Line #65 Main/GuessWhoImMarrying


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan1963 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_3774_9472.jpg]]]]
5	->''"Uh oh! Something's amiss! Or maybe even soon, a Mrs.!"''
6	-->-- '''TheNarrator''', ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', "Mommy Fearest"
7
8	This is a ParentWithNewParamour situation in which the paramour is an obvious DevilInPlainSight. Throughout this storyline, the parent will be firmly holding onto the IdiotBall while their kid(s) take on the role of the OnlySaneMan. This sort of plot can also be done outside the family structure, with concerned friends filling in for the kid. The use of the IdiotBall may or may not be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] if the new paramour has supernatural powers of some sort.
9
10	The horror will probably begin with the parent introducing the paramour to the kid(s) and providing a frightful deadline for their marriage ("This is Mr. Evil and we'll be getting married next week! Isn't that wonderful, kids?"). The paramour may be a character previously established as a CardCarryingVillain, in which case the encounter will probably go somewhat like this:
11
12	->'''Mom''': I've decided to get married again.\
13	'''Kid''': To who, Mom?\
14	''[Villain enters]''\
15	'''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Satan McEvil]]''': You can call me "daddy."\
16	''[Kid looks horrified. Cut to commercial break.]''
17
18	Regardless, the paramour will almost certainly behave in an obnoxious I-got-your-Mommy/Daddy-wrapped-around-my-little-finger manner throughout the scene just to make it absolutely clear from the start that they are ''bad''. The parent, of course, will completely miss this. Once the parent is offscreen, expect the paramour to tell the kid(s) exactly what's what, usually consisting of the revelation that they are a ChildHater and plan to send the kid(s) OffToBoardingSchool. The introduction of the villain is often a VillainOverForDinner situation.
19
20	The parent will sometimes say, "I would never marry someone if you were dead set against it." And then do just that.
21
22	Of course, sometimes, the villain really does not have an evil plan regarding the marriage; they just fell for an incredibly inconvenient individual. Or they ''do'' have an evil plan, but only because they really do want to stay with their beloved forever.
23
24	Naturally, it will be up to the kid(s) to [[KidsPlayMatchBreaker get rid of the paramour]] since AdultsAreUseless. The solution may involve a KidsPlayMatchmaker plot, where the kid(s) try to find a different, better partner for their parent.
25
26	Often the plot involves everyone ''else'' (other than the good partner and evil suitor) holding the IdiotBall vis-a-vis the protagonist, where the protagonist is trying to alert others to the danger, but they assume the protagonist is just being petty, jealous, or crazy (or some combination thereof), and start disliking the protagonist based on that.
27
28	Compare WickedStepmother, BlendedFamilyDrama.
29
30	[[GrammarNazi And yes, it should be "Guess WHOM I'm Marrying".]]
31	----
32	!!Examples
33
34	[[foldercontrol]]
35
36	[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
37	* In ''Manga/TheDevilDoesExist'' (and the Taiwanese LiveActionAdaptation ''Series/DevilBesideYou'') the announcement that the heroine's mother is going to marry again isn't that traumatic... until some days later, when the mother reveals that her fiancé is her daughter's school director and that his son (a boy with whom the heroine has had [[SlapSlapKiss some nasty clashes]] recently) is coming to dinner right now.
38	* In ''Anime/HeatGuyJ'', Monica's mother [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl Christina]] has met a man while out partying late one night, and plans to leave Judoh with him. Monica is suspicious of him and refuses to go with them. Christina leaves with her new boyfriend anyway, thinking Monica would join them later and they'd be a family. [[spoiler: It turns out Christina's new beau has a bunch of women he tricked onto getting on the boat so he could dump them off or sell them as sex slaves and sell their I.D. s to people hoping to enter Judoh illegally. Daisuke and J save the day, of course.]]
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:ComicBooks]]
42	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan1963'' #131 [[http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1119:with-this-ring-i-thee-web&catid=29:confounding-comic-covers-index&Itemid=32#content centered on the nuptials of the widow May Parker and one Dr. Otto Octavius.]]
