palms Improbable Weapon User Parental Incest Wretched Hive The Place Say My Name The Hero Parental Neglect Market-Based Title I Just Shot Marvin in the Face The Bad Guy Wins Red Right Hand Hollywood Law Genre Throwback Loads and Loads of Characters And the Adventure Continues Translation Convention Daddy's Girl Anachronic Order Politically Incorrect Villain Super Strength Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Pretty in Mink Casting Gag Malevolent Masked Men Room Full of Crazy Black and Gray Morality Fantastic Racism Historical In-Joke Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Easily Forgiven Drill Sergeant Nasty Artistic License – Geography timeperiod He Who Fights Monsters Freudian Excuse What the Hell, Hero? Your Head A-Splode A.I. Is a Crapshoot Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Accidental Misnaming Adapted Out Air-Vent Passageway Death Glare Broken Pedestal Shout-Out Curse Cut Short Mistaken for Gay Hell Is That Noise Sexy Discretion Shot Ambiguously Gay Cat Fight Non-Indicative Name Insistent Terminology The Dreaded The Stoner Handicapped Badass Male Frontal Nudity Nice Hat Unusually Uninteresting Sight A Minor Kidroduction Action Genre Alpha Bitch In Name Only Mama Bear Ripped from the Headlines Driven to Suicide Creepy Child Corpsing Here We Go Again! Properly Paranoid Deus ex Machina Obstructive Bureaucrat Sanity Slippage Meaningful Name Bi the Way Stock Footage The End... Or Is It? Brick Joke Crazy Jealous Guy Historical Hero Upgrade You Killed My Father Despair Event Horizon Sports Stories Eyepatch of Power Neck Lift Posthumous Character Naked People Are Funny Maybe Ever After Becoming the Mask Auto Erotica Last-Name Basis Fanservice Extra Vampire Fiction Idiot Ball Deadpan Snarker Mind Screw The Power of Love True Companions Kubrick Stare Beauty Is Never Tarnished Artistic License – Military Hollywood Darkness Gorn Evil Brit Heel–Face Turn Adaptation Dye-Job Boom, Headshot! Race Lift Rule of Funny Darkest Hour Never Found the Body All for Nothing Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Brutal Honesty Monumental Damage Military and Warfare Films Russian Films Fatal Flaw Bait-and-Switch Deconstruction Aluminum Christmas Trees Romantic False Lead Tempting Fate Bond One-Liner Neck Snap Would Hit a Girl Expository Hairstyle Change Animal Motifs Fish out of Water Reckless Gun Usage The Ace Disney Death Totally Radical Vomit Discretion Shot Made of Explodium Smoking Is Cool Training Montage Due to the Dead Revenge Central Theme Suspiciously Similar Substitute Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Spell My Name with an "S" Depraved Bisexual May–December Romance Arch-Enemy Soft Glass War Is Hell Closed Circle Taking the Bullet Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Half the Man He Used to Be Facial Horror Shipper on Deck Eureka Moment It's Personal Knife Nut Only Sane Man Suspiciously Specific Denial Badass Boast Face–Heel Turn Damsel in Distress Heroic BSoD Villain Protagonist Bloodless Carnage Pay Evil unto Evil La Résistance Ascended Extra Punny Name Annoying Younger Sibling Bond Villain Stupidity 20 Minutes into the Future Film Series All Just a Dream Improbable Aiming Skills Happily Married An Aesop Bowdlerise Arc Words Bare Your Midriff Brother–Sister Incest Large Ham Children Are Innocent Guns Akimbo There Is No Kill Like Overkill Vacation Films The Quiet One Dying Moment of Awesome Chase Scene What Happened to the Mouse? Fire-Forged Friends Anti-Villain Let's Get Dangerous! No Celebrities Were Harmed Reality Has No Subtitles Death by Sex Almost Kiss From Bad to Worse Very Loosely Based on a True Story Brainless Beauty I Have Your Wife Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Calling the Old Man Out For the Evulz Demonic Possession Mad Scientist A God Am I You Have Failed Me The Smart Guy Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Put on a Bus Not Using the "Z" Word Love Triangle All There in the Script Good Is Not Nice The Big Guy Five-Man Band Works Set in World War II Stepford Smiler Psychopathic Manchild Big Damn Heroes Kill It with Fire Early-Bird Cameo Evil Plan B-Movie Every Car Is a Pinto '80s Hair Slashed Throat Establishing Character Moment Dirty Cop More Dakka Woman Scorned Artistic License – Biology The Mafia