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Not to be confused with the similarly outrageously alliterative [[TheAdventuresOfFordFairlane Adventures of Ford Fairlane]]
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* AwesomeAnachronisticApparel - Everything from cowboy outfits to samurai stuff.
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* LargeHam - John Lithgow as Lord John Whorfin.
** Everyone qualifies, but compared to Lithgow, they are merely ham sandwiches to his 8,000 lb side of pork.
** Everyone qualifies, but compared to Lithgow, they are merely ham sandwiches to his 8,000 lb side of pork.
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* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy - Orson Welles' ''WarOfTheWorlds'' Broadcast? Not so much a fake, as him trying to flush out the ''actual'' alien invaders.
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* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy - Orson Welles' ''WarOfTheWorlds'' ''Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' Broadcast? Not so much a fake, as him trying to flush out the ''actual'' alien invaders.
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->"Remember, no matter where you go, there you are."
-->--'''Buckaroo Banzai'''
-->--'''Buckaroo Banzai'''
to:
-->--'''Buckaroo
-->-- '''Buckaroo Banzai'''
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* ShoutOut
to:
* ShoutOutShoutOut: the name of Yoyodyne was inspired by a similarly named company in ThomasPynchon's ''TheCryingOfLot49''.
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* ButNotTooForeign - the half-Japanese, half-American titular Buckaroo.
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* ButNotTooForeign - the The half-Japanese, half-American titular Buckaroo.
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* SeeYouInHell - Lord John Whorfin.
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* SeeYouInHell - Lord John Whorfin.Whorfin to Buckaroo just before Buckaroo blows him up.
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* CowTools - "Why is there a watermelon there?" "I'll explain later."
** Answer: [[spoiler: Experiment in making fruit sturdy enough to survive air drop but remaining still edible. Yes, seriously.]]
** Answer: [[spoiler: Experiment in making fruit sturdy enough to survive air drop but remaining still edible. Yes, seriously.]]
to:
* CowTools - [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpVXpCNFOSg "Why is there a watermelon there?" "I'll explain tell you later."
"]]
** Answer: [[spoiler: Experiment in making fruit sturdy enough to surviveair drop air-drop into failed states but remaining still edible.edible. Abandoned once they realized that air-droppable watermelons couldn't be cut without industrial tools. Yes, seriously.]]
** Answer: [[spoiler: Experiment in making fruit sturdy enough to survive
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changing to more specific sub trope
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* ColourCodedForYourConvenience - Red Lectroids are evil, Black Lectroids are good. This works in both their human and native appearances. Red Lectroids are disguised as "White" (i.e. of European descent) humans and Black Lectroids look, well, "Black" (i.e. of African descent). And Black Lectroids -- in either guise -- all speak with Jamaican accents.
** It's better than that. In their human guises, Red Lectroids have bright, orangey red hair - and when Lizardo gets possessed by Lord John Whorfin, his previously black hair suddenly turns bright red.
** It's better than that. In their human guises, Red Lectroids have bright, orangey red hair - and when Lizardo gets possessed by Lord John Whorfin, his previously black hair suddenly turns bright red.
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* GoodColorsEvilColors - Red Lectroids are evil, Black Lectroids are good. This works in both their human and native appearances. Red Lectroids are disguised as "White" (i.e. of European descent) humans and Black Lectroids look, well, "Black" (i.e. of African descent). And Black Lectroids -- in either guise -- all speak with Jamaican accents.
** It's better than that. In their human guises, Red Lectroids have bright, orangey red hair - and when Lizardo gets possessed by Lord John Whorfin, his previously black hair suddenly turns bright red.
** It's better than that. In their human guises, Red Lectroids have bright, orangey red hair - and when Lizardo gets possessed by Lord John Whorfin, his previously black hair suddenly turns bright red.
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* JeffGoldblum as New Jersey
to:
* JeffGoldblum Creator/JeffGoldblum as New Jersey
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Do not EVER pot hole actor names to other works they\'ve been in.
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moderator restored to earlier version
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* Pepe Serna as Reno Nevada
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* [[{{Scarface}} Pepe Serna Serna]] as Reno Nevada
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* Carl Lumbly as John Parker
* Vincent Schiavelli as John O'Connor
* Vincent Schiavelli as John O'Connor
to:
* Carl Lumbly [[{{MANTIS}} Carl]] [[{{Alias}} Lumbly]] as John Parker
*Vincent Schiavelli [[FastTimesAtRidgemontHigh Vincent]] [[{{Ghost}} Schiavelli]] as John O'Connor
*
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* CommLinks - Buckaroo and Rawhide each have one.
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* CommLinks - Buckaroo and Rawhide each have one. Built into their [[EveryDeviceIsASwissArmyKnife Swiss Army Knives]]
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* BlownAcrossTheRoom: When John Bigbooté spits a starfish at the nameless Jet Car mechanic.
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* BlownAcrossTheRoom: When John Bigbooté spits a starfish at Sam, the nameless Jet Car mechanic.
