| 1 | [[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hitb_2608.jpg]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | ->''"Fuck movies!"'' |
| 4 | -->-- '''Mr. Plinkett''' |
| 5 | |
| 6 | ''Half in the Bag'' is a [[VideoReviewShow movie review web series]] by WebVideo/RedLetterMedia. It features Mike Stoklasa and Jay Bauman as "[[TheDanza Mike and Jay]]," employees of ''Lightning Fast VCR Repair'' who pass the time avoiding work by chatting about new movies they've seen. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | The framing tale has Mike and Jay attempting to fleece Mr. Plinkett (Rich Evans), a clueless and misanthropic senior who hires them to fix his VCR. Instead, Mike and Jay just sit around drinking beer and discussing movies while billing Plinkett for work they're not doing. Over the course of the series, the pair become embroiled in all manner of ridiculous high jinks, yet nothing ever seems to distract them from getting down into [[{{Review}} detailed discussions]] about modern films. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | The show has featured numerous guest stars, including [[Creator/TimAndEric Tim Heidecker]], ''Film/SamuraiCop'' star Matt Hannon, a self-appointed Milwaukee superhero known as The Watchman, and Creator/MacaulayCulkin. Other members of [=RedLetterMedia=] occasionally drop in playing one-off strangers with a paper-thin excuse to talk movies. |
| 11 | ---- |
| 12 | !! ''Half in the Bag'' gives examples of: |
| 13 | |
| 14 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 15 | |
| 16 | [[folder:A-M]] |
| 17 | * AccidentalMisnaming: |
| 18 | ** Mike in the ''Film/AfterEarth'' review refers to Creator/WillSmith's wife as [[Creator/JadaPinkett Jada ''Plinkett'' Smith]], causing Jay to give the appropriate reaction. |
| 19 | ** Much to Jay's amusement, Mike repeatedly refers to Professor X as Picard during the ''Film/{{Logan}}'' review. |
| 20 | --->'''Jay:''' Just call him Picard. It's fine! |
| 21 | * ActuallyPrettyFunny: |
| 22 | ** The one joke that Mike thought worked in ''Film/JackAndJill'' was the BrickJoke where a bathroom attendent adjusts a DisguisedInDrag Jack's breasts, then gets punched when he tries does the same to Jill, because it was the only joke to be set up. |
| 23 | ** The only scene Mike liked in ''Film/{{Pixels}}'' was the VideoGame/PacMan scene. |
| 24 | * AdaptationPersonalityChange: Compared to the WebVideo/MisterPlinkettReviews videos, Plinkett in ''Half in the Bag'' is much more tame. While senile, bizarre and occasionally threatening, he's a far cry from the homicidal maniac with a keen mind for film criticism he is in his reviews. |
| 25 | * TheAlcoholic: Drinking beer is a major part of the show's motif. The opening title includes a popcorn bag filled with beer bottles. Mike and Jay usually have a beer in hand while discussing the film, and the set is covered with empty beer bottles. In their "''Film/Troll2'' and ''Film/BestWorstMovie''" episode, they get ticketed for having too many empty beer bottles beside their VCR. |
| 26 | * AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: InUniverse: Adam Sandler has actually been pulling a SpringtimeForHitler with his movies. |
| 27 | * AlternateIdentityAmnesia: This is the explanation of Mike occasionally describing movies as a hackneyed movie reviewer. He mentions that he frequently blacks out for about 15 seconds during which which all he hears is a loud ringing noise. |
| 28 | * AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: [[invoked]] In episode 117 (Box Office Numbers Crunching, the one where they find every movie available at the theaters so uninteresting, they decide to just skip it and instead analyze recent box office trends), Mike makes the prediction that 2017 will be the year when the Superhero Film bubble will finally burst. Jay immediately admits that they have been claiming the same for the past few years. |
| 29 | * AnnoyingLaugh: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPUPaxgIo98 Rich Evans.]] His laugh is referenced multiple times within the episodes as quite possibly the worst thing you'll ever hear. |