Show Within a Show Male Gaze The Cameo Informed Ability Exact Words Mugging the Monster Agony of the Feet Deal with the Devil Bad Boss Defiant to the End Fatal Family Photo Heel Realization Artistic License – Law Pimped-Out Dress Cool Car Unspoken Plan Guarantee Epic Fail Up to Eleven Manipulative Bastard The Dog Bites Back Batman Gambit Does This Remind You of Anything? Those Wacky Nazis The Oner In the Back Precision F-Strike Armor-Piercing Question Product Placement Dropped a Bridge on Him Wicked Cultured Peek-a-Boo Corpse Older Than They Look Obfuscating Stupidity Big Bad Duumvirate Take That! Time Skip World of Ham Reality Ensues Friend to All Children Dwindling Party Bald of Evil And Starring Never Trust a Trailer Adaptation Name Change Protagonist Title Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Mythology Gag Star-Crossed Lovers You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Twist Ending Badass Bookworm Epic Movie The Starscream Interrupted Suicide Jerkass The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Frame-Up Implacable Man Actor Allusion Fainting Silent Movie Impaled with Extreme Prejudice The Voiceless Card-Carrying Villain Big "NO!" From Nobody to Nightmare The Stinger Visual Pun Punch-Clock Villain Catapult Nightmare Zombie Stories Nothing Is Scarier The Ditz Catch-Phrase Henpecked Husband Corrupt Corporate Executive My God, What Have I Done? The Un-Reveal Gratuitous English folderlabel Sci-Fi Horror Random Events Plot Scenery Gorn Hypocritical Humor I'm a Humanitarian Wrong Genre Savvy Mundane Made Awesome Black Comedy Rape Sealed Evil in a Can Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking The Hero Dies Offscreen Moment of Awesome The Lost Lenore Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Bury Your Gays Insult Backfire No OSHA Compliance Hair-Trigger Temper Badass Normal Playing Gertrude Determinator Evil Counterpart Gone Horribly Right Anyone Can Die Dark and Troubled Past Plot Hole Spiteful Spit Heroes Want Redheads Tranquil Fury Big Applesauce Final Girl Motor Mouth Unreliable Narrator Blood from the Mouth Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Author Appeal The Mole Horror Films Car Fu Real Life Writes the Plot Romantic Comedy Humans Are Bastards Manly Tears Rewatch Bonus Four-Temperament Ensemble Gender Flip Camera Abuse Action Girl Small Name, Big Ego She's Got Legs Shower Scene Setting Update Moment Killer Foil Pet the Dog Aside Glance Honor Before Reason Butt-Monkey An Arm and a Leg Pre-Mortem One-Liner Distracted by the Sexy Tagline Canadian Movies Adaptational Heroism Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Stealth Pun Chekhov's Gun The Stoic Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Nice Guy Mystery and Detective Films Those Two Bad Guys Crapsack World Animal Title Index Loophole Abuse Film Noir Index Police Brutality German Films Famous Last Words Science Fiction Films Hoist by His Own Petard Bullying a Dragon Laughing Mad Logo Joke Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Bloody Hilarious Bland-Name Product The Sociopath Married to the Job Genre Savvy Hong Kong Films Dual Wielding Refuge in Audacity Rated M for Manly Toplessness from the Back Face Death with Dignity Apocalypse How Outrun the Fireball Redemption Equals Death Shut Up, Hannibal! Bloodier and Gorier Diabolus ex Machina Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Beard of Evil Jitter Cam Fiery Redhead Mood Whiplash Death by Irony Badass Longcoat Abusive Parents Not Even Bothering with the Accent Adaptational Badass Spanner in the Works Badass Grandpa Men Are the Expendable Gender Ironic Echo Empathic Environment Developing Doomed Characters Vomit Indiscretion Shot Mooks Big-Bad Ensemble Amusing Injuries An Axe to Grind Love at First Sight Gainax Ending Ominous Latin Chanting Dramatic Irony Flipping the Bird Authority Equals Asskicking Chiaroscuro Abhorrent Admirer Deliberately Monochrome MacGuffin Bad "Bad Acting" Artistic License – Gun Safety Missing Mom Line-of-Sight Name Rule of Cool Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Double-Meaning Title Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality The Smurfette Principle Major Injury Underreaction Alliterative Name Adaptational Villainy Villain Opening Scene Superhero Wham