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* ClancyBrown as Rawhide
to:
* ClancyBrown Creator/ClancyBrown as Rawhide
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* John Lithgow as Dr. Emilio Lizardo/Lord John Whorfin
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* John Lithgow JohnLithgow as Dr. Emilio Lizardo/Lord John Whorfin
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* Yakov Smirnoff as the National Security Advisor
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* [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou Yakov Smirnoff Smirnoff]] as the National Security Advisor
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[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
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also Trivia
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* ScrewedByTheLawyers - the sequel was alledgedly blocked by the rightholder for fear that the associated paper work might uncover his creative bookkeeping.
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this is Trivia and goes on that subpage
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* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[https://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/05/23/supersize-those-fries-buckaroo-banzai/ that tv series looked pretty awesome]]
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two more trope thingies
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* ScrewedByTheLawyers - the sequel was alledgedly blocked by the rightholder for fear that the associated paper work might uncover his creative bookkeeping.
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* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[https://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/05/23/supersize-those-fries-buckaroo-banzai/ that tv series looked pretty awesome]]
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->"Hey, hey, hey, hey-now. Don't be mean; we don't have to be mean, cuz, remember, no matter where you go, there you are."
to:
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->"Hey, hey, hey, hey-now. Don't be mean; we don't have to be mean, cuz, remember, no matter where you go, there you are."
-->--'''Buckaroo Banzai'''
-->--'''Buckaroo Banzai'''
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buckaroo_banzai_x_9568.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
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* RecycledTrailerMusic: Buckaroo did poorly, in part, to poor promotion. Movies made thereafter learned from this unfortunate mistake.
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* RecycledTrailerMusic: Buckaroo did poorly, in part, due to poor promotion. Movies made thereafter learned from this unfortunate mistake.
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** Another answer : [[spoiler: Put in so the makers of the film could see whether or not the meddling executives had given up yelling at them as of that point in the production. Yes, seriously.]]
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** Another answer : [[spoiler: Put in so the makers of the film could see whether or not the [[ExecutiveMeddling meddling executives executives]] had given up yelling at them as of that point in the production. Yes, seriously.]]
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In this adventure, one of many ShroudedInMyth, Buckaroo goes from surgery to the test of the dimension-hopping Jet Car, to a performance at New Brunswick NJ night spot Artie's Artery. As Buckaroo turns the mood mellow with a solo piano performance of "Since I Don't Have You", a gunshot fires. Penny Priddy was trying to commit suicide, but because Buckaroo has many enemies, a misunderstanding results in her being arrested for attempting to kill him. Meanwhile, the Black Lectroids have sent an agent to Earth to warn Buckaroo that their historic enemies the Red Lectroids will try to steal his invention the Oscillation Overthruster (which the Jet Car used to enter the 8th Dimension) and use it to release their comrades from interdimensional exile. To stop them from causing trouble back on Planet Ten, the Black Lectroids will fire a particle beam from U.S. airspace to the USSR, which will start WorldWarThree, which will hopefully result in vaporizing the bad guys. This, needless to say, does not bode well for Earth. The U.S. Government also wants the Jet Car for military applications. Buckaroo has a lot on his plate, but will he manage to save the world, get the girl, and keep the Jet Car from being misused?
to:
In this adventure, one of many ShroudedInMyth, Buckaroo goes from surgery to the test of the dimension-hopping Jet Car, to a performance at New Brunswick NJ night spot Artie's Artery. As Buckaroo turns the mood mellow with a solo piano performance of "Since I Don't Have You", a gunshot fires. Penny Priddy was trying to commit suicide, but because Buckaroo has many enemies, a misunderstanding results in her being arrested for attempting to kill him. Meanwhile, the Black Lectroids have sent an agent to Earth to warn Buckaroo that their historic enemies the Red Lectroids will try to steal his invention the Oscillation Overthruster (which the Jet Car used to enter the 8th Dimension) and use it to release their comrades from interdimensional exile. To stop them from causing trouble back on Planet Ten, the Black Lectroids will then fire a particle beam from U.S. airspace to the USSR, which will start WorldWarThree, which will hopefully result in vaporizing the bad guys. This, needless to say, does not bode well for Earth. The U.S. Government also wants the Jet Car for military applications. Buckaroo has a lot on his plate, but will he manage to save the world, get the girl, and keep the Jet Car from being misused?
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''The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension'' (1984) is a film written by Earl Mac Rauch and directed by W.D. Richter that is one part B-Movie, one part ActionAdventure, one part comedy, and one part political satire.
It boasts some names that were quite famous in the [[TheEighties 1980s]] and remain well known now:
* PeterWeller as Buckaroo Banzai
* John Lithgow as Dr. Emilio Lizardo/Lord John Whorfin
* Ellen Barkin as Penny Priddy
* JeffGoldblum as New Jersey
* ChristopherLloyd as John [[{{It Is Pronounced Tro-PAY}} Bigbooté]]
* Pepe Serna as Reno Nevada
* ClancyBrown as Rawhide
* Carl Lumbly as John Parker
* Vincent Schiavelli as John O'Connor
* Dan Hedaya as John Gomez
* Yakov Smirnoff as the National Security Advisor
* Plus {{Cameo}} appearances by JamieLeeCurtis as the late Mrs. Banzai the Elder (excised), and Billy Vera as Pinky Carruthers
Despite this rather auspicious listing of A and high B list actors, the movie was not well received in theaters. It did develop something of a cult following, though.
