History Film / BenandArthur

** A special mention also goes to the [[https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jxWQ_p9liNI/VxGBsmK2jLI/AAAAAAAALyQ/yZ6W0w35WOE5viEIAyApr3hLyFEtFGNbQCLcB/s320/prisioneros-odio.jpg dvd cover]], which attempts to make the film look like a violent action movie.

* {{Jerkass}}: Arthur was clearly intended to be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, however his character is so tactless, obnoxious, inconsiderate, lazy and unlikable that he becomes borderline insufferable.

* {{Jerkass}}: Arthur. He's lazy, tactless, inconsiderate and obnoxious. Particularly showcasing this is when Victor's hitman injures Ben and Arthur takes him to the hospital. When they get back home, Arthur ''makes Ben sleep on the couch rather than let him sleep in the bed''. [[DesignatedHero Did we mention that Arthur's supposed to be the hero of this picture?]]

* CluelessAesop: Good message. Absolutely ''no'' idea how to deliver it well.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Victor. WordOfGod is that Victor [[ArmouredClosetGay actually is gay, though in complete denial about it]], but the film doesn't do a very good job of making it clear, In fact, it doesn't even make any mention or implication of him being secretly gay at all.

* BigBad: Victor.

* InsaneTrollLogic: Tammy, trying to get Ben to call off the divorce at ''gunpoint.'' And if he really is gay, then she'll just be gay too and then it'll be okay for them to get married again, huh?

* TheFundamentalist: Victor, and most of the members of his church, who are so set in there ways that they're willing to excommunicate Victor for merely having a gay brother, and willing to kill Ben and Arthur for being gay.

* ChekhovsGun: Attempted with the gun which Ben's ex-wife threatens him with, which [[spoiler:ends up being found by Arthur in the film's climax, and used to kill Victor]]. Amusingly, a mistake ends up switching gun props, [[spoiler:creating the impression that Victor opened the drawer with Tammy's Beretta, decided he liked it better, and took it while leaving his [[SpecialEffectsFailure dressed-up water pistol]] in the drawer for Arthur to find.]]

A labor of love for writer-director-star Sam Mraovich, which quickly became a magnet for SnarkBait in the wake of its release, and has been likened to "a gay version of ''Film/TheRoom''" -- though in actual fact it was released [[OlderThanTheyThink a year before Tommy Wiseau's epic]] -- thanks to its [[NoBudget minimal production values]], entertainingly dreadful acting, and one of the most unsubtle deliveries of its message outside of a 1950s propaganda film.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Victor. WordOfGod is that Victor [[ArmouredClosetGay actually is gay, though in complete denial about it]], but the film doesn't do a very good job of making it clear.

* CampStraight: Victor.

* StraightGay: Both Ben and Arthur. Yes, we have a film where two of the three main characters are Straight Gay, and the third is CampStraight.

* IncestSubtext: The whole final fight scene, with Victor forcibly baptizing a nude Arthur, and PhallicWeapon{{s}} abound.

-->'''Arthur (voiceover):''' [[ItsAllAboutMe I think I took it rather well.]] I guess regardless of how well you know someone, [[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle there's always more to learn]]. The important thing is, [[TemptingFate we're gonna stay together]].
* ChekhovsGun: Attempted with the gun which Ben's ex-wife threatens him with, which [[spoiler:ends up being found by Arthur in the film's climax, and used to kill Victor]]. Amusingly, a mistake ends up switching gun props, [[spoiler: creating the impression that Victor opened the drawer with Tammy's Beretta, decided he liked it better, and took it while leaving his [[SpecialEffectsFailure dressed-up water pistol]] in the drawer for Arthur to find.]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Victor kills Ben, and Arthur dies from the gunshots wounds inflicted by Victor after Arthur shoots him in the head]].

* EvilPlan: There are actually ''three'' of them: The first, where Victor and Stan attempt to [[CureYourGays "cure" Arthur]]; the second, which is called the "Final Plan" and is never elaborated upon; and the third, which is known as the "Final Deed" that calls for [[spoiler: the death of Arthur]].

-->'''Victor (to Arthur):''' [[{{PunctuatedForEmphasis}} Get. Out. NAOW. Naow.]]

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler:Ben, Arthur, Victor, the priest at Victor's church, and the attorney]]. In fact, the only survivor who actually has any bearing on the plot is [[spoiler: Tammy.]]
* KillItWithFire: [[spoiler: The priest at Victor's church, who is torched by Arthur]], using what is supposed to be liquid fuel but is probably water. Subverted in that, while a match is lit, we never actually see the fire or even hints of one.

* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Victor believes he must perform the "Final Deed" by [[spoiler: killing Arthur]] in order for the church to readmit him. Far from dissuading Victor, the priest [[spoiler: gives Victor a phone number for an assassin that can do the job. The assassin succeeds in killing Ben... except that Ben is later seen to have survived the attempt, but missed out on killing Arthur, who was away on errands. On the second attempt, Victor takes the assassin with him, only to dispense with his services when both of them are already in the building. Victor then enters Ben and Arthur's apartment alone to ([[KilledOffForReal permanently]]) kill Ben and, later, baptize and kill Arthur.]]