| 30 | * AnythingButThat: When Jay shows a poster of ''Film/JeffWhoLivesAtHome'', Mike exclaims, "'''''[[BigNo NO!!!]]''''' Get that ''away'' from me!", then calmly tears the poster into tiny pieces, while Jay deadpans, "Oh, no" in the most emotionless tone possible. Then eats the pieces. |
| 31 | * AsideGlance: Mike and Jay will often react this way to a particularly corny joke or [[LamePunReaction lame pun]] told by the other. Mike usually gives the camera an [[Creator/LaurelAndHardy Oliver Hardy-esque]] look, while Jay will more often glance around the set as if confused. |
| 32 | * AsYouKnow: Played straight and {{lampshade|hanging}}d in Episode 73 by Future Mike and Future Jay, who give an InfoDump about the BadFuture where Carol took over the world. |
| 33 | -->'''Mike:''' Wait, why are we telling each other this? We ''know'' all this information. What is this, ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''? |
| 34 | * AssholeVictim: Anytime something bad happens to Jay and Mike, [[LaserGuidedKarma they basically deserved it]]. Plinkett began as this, but has gradually devolved into TheChewToy as the duo continues to exploit him. |
| 35 | * AssPull: |
| 36 | ** Invoked and parodied in the ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'' review, where Mike and Jay floats around in a house on Lake Michigan, and wonders how they are going to watch films to talk about under the current circumstances. It is justified in a deliberately half-assed way, as a folder of boot-leg [=DVDs=] of unreleased films and a DVD-player randomly washes into the living room with the seawater, enabling them to ''somehow'' watching ''Interstellar'' on Plinkett's totally smashed TV. Both of them point out at great length how incredibly convenient it all is, before Mike ends the segment with an exasperated "Let's just talk about the movies, okay?" |
| 37 | ** In later episode Jay asks how they getting electricity when the house should obviously be disconnected, but Mike doesn't even bother to HandWave it and quickly changes the subject. |
| 38 | * AuthorAppeal: |
| 39 | ** Mike considers ''Film/TheRocketeer'' an underrated gem, and occasionally includes a clip as an examples of ''correct'' storytelling. He eventually made it official by discussing it on an episode of ''[[WebVideo/ReViewRedLetterMedia re:View]]''. |
| 40 | ** He's also quite biased towards Creator/KirstenDunst. |
| 41 | ** While on-screen AsHimself, Mike's brand of humor revolves around BadBadActing, AntiHumor and lampshading [[MediumAwareness the trappings of his own show]], Gary Shandling-style. |
| 42 | ** Mike is a ''massive'' fan of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', and takes any opportunity to reference it or compare another movie to it. Jay will often roll his eyes whenever this happens. He even roped Jay and Rich into participating in a skit that basically just recaps Season 2 of ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' at length. They even acknowledge this in their review of ''Film/AvengersEndgame''. While discussing the movie's plot, Mike comments "Speaking of time travel, [[LampshadeHanging I'd be remiss in my duties if I didn't bring up]] ''Star Trek''" followed by an AsideGlance, which cracks Jay up. |
| 43 | --->'''Onscreen Subtitle:''' '''''[[LampshadeHanging MIKE TALKS ABOUT STAR TREK FOR FIVE MINUTES]]''''' |
| 44 | ** Mike's love of all things ''Star Trek'' and "hatred" of the elderly even spreads to other RLM shows.[[note]]Mike in reality cherishes the elderly, as evidence of his defense of videos like ''Geritol Follies''.[[/note]] In the ''Film/TheExorcistIII'' episode of ''[[WebVideo/ReViewRedLetterMedia re:View]]'', Mike even lampshades it in the opening. |
| 45 | --->'''Mike:''' ''(to Jay)'' I'm so glad Halloween is your favorite holiday. I wish there was a Star Trek Holiday, so I could force all ''my'' fucking friends to talk about Star Trek. ''(Jay loses it)'' |
| 46 | ** When it comes to horror, Jay strongly prefers the bizarro "[[SurrealHorror nightmare logic]]" of films by directors like [[Creator/DavidLynch Lynch]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Henenlotter Hennenlotter]] or [[Creator/DavidCronenberg Cronenberg]], and praises movies like ''Film/Annihilation2018'', ''Film/Mandy2018'' and ''Film/UnderTheSkin'' because he enjoyed the atmospheric weirdness they were able to evoke. |
