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13[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jtmd.jpg]]
14[[caption-width-right:310:From left to right: Kate, Beth, John, Carrie and Heather.]]
15
16''John Tucker Must Die'' is a 2006 teen comedy film directed by Creator/BettyThomas, starring Creator/JesseMetcalfe, Creator/BrittanySnow, Music/{{Ashanti}}, Creator/SophiaBush, Creator/ArielleKebbel, and Creator/JennyMcCarthy.
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18Three popular high school girls from different cliques -- Heather, the CruelCheerleader; Beth, the GranolaGirl; and Carrie, the AcademicAlphaBitch -- team up to bring down the eponymous John Tucker, [[RevengeAgainstMen the guy who dated them all at once and then broke their hearts]]. Their weapon is Kate, the NewTransferStudent, who has her own grudge against HandsomeLech types. The four hatch a plan to break John's heart the same way he broke theirs, fashioning the inexperienced Kate as the ultimate heartbreaker.
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20As the girls are molding Kate into everything she needs to be to win John, she's caught the eye of the "other Tucker," John's little brother. The first couple of schemes turn things FromBadToWorse, backfire and make John even a bigger hit with the other girls in the school. But he falls hard for Kate and she fears she might have bit off more than she can chew.
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22----
23!!This movie provides examples of:
24
25* TheAce: John. Star athlete, BigManOnCampus, handsome and charming.
26* AcademicAlphaBitch: Carrie is a classic case, excels in school and it intimidating to other students. She is also a perfectionist, an ExtracurricularEnthusiast and a SchoolNewspaperNewsHound. Apparently she speaks several languages and is writing a children's book.
27* AmbiguouslyBi: It's unclear if Beth is actually bi, just thinks Kate's mom is hot or is just into anyone.
28* AllGuysWantCheerleaders: Kate later joins the cheer leading squad in order to get John's attention.
29%% ** Heather, who is captain of the cheerleading squad.
30* AlphaBitch: Heather and Carrie mark two different types of the trope (AcademicAlphaBitch and CruelCheerleader). It's however made clear Beth and Kate are equally morally questionable.
31* AnAesop: BeYourself. It's mostly a lesson for Kate, but you could also say that John and the other three girls had to learn to be more vulnerable and put on less of a facade.
32* AndThenWhat: Kate's question to the girls after they get their revenge on their two-timing boyfriend John.
33* AntiHero:
34** Kate is the film's protagonist, but her goal is to humiliate John by manipulating his emotions.
35** Even accounting for their (pretty legitimate) WomanScorned feelings. Beth, Carrie and Heather come across as rather unlikable. They are ruthless, they don't care for any collateral damage, and they clearly don't particularly care about Kate either.
36%% * AntiVillain: John turns out to be this (Type III).
37* BecomingTheMask: Predictably, Kate ends up falling for John while pretending to date him in order to set him up to be humiliated. She grows to like him, particularly after she gets a glimpse of understanding as to why he did it, but it seemed mostly platonic, particularly seeing as she wanted his brother more.
38%% * BeYourself: The whole moral of the movie.
39%% * BigFun: The kids see John's best friend Tommy as this.
40* BlameTheParamour: When John's three girlfriends find out about each other, they start fighting. When [[OnlySaneMan Kate]] gets hurt in the crossfire, she calls them out on how stupid it is for them to be fighting each other, when John was the one cheating on all of them.
41%% * BigManOnCampus: John Tucker, who is quite the popular guy all around campus.
42%% * BreakTheHaughty: What the girls try to do to John in revenge for his cheating.
43%% * ButtMonkey: John is this throughout the film, because of how the girls try to get revenge on him.
44* CorruptTheCutie: Kate slowly turns from the shy sweet new girl into an AlphaBitch due to the influence of the other three.
45* CoughSnarkCough: While in detention, Beth mentions that she and John hooked up, which makes Heather respond:
46-->''*cough*''slut''*cough*''
47* CruelCheerleader: Heather isn't as outright evil as some movie cheerleaders but she's still pretty bitchy and shallow.
48* DidNotGetTheGirl: [[spoiler: Kate changes her mind about humiliating John, but the other girls play the pre-recorded "I'm Dumping You" video anyway. Defying genre convention, he doesn't take Kate back afterward.]]
49* DisappearedDad: We never see Kate's father.
50%% * EthicalSlut: Beth and her slogans of free love.
51* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Kate's mother Lori is so hot, even Beth comments on Lori's hotness.
52%% * EveryoneLovesBlondes: Carrie, Kate, and most obviously - Kate's mom.
53%% * TheEveryman: Scott, the other Tucker.
54* FanDisservice: The 60-year-old faculty teachers wearing thongs under their pants at the end.
55* FanService: Kate's lingerie set.
56** The practice kiss between Kate and Beth.
57%% * FourGirlEnsemble: Kate, the admirable one; Carrie, the [[TheSmartGuy smart]] one; Heather, the sexy one; and Beth, the ditzy one.
58%% * FourTemperamentEnsemble: Kate is melancholic, Carrie is Choleric, Beth is Phlegmatic and Heather is Sanguine.
59* FriendlessBackground: Kate. Before Heather, Beth, and Carrie, she never had any other friends, which may have motivated her into acting like an AlphaBitch.
60* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Beth teaches Kate how to kiss. Although it [[PracticeKiss wasn't pointless]] it was clearly for [[FanService titillation]]. An then we have the appropriate reaction of a dorkish guy:
61--> '''Boy''': Holy Jama Llama! Kiss her again! Do it!
62--> '''Kate''': Get out of here, you little perv!
63* GlamorousSingleMother: Deconstructed with Kate's mom. While she a good-looking cool young mom, she is also an emotional mess who is LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces.
