Line #12 Film/ThreeOClockHigh


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/threeoclockhigh1987.jpg]]
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3	-> ''"No matter what you say or what you do, you and me are gonna fight when that bell rings at 3 o'clock."''
4	-->-- '''Buddy Revell'''
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6	''Three O'Clock High'' is a high school comedy from 1987, directed by Phil Joanou and starring Creator/CaseySiemaszko.
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8	A riff on classic westerns like ''Film/HighNoon'', the film centers on the geeky Jerry Mitchell, who inadvertantly angers the new bully at school, Buddy Revell, and gets challenged to a fight at the end of the school day. Jerry has until 3 pm to get out of the fight, or face certain destruction.
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10	----
11	!!This film provides examples of:
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13	* AllIsWellThatEndsWell: At the end [[spoiler: Jerry won the fight but the school store was still ransacked and robbed. The next day, all the kids insist on buying items at super inflated rates (such as a dollar for a piece of paper) out of respect, Jerry gets a huge cut of the pool placed on him the previous afternoon, and Buddy returns the money. The store is implied to not only recover from the theft, but has a huge surplus to boot.]]
14	* ArcWords: ''“It looks like it’s gonna be one of those days.”'' These were [[{{Bookends}} Jerry’s first words and last words in the movie]].
15	* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Needless to say, if the shenanigans in this movie happened at a real high school, a lot of people would be in very hot water with the local law enforcement, both faculty and student.
16	* BarbaricBully: Buddy Revell is called "a psycho" very early in the film and he spends the rest of the runtime showing he really deserves the label.
17	* TheBully: Buddy Revell is a passive example of this - he doesn't bother anybody, unless they press his BerserkButton
18	* BullyBrutality: The whole plot revolves around Buddy's threat to beat the everliving hell out of Jerry at the end of the school day and on the road to doing so Buddy brutalizes Craig Mattey (the school's quarterback) when Jerry tries to hire him as a BullyHunter, Vince (Jerry's best friend) when he tries to help Jerry in the climactic fight and Duke and O'Rouke (the school's security guard and principal) when they try to break up said fight (and [[BerserkButton touch Buddy]]). Jerry himself [[DavidVersusGoliath ends up quite black-and-blue by the time he wins the fight]].
19	* BerserkButton Buddy ''really'' HatesBeingTouched.
20	* BigDamnHeroes: Vince springs on Buddy and attacks him [[BewareTheNiceOnes with such vicious abandon]] that even Buddy is surprised for a moment.
21	* {{Bookends}}: At the beginning of the movie we are informed about Buddy by a montage of random students gossiping about the [[NewTransferStudent New Kid]] with highly improbable anecdotes. At the end, we have a nearly identical montage of the same students gossiping about Jerry with anecdotes we know are exaggerated.
22	* BookshelfDominoes: When Buddy knocks out Craig Mattey (in the library, with a single blow) after the latter puts a hand on him, Mattey stumbles back and knocks down a bookshelf, which knocks down nearly all the others on the library. For further "OhCrap" fuel for Jerry, who was in the same room watching the whole thing because [[BullyHunter he paid Mattey to punch out Buddy]], the knocked down shelves expose he is there, Buddy immediately puts two and two together, and makes clear the fight is still on as he walks out.
23	* BullyHunter: Subverted. Local jock Craig Mattey is famous for beating up on a bully, but only because the bully's victim paid him. Jerry buys his services, but doesn't get his money's worth.
24	* CantGetInTroubleForNuthin: One of Jerry's attempts to avert the fight, on the recommendation of his sister is to get himself suspended for the day. He tries to do this in his English Lit class by volunteering to recite a book report for the whole class, and then generally being boorish, lighting a cigarette, making a pass at the teacher and even dropping ashes into her coffee. This backfires when she becomes [[HotForStudent romantically aroused]] by this assertive behavior. At the end of the film she gives him her phone number.
25	* ChallengingTheBully: Double subverted. Most of the film's plot follows Jerry's increasingly insane attempts to ''escape'' the challenge the bully has given him, but on the third act Buddy pisses Jerry off by calling him a coward and he accepts Buddy's challenge for real.
26	* ChickMagnet: By the end of the film, Jerry's best friend, his English teacher, and the head cheerleader of his high school are all smitten and horny for him.