| 47 | ** Jay acknowledges that he frequently brings up ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'' as an example of a sequel that puts a fresh twist on its original premise. |
| 48 | ** Although not to nearly the extent as his ''Star Trek'' love, Mike (of all people) is an [[GuiltyPleasure utterly shameless]] fan of ''Series/GhostAdventures'' and other paranormal investigator shows. If the guys are reviewing a horror movie and Mike ''doesn't'' bring up a ''Star Trek'' episode, you can bet he'll bring up Zak Bagans and crew instead. |
| 49 | * BadBadActing: |
| 50 | ** This is Mike's signature comedic style. Jay does this, too, though not quite as often. |
| 51 | ** {{Subverted|Trope}} and PlayedForLaughs in their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5hSwnZ7FyY Dark Knight Rises review]]: |
| 52 | --->''(Mike answers Plinkett's phone)''\ |
| 53 | '''Man:''' Is this Harry S. Plinkett?\ |
| 54 | '''Jay:''' Pretend to be Plinkett!\ |
| 55 | '''Mike:''' ''(doing the Mr. Plinkett voice)'' Yes, this is Harry S. Plinkett, who is this?\ |
| 56 | '''Jay:''' [[{{Irony}} That is the worst Plinkett impression I've ever heard. He's going to think you're a fake!]] |
| 57 | * BaitAndSwitch: A common running gag consists of them building up the "plot" of the episode to the movie they're about to review (which the audience knows since it's in the title), but then mention the movie in a completely different context and proceed to review it. |
| 58 | -->'''Jay:''' "Speaking of hungry, have you seen ''[[Film/TheHungerGames The Hung]]--''"\ |
| 59 | '''Mike:''' "We should now talk about the recent films we've seen."\ |
| 60 | (''Film/TheHungerGames'' trailer rolls) |
| 61 | ** Also, in their review of ''Film/TheLastStand'': |
| 62 | --->[Jay explains the premise]\ |
| 63 | '''Jay:''' Mike, what did you think of ''The Last''-- movie we saw? |
| 64 | ** Used in a different way in their ''Film/IronMan3'' and ''Film/PainAndGain'' review. Instead, it immediately voices their general opinion on them. |
| 65 | --->'''Mike''': Seen any good movies lately?\ |
| 66 | '''Jay''': Yeah. And I saw ''Pain and Gain''. |
| 67 | ** Lampshaded in the ''Film/AGoodDayToDieHard'' review: |
| 68 | --->'''Mike''': "Speaking of reference, have you seen movie?" |
| 69 | ** Also, in the ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' review: |
| 70 | --->'''Mike''': [The movie] marks the return of director Creator/BryanSinger, a man who was recently accused ''of making two really good X-Men movies.'' |
| 71 | ** Also done in their review of ''Film/TheMummy2017'': |
| 72 | --->'''Mike:''' Well, Jay, I know this film has been getting bad reviews, but I have to say, I loved it. ''({{Beat}} as Jay [[AsideGlance looks into the camera]])'' No, I'm just fucking with you. It sucked. |
| 73 | ** Before discussing ''Film/{{Vivarium}}'', Jay says, "Speaking of every day being exactly the same, have you seen..." but then blanks on another film title to say instead of ''Vivarium''. He then [[DontExplainTheJoke explains that saying another name would have been funny]] because it sounded like he was about to talk about ''Vivarium''. |
| 74 | * BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Since the Plinkett reviews, the team had been hoping ''Star Wars'' would subvert or play around with some of its well-worn cliches. ''The Last Jedi'' did exactly that, in a manner the team seriously regrets. |
| 75 | ** With ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'' devolving into obnoxious RapidFireComedy and having an emphasis on action that doesn't fit with the series' grounded tone, the crew wanted the next Ghostbusters movie, if there was going to be one, to go back to the series' more deadpan, blue-collar roots. Come ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'', while Mike, Jay, and Rich had nice things to say about some of the writing and performances, they felt the movie went too far in the ''opposite'' direction to where it became overly schmaltzy and had a reverance for the original movie to the point of insult. Case in point: the overuse of a CG Creator/HaroldRamis at the end. |