43	** [[ComicBook/DoctorOctopus Doc Ock]] was actually marrying May because she was the heir to a private nuclear reactor. He didn't even realize that Spider-Man was her nephew until after he unmasked in ''Civil War''. [[ContinuityNod Brilliantly]], he then went into a rant about how stupid he was not to figure it out and how he should have kept up the marriage facade for far longer. It is however implied that he actually likes her.
44	** An early continuity nod had Aunt May, shortly after learning Peter's secret identity, witness a fight between Spidey and Ock, and ''finally'' realise who Octavius was. However, this was a RetCon imposed by the RuleOfFunny; in the Silver-Age stories Aunt May, despite her CloudCuckooLander tendencies, was quite aware of who Otto was. One could say it was a case of the UsefulNotes/StockholmSyndrome at work as she first developed feelings for him when he charmed the socks off her while holding her and Betty Brant hostage. She found his polished manners much better than those of "that awful Spider-Man".
45	** For added BrainBleach fodder, Dan Slott had Peter Parker exchange bodies with Doctor Octopus and forced him to relive Otto engaging in a bit of pre-marital sex in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott'' #699.
46	* Played with in ''ComicBook/GhostWorld''. Enid is talking about her ex-stepmothers and hates one in particular. Guess who Mr. Coleslaw's remarrying? Subverted in that the woman looks quite normal (it's been a few years) and, if I recall correctly, is actually supportive of Enid [[spoiler: and is sympathetic when Enid fails to get into art school]].
47	* ''ComicBook/SensationComics'': Etta Candy invites [[ComicBook/WonderWoman Diana]] and Steve Trevor to her wedding to a man neither has had the opportunity to meet beforehand. When they get there Diana learns right away her fiance is lying when she spots him with another girlfriend before Etta even introduces them, and she and Steve are certain due to his mustache-twirling ways he's not who he says he is at all. He turns out to be a Nazi spy who got engaged to Etta to better facilitate his sabotage of the oil fields near the Candy Ranch.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
51	* Literature/GraciosaAndPercinet: Princess Graciosa's widowed father announces to his daughter that he is to marry the Duchess Grognon. This terrifies Graciosa since she knows the duchess is [[GreenEyedMonster hatefully jealous]] of her.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:{{Film}} — Animated]]
55	* A version appeared in Disney's ''{{WesternAnimation/Aladdin}}'', except that Jasmine's father was announcing who ''she'' was marrying. And he was hypnotized.
56	* ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'' has "Guess Who's Renting Our Spare Room", with the paranoid and crazy government agent Kent Mansley setting up shop to spy on Hogarth while the mother is rather oblivious.
57	** Her obliviousness can be justified by her very demanding work schedule, which she has to keep up to care for Hogarth and herself. Kent even brings this up at one point, telling Hogarth that his mother is under a lot of strain as a single mother and that it would be not hard to make it look like she was too neglectful to keep custody of him.
58	* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' Has Don. He decides to marry Sheri at the end of the film. He tells her son not to worry and that they're Fraternity Brothers first. As if realizing the UnfortunateImplications, he asks her son to think of him as a [[DiggingYourselfDeeper Frat Brother who is marrying his mother, which he quickly realizes sounds even worse.]]
59	* In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsThePrincessAndThePauper'', the villain Preminger was planning to marry princess Anneliese (Franchise/{{Barbie}}), but given that events forced him to pretend she had died, he settles for her mother, the widowed queen, in order to seize the throne.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:{{Film}} — Live Action]]
63	* In both ''Film/TheParentTrap1961'' and ''Film/TheParentTrap1998'', the twins' father is about to get married to a woman that everyone except him can tell is a GoldDigger who doesn't like children.
64	* The "comedy" ''Film/MrWoodcock'' with the villain being a former DrillSergeantNasty gym teacher. But it turns out that, rather than Mr. Woodcock being the bad guy, [[spoiler:he's just kind of a JerkAss, while the son is actually an asshole who has an unforgiving grudge toward his teacher. After realizing this, he forgives his teacher for 'molding him into what he is today']]
65	* ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'': Shown with the marriage of Lorraine Baines and Biff Tannen in 1985-A. It begins with them already married, but Marty has the typical reaction since he possesses RippleEffectProofMemory - and since he isn't the Marty from this timeline, who is apparently in Switzerland. It's also unconventional in that it shows that Biff and Lorraine have an AwfulWeddedLife, with Biff hitting Lorraine and being implied to have repeatedly raped her.
