History RefugeInAudacity / Film

--> I believe he's ''tooling with you'', sir.

** Most of what Jack Sparrow does. He escaped from being marooned by making a [[BlatantLies raft of sea turtles]]? Tied together with his own hair? It has to be true - he's done crazier things!

** ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'': After Soran is beamed up by his Klingon allies, he punches one of the Duras sisters in the face on her own bridge. For the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Klingons]] this could amount to a challenge to a DuelToTheDeath, but the fact that they need him for their own plan allows him to get away with it. She just snarks that he better intended that [[SlapSlapKiss as part of a mating ritual]].

** The Rebel Alliance built their entire campaign out of this trope, and its what allowed them to survive when other rebellious organizations didn't. They attacked the heavily-defended Scarif archive installation head-on in what amounted to a near-total suicide mission. The Death Star was built to counter large-scale assaults between capital ships, so the rebels sent in a bunch of snub fighters. When the second Death Star was being built, the Rebels decided to attack it while the Emperor himself was on board (and thus would be at its peak defensively, but this turned out to be a setup). They also amassed their fleet at Sullust, that not only is right in the territory previously ruled by ''Death Star commander's Wilhuff Tarkin'' and in the Sullust sector, next to his native Seswenna sector, but is also the entry point of the ''only'' hyperlane to Endor, and ''started making a mess'' to try and bait the Death Star's defense fleet away.

** As part of the set-up to bait the Rebel Alliance at Endor, the Empire needed a believable guard force for the Death Star. Said guard force was composed by two ''Imperial-II'' Star Destroyers (with [[Film/RogueOne the Battle of Scarif]] making very clear how devastating a single one of the previous model was)... And the dreadnought ''Executor'', at that point the largest and most powerful warship in the entire galaxy, apparently put there just to make sure the Rebels would bring as much of their fleet to be destroyed by the Death Star.
*** In the Legends continuity, the way Palpatine leaked the information: first he simulated a normal and necessary data transfer where a supercomputer with the data was put on the ''Suprosa'', a ''bog standard merchant ship pretending to be carrying fertilizer'' (thus giving the impression the Imperial Navy tried to use the trope themselves to safely carry the data) reinforced with heavy shielding and extremely powerful and expensive diamond-boron missiles (in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Mon Mothma said that "Many Bothans died to bring us this information". The first twelve were nailed by a missile from the ''Suprosa''), then, once the Rebels captured the plans, mounted a "recovery operation" involving ''Darth Vader'' and culminating in the Star Destroyer ''Motivator'' blowing itself up to make it appear the Empire thought the plans had been destroyed and the Rebels hadn't found out anything. It was effective enough that the ''Executor'' at Endor was chalked up simply to Darth Vader being on the Death Star with the Emperor and the dreadnought simply being Vader's personal ship rather than acting as the flagship of the ''massive'' hidden fleet lying in ambush.
** An infamous deleted scene from the first movie, ''Film/ANewHope'' shows Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia strolling through the corridors of the Death Star, their faces uncovered and their street clothes clearly visible, but also conspicuously sporting some stark white utility belts they have stolen from Imperial stormtroopers they've knocked out and/or killed; all in full view of the Imperial personnel! Apparently, the only explanation is that Han, Luke, Chewie and Leia figured that the enemy would find this sight so funny or brazen or unbelievable that they'd dismiss it. (One theory is that George Lucas shot this scene for no other reason than to [[RuleOfFunny add to his personal blooper reel]].)

*** Speaking of which, [[ComicBook/DarthVaderDarkLordOfTheSith former Jedi Padawan Ferren Barr pulled the most outrageous one]]: cornered by three Imperial Inquisitors, all of whom are former Jedi, and a platoon of Purge Troopers, all Clone Troopers, he first proclaims both facts... And then used the Mind Trick to ''trigger Order 66''. One Inquisitor was executed on the spot and the other two were forced to run, with the surviving one doing so only by crippling the other so the Purge Troopers would stop to kill him.
** In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Jabba is initially outraged when bounty hunter Boushh (actually Leia in disguise) demands double the promised bounty. However, when Boushh declares that the reason Jabba should pay this outrageously high sum is "because I'm holding a thermal detonator" (essentially the ''Star Wars'' equivalent of an incredibly powerful grenade), Jabba laughs it off and declares that Boushh is "my kind of scum", agreeing to up the price, if not to the extreme Boushh asked for.
** In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', General Hux gives a speech condemning the New Republic for supporting the Resistance against the First Order. Never mind that Hux and pals have been cruising around in star destroyers that are totally illegal for them to have under their treaties with the New Republic, or that he is giving this speech right before firing a hyperspace PlanetKiller at the New Republic's capital.

*** Quicksilver blatantly uses his super speed when he first meets Wolverine, Professor X and Beast because he knows no one would believe what they said about him, even ''before'' he learns that they have powers themselves.

* ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'' features John [=McClane=] walking around Harlem wearing a sign that proclaims "I Hate Niggers" (the BigBad made him do it). The street corner at which John is forced to stand is less than twenty yards away from the favorite hangout of a street gang armed with knives. Zeus Carver ominously [[LampshadeHanging lampshades this]] - not five seconds before said gang members spot the sign and come over looking for trouble, and one of them hurls a switchblade that lodges in the sign. John quickly tries to save himself by pretending to be a religious fanatic....which doesn't work. What's most outrageous is that John and Zeus both survive this harrowing encounter with little more than a beer bottle broken over John's head and minor knife wound for Zeus.