| 76 | * BigBad: Creator/GeorgeLucas fills this role here also, with requisite LampshadeHanging from Mike and Jay, of course. |
| 77 | * BigWhat: |
| 78 | ** Rich's reaction in the ''Film/RogueOne'' review to Jay saying the CGI Tarkin wasn't all that bad. |
| 79 | -->'''Rich:''' ''(flabbergasted)'' It was ''so'' distracting! |
| 80 | ** Mike does a huge one in the ''Film/WonderWoman2017'' review when Jay tells him that the film is getting great reviews. |
| 81 | * BileFascination: |
| 82 | ** Invoked in-universe. As much as Jay and Mike want to hate ''Things'' for being an abject failure of a movie, they love it precisely for the very reasons why it is so terrible. |
| 83 | ** Mike also mentions this as being the reason why they went to go see ''Film/{{Transcendence}}''. |
| 84 | * BitingTheHandHumor: If you invite these guys to a fan expo, expect to be blasted with both barrels. |
| 85 | * BlackComedyRape: In one episode, the hosts accidentally create a robot while trying to fix Plinkett's DVD player and VCR. Then [[RefugeInAudacity another robot comes in and rapes the first robot to death]]. |
| 86 | -->'''Jay:''' "I never thought I'd be so happy about rape!" |
| 87 | * BrandX: The bottles on the title card are labeled "CHEAP BEER". Averted within the show proper, in which Mike and Jay are quite frequently seen to be drinking Wisconsin's own [[http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/ourbeers/beer/spotted-cow Spotted Cow]]. |
| 88 | ** During their ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'' review, they are drinking [[StealthPun Stella Artois]]. |
| 89 | ** Plinkett's VCR party advertises free PBR, and sure enough, there are tons of six packs of Pabst Blue Ribbon there. |
| 90 | ** During the ''Verotika'' review, Mike makes a point to announce that he's drinking Zombie Dust to commemorate the apocalypse, and that it's not intended to be a sponsorship in any way. This was the first episode of the show to release during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. |
| 91 | * BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Evan Richards, attorney at law, is specialized in this. |
| 92 | -->'''Evan Richards:''' Well kids, my name is Evan Richards, attorney at law, and I specialize in slip and fall, asbestos and groin injury cases. So please, tell me: how did you slip and fall into asbestos, thus injuring your groin? |
| 93 | * BrickJoke: A literal one in the first season. Throughout episode 13, Mr. Plinkett's vase remains intact despite the fact that bricks are thrown through the window where the vase sits atop a teetering table. The vase is destroyed intentionally by Mike in the next episode. |
| 94 | * BrokenRecord: |
| 95 | ** The "Red Letter Media Talks About ''Film/{{Prometheus}}''" segment. Mike asks endless questions "Why did they...(x20) ''Whhhhhhhyyyyyy?''". Jay stares vacantly into the distance and says [[TheVoiceless precisely nothing]]. |
| 96 | ** As part of the mockery of what they feel are blind Star Wars fanboys (especially around Rogue One, which they did NOT like), the boys throw around buzzwords that eventually culminate in shrieking '''AT-STS! AT-STS! AT-STS! AT-STS!''' |
| 97 | * ButtMonkey: Plinkett has essentially been [[{{Flanderization}} flanderized]] into this trope on ''Half in the Bag''. He's still creepy and a pervert, but he's generally portrayed as ineffectual. He's suffering from amnesia, and is abused by Jay and Mike on a regular basis, up to attempted murder. He even shows some form of genuine affection for them in some episodes. He did violently murder two men in the ''Film/{{Pixels}}'' review, thinking they were Mike and Jay. |
| 98 | * CallBack: |
| 99 | ** In the review for ''Film/JackAndJill'', Mike uses Plinkett's memetic line, "''you'' may not have noticed, but your ''brain'' did," complete with the identical "child playing with molding clay" image. |
| 100 | ** In the ''Film/{{Transcendence}}[=/=]Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' review, Jay asks Mike why they're still keeping Mr. Plinkett in their store, even though they're getting nothing out of it. Soon after a big black hole "Plot Hole" appears on the screen, referencing Plinkett's ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' review. |