Brilliant scientist Buckaroo Banzai is [[MartyStu a neurosurgeon who performs rock and roll (on multiple instruments, yet!) and studies the unknown]]. Surrounded by his faithful team of genius rockers, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, he travels the world pleasing the fans with music, and facing off against evil wherever he may find it.
In this adventure, one of many ShroudedInMyth, Buckaroo goes from surgery to the test of the dimension-hopping Jet Car, to a performance at New Brunswick NJ night spot Artie's Artery. As Buckaroo turns the mood mellow with a solo piano performance of "Since I Don't Have You", a gunshot fires. Penny Priddy was trying to commit suicide, but because Buckaroo has many enemies, a misunderstanding results in her being arrested for attempting to kill him. Meanwhile, the Black Lectroids have sent an agent to Earth to warn Buckaroo that their historic enemies the Red Lectroids will try to steal his invention the Oscillation Overthruster (which the Jet Car used to enter the 8th Dimension) and use it to release their comrades from interdimensional exile. To stop them from causing trouble back on Planet Ten, the Black Lectroids will fire a particle beam from U.S. airspace to the USSR, which will start WorldWarThree, which will hopefully result in vaporizing the bad guys. This, needless to say, does not bode well for Earth. The U.S. Government also wants the Jet Car for military applications. Buckaroo has a lot on his plate, but will he manage to save the world, get the girl, and keep the Jet Car from being misused?
----
!!This film includes examples of:
* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene - Penny and Buckaroo have a quiet moment together before the battle against the Lectroids begins in earnest.
* AcidTripDimension: See also HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace and ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs.
* AliensSpeakingEnglish - The Lectroids.
* AllThereInTheManual - The novelization and the DVDCommentary include a great deal of explanation and backstory.
* AscendedFanboy - Buckaroo has a worldwide fan organization called the Blue Blaze Irregulars, who monitor the airwaves to answer the call from Buckaroo at a moment's notice.
** Casper Lindley and his son Scooter answer one such call and end up accompanying Team Banzai for the rest of the movie.
* BackFromTheDead - [[spoiler: Penny Priddy, thanks to John Emdall. This may not be a first for her, either -- the novelization ends on the unsettling suggestion that Penny may in fact be a mindwiped ''Peggy'' -- Buckaroo's first wife, supposedly Penny's twin sister, who was killed via poison by agents of Hanoi Xan long before the opening of the story.]]
* BackupTwin - If the film were actually part of an ongoing series the way the supporting material makes it out to be, Penny would be a classic example.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy - Orson Welles' ''WarOfTheWorlds'' Broadcast? Not so much a fake, as him trying to flush out the ''actual'' alien invaders.
* BigBad - Hanoi Xan, leader of the World Crime League -- mentioned on the novelization, the DVDCommentary and in the Buckaroo comic books. He engineered Peggy Banzai's murder.
* BigDamnHeroes - The Hong Kong Cavaliers storm the Yoyodyne facility using their band ''[[RefugeInAudacity tour bus]]''.
* BigElectricSwitch - Emilio Lizardo/Lord Whorfin uses them twice.
* BloodlessCarnage - Penny Priddy is all battered and bruised when the good guys get her back from the bad guys, but we see no blood.
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: When John Bigbooté spits a starfish at the nameless Jet Car mechanic.
* BowtiesAreCool - Buckaroo is rarely seen without one.
* ButNotTooForeign - the half-Japanese, half-American titular Buckaroo.
* ChewingTheScenery- John Lithgow as the driven-mad by possession Dr. Emilio Lizardo.
* ColdBloodedTorture - Whorfin using the Shock Tower on Buckaroo and Penny Priddy's torture.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience - Red Lectroids are evil, Black Lectroids are good. This works in both their human and native appearances. Red Lectroids are disguised as "White" (i.e. of European descent) humans and Black Lectroids look, well, "Black" (i.e. of African descent). And Black Lectroids -- in either guise -- all speak with Jamaican accents.
** It's better than that. In their human guises, Red Lectroids have bright, orangey red hair - and when Lizardo gets possessed by Lord John Whorfin, his previously black hair suddenly turns bright red.
* CommLinks - Buckaroo and Rawhide each have one.
* CoolCar - The Jet Car, and the Hong Kong Cavaliers' tour bus
* CowTools - "Why is there a watermelon there?" "I'll explain later."
** Answer: [[spoiler: Experiment in making fruit sturdy enough to survive air drop but remaining still edible. Yes, seriously.]]
*** Follow Up Answer: [[spoiler: Eggs are next.]]
** Another answer : [[spoiler: Put in so the makers of the film could see whether or not the meddling executives had given up yelling at them as of that point in the production. Yes, seriously.]]
* CrypticBackgroundReference: Lots of them.
* DeathIsDramatic - [[spoiler: Rawhide and Penny both]].
** However, [[spoiler: Penny gets better at the end, and if the [[DVDBonusContent DVD's]] [[DVDCommentary special commentary]] [[UnreliableNarrator is to be believed]], Rawhide [[OnlyMostlyDead gets]] [[NotQuiteDead better]], [[DeathIsCheap too]].]]
* DisposableWoman - Peggy Banzai, Buckaroo's dead wife.
* DistressedDamsel: Penny Priddy, Peggy's twin sister and Buckaroo's new LoveInterest.
* DopeSlap: Whorfin to the guard who couldn't turn on the TV to show Penny's torture.
