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