Tropescilloscope: Rule of Funny

Laughter suspends disbelief. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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