64* GoGetterGirl: Carrie is a classic case, excels in school and in [[AcademicAlphaBitch intimidating to other students]]. She is also a perfectionist, an ExtracurricularEnthusiast and a SchoolNewspaperNewsHound. Apparently she speaks several languages and is writing a children's book.
65* GoodParents: Kate's single mother is a good mother towards her, offering her advice for everything.
66* GranolaGirl: Beth, who lives like a hippie, doesn't like eating animals, is a vegetarian and wears a stolen bra made from 100% hemp. She also believes in the motto "peace and love".
67* HeartbreakAndIceCream: As Kate narrates in the opening what happens after all her Mom's dates "skip" out on her, her mom is later shown with tears running down her face and her messily stuffing her feelings with spoonfuls of a can of chocolate cake frosting.
68* HypocriticalHumor: In the beginning of the film, when a 7th grade Kate spells "anonymous" wrong, the announcer proceeds to spell the word "wrong" as "w-o-r-n-g."
69* JerkJock: John definitely qualifies; he's the obnoxious star of the basketball team and he lies to girls he dates.
70%% * JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
71%% ** Heather becomes this in the climax.
72%% ** John end up as this in the end of the movie.
73* KarmaHoudini:
74** All the girls get away with torturing John all year. No comeuppance. Although they more or less didn't deserve a commeuppance as they were arguably justified, especially at the end when Tucker doesn't learn anything.
75** John gets away with being the school slut all year with one little apology. Then they all forgive each other and have a wacky food fight.
76%% * LadykillerInLove: John is either this, or NotGoodWithRejection as he starts falling for new girl Kate.
77* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Lori, who dates numerous guys nicknamed "Skip" (by Kate, as it saves her getting too attached to any of them) who treat her like crap and run out on her eventually.
78%% * LovableAlphaBitch: Heather becomes this at the end.
79* MarryThemAll: A non-marital type. John Tucker's solution at the end of the film. While his cheating isn't stopped, his lying has. Instead of lying, he decides to be honest and introduce his first new girlfriend to his other girlfriend on the side. Resulting into a polymorous relationship.
80* [[MrViceGuy Ms. Vice Gal]]: Heather has traits like pride and vanity, but she's still a good person and a sympathetic character.
81* NeverMyFault: Kate blames her mother's poor dating choices on why she's turning into an AlphaBitch.
82* NiceJobFixingItVillain: The girls' many attempts to publicly humiliate John, including an ad for Herpes, just only add to his public image as John takes advantage of this and uses it to help those affected with Herpes. Much to the girls' dismay.
83* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: InUniverse example. Make John look like he has herpes? He turns it into a youth awareness campaign for [=STD=]s. Swap his pre-workout for estrogen? It appeals him to women looking for a more sensitive man. Have him caught by everybody in school wearing a girl’s thong? HE TURNS IT INTO A FASHION TREND FOR GUYS. John Tucker: star basketball player, ladies' man... and spin artist extraordinaire.
84* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When Kate goes out to avoid witnessing another one of her mom's dramatic breakups with her lovers, her mother usually stuffs her face with a can of cake icing. When Kate returns, she instead finds that her mother has used the can of cake icing for a cake she baked and she did a responsible thing: she sent her lover home so she could make up with her daughter.
85--> '''Kate''': Hey Mom, there's some frosting...with a cake underneath it.
86%% * OnlySaneMan: Kate and Scott.
87* ParentsAsPeople: While Kate's mom is a [[GoodParents good mother]] towards Kate, she still has some flaws. It's shown that Kate's mom's dating life does seem to have a negative effect on Kate regarding her attitude towards certain men.
88* {{Polyamory}}: [[spoiler: John's solution at the end of the movie. While he doesn't stop being a player. He decides to date both of his new girlfriends at the same time in an open polymorous relationship. But not without introducing them first.]]
89* PracticeKiss: Two of the titular character's girlfriends practice kissing together after Kate admits the she has never kissed anyone.
90%% * ReallyGetsAround:
91%% ** Beth is rumored to do so.
92%% ** John and Lori also fit this.
93%% * {{Revenge}}: What the girls try to do to John by breaking his heart.
94%% * SassyBlackWoman: Heather
95%% * SchoolNewspaperNewsHound: Carrie works on one.
96%% * SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: Scott.
97* StacysMom: Kate's mother is seen as attractive by guys around Kate's age and ''[[AmbiguouslyBi Beth]]''.
98* StrippingSnag: Beth is sneaking out of the back of John's jeep when her skirt gets snag. Kate tries to keep John distracted while Beth struggles to get free. Beth is next seen getting into Carrie's car with her jacket wrapped around her waist and complaining "It's not even my date and he still gets me out of my skirt!" as John drives off with her skirt wrapped around his wheel.
99%% * WhamLine: John to Kate when she tries to jikt him out of revenge: "Will you be my girlfriend?"
100* WhatTheHellHero: Kate gets this speech from Scott because of how she turned out to be an AlphaBitch.
101* WisdomFromTheGutter: Kate's mother, who always fails in her own love life, provides epiphany for Kate.
102* WithFriendsLikeThese: It does stretch belief a little that Kate would stay close pals with Beth, Carrie and Heather after everything.
103* WithUsOrAgainstUs: The girls temporarily shun Kate from the group because she doesn't hate John enough.
104* WomanScorned: Three actually and at the same time. Beth, Carrie and Heather were all dating John Tucker ''at the same time'' without knowing it. After learning the truth and being dumped by him, they make it their ultimate goal to ruin John Tucker's life.
105* YouAreTheNewTrend: After an elaborate plan to humiliate John backfires ([[LongStory long story]]), every guy in the school starts to wear visible frilly thongs without any qualms. Even old men.

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