* DVDCommentary: Done ''in character'' by Earl Mac Rauch as Reno Nevada, who explains how the events in the movie differ from the actual events as they occurred to Buckaroo and company.
* FinalSpeech: [[spoiler: Rawhide]].
* FiveManBandConcert: The Hong Kong Cavaliers number greater than five, but there are five playing at Artie's Artery.
* FlashBack - Early scenes depict the tests of the Jet Car, and the accident that caused Lizardo to end up with Whorfin living in his head.
* FlashBackBackBack - At the beginning of the flashback to Lizardo's accident.
* FruitOfTheLoon - See "why is there a watermelon there?"
* GadgeteerGenius - Buckaroo invented the Jet Car and (with professor Hikita) the Oscillation Overthruster, among other things.
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual - John Emdall sends Buckaroo a {{Hologram}} recording that can only be viewed by wearing special Lectroid-made eyewear.
** Which looks suspiciously like bubble wrap.
* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction - The U.S. Department of Defense, in the form of its Secretary.
* GroinAttack - Buckaroo kicks a Red Lectroid in the groin after being discovered.
* GunFu - In the climactic base invasion, Buckaroo shoots three Lectroids surrounding him by passing his gun ''behind his head'' twice.
* {{Hachimaki}} - Buckaroo ties one around his head before the jet car speed run.
* {{Headdesk}}: Perfect Tommy lightly bumps his head against the prison bars while Buckaroo is talking to Penny Priddy in jail. The expression on his face and later dialogue indicates that he's doing it out of disbelief that Buckaroo is wasting his time with a woman who tried to kill him. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsxZLiFSjNQ here, starting at 3:20]].
* HeroesRUs - the Banzai Institute, located in East Brunswick NJ is Buckaroo's headquarters and the place where the Hong Kong Cavaliers and the rest of Buckaroo's staff bunk between assignments/jobs/missions.
* HeroStoleMyBike - Buckaroo takes advantage of an unattended motorcycle to pursue the Red Lectroids.
** In the novelization, the motorcycle has an attached sidecar and the operator gallantly offers to drive Buckaroo in pursuit... and succeeds in doing something that no one has ever managed: ''scaring Buckaroo Banzai''. Through the simple expedient of being highly intoxicated and driving very, very badly in heavy traffic.
* {{Hologram}}: The message from John Emdall, generated by a record player-like device.
* HomemadeInventions - the Jet Car.
* {{Hostage For MacGuffin}} - Lord John Whorfin demands the Oscillation Overthruster in return for Penny Priddy's life.
* HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace - The Eighth Dimension happens to be where the evil Red Lectroids were exiled as well as the dimension that vehicles using the Oscillation Overthruster to pass through solid matter wind up in. It's also apparently a combination of Jan Svenkmayer animation, electron microscopy, and nausea-inducing swerving.
* IHaveYourWife - When they grab "Doctor" Penny Priddy, the first order of business is trying to get Buckaroo to submit to a hostage exchange for the overthruster. Penny puts up a brave front; Buckaroo tells her to get off the phone.
* {{It Is Pronounced Tro-PAY}} - John Bigbooté
* {{Joisey}} - Almost all the Earthside action takes place in New Jersey.
-->'''PA Voice:''' Warning: We are not in the Eighth Dimension. We are over New Jersey.
* JustShootHim - John Whorfin ''does'' shoot Bigbooté after one too many whines about the proper pronunciation of his name.
* LastKiss - Buckaroo tries to give one to Penny Priddy after she dies, but it partially revives her. He finishes bringing her back with a TrueLovesKiss.
* LieDetector - The Shock Tower that Lord Whorfin hooks Buckaroo up to.
* LiteraryAgentHypothesis - All Buckaroo media [the movie, the comics, the novels] are all supposedly based on the adventures of Buckaroo himself, who is not a character, but a real person.
* LongLostSibling - Penny is the long lost twin sister of Buckaroo's dead wife, Peggy. Maybe.
* MadScientist - Dr. Emilio Lizardo after he's possessed by Lord John Whorfin.
* MeaningfulName - Penny ''Priddy''.
* MidairRepair - Buckaroo jumpstarts his borrowed Lectroid ship while it's in a dive.
* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot - Kidnapping and theft -> A plot to conquer a planet and the possible start of WorldWarIII.
* NaiveNewcomer - New Jersey
* NeckLift - Lord John Whorfin to an insane asylum attendant and John Bigbooté to the Secretary of Defense.
* NeckSnap - Lord John Whorfin to the attendant he {{Neck Lift}}ed, and John Parker to a Red Lectroid.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot - Musician surgeon physicist commando adventurers!
* NoOSHACompliance - The Yoyodyne facility.
* OffhandBackhand: John Bigbooté does it to one of the hunters.
* OneDimensionalThinking - Buckaroo tries to get away from a pursuing truck by running straight down the road.
* OperatorIncompatibility - Buckaroo has some difficulty flying the Red Lectroid Thermopod thanks to this.
* ParodySue - Buckaroo himself is a rock-and-rolling neurosurgeon, surrounded by other genius musicians who save the world regularly from the forces of evil.
* PistolWhipping - a Blue Blaze Irregular knocks out John Parker while he's infiltrating Buckaroo's estate.