27	* ClosedCircle: Jerry cannot escape the school (and Buddy's challenge) because Buddy sabotaged Jerry's car, when he tries to run away on foot Duke the school's security guard hunts him down and drags him back for trying to play hooky, and when it comes to trying to request help from an authority figure it's either the fear that Buddy will have a bigger excuse to try to kill him or the fact that AdultsAreUseless that gets in the way.
28	* ComedicSociopathy: Invoked for laughs at the pep rally. An effigy of the other school's football player appears, and the perky cheerleaders ''beat him with baseball bats'' and decapitate him, as the crowd cheers mightily.
29	* CurbStompBattle: The fight between Buddy and Craig consists of Buddy breaking Craig’s finger and punching him so hard that [[BookshelfDominoes he knocks over all bookshelves in the library]].
30	* DeanBitterman: Played straight with Dolinski but subverted with Principle O’Rourke, who lets Buddy off after he proves he didn’t (need to) cheat and later convinces the detective not to arrest Jerry, even though it was pretty apparent that he robbed the store.
31	* DefeatMeansFriendship: Buddy returns Jerry's money in the end and even gives him the faintest of smiles, suggesting that Jerry has at least earned his respect for standing up for himself.
32	* DumbJock[=/=]DumbMuscle: Buddy (a former football player) subverts this trope, upending both Jerry and O’Rourke’s expectation that he was too dumb to answer the math quiz questions correctly.
33	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Invoked hilariously twice. Poor Jerry is constantly reminded of his upcoming slaughter from his class lessons:
34	** A Literature teachers recounts [[Literature/TheIliad Hector's mortifying death at the hand of Achilles]]. She even smugly recounts how [[DirtyCoward Hector is running like a pussy and crying for mercy.]]
35	** A short film is shown in Biology class, showing a innocent cricket ambushed and devoured by a monstrous wolf spider.
36	* EleventhHourSuperpower: [[spoiler:During the fight with Buddy, Jerry's given the brass knuckles Buddy dropped, and uses it to take him down]].
37	* EveryoneHasStandards: Buddy is so digusted at the lengths that Jerry has gone to in trying to avoid their fight that he finally relents and agrees to let Jerry simply buy him off, seeing Jerry as a "pussy" who isn't even worth fighting. It backfires on him, however, as the insult hits Jerry's RageBreakingPoint, and he finally accepts the fight.
38	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: Not counting the final scene, the entire plot takes place within 8 hours. And counting it - it still wraps within 24.
39	* FireForgedFriends: Initially subverted, but eventually played somewhat straight. Nemeses Jerry and Buddy get caught cheating on a math test. After the ordeal, Jerry tries to invoke the trope, saying that they've been through a lot together and should be friends. Buddy insists that nothing will prevent Jerry's inevitable pummeling. However, after the fight, Buddy shows up to return Jerry's money and gives him the very faintest of smiles, indicating that Jerry has at least earned his respect.
40	* AFriendInNeed: After an angry split up with Jerry in the middle of the film, Vince [[TheCavalry returns during the fight]] just in time to save his friend.
41	* GrewASpine: Jerry's character arc is a stereotypical example of this form of 80's teen ComingOfAgeStory.
42	* GeniusBruiser: Buddy is hinted at having HiddenDepths. When Craig goes looking for him, he finds Buddy quietly reading ''Literature/OfMiceAndMen'' in the library. Later, Buddy tries to cheat on Jerry's math test, but then reveals that he could have easily solved the problems himself. Buddy seems to prefer being a feared bully over being recognized as intelligent.
43	* GoThroughMe: Franny tries to pull this over Buddy during the actual fight. Predictably, he effortlessly pushs her over.
44	* {{Goth}}: Franny is a proto-goth.
45	* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler: After being bested by Jerry, Buddy shows up to return his money and drops further hostility]].
46	* GroinAttack: Buddy knees Vince in the groin when Vince intervenes in the fight.
47	* HatesBeingTouched: Buddy. He wants to fight Jerry because he had the audacity to put a hand on his shoulder. When Craig threatens Buddy, it's the fact that Craig pokes him in the chest that causes Buddy to flip out.
48	* HateSink: Buddy was made to be hated, being a BarbaricBully who spends most of the film's runtime constantly making clear he wants Jerry dead (or very nearly so) [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown by his hand]].