66	* ''Film/ProblemChild 2'' had the titular kid's dad almost get married to a child-hating millionairess. In this case, his blindness is arguably justified. Junior had spent the earlier part of the film driving away every other date he had just because he didn't want to share his dad with anyone. Naturally, his dad is skeptical when he tries to tell him "No, this one really IS evil!"
67	* ''[[Film/ThreeMenAndABaby Three Men and a Little Lady]]'' but with useful adults (the three men) who foil the antagonist's plan.
68	* ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter'', in which the [[SerialKiller extremely wicked]] stepfather has apparently {{Brainwashed}} the mother. [[spoiler: And then he kills her, leaving him all alone with the kids...]]
69	* Cpt. Vidal from ''Film/PansLabyrinth'' is not the ideal stepdad, either. [[spoiler:He ''shoots'' her! She had sedated him, but he didn't know that. And her nanny had repeatedly stabbed and [[Franchise/{{Batman}} joker-fied him.]] He was about to torture her though, so... yeah.]]
70	* The Disney Channel movie ''Film/MomsGotADateWithAVampire'' is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
71	* Film/NannyMcPhee:
72	** Subverted with [[spoiler:Selma Quickly]]. Cedric Brown doesn't like her (or the idea of being her husband), but is only doing it because [[spoiler:the allowance that the children's Great-Aunt Adelaide provides them stops at the end of the month if he is not married, and she is his last chance before total ruin]].
73	** Double-Subverted with [[spoiler:Evangeline, the former scullery maid]], who is loved by [[spoiler:both the children and Mr. Brown]].
74	* In ''Film/{{Disturbia}}'', the protagonist's mother steps into the kitchen with the next-door neighbor... whom the protagonist suspects is a serial killer. [[spoiler:He is.]]
75	* Creator/HankAzaria, in ''Film/RunFatBoyRun'', actually starts out as TheAce but ends up invoking DerailingLoveInterests when it turns out he expects the mom and kid to move to America with him (without ever having mentioned or discussed it before) and is a bad sport in the climactic race just as Simon Pegg's character gets ''his'' act together at the end.
76	* ''[[Film/TheAddamsFamily Addams Family Values]]''. Uncle Fester is preparing to marry a seemingly sweet woman named Debbie Jellinsky, who is actually a BlackWidow, a killer who marries rich men, then kills them for their money. Only Wednesday and Pugsley are wise to her true intentions, and Debbie deals with them by sending them away to summer camp.
77	* ''Film/SlingBlade'' features this trope prominently as a mentally challenged protagonist befriends a boy and discovers that the boy's mother is about to marry a man who will definitely destroy their lives. He even says so to the boy's face, though not in so many words.
78	* The Ingmar Bergman film ''Film/FannyAndAlexander'' uses this trope, though the mom fairly quickly realizes she's married a [[SinisterMinister monster]], and the kids don't free themselves.
79	* ''[[Film/RevengeOfTheBridesmaids Revenge of the Bridesmaids]]'': Sweet guy Tony, Rachel’s love interest, is getting married to RichBitch Caitlyn [=McNabb=]. The scene where we find out actually switches things around. Instead of Tony announcing his engagement and then introducing Caitlyn as his fiancé, Caitlyn tells the main characters, Parker and Abigail, that she’s getting married, and when Tony, who the girls still thought was dating Rachel, walks along and is declared as the groom, even kissing Caitlyn. Needless to say, Abigail and Parker are NOT happy.
80	* ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'' has Captain Von Trapp bring Baroness Schraeder to his home to meet his children with every intention of asking her to marry him. The Baroness isn't actually all that bad, but the trope holds true from the kids' point of view since she very clearly is only interested in marrying the Captain and his money, not his seven children, whom she'd just as soon pack off to boarding school. Her few interactions with the kids are highly awkward, and not surprisingly, they prefer Maria.
81	* The mother in ''Film/AllIWantForChristmas'' does this, making her daughter think her wish to Santa backfired.
82	* Vince Vaughn is the wicked stepfather in ''Film/DomesticDisturbance'' (2001).