* PlanetOfSteves - The Lectroids all have the first name "John". [[AllThereInTheManual The novelization]] states that in the Lectroid language, it's not a name but something closer to an honorific -- something somewhere between "Hey, you!" and "Mister".
* PsychicPowers - Buckaroo is hinted at having them. He displays a bit of empathy, determining "someone isn't having a good time."
* PowerWalk - averted in the end credits, though it can be thought of as an embryonic version.
* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway - An armed John Bigbooté grabs Professor Hikita at the conference.
-->'''John Bigbooté:''' Let those gunbelts hit the floor! Nobody follows, or the Prof is history!
* PutTheirHeadsTogether: The newly possessed Dr. Lizardo does it to two of his colleagues.
* RammingAlwaysWorks: Lord Whorfin's troopship vs. the Red Lectroid thermopod.
* RecursiveCanon - see LiteraryAgentHypothesis.
* RecycledTrailerMusic: Buckaroo did poorly, in part, to poor promotion. Movies made thereafter learned from this unfortunate mistake.
* RevolversAreJustBetter - they're Buckaroo's favourite weapons. He has a pair specifically for when he catches Hanoi Xan.
* RoomFullOfCrazy - Dr. Emilio Lizardo's room in the asylum was covered in notes for the Overthruster he'd been working on at the time of the accident that caused him to [[SharingABody share a body]] with an evil Lectroid.
* ScreamDiscretionShot - the scene during which the Red Lectroids torture Buckaroo.
* SeeYouInHell - Lord John Whorfin.
* SelfDestructMechanism - Used to prevent the Red Lectroids from capturing the Black Thermopod.
* SequelSnark
* ShoutOut
* ShroudedInMyth - Buckaroo's early past involving his wife Peggy.
* SorryThatImDying
* SpitefulSpit: Penny Priddy to Lord John Whorfin while he's interrogating her.
* StockShoutOuts - The makers of some of the later ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series liked making references to this film. The fact that a good chunk of the art department from ''Next Generation'' on through ''Enterprise'' previously worked on ''Buckaroo Banzai'' may have something to do with this.
* StormingTheCastle - The infiltration of and attack on the Yoyodyne facility.
* SurpriseVehicle - Buckaroo and the ladder from the Blue Blaze Irregular helicopter.
* TakingTheBullet - Rawhide, to save Buckaroo from the poisonous mini-starfish a Red Lectroid spat at him.
* TapOnTheHead - Red Lectroids do to several humans, and a human does it to a Black Lectroid.
* ThatsAnOrder - StockPhrase used by the state trooper when he tells the Yoyodyne employees to leave the Black Thermopod alone.
* ThemeNaming - all the Lectroids, Red or Black, are named John when their names are translated into Earth English. Even the females. As noted above, that's because "john" in Lectroid is not a name but something akin to an honorific like "Mister".
* ThemeTuneCameo - New Jersey plays part of the movie's main theme on the piano.
* ThisAintRocketSurgery - Actually it is. Buckaroo is capable of both brain surgery and rocket science. And so are most of the Hong Kong Cavaliers.
* [[{{TroperTales/ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs}} This Is Your Premise On Drugs]]: ''DocSavage'' on LSD.
* TrackingDevice - On the Oscillation Overthruster, which Buckaroo uses to find it inside Yoyodyne.
* TrashcanBonfire - In the Red Lectroid bivouac and Pitt inside the Yoyodyne building.
* TrueLovesKiss - Buckaroo uses one to resurrect Penny Priddy.
* UnfortunateNames - Buckaroo is his real first name, owing to his father's enamorment with cowboys. And a significant number of the Red Lectroids had UnfortunateNames:
** John Yaya
** John Smallberries
** John Icicle Boy
** John Bigbooté - whose name was [[{{ItIsPronouncedTro-PAY}} pronounced Big Boo Tay]], thank you.
* UnusualUserInterface: Apparently, the Lectroids have important controls operable using their feet. This normally wouldn't sound odd, but these controls happen to be levers rather than pedals. It gives Buckaroo a bit of trouble while he's trying to figure out how to pilot a Thermopod.
** The Black Lectroid with him does mention that the design is very bad.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Lord John Whorfin.
* WaitHere: Buckaroo to Penny Priddy during the Red Lectroid burglary.
* WaxingLyrical: Some of Lord John Whorfin's more eccentric pronouncements are actually song lyrics. ("I feel so broke up, I want to go home.")
* WorldOfHam: Ah, come on... do we really have to explain this one?
* YourOtherLeft - Buckaroo and John Parker are in a thermopod; John Parker is steering, and Buckaroo is navigating -- while seated in a backward-facing chair: "Left! I said ''left''! ... I meant ''my'' left, your right!"
----
It boasts some names that were quite famous in the [[TheEighties 1980s]] and remain well known now:
* PeterWeller as Buckaroo Banzai
* John Lithgow as Dr. Emilio Lizardo/Lord John Whorfin
* Ellen Barkin as Penny Priddy
* JeffGoldblum as New Jersey
* ChristopherLloyd as John [[{{It Is Pronounced Tro-PAY}} Bigbooté]]
* Pepe Serna as Reno Nevada
* ClancyBrown as Rawhide
* Carl Lumbly as John Parker
* Vincent Schiavelli as John O'Connor
* Dan Hedaya as John Gomez
* Yakov Smirnoff as the National Security Advisor
* Plus {{Cameo}} appearances by JamieLeeCurtis as the late Mrs. Banzai the Elder (excised), and Billy Vera as Pinky Carruthers
Despite this rather auspicious listing of A and high B list actors, the movie was not well received in theaters. It did develop something of a cult following, though.