| 101 | ** In the ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' episode, Mike references "making the guy run game". It recalls the ''WebVideo/PreviouslyRecorded'' livestream of ''VideoGame/{{QWOP}}'', one of the few games Mike participated. |
| 102 | ** In the review for ''Film/IndependenceDayResurgence'', Jay says ''Resurgence'' made him want to get a refund, similar to a joke he made for ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded''. [[LampshadeHanging He immediately points this out after making the joke.]] |
| 103 | ** In the ''Film/AnnabelleCreation'' episode, sitting on the duo's desk is a VHS with the label ''Film/TheDayTheClownCried'', which they had previously stolen from Rich and Jack's safe at the end of the ''Film/{{Pixels}}'' review. |
| 104 | ** While they have a few questions about ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', it's not at a "''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' level" - recalling their very long list video from that movie. |
| 105 | * TheCameo: |
| 106 | ** [[spoiler:[[Creator/TimAndEric Tim Heidecker]]]] in the season finale. |
| 107 | ** Creator/MacaulayCulkin as Tim in the review for ''Film/Halloween2018''. |
| 108 | * CaptainObvious: Frequently used by Mike to introduce movies, usually ones he doesn't like. |
| 109 | -->"''Film/ParanormalActivity4'' is [[DamnedByFaintPraise about 90 minutes long, and features actors pretending to be other people in a fictional setting called a movie.]]" |
| 110 | * CatScare: Used endlessly in the ''Film/ParanormalActivity4'' review, chiefly to make a point and mock the film at the same time. |
| 111 | * {{Catchphrase}}: |
| 112 | ** Mike's ''"That's right, Jay!"'' shows up almost OnceAnEpisode, and is often used alongside BadBadActing. |
| 113 | ** Mike, in his lawyerly way, will always ask, "Are you suggesting that...", as a lead-up to Jay openly accusing the filmmakers of being hacks. |
| 114 | ** Whenever Mike gives an (honest) unpopular opinion on a movie, Jay will respond with an understated "Oh my god..." |
| 115 | * CelebrityParadox: |
| 116 | ** Police officer Rich mentions the video of "that guy who reacts to the ''Film/RoboCop2014'' trailer" which features actor Rich Evans. |
| 117 | ** In a world where Mike and Jay frequently discuss the ''Star Wars'' movies, neither of them seems to recognize that Plinkett's new roommate is Emperor Palpatine, force powers and all. |
| 118 | * ChekhovsSkill: In the ''{{Film/Interstellar}}'' review, when Plinkett's house is sinking to the ground of Lake Michigan (ItMakesSenseInContext), it is randomly revealed that Mr. Plinkett used to be a hot air balloon pilot. Mike replies with an exaggerated [[LampshadeHanging "I wonder how that will come into play later!"]]. |
| 119 | * TheChewToy: Plinkett has gradually evolved into this. The show makes light of his age, deteriorating health and senility, and constantly getting killed over and over a la ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'''s Kenny only to arise again next month. |
| 120 | * ComicallyMissingThePoint: Jay and Mike spend the first few minutes of the review of "''[[Film/{{Skyfall}} SkyFAIL]]''" bashing the movie for being [[ClicheStorm full of cliches]] and unrealistic ("[[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Why doesn't the bad guy just shoot M in the face]]") before the ''real'' review cuts in and they say what they really think (they liked it). |
| 121 | * ConMan: What Mike and Jay accuse Creator/AdamSandler of being in their ''Film/JackAndJill'' review. |
| 122 | * ContinuityReboot: In 2023, Mike and Jay enter an alternate dimension where they switch seats and wear the opposite shirt color as they used to. Also, Mr. Plinkett wants to watch ''Series/{{Newhart}}'' rather than ''Series/NightCourt''. In later episodes, they return to their original seats but continue wearing the opposite shirt color. |
| 123 | * CouchGag: Plinkett knocking over the beers at the start of each episode. |
| 124 | -->"Half in the baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!"\ |
| 125 | "Fuck movies."\ |
| 126 | "I don't even know who I am anymore."\ |