Line No Name Given Immune to Bullets As You Know Evil Sounds Deep Cloudcuckoolander You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Get Out! Silence Is Golden The Alleged Car Everyone Has Standards Death of a Child Animated Credits Opening Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Award-Bait Song Karmic Death Villainous Breakdown Bittersweet Ending The Load Redshirt Army Knight Templar Not So Stoic Leaning on the Fourth Wall Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Department of Redundancy Department Hero Antagonist Expy Improvised Weapon Pretty Little Headshots Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Public Domain Feature Films No Antagonist Break the Haughty Our Zombies Are Different Destination Defenestration Bunny-Ears Lawyer Kill 'em All Captain Ersatz Conspicuous CG Stylistic Suck Lampshade Hanging Red Oni, Blue Oni Plucky Comic Relief Accidental Murder As the Good Book Says... Off-into-the-Distance Ending Morality Pet Villain Song Cruel and Unusual Death Paper-Thin Disguise Daylight Horror Body Horror Failed a Spot Check Mighty Whitey Fingore Adults Are Useless Big Bad Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Stalker with a Crush Mr. Exposition Intergenerational Friendship The Atoner Throwing Your Sword Always Works Alas, Poor Villain Belligerent Sexual Tension No Ending Horror Comedy Roaring Rampage of Revenge Oh, Crap! After the End Straight Gay Retirony Real Life Evil Is Petty Crazy-Prepared Riddle for the Ages Manic Pixie Dream Girl Creative Closing Credits The '60s Antagonist Title Rule of Three Taking You with Me Papa Wolf Soundtrack Dissonance Intrepid Reporter Ambiguous Disorder Wham Shot Fate Worse than Death "Shaggy Dog" Story Jump Scare Cluster F-Bomb Gory Discretion Shot Adorkable Dramatic Gun Cock As Long as It Sounds Foreign Take a Third Option Fat Bastard Japanese Films All Girls Want Bad Boys Evil Is Hammy Betty and Veronica Left the Background Music On The Alcoholic Slasher Smile Skewed Priorities Running Gag Shoot the Shaggy Dog Fourth Date Marriage Thriller Blatant Lies Grey and Gray Morality The Brute The Great Depression Curb-Stomp Battle Jerk Jock Parental Substitute Artistic License – History Even Evil Has Standards Bar Brawl I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Creator Cameo Death Seeker The Bully Never My Fault Really Gets Around N-Word Privileges The Chessmaster Funny Background Event Together in Death Beware the Nice Ones Call-Back The '50s What You Are in the Dark No-Sell Hate Sink Beta Couple Narrator Death by Adaptation Woman in White Cowboy Cop Better to Die than Be Killed Instant Death Bullet My Greatest Failure Call-Forward The Casanova Villain with Good Publicity Black Comedy Retired Badass Rasputinian Death The Chick Have a Gay Old Time The Ghost Cassandra Truth Black Best Friend Ship Tease Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Scenery Porn Film Noir Took a Level in Badass Poor Communication Kills Affably Evil Novelization Rousing Speech Anti-Hero Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Slasher Movie Sacrificial Lion Yandere Sassy Black Woman Cat Scare French Films Spared by the Adaptation Italian Films Bilingual Bonus Heterosexual Life-Partners NO INDOOR VOICE Off with His Head! Reality Is Unrealistic Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Psycho for Hire Credits Gag Offscreen Teleportation Ghost Fiction Video Credits Would Hurt a Child The Reveal Unresolved Sexual Tension The Remake Badass in a Nice Suit Babies Ever After Sir Swears-a-Lot All Men Are Perverts Rape as Drama Genre Shift Dark Is Not Evil Race Against the Clock Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Celebrity Paradox Mexican Standoff Pragmatic Adaptation Faking the Dead Names to Run Away from Really Fast Suddenly SHOUTING! Dumb Blonde One-Man Army Canon Foreigner Worthy Opponent Composite Character The '80s Token Minority Awesome, but Impractical Cain and Abel Noodle Incident Self-Deprecation Age Lift Even Evil Has Loved Ones Femme Fatale Asshole Victim Insane Troll Logic He Knows Too Much Hooker with a Heart of Gold The X of Y Not So Above It All Foreshadowing Breaking the Fourth Wall In Medias Res Important Haircut Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Hero of Another Story Broken Aesop