83	* In ''Film/{{Stepmonster}}'', Dad's going to marry the eponymous monster (in disguise as a pretty woman). [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} at the very end, when [[BigDamnHeroes Dad himself appears]] with the monster's WeaksauceWeakness (that the children discovered during their OnlySaneMan time) and deals with the monster.]]
84	* A heroic variant appears in ''{{Film/Enchanted}}'' with Robert Philip about to be married to Nancy Tremaine, whom his daughter Morgan perceives as a WickedStepmother due to her upbringing on fairy tales. Nonetheless, Nancy is a nice person, but she ends up losing Robert to Giselle.
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:{{Literature}}]]
88	* Cornelia Pitt from the ''Literature/AmericanGirl'' books with Samantha Parkington is a heroic version of this trope. Samantha fears that Cornelia's marriage to Uncle Garth will mean that he will spend less time with his niece. Gradually, Sam comes to accept Cornelia as her aunt.
89	* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' Marco retroactively convinces his father this trope was in effect so that he'll get back with Marco's mother. [[spoiler: Basically, Marco's mom was infested with a Yeerk, a PuppeteerParasite that faked her death and led an AlienInvasion against Earth. Under the Yeerk's orders, Marco's stepmother was infested as well, which Marco discovers and reveals to his father. After his mother is herself again, he lies and tells his father that his stepmother was infested ''the whole time'' so that he'll stop loving her, and remarry Marco's mother.]]
90	* In ''Literature/DavidCopperfield'', David's mother marries the nasty Mr. Murdstone.
91	** Murdstone is a bit of a subversion; before his marriage to Clara Copperfield, he treated David decently enough but once he had Clara and the family in his grasp, he showed his true colors.
92	* Any adaptation of a fairy tale with a WickedStepmother is likely to use this. The WickedStepmother, however, is seldom a ChildHater; she loves and jealously protects her own children if she has any (which is half the problem).
93	** Some fairy tales start off with the stepmother being kind to the stepchild as well, only for things to go south when said stepchild starts to turn out prettier and more desirable than their biological children (or, in Snow White's case, than the stepmother herself).
94	*** Snow White is actually a subversion, as the villain was her birth mother initially. The Brothers Grimm changed this due to complaints. Unlike another alteration (Rapunzel’s pregnancy) this has largely been forgotten.
95	* In the novel ''ProsperosChildren'', the main character finds out that her dad is marrying an evil witch.
96	* Happens in ''Literature/EllaEnchanted'', when Ella finds out that her father intends to marry the odious Dame Olga for money. She's perfectly lovely to Ella until she finds out that Ella and her father are broke, and then finds out that Ella is compelled to obey any directive she's given. Then it follows ''Cinderella'' straight through.
97	* A variation is done in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents: The Bad Beginning''. [[spoiler:In this case, when Olaf says "Guess who I'm marrying", it's a lot more {{squick}}-y for Violet.]]
98	* The backstory of ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' has a variation where it is the siblings, not the parents, who hold the {{idiot ball}} with regards to an intended husband.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
102	* A version with "adult" children occurred in ''Series/UglyBetty'' when Bradford announced he was marrying Wilhelmina.
103	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
104	** Joyce Summers nearly married an evil robot in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E11Ted Ted]]". However, Ted was actually pretty good at seeming nice, so it makes sense that he had everyone fooled. Except for Buffy, because of her tendency to take an automatic dislike to villains before she even gets evidence, combined with him threatening her when her mother wasn't around. Of course, the fact that he was surreptitiously drugging everybody else didn't hurt...
105	** She also went on a date with {{Dracula}}. It apparently went well enough for him to be invited back to her place.
106	* Uther Pendragon married a troll in ''Series/{{Merlin\|2008}}''. Disguised as an old sweetheart and enchanting him [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment with magic]], but still a ''troll''.
107	* A heroic variant happens in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Parallels" when Worf realizes he's married to Counselor Troi in one alternate universe.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:{{Theatre}}]]
111	* This is a big part of the setup for the plot of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''. However, Hamlet did not know his uncle was evil until after the marriage; he just thought Uncle Claudius was an incestuous jerk for marrying his mother so soon after his father died.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
115	* Selma's marriage to Sideshow Bob in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
116	-->'''Bart''': That man is scum!