49	* HiddenDepths: Hinted at with Buddy due to the way he seems to hide his intelligence. He even does the math problem that is given to him to prove he wasn't cheating with an ease that surprises Jerry and the principal.
50	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Buddy gets knocked out by his own brass knuckles.
51	* HotTeacher[=/=]HotForStudent: To avoid the fight, Jerry puts the moves on his English lit teacher (who is dressed like a HotLibrarian) and gives her a kiss in the hopes of getting ejected from class. He immediately loses his nerve and passes out afterwards, only to wake up in the school nurse's office... [[GoneHorriblyRight with the teacher's phone number]].
52	* InTheStyleOf: Phil Joanou cited Creator/MartinScorsese as a primary influence on his direction of the film, saying that he was specifically aiming for a high school version of ''Film/AfterHours''.
53	* IronicEcho: Both BookEnd GossipEvolution scenes have someone calling the person being talked about (Buddy and Jerry, respectively) "a psycho."
54	* IronicNickname: Buddy is a real jerk.
55	* KarmaHoudini:
56	** A rare hero example: It is strongly suggested that Jerry will not be punished for robbing the school store, particularly after Buddy returns the money.
57	** We don't see Buddy receive any punishment for knocking out a principal. He appears in school the next day, though it's unclear whether he's actually allowed to be there or not. It's possible he pretended the fight didn't happen.
58	* MrExposition: The entire high school collectively performs this role during the first scene, as they trade rumors about the new transfer student, Buddy Revell.
59	* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight: In spite of being twice Jerry's size, as well as a badass, Buddy sees it necessary to bring brass knuckles to the showdown. During the brawl, Jerry gets possession of them and uses them to knock Buddy out.
60	* NobodyCallsMeChicken: Jerry finally agrees to fight Buddy after Buddy calls him a “pussy.”
61	* OfficialKiss: Subverted following Jerry and Franny’s kiss. Rather than going through with “bonding” with Jerry, Franny decides there must be some other way to help him. At the end he is dating another girl, who chatted him up after the fight while, unnoticed by Jerry, Franny looked on forlornly.
62	* OffscreenTeleportation: Buddy disappears after the fight, and even the surrounding crowd doesn't seem to realize he left. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], though, as no one seems worried about where he is or whether he’ll return.
63	* RecklessSidekick: Vince is largely responsible for everything that happens to Jerry. When Jerry finally calls him out on this, Vince denies it and walks away, but [[ItsAllMyFault clearly feels guilty]].
64	* ShowdownAtHighNoon: Jerry and Buddy have a duel scheduled for 3:00. The name of the film is a riff on "high noon" and "high school," as well as a ShoutOut to ''Film/TwelveOClockHigh''.
65	* SmileOfApproval: Buddy gives Jerry a faint smile before walking off, showing that Jerry gained his respect for standing up to him.
66	* SmokingIsCool: Jerry [[InvokedTrope invokes this trope]] in his attempt to get detention. [[HotForStudent His plan backfires]].
67	* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: Buddy is able to [[CurbStompBattle knock out Craig and the Duker with one punch]], but has a four-minute fight with the much smaller Jerry, in which Buddy ultimately resorts to (unsuccessfully) using brass knuckles.
68	* TeachHimAnger: Buddy's provocation eventually leads Jerry to stand up for himself.
69	* TheSoCalledCoward: Jerry is a wimp, and spends most of the film trying to avoid fighting. Ultimately he has the opportunity to dodge the fight, but changes his mind and stands up for himself. He actually wins the fight and gains a newfound reputation as a badass.
70	* TranquilFury: Buddy might have huge BerserkButton that is very easy to push, but he remains collected and focused, while extremely pissed off.
71	* WhatTheHellHero: In the third act, Buddy relents and allows Jerry to simply buy his way out of the fight, but he criticizes Jerry for not standing up for himself. Ultimately it's this shame that causes Jerry to choose to fight even though he doesn't need to.
72	* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: OK, three o'clock P.M., actually, but the trope still fits. Most of the plot, as a result, is a RaceAgainstTheClock.
73	* TheWorfEffect: Craig and the school security guard seem to exist in part to show how tough Buddy really is.
74	* WouldntHitAGirl: While Buddy has no qualms about attacking adult faculty members and security staff, he simply, if strongly, pushes Franny aside when she tries to stop him from beating Jerry up.

Context Film / ThreeOClockHigh