Brilliant scientist Buckaroo Banzai is [[MartyStu a neurosurgeon who performs rock and roll (on multiple instruments, yet!) and studies the unknown]]. Surrounded by his faithful team of genius rockers, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, he travels the world pleasing the fans with music, and facing off against evil wherever he may find it.
In this adventure, one of many ShroudedInMyth, Buckaroo goes from surgery to the test of the dimension-hopping Jet Car, to a performance at New Brunswick NJ night spot Artie's Artery. As Buckaroo turns the mood mellow with a solo piano performance of "Since I Don't Have You", a gunshot fires. Penny Priddy was trying to commit suicide, but because Buckaroo has many enemies, a misunderstanding results in her being arrested for attempting to kill him. Meanwhile, the Black Lectroids have sent an agent to Earth to warn Buckaroo that their historic enemies the Red Lectroids will try to steal his invention the Oscillation Overthruster (which the Jet Car used to enter the 8th Dimension) and use it to release their comrades from interdimensional exile. To stop them from causing trouble back on Planet Ten, the Black Lectroids will fire a particle beam from U.S. airspace to the USSR, which will start WorldWarThree, which will hopefully result in vaporizing the bad guys. This, needless to say, does not bode well for Earth. The U.S. Government also wants the Jet Car for military applications. Buckaroo has a lot on his plate, but will he manage to save the world, get the girl, and keep the Jet Car from being misused?
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!!This film includes examples of:
* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene - Penny and Buckaroo have a quiet moment together before the battle against the Lectroids begins in earnest.
* AcidTripDimension: See also HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace and ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs.
* AliensSpeakingEnglish - The Lectroids.
* AllThereInTheManual - The novelization and the DVDCommentary include a great deal of explanation and backstory.
* AscendedFanboy - Buckaroo has a worldwide fan organization called the Blue Blaze Irregulars, who monitor the airwaves to answer the call from Buckaroo at a moment's notice.
** Casper Lindley and his son Scooter answer one such call and end up accompanying Team Banzai for the rest of the movie.
* BackFromTheDead - [[spoiler: Penny Priddy, thanks to John Emdall. This may not be a first for her, either -- the novelization ends on the unsettling suggestion that Penny may in fact be a mindwiped ''Peggy'' -- Buckaroo's first wife, supposedly Penny's twin sister, who was killed via poison by agents of Hanoi Xan long before the opening of the story.]]
* BackupTwin - If the film were actually part of an ongoing series the way the supporting material makes it out to be, Penny would be a classic example.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy - Orson Welles' ''WarOfTheWorlds'' Broadcast? Not so much a fake, as him trying to flush out the ''actual'' alien invaders.
* BigBad - Hanoi Xan, leader of the World Crime League -- mentioned on the novelization, the DVDCommentary and in the Buckaroo comic books. He engineered Peggy Banzai's murder.
* BigDamnHeroes - The Hong Kong Cavaliers storm the Yoyodyne facility using their band ''[[RefugeInAudacity tour bus]]''.
* BigElectricSwitch - Emilio Lizardo/Lord Whorfin uses them twice.
* BloodlessCarnage - Penny Priddy is all battered and bruised when the good guys get her back from the bad guys, but we see no blood.
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: When John Bigbooté spits a starfish at the nameless Jet Car mechanic.
* BowtiesAreCool - Buckaroo is rarely seen without one.
* ButNotTooForeign - the half-Japanese, half-American titular Buckaroo.
* ChewingTheScenery- John Lithgow as the driven-mad by possession Dr. Emilio Lizardo.
* ColdBloodedTorture - Whorfin using the Shock Tower on Buckaroo and Penny Priddy's torture.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience - Red Lectroids are evil, Black Lectroids are good. This works in both their human and native appearances. Red Lectroids are disguised as "White" (i.e. of European descent) humans and Black Lectroids look, well, "Black" (i.e. of African descent). And Black Lectroids -- in either guise -- all speak with Jamaican accents.
** It's better than that. In their human guises, Red Lectroids have bright, orangey red hair - and when Lizardo gets possessed by Lord John Whorfin, his previously black hair suddenly turns bright red.
* CommLinks - Buckaroo and Rawhide each have one.
* CoolCar - The Jet Car, and the Hong Kong Cavaliers' tour bus
* CowTools - "Why is there a watermelon there?" "I'll explain later."
** Answer: [[spoiler: Experiment in making fruit sturdy enough to survive air drop but remaining still edible. Yes, seriously.]]
*** Follow Up Answer: [[spoiler: Eggs are next.]]
** Another answer : [[spoiler: Put in so the makers of the film could see whether or not the meddling executives had given up yelling at them as of that point in the production. Yes, seriously.]]
* CrypticBackgroundReference: Lots of them.
* DeathIsDramatic - [[spoiler: Rawhide and Penny both]].