Groin Attack Blood Knight Dies Wide Open Bring My Brown Pants Sequel Escalation One Steve Limit The '90s Danny Peary Cult Movies List Deliberate Values Dissonance Match Cut Blackmail Cold-Blooded Torture One-Word Title Wounded Gazelle Gambit Imagine Spot Defrosting Ice Queen The '70s Based on a True Story Made of Iron Jerk with a Heart of Gold Bound and Gagged Extremely Short Timespan Irony Evil Laugh Shown Their Work Disappeared Dad "Awesome McCool" Name As Himself Our Vampires Are Different Double Entendre Australian Movies Eye Scream Kids Are Cruel Camp Gay Adult Fear Sequel Hook Naïve Newcomer Berserk Button Ambiguous Ending Eiffel Tower Effect Only a Flesh Wound Guile Hero Historical Villain Upgrade Ungrateful Bastard Christmas Movies Index Truth in Television Retcon Cool Guns Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Storming the Castle Kick the Dog Grievous Bottley Harm Flashback Title Drop Make It Look Like an Accident Comically Missing the Point Sinister Minister Artistic License – Physics Word of God Green-Eyed Monster Dissonant Serenity Anachronism Stew Victoria's Secret Compartment Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Dark Reprise Unwitting Instigator of Doom Bavarian Fire Drill Music Stories Only Known by Their Nickname Killed Mid-Sentence Well-Intentioned Extremist Author Avatar Actually Pretty Funny Homage Ass Shove Red Eyes, Take Warning Meaningful Background Event Drowning My Sorrows Kick the Son of a Bitch Spiritual Successor Fanservice Dogged Nice Guy Country Matters Lock and Load Montage Domestic Abuse Book-Ends Red Herring Index of Film Westerns British Films My Beloved Smother Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Needs Wiki Magic Love Biopic Eagleland Shirtless Scene Hope Spot Affectionate Parody Covers Always Lie Undying Loyalty The Film of the Book It's All About Me Chekhov's Gunman Freeze-Frame Bonus Documentary A Father to His Men Attempted Rape Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Too Dumb to Live Re-Cut Drugs Are Bad Mr. Fanservice Ms. Fanservice Dutch Angle Red Shirt Dark Action Girl Dull Surprise It Will Never Catch On Funny Foreigner Dirty Old Man Smug Snake Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Parental Abandonment Gilligan Cut Character Development I Need a Freaking Drink O.O.C. Is Serious Business Manchild Tap on the Head Combat Pragmatist Action Prologue Fun with Acronyms Bottomless Magazines Slap-Slap-Kiss Adaptation Expansion Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Big Fancy House Fantasy Films Early Installment Weirdness Black Dude Dies First Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Dirty Coward Continuity Nod Laser-Guided Karma Serious Business Television Movie Index Big Brother Instinct Only in It for the Money I Did What I Had to Do Downer Ending Adaptation Distillation Hypocrite Stealth Hi/Bye All There in the Manual It Can Think The Lancer Pyrrhic Victory The Cavalry Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Sole Survivor Reasonable Authority Figure The Vamp Vitriolic Best Buds Drives Like Crazy Adaptational Attractiveness Eldritch Abomination Disguised in Drag Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience How We Got Here Whole Plot Reference Amoral Attorney Stuff Blowing Up Captain Obvious Demoted to Extra Man on Fire Enemy Mine Not Quite Dead Only One Name Recycled IN SPACE! Hidden Depths And I Must Scream Same Language Dub Scare Chord "Well Done, Son!" Guy Heroic Sacrifice Villain Ball Dramedy Broken Bird Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Not So Different Overly Long Gag Costume Porn Foregone Conclusion Chekhov's Skill No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Anguished Declaration of Love Darker and Edgier Didn't Think This Through No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Sadistic Choice Historical-Domain Character Light Is Not Good Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Trailers Always Spoil Psychological Thriller Arranged Marriage Action Survivor Meet Cute Ax-Crazy The Musical Shell-Shocked Veteran Back from the Dead Leitmotif Earn Your Happy Ending Getting Crap Past the Radar Pragmatic Villainy Greater-Scope Villain This Is Gonna Suck Rule of Symbolism Determinator aka: The Determinator "The Reason You Suck" Speech