* ''Film/CatchMeIfYouCan'' lives on this. The VillainProtagonist ConMan, Frank makes a million from writing fraud checks and has to repeatedly pretend to be working professionally in a new job throughout the film such as a pilot, doctor and lawyer. What does Frank do when an FBI agent catches him in his hotel? Pretends to be an federal agent himself who's already caught the culprit and is organizing evidence then simply walks away.

** He also manages to get himself a luxury suite in a posh Beverly Hills hotel by claiming to be a Rolling Stone reporter and threatening to write an article claiming the hotel was racist because they "lost" his non-existent reservation.

* ''Film/BatmanForever'': The Riddler uses his technologically enhanced intelligence to locate Two-Face's hideout and then storms in there without invitation. He proposes that he and Two-Face join forces in a scheme to unmask Batman. Two-Face [[LampshadeHanging points out]] that "violating the sanctity of our lair" is an abomination and [[BullyingADragon to attempt it is foolhardy]], but he's intrigue by the idea enough to toss the coin on it. If it had come up "bad heads" he'd kill Riddler. [[spoiler:It didn't.]]

** These lines are delivered in Creator/TimCurry's delightful sneer, from which anyone should ''run like the wind''.

* ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'': When you get right down to it, this is Ferris Bueller's modis operandi. What kind of parade lets you waltz out from behind the security fence and start changing the music tracks? The crowd absolutely loved it. Also, Ferris almost gets found out at the restaurant when the waiter calls his bluff, but through liberal use of the IndyPloy he manages to skate through with an even larger, riskier bluff.

* In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', Captain America uses this to brilliant effect: [[spoiler: when he needs to get Loki's Scepter from sleeper HYDRA agents in 2012, he uses his knowledge of the events from ''[[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier Winter Soldier]]'' and whispers "Hail Hydra" to convince them of a sudden change of plan. Everyone in the elevator is so flabbergasted that it totally works. Hydra's total secrecy at this point in time means that if Cap knows about their continued existence, somebody higher up the chain of command having somehow subverted him into joining is actually the ''most plausible'' explanation for him using that password. He does it ''again'' minutes later when he ends in a confrontation with his past self, and ends the fight by saying "Bucky is alive!" and knocking out 2012!Cap, who's trying to process what he just heard]].

* As Axel Foley in ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'', he pulls the same stunt ''repeatedly'', flashing his Detroit [[GenericCopBadges cop badge]] rapidly while pretending to be a customs officer, a foreman, etc.

!!By Actor:
* Creator/EddieMurphy ran variations on the same audacious stunt in several of his films of TheEighties.
** In ''Film/FortyEightHrs'', Murphy intimidates an entire redneck bar with nothing but his own bravado and Nick Nolte's borrowed police ID, which he flashes while covering the photo.
** As Axel Foley in ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'', he pulls the same stunt ''repeatedly'', flashing his Detroit [[GenericCopBadges cop badge]] rapidly while pretending to be a customs officer, a foreman, etc.
*** He also manages to get himself a luxury suite in a posh Beverly Hills hotel by claiming to be a Rolling Stone reporter and threatening to write an article claiming the hotel was racist because they "lost" his non-existent reservation.
*** And he gets into a private country club to confront the BigBad by putting on an over-the-top CampGay act and asking the maitre d' to relay to Victor Maitland that he has herpes. The maitre d' decides it would be better if Axel tells Victor himself.
** In ''Film/TheGoldenChild'', there's a scene where he pretends to be some kind of Federal Agent, and flashes what should be his badge around...if he actually had one on the part of his wallet that his hand is covering.

!!By Director:
* Hong Kong auteur Creator/StephenChow uses the Mo lei tau comedy style in many of his movies, which in turn relies on this trope.

!!By Title:

* The ending of ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze'' Splinter's reaction not withstanding. Consider, four mutant ninja sewer-dwellers duking it out with two super-mutants and a squad of ninjas, in a dance hall, to an impromptu rap song by Music/VanillaIce, who then proceed to toss high-fives to the crowd, then hop onto the stage, perform dance moves and shout "Give it up for a Turtle!" None of the people there find this weird. Instead, if their reaction was any indication, they thought it was AllPartOfTheShow ([[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible if unusual for a hip-hop performance]]).

* The villain's plan in ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' relies on this. [[spoiler: With the aid of a tech crew and special effects, ex-Stark Industries employee Quentin Beck concocts an absurd fake backstory about being an extra-dimensional warrior wizard, which completely fools S.H.I.E.L.D. and Spider-Man because it's seemingly no more strange than any of the other bizarre encounters they've had in the last few years. And, to be fair, the plot of [[Film/SpiderManNoWayHome the next movie]]].]]

'''Mr. Newberry:''' Oh! ''{{Beat}}}'' Good for you, it's a... growth industry.

'''Mr. Newberry:''' Oh! ''({{Main/Beat}}}'' Good for you, it's a... growth industry.

*** This one has an extra angle, as time and further investigations revealed that ''the overwhelming majority'' of Frank's stories turned out to be fake, including many told in the movie.

* ''Film/BackToTheFuture1'': When Biff and his sidekicks chase Marty on the impromptu skateboard, and they approach the manure truck, Marty climbs over their top-down car, through the sidekicks, and lands back on the skateboard.

* ''Film/BackToTheFuture'': When Biff and his sidekicks chase Marty on the impromptu skateboard, and they approach the manure truck, Marty climbs over their top-down car, through the sidekicks, and lands back on the skateboard.