** However, [[spoiler: Penny gets better at the end, and if the [[DVDBonusContent DVD's]] [[DVDCommentary special commentary]] [[UnreliableNarrator is to be believed]], Rawhide [[OnlyMostlyDead gets]] [[NotQuiteDead better]], [[DeathIsCheap too]].]]
* DisposableWoman - Peggy Banzai, Buckaroo's dead wife.
* DistressedDamsel: Penny Priddy, Peggy's twin sister and Buckaroo's new LoveInterest.
* DopeSlap: Whorfin to the guard who couldn't turn on the TV to show Penny's torture.
* DVDCommentary: Done ''in character'' by Earl Mac Rauch as Reno Nevada, who explains how the events in the movie differ from the actual events as they occurred to Buckaroo and company.
* FinalSpeech: [[spoiler: Rawhide]].
* FiveManBandConcert: The Hong Kong Cavaliers number greater than five, but there are five playing at Artie's Artery.
* FlashBack - Early scenes depict the tests of the Jet Car, and the accident that caused Lizardo to end up with Whorfin living in his head.
* FlashBackBackBack - At the beginning of the flashback to Lizardo's accident.
* FruitOfTheLoon - See "why is there a watermelon there?"
* GadgeteerGenius - Buckaroo invented the Jet Car and (with professor Hikita) the Oscillation Overthruster, among other things.
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual - John Emdall sends Buckaroo a {{Hologram}} recording that can only be viewed by wearing special Lectroid-made eyewear.
** Which looks suspiciously like bubble wrap.
* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction - The U.S. Department of Defense, in the form of its Secretary.
* GroinAttack - Buckaroo kicks a Red Lectroid in the groin after being discovered.
* GunFu - In the climactic base invasion, Buckaroo shoots three Lectroids surrounding him by passing his gun ''behind his head'' twice.
* {{Hachimaki}} - Buckaroo ties one around his head before the jet car speed run.
* {{Headdesk}}: Perfect Tommy lightly bumps his head against the prison bars while Buckaroo is talking to Penny Priddy in jail. The expression on his face and later dialogue indicates that he's doing it out of disbelief that Buckaroo is wasting his time with a woman who tried to kill him. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsxZLiFSjNQ here, starting at 3:20]].
* HeroesRUs - the Banzai Institute, located in East Brunswick NJ is Buckaroo's headquarters and the place where the Hong Kong Cavaliers and the rest of Buckaroo's staff bunk between assignments/jobs/missions.
* HeroStoleMyBike - Buckaroo takes advantage of an unattended motorcycle to pursue the Red Lectroids.
** In the novelization, the motorcycle has an attached sidecar and the operator gallantly offers to drive Buckaroo in pursuit... and succeeds in doing something that no one has ever managed: ''scaring Buckaroo Banzai''. Through the simple expedient of being highly intoxicated and driving very, very badly in heavy traffic.
* {{Hologram}}: The message from John Emdall, generated by a record player-like device.
* HomemadeInventions - the Jet Car.
* {{Hostage For MacGuffin}} - Lord John Whorfin demands the Oscillation Overthruster in return for Penny Priddy's life.
* HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace - The Eighth Dimension happens to be where the evil Red Lectroids were exiled as well as the dimension that vehicles using the Oscillation Overthruster to pass through solid matter wind up in. It's also apparently a combination of Jan Svenkmayer animation, electron microscopy, and nausea-inducing swerving.
* IHaveYourWife - When they grab "Doctor" Penny Priddy, the first order of business is trying to get Buckaroo to submit to a hostage exchange for the overthruster. Penny puts up a brave front; Buckaroo tells her to get off the phone.
* {{It Is Pronounced Tro-PAY}} - John Bigbooté
* {{Joisey}} - Almost all the Earthside action takes place in New Jersey.
-->'''PA Voice:''' Warning: We are not in the Eighth Dimension. We are over New Jersey.
* JustShootHim - John Whorfin ''does'' shoot Bigbooté after one too many whines about the proper pronunciation of his name.
* LastKiss - Buckaroo tries to give one to Penny Priddy after she dies, but it partially revives her. He finishes bringing her back with a TrueLovesKiss.
* LieDetector - The Shock Tower that Lord Whorfin hooks Buckaroo up to.
* LiteraryAgentHypothesis - All Buckaroo media [the movie, the comics, the novels] are all supposedly based on the adventures of Buckaroo himself, who is not a character, but a real person.
* LongLostSibling - Penny is the long lost twin sister of Buckaroo's dead wife, Peggy. Maybe.
* MadScientist - Dr. Emilio Lizardo after he's possessed by Lord John Whorfin.
* MeaningfulName - Penny ''Priddy''.
* MidairRepair - Buckaroo jumpstarts his borrowed Lectroid ship while it's in a dive.
* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot - Kidnapping and theft -> A plot to conquer a planet and the possible start of WorldWarIII.
* NaiveNewcomer - New Jersey
* NeckLift - Lord John Whorfin to an insane asylum attendant and John Bigbooté to the Secretary of Defense.
* NeckSnap - Lord John Whorfin to the attendant he {{Neck Lift}}ed, and John Parker to a Red Lectroid.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot - Musician surgeon physicist commando adventurers!
* NoOSHACompliance - The Yoyodyne facility.