* NoBisexuals: Though it's more due to bad writing than anything--Ben was married to a woman but has been having an affair with Arthur. He repeatedly insists that he's gay and was only using Tammy as a cover...despite him and Tammy being married ''for years''.
* OnlySaneMan: Ben is probably the nearest to this. Arthur is the one who's actually meant to occupy the role, but he doesn't do it very well, especially when he [[spoiler: burns the priest alive.]]

-->'''Victor:''' You know what? I'm never gonna have any nieces or nephews ever, because, you know what?, you're so fucked up, you know that?
-->'''Arthur:''' Yooooou FUCK! How dare you talk to brother like that.

* ShoutOut: The end where [[spoiler: Arthur tries to [[{{Squick}} seduce Victor]]]] is taken almost word for word from ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}.''

* UnexplainedRecovery / BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Ben]]. Even though [[spoiler: Victor's assassin clearly killed Ben, Arthur is later seen carrying a weak but very much alive Ben into their apartment. This is despite coming home from the hospital, where Ben should have ostensibly received better care.]]

* IncestSubtext: The whole final fight scene, with Victor forcibly baptizing a nude Arthur, and PhallicWeapons abound.

** The church, which is meant to be a strict fundamentalist Catholic church (so much so that the congregation protests about the ''brother'' of a gay man attending until he's forced from the church by a priest), takes the ideas of karma and negative energy seriously.
*** Specifically, "negative energy" is a concept whose definition varies between esoteric groups, while "karma" is a belief found in religions whose origins stem from India (e.g. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism). Neither concept is discussed in the Bible and you would be hard pressed to find any Christian denomination that teaches them.

%%* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler:Both of the title characters, plus Victor and the attorney if you go by WordOfGod]]. -- Needs context
* CaliforniaDoubling: A Los Angeles park, for a park in Vermont. It doesn't work too well, since Vermont isn't known for its palm trees.

* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler:Both of the title characters, plus Victor and the attorney if you go by WordOfGod]].

->"''I don't need prayed for... YOU need prayed for!''"

* ArtisticLicenseReligion:

** According to the film, Christians are OK with hiring hitmen to kill gay people, and priests in fact have contact info for them they can give you if you request it.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Victor. WordOfGod is that Victor actually is gay, though in complete denial about it, but the film doesn't do a very good job of making it clear.

* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Victor believes he must perform the "Final Deed" by [[spoiler: killing Arthur]] in order for the church to readmit him. Far from dissuading Victor, the priest [[spoiler: gives Victor a phone number for an assassin that can do the job. The assassin succeeds in killing Ben... except that Ben is later seen to have survived the attempt, but missed out on killing Arthur, who was away on errands. On the second attempt, Victor takes the assassin with him, only to dispense with his services when both of them are already in the building. Victor then enters Ben and Arthur's apartment alone to ([[FinalDeath permanently]]) kill Ben and, later, baptize and kill Arthur.]]
** This should ''not'' be confused with the "Final Plan", which Victor mentions ''after'' he learns that Ben and Arthur did not ingest the potion but ''before'' he is expelled from the church, meaning that there would have been no incentive to [[spoiler: kill Arthur]] during that span of time.

* ShoutOut: The end where [[spoiler: Arthur tries to [[{{Squick}} seduce Victor]]]] is taken almost word for word from ''Film/{{Scarface1983}}.''

* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Victor believes he must perform the "Final Deed" by [[spoiler: killing Arthur]] in order for the church to readmit him. Far from dissuading Victor, the priest [[spoiler: gives Victor a phone number for an assassin that can do the job. The assassin [[YesExceptNo succeeds in killing Ben... except that Ben is later seen to have survived the attempt]], but missed out on killing Arthur, who was away on errands. On the second attempt, Victor takes the assassin with him, only to dispense with his services when both of them are already in the building. Victor then enters Ben and Arthur's apartment alone to ([[FinalDeath permanently]]) kill Ben and, later, baptize and kill Arthur.]]

* WorstNewsJudgementEver: While the overturning of Hawaii's decision to legalize gay marriage would be a pretty significant event, it's highly doubtful that any California newspaper-at least at the time that the film was made-would run it as their front page story. Had the film been released a decade later however, odds are it'd be a much lesser example of this trope thanks to the controversy around Proposition 8.

A labor of love for writer-director-star Sam Mraovich (who is also credited for just about ''every'' job on the film, including the music), which quickly became a magnet for SnarkBait in the wake of its release, and has been likened to "a gay version of ''Film/TheRoom''" -- though in actual fact it was released [[OlderThanTheyThink a year before Tommy Wiseau's epic]] -- thanks to its [[NoBudget minimal production values]], entertainingly dreadful acting, and one of the most unsubtle deliveries of its message outside of a 1950s propaganda film.

A labor of love for writer-director-star Sam Mraovich, which quickly became a magnet for SnarkBait in the wake of its release, and has been likened to "a gay version of ''Film/TheRoom''" -- though in actual fact it was released [[OlderThanTheyThink a year before Tommy Wiseau's epic]] -- thanks to its [[NoBudget minimal production values]], entertainingly dreadful acting, and one of the most unsubtle deliveries of its message outside of a 1950s propaganda film.