Tropescilloscope: Stepford Smiler

Happy on the outside. Unhappy on the inside. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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