117	-->'''Selma''': Then call me Mrs. Scum.
118	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', supervillainess Sedusa sidles her way into the Professor's life in the guise of "[[PunnyName Ima Goodlady]]". [[note]]Who then proceeds to seduce "daddy" into imposing a curfew on the girls. Guess why.[[/note]] Needless to say, once again, the day is saved thanks to... The Powerpuff Girls! The episode plays with the trope - the girls are perfectly happy with the Professor dating "Ima Goodlady" and even give him dating tips and encourage things as best they can. It's not until they notice that her groundings on them coincide with the nights that Sedusa robs the Mayor that they start to get ''really'' suspicious.
119	* Chef almost married a succubus in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''.
120	* One of ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' season 3's subplots was this, involving Stella's dad. They even went the "You can call me mom" route (sans ad break). Amusingly, Stella's reaction differs between the two versions. Original: "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" "Because I wanted it to be a surprise." [=4Kids=]: "Congratulations." "You don't seem too happy..."
121	* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'':
122	** A non-parental example that's more like Guess Whom I'm Dating had Virgil feel a bit like this when he found out his sister was dating a member of his RoguesGallery: [[AntiVillain Rubber Band Man]]. Subverted in that she knew very well who she was seeing and they really did care about each other. Of course, the lasting power of the relationship implies that marriage will result sooner or later. It does help that [[HeelFaceTurn Rubber Band Man is one of the few Bang Babies to give up his criminal ways.]] He and Static even team up a few times.
123	** Another example occurs in an episode where Virgil finds out that his father happens to be dating the exact same policewoman that he had a run-in with earlier. She isn't bad, but she's initially suspicious of him because he ran away in a panic when she asked to check his backpack (his Static Shock costume was inside).
124	* The main character's grandfather, Puma Loco, in ''WesternAnimation/ElTigre'' announces his plans to marry the main villain in one episode. Since they're both villainous, it was for their own nefarious intentions, but they eventually fell in love. Manny took a while to accept it and by the time he did, he accidentally forced them apart.
125	* Done in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 A Canterlot Wedding]]" with Twilight's reaction to her brother's engagement, though it's only after she's been around the bride for a bit that she suspects her of being evil - she remembered Cadence from her foalhood and immediately approved (though still resenting that Shining Armor hadn't told her before sending the invitations out). It then turns out that [[spoiler: Cadence has been replaced by a changeling impostor called Queen Chrysalis, as part of a plan to invade Canterlot.]]
126	* In ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', this plot is run with Boomhauer, his brother Patch, and his ex-girlfriend, now Patch's fiancée. Boomhauer knows his brother is a philanderer, catching him making eyes at Luanne and hiring strippers for his own bachelor party, but everyone else thinks Patch has reformed, and that Boomhauer is just jealous that his brother has his ex-girlfriend. Eventually the truth is revealed.
127	* The ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Enemy-In-Law" has Plankton dating Mr. Krabs' mother. Mr. Krabs of course thinks this is another plan to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula (which his mother knows) only for Plankton to reveal that he had no idea that she knew the formula. But when Plankton asks Mrs. Krabs to marry him, she refuses, [[spoiler: because she's already dating Plankton's giant robot.]]
128	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' has Uncle Scrooge preparing to marry a horrible GoldDigger who wants to pack the nephews off to boarding school and basically lay claim to the entire family fortune. Of course the boys have their work cut out for them in persuading Uncle Scrooge what's really happening, so they resort to an unconventional strategy. [[spoiler:They get word to Glittering Goldie, Uncle Scrooge's long-ago sweetheart, that he's getting married... and she turns up with a shotgun to run off her competition!]]
129	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' had a variation, where it wasn't anyone's ''parents'' involved with someone who's not all they seem to be, but Helga's older sister, who is in college. She is engaged to a man she's only known for three weeks, [[GoldDigger who only wants to marry her for her father's beeper business]]. Helga finds out the fiancé's dirty secret, and plans to keep it because she resents Olga... but then she starts to feel guilty. She convinces the fiancé to leave on the day of the wedding, and writes a fake "Dear Jane" letter for Olga.
130	[[/folder]]
131

Context Main / GuessWhoImMarrying