* OffhandBackhand: John Bigbooté does it to one of the hunters.
* OneDimensionalThinking - Buckaroo tries to get away from a pursuing truck by running straight down the road.
* OperatorIncompatibility - Buckaroo has some difficulty flying the Red Lectroid Thermopod thanks to this.
* ParodySue - Buckaroo himself is a rock-and-rolling neurosurgeon, surrounded by other genius musicians who save the world regularly from the forces of evil.
* PistolWhipping - a Blue Blaze Irregular knocks out John Parker while he's infiltrating Buckaroo's estate.
* PlanetOfSteves - The Lectroids all have the first name "John". [[AllThereInTheManual The novelization]] states that in the Lectroid language, it's not a name but something closer to an honorific -- something somewhere between "Hey, you!" and "Mister".
* PsychicPowers - Buckaroo is hinted at having them. He displays a bit of empathy, determining "someone isn't having a good time."
* PowerWalk - averted in the end credits, though it can be thought of as an embryonic version.
* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway - An armed John Bigbooté grabs Professor Hikita at the conference.
-->'''John Bigbooté:''' Let those gunbelts hit the floor! Nobody follows, or the Prof is history!
* PutTheirHeadsTogether: The newly possessed Dr. Lizardo does it to two of his colleagues.
* RammingAlwaysWorks: Lord Whorfin's troopship vs. the Red Lectroid thermopod.
* RecursiveCanon - see LiteraryAgentHypothesis.
* RecycledTrailerMusic: Buckaroo did poorly, in part, to poor promotion. Movies made thereafter learned from this unfortunate mistake.
* RevolversAreJustBetter - they're Buckaroo's favourite weapons. He has a pair specifically for when he catches Hanoi Xan.
* RoomFullOfCrazy - Dr. Emilio Lizardo's room in the asylum was covered in notes for the Overthruster he'd been working on at the time of the accident that caused him to [[SharingABody share a body]] with an evil Lectroid.
* ScreamDiscretionShot - the scene during which the Red Lectroids torture Buckaroo.
* SeeYouInHell - Lord John Whorfin.
* SelfDestructMechanism - Used to prevent the Red Lectroids from capturing the Black Thermopod.
* SequelSnark
* ShoutOut
* ShroudedInMyth - Buckaroo's early past involving his wife Peggy.
* SorryThatImDying
* SpitefulSpit: Penny Priddy to Lord John Whorfin while he's interrogating her.
* StockShoutOuts - The makers of some of the later ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series liked making references to this film. The fact that a good chunk of the art department from ''Next Generation'' on through ''Enterprise'' previously worked on ''Buckaroo Banzai'' may have something to do with this.
* StormingTheCastle - The infiltration of and attack on the Yoyodyne facility.
* SurpriseVehicle - Buckaroo and the ladder from the Blue Blaze Irregular helicopter.
* TakingTheBullet - Rawhide, to save Buckaroo from the poisonous mini-starfish a Red Lectroid spat at him.
* TapOnTheHead - Red Lectroids do to several humans, and a human does it to a Black Lectroid.
* ThatsAnOrder - StockPhrase used by the state trooper when he tells the Yoyodyne employees to leave the Black Thermopod alone.
* ThemeNaming - all the Lectroids, Red or Black, are named John when their names are translated into Earth English. Even the females. As noted above, that's because "john" in Lectroid is not a name but something akin to an honorific like "Mister".
* ThemeTuneCameo - New Jersey plays part of the movie's main theme on the piano.
* ThisAintRocketSurgery - Actually it is. Buckaroo is capable of both brain surgery and rocket science. And so are most of the Hong Kong Cavaliers.
* [[{{TroperTales/ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs}} This Is Your Premise On Drugs]]: ''DocSavage'' on LSD.
* TrackingDevice - On the Oscillation Overthruster, which Buckaroo uses to find it inside Yoyodyne.
* TrashcanBonfire - In the Red Lectroid bivouac and Pitt inside the Yoyodyne building.
* TrueLovesKiss - Buckaroo uses one to resurrect Penny Priddy.
* UnfortunateNames - Buckaroo is his real first name, owing to his father's enamorment with cowboys. And a significant number of the Red Lectroids had UnfortunateNames:
** John Yaya
** John Smallberries
** John Icicle Boy
** John Bigbooté - whose name was [[{{ItIsPronouncedTro-PAY}} pronounced Big Boo Tay]], thank you.
* UnusualUserInterface: Apparently, the Lectroids have important controls operable using their feet. This normally wouldn't sound odd, but these controls happen to be levers rather than pedals. It gives Buckaroo a bit of trouble while he's trying to figure out how to pilot a Thermopod.
** The Black Lectroid with him does mention that the design is very bad.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Lord John Whorfin.
* WaitHere: Buckaroo to Penny Priddy during the Red Lectroid burglary.
* WaxingLyrical: Some of Lord John Whorfin's more eccentric pronouncements are actually song lyrics. ("I feel so broke up, I want to go home.")
* WorldOfHam: Ah, come on... do we really have to explain this one?
* YourOtherLeft - Buckaroo and John Parker are in a thermopod; John Parker is steering, and Buckaroo is navigating -- while seated in a backward-facing chair: "Left! I said ''left''! ... I meant ''my'' left, your right!"
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