Line #20 Film/RoomForRent


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e7983fb4_a75e_4216_82a0_359b03496c86.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:The perfect hostess]]
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4	''Room For Rent'' is a 2019 mystery-horror film starring Creator/LinShaye.
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6	After the death of her husband, newly-widowed Joyce Smith (Shaye) is dismayed to learn that he'd left no money in their retirement account, roughly $2,000 in their savings account, and $6,000 ''owed'' to the bank in the form of a loan he'd taken out for "repairs". While at the library, wondering about what to do, she sees an investment magazine about making a Bed & Breakfast. She struggles to adjust to life on her own and as a small entrepreneur, striking up a friendship with one of her first guests, until Bob enters the picture as her latest tenant.
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9	!!This film provides examples of:
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11	* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: Joyce initially thinks the magazine is extolling the virtues of a "Buh-nib" when it was actually "BNB".
12	* AllWomenAreLustful: Joyce is a romantic at heart, checking out {{Romance Novel}}s from the library pretty frequently. Sarah [[spoiler: also has a passionate one-night stand with Bob]], and Joyce [[spoiler: actually ''kisses'' her teenaged assailant as a means to try getting him to back off]].
13	* CoolOldLady: Joyce wants to be seen as one (and more) by Bob, going so far as to install a satellite dish so he can watch football while pretending to be an ardent fan herself.
14	* DeathByFallingOver: Joyce's late husband, Fred, is found dead after he'd fallen off the roof, apparently from a heart attack.
15	* DisproportionateRetribution: Joyce is subject to harassment by a group of skaters, with one in particular [[spoiler: sexually assaulting her in an alley]] after she'd thrown his skateboard into a trashcan for his inappropriate comments.
16	* DownerEnding: The movie ends with [[spoiler: a pregnant Sarah returning to Joyce's home to house-sit, hoping that Bob will return. Except Joyce had murdered Bob when [[IfICantHaveYou he'd tried leaving to be with Sarah]], burying him in the backyard and converting his old room into a nursery to welcome her "grandchild", leaving it pretty clear about just what her plans were for Sarah]].
17	* TheEndingChangesEverything: After the full events of the movie, rewatching the beginning makes one wonder [[spoiler: whether Joyce's late husband had died on his own, or may have had some "help" along the way]].
18	* InnocentInaccurate: Late in the movie, [[spoiler: Joyce's snooping in Bob's room has her find a bag of white powder labeled "nose candy" - she has no idea what it is, and accidentally sniffs a palmful up]].
19	* IntergenerationalFriendship: Sarah becomes fast friends with Joyce after she'd helped Sarah realize how controlling her ex-boyfriend was.
20	* KindheartedCatLover: Joyce is shown doting on Boodles every so often to keep this character trait established.
21	* MadLove: Joyce towards Bob, as she's all-but convinced herself they're in a relationship, as reflected in her letters to Sarah. A few scenes have her providing a RomanceNovel-style voiceover as she and Bob interact, including [[spoiler: her sexual assault on his unconscious body]].
22	* MayDecemberRomance: Joyce ''likes'' to think of her and Bob this way, but he just sees her as a sweet old lady.
23	* PayingInCoins: Joyce does this early in the movie for a few dollars in canned cat food after her credit card is declined, showcasing just how bad her finances have become.
24	* ReadyForLovemaking: Joyce invokes this trope ''very'' often around Bob by dressing younger and, on one occasion, asking for his "help" reaching a towel while she was in her bubble-bath.
25	* RescueRomance: Joyce's infatuation with Bob grows after he delivers [[CurbstompBattle exactly three strikes]] to the bullying skater, leaving the teen gasping for air after he'd egged her house.
26	* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Joyce and Sarah both fall into this category.
27	* SlippingAMickey: [[spoiler: Joyce does this to Bob with sleeping pills so she could live out her fantasies with his unconscious body]].
28	* SpoilerCover: The poster for the film shows Joyce [[spoiler: holding a knife with the TagLine of "She'd ''kill'' to find a decent man", effectively spoiling the twist that ''she's'' the one to worry about, rather than Bob or one of her guests]].
29	* TallDarkAndHandsome: Joyce describes Bob as this word for word on multiple occasions.
30	* TeensAreMonsters: When Joyce stops at a skate-park to watch, and a group near the front start making crass jokes about how she's a DirtyOldWoman. She responds by throwing the skateboard of the worst offender in a nearby trashcan, and he later responds [[spoiler: by sexually assaulting her in an alley, then egging her house after she extricates herself from the previous situation]].
31	* UnreliableExpositor: It turns out that [[spoiler: Joyce is one, almost to the point of being a ConsummateLiar, provided she doesn't get need to make one up on the spot]].
32	* VorpalPillow: [[spoiler: Joyce uses one on her neighbor after Sarah had talked to her, as Gladys had let slip that Joyce had gotten pregnant, but Fred had made her get an abortion as he didn't want children]].
33	* WoundedGazelleGambit: Joyce invokes this after the death of her neighbor, Gladys, as a means to get sympathy from Bob despite not really being close with the woman. [[spoiler: Well, aside from ''physical'' proximity as she smothered Gladys to death]].

Context Film / RoomForRent