Line #24 Film/DeadManOnCampus


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mpw_50236.jpeg]]
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3	''Dead Man on Campus'' is a 1998 dark comedy film starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Creator/TomEverettScott. It centres on the {{urban legend}} that a student will get straight As if his or her roommate commits suicide.
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5	Cooper (Gosselaar) and Josh (Scott) are both in danger of flunking out of college and so attempt to find a depressed room-mate in order to push him over the edge and thus get them through the year on a technicality. HilarityEnsues.
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9	!! Tropes Appearing in ''Dead Man on Campus'':
10	* AsleepInClass: Josh suffers from this after too many late nights.
11	* AssholeVictim: While nothing ''too'' bad happens to him, Cliff could count as this. Fortunately, he's MadeOfIron.
12	* BlackComedy: [[spoiler:Nobody actually dies but]] the whole subject of suicide, a normally very serious issue, is treated incredibly glibly.
13	* BrilliantButLazy: Cooper in a nutshell.
14	* CatholicSchoolGirlsRule: Kyle seems to think so.
15	* ClassClown: While we never see him actually attend a class, it's a safe bet Cooper would be this if he bothered turning up.
16	* CloudcuckooLander: Lucy. No real surprise, given that she's played by Alyson Hannigan.
17	* ConspiracyTheorist: Buckley. BIG time. He thinks Bill Gates is trying to steal his brain, and has already been 50% successful.
18	* CreditsGag: The names of various film personnel and crew are given a suicidal twist.
19	* {{Goth}}: Matt Noonan with his dark clothing, hair and makeup along with his GothRock band 'Kiss My Ass'. [[spoiler:Turns out that Matt was faking being depressed, a Goth, and being British in order to reinvent himself for college from his cheerful persona in high school. In the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue it is shown that his band also changes genres from Goth Rock to a style that sounds alot more cheerful, yet [[LyricalDissonance seemingly using the same lyrics for their song 'Sperm', which mentioned suicide among other things, before the band's genre shift]]!]]
20	* GroinAttack: Inviting these seems to be Cliff's equivalent of a handshake.
21	* InnocentInnuendo: Cooper and Josh's angry conversation with each other after ditching Cliff leaves their dorm-mates somewhat taken-aback. See also MistakenForGay, below.
22	* IronicEcho: After confronting [[spoiler:Matt Noonan]] about being a fake, Cooper sees his girlfriend Kristen kissing [[spoiler:Matt]] and later learns she is sleeping with him in the dorm when [[spoiler:Kyle]] suddenly and angrily shows up and Cooper uses this opportunity to punish both of them while [[spoiler:using a line that Matt used when he dismissed his band after a practice in the dorm that Matt was disappointed with.]]
23	-->'''[[spoiler:Kyle]]:''' Where is my stuff and who are those people [[PrecisionFStrike FUCKING IN MY ROOM?!]]
24	-->'''Cooper:''' There's people fucking in your room? ([[spoiler:Kyle opens the door to reveal Matt and Kristen in bed together]])
25	-->'''Cooper:''' Oh! Those guys. [[BlatantLies They threw your stuff out and they told you to]] [[LargeHam "GO FUCK YOURSELF"]]!
26	-->'''[[spoiler:Matt]]:''' You can't throw me out, this is my room! Cooper tell him I'm your roommate.
27	-->'''Cooper:''' While addressing [[spoiler:Kyle]] My roommate is [[spoiler:an impressive rock star. Points at Matt YOU are a candyass, show tune singing, HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADER!]]
28	-->'''[[spoiler:Kyle]]:''' You're dead! Enters the room
29	-->'''Cooper:''' [[spoiler:Using a fake British accent while closing the door on all three of them [[TakeThat Piss off!]] [[CallBack Off you go now! Lovely, lovely]]!]]
30	* LargeHam: Cooper. Or, at least, a medium-sized ham.
31	* LoopholeAbuse: A loophole in the college rules (that in the event of a student suicide, all roommates of said student will get automatic passes for the year) is what fuels the plot.
32	* MadeOfIron: Cliff O'Malley, who regularly invites people to kick him in the nuts, and who shrugs off getting shot by a cop like it's no big thing.
33	* MistakenForGay: Happens to Cooper and Josh, first after being caught in a clinch behind a hedge, then later when overheard angrily accusing each other of "pulling out too soon" and being "too anal", etc.
34	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: [[spoiler:Matt]] when confronted by Cooper about being a fake.
35	* RefugeInAudacity: The film as a whole has elements of this, while Cooper seems to use this trope pretty much as his default setting.
36	* ScholarshipStudent: Josh. Fear of losing his scholarship due to flunking his classes is what drives him to agree to Cooper's insane plan.
37	* TheSlacker: Cooper again. The plot basically revolves around his plan to pass the year without doing any actual (academic) work.
38	* SuicideAsComedy: The entire movie is driven by this trope.
39	* TextbookHumor: The opening credits are styled as textbook questions and problems, themed around suicide.

Context Film / DeadManOnCampus