| 127 | "Jay and Mike are frauds."\ |
| 128 | "Hey, ain'tcha got anythin' better to do?"\ |
| 129 | "Why are you even watching this shit?"\ |
| 130 | "Who do these guys think they are? Rick Berman?"\ |
| 131 | "Everyone always complains about things on the internet!"\ |
| 132 | "I just shit in a coffee can."\ |
| 133 | "Whatever happened to Meg Ryan? [-oh right, she died-]"\ |
| 134 | [[Franchise/RoboCop "I'd buy THAT for a dollar!]] |
| 135 | * CreditsGag: One of the few reuses of a comedic gag by RLM that ''isn't'' [[OverlyLongGag run into the ground]], they seem to do this once every couple years: it appears in the reviews for ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'', ''Film/{{Chappie}}'', and ''Film/WonderWoman2017''. |
| 136 | ** In a variation, Jay's final word on ''Film/TheLoneRanger'' was "don't bother", but he complimented them for using the ''The William Tell Overture" to trick the audience. The theme rises to a crescendo as Mike responds, [[CriticProof drowning out his complaints]]. |
| 137 | * CulturallySensitiveAdaptation: Discussed in their review of ''Film/TheMummy2017'', where Mike notes that the movie suffers because its central idea is one of those things that's so tied to its era of origin (the idea of a mummy as monstrous antagonist coming from a much less enlightened time during the Egyptomania of the 19th century) that any attempt to modernize it just feels awkward. |
| 138 | -->'''Mike:''' The idea that a mummy is a ''monster'' is [[ValuesDissonance a little dated, and almost racist.]] You can't make a movie where a civilization's burial ritual, which is part of their culture, is a scary monster...they intentionally took the subject matter and smeared it out amongst different cultures and religions...this doesn't feel like a "mummy" movie, because it's all over the map, literally. |
| 139 | * DamnedByFaintPraise: You can tell they didn't like a movie when Mike introduces it in the most generic way possible. |
| 140 | ** Jay "compliments" ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'' by saying that it "wasn't as bad as the first ''Film/{{Pixels}}''." |
| 141 | ** When asked by Jay what Mike thought of ''Film/TheDarkTower'', he smiled and quipped, "It was 90 minutes." |
| 142 | ** Overlapping with the Plinkett Reviews: Mike admits ''Rogue One'''s action is great, but points out ''every'' blockbuster flick has great action sequences nowadays, and that's nowhere near enough to save the movie, in his opinion. |
| 143 | * DeadpanSnarker: Mike Stoklasa appears to be this in RealLife, and it's a trait that all his characters share, but especially [[AlterEgoActing Mike on "Half In The Bag"]]. He's usually able to get his co-host Jay to laugh without even cracking a smile himself, and any time he's called upon to show any kind of emotion, he always does it in a very phony and insincere way. He also likes to say things that he knows will piss off his audience (i.e., Creator/DrSeuss is [[HypeBacklash overrated]] and Franchise/TheMuppets are [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids for babies]]). |
| 144 | * DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Their review of ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'' opens with Mike explaining to Jay at length how they've gotten new chairs for their set, and everything else will be the same, except the chairs they're sitting in are different. Then Jay blows up the metaphor. |
| 145 | -->'''Jay:''' ...[[EuphemismBuster New Ghostbusters?]]\ |
| 146 | '''Mike:''' [[TakeThat Nope!]] |
| 147 | * TheDogBitesBack: During the ''Film/AGoodDayToDieHard'' review: |
| 148 | -->'''Plinkett:''' I'm just watching the end of the movie on my iPad... These things are great. You know all about it - '''yours is in my TV'''. ''(chuckles)'' I sure loved watching the same movie 68 times tonight. Maybe that'll '''teach you fucks not to LIE to me.''' |
| 149 | * {{Doorstopper}}: The ''Prometheus'' box set promises to answer all of Mike and Jay's questions... which is why it comes in 47 discs. |
| 150 | * DrivenToSuicide: Mike's reaction to finding out ''Film/TheZookeeper'' is a real movie and not just a fake trailer is to pull out a shotgun and flatly declare "I'll go first." |
| 151 | * DullSurprise: Mike and Jay's criticism of Creator/RyanGosling in ''Film/BladeRunner2049'', to the point that they made a separate parody video of Rich Evans auditioning for the role and staring blank faced in each scene, causing the casting director to ask for someone with ''less'' charisma. |
| 152 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: |
| 153 | ** Many early episodes cover movies which would be far more at home in ''WebVideo/BestOfTheWorst''... which hadn't started running yet. Now that it has, ''Half in the Bag'' focuses almost exclusively on current releases. |
| 154 | ** ''Half in the Bag'' also used to review the original versions of remakes they were reviewing for comparative purposes, but they now usually reserve this for a ''[[WebVideo/ReViewRedLetterMedia re:View]]'' episode uploaded a few days prior to their ''Half in the Bag'' episode covering the remake. |
| 155 | ** The very first episode shows Mike and Jay taking a very cavalier attitude toward revealing spoilers, but in most later episodes they are very good about spoiler warnings and listing timecodes for viewers to skip past the spoiler-heavy discussions. (Every once in a while, if a movie has been out for a while and/or it's doing terribly at the box office, they won't bother.) |
| 156 | ** Early episodes are somewhat infamous for Jay's changing facial hair, starting out with his Amish-looking beard before getting rid of it and spending several episodes clean shaven before settling into his longstanding full beard. Jack also shows up sporting a beard and head-hair, a far cry from his completely clean-shaven look. |
| 157 | ** Early episodes are shorter, with some as quick as 11 minutes. The show would later stabilize at around 30 minutes per episode. |
| 158 | ** In early episodes, Mike and Jay frequently address the audience directly like show hosts, while later episodes have them play more into the framing narrative and only address each other. They eventually looped back to simply presenting themselves as show hosts when their focus on the framing narrative faded. |
| 159 | ** The first season includes several episodes following Mike and Jay attending a convention. They stopped doing this going forward. |
| 160 | * ElephantInTheLivingRoom: Invoked by name reviewing ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019''. They announce that they pretty much ''have'' to talk about Creator/BrieLarson and her divisive public opinions on diversity among movie reviewers. |
| 161 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: Jay, who's spent most of the series exploiting, belittling, abusing, and even attempting to ''murder'' Plinkett, objects to Mike trying to take advantage of his recent meth addiction. Though how much of this is due to genuine concern or [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall because the story demanded it]] is unknown. |
| 162 | * FakeGuestStar: Played for laughs with Rich Evans. |
| 163 | * FanHater: |
| 164 | ** Some ''Star Wars''-related videos have featured several potshots at fans and nerd channels like Collider. This has caused a somewhat BrokenBase among those who identify with "fan culture", those who prefer RLM's cynical attitude towards the modern studio-franchise film industry, and even those who question the [[YouAreWhatYouHate hypocrisy]] of a group that makes their money off of overanalyzing nerdy movies mocking those who take the properties too seriously in a different way. |
| 165 | ** ''Film/TheLastJedi'' spends the last section roasting adult Star Wars fans for dedicating time and energy to mindlessly worshiping what they consider to be a creatively bankrupt series made for children. How much of this was intentional HypocriticalHumor from the minds behind the Plinkett Reviews is somewhat difficult to discern. |
| 166 | * FatAndSkinny: Mike is tall and stocky, while Jay is fairly short and thin, though not as much in some of the early episodes. |
| 167 | * FeministFantasy: Discussed in their review of ''Film/Annihilation2018'', which Mike holds up as an example of a movie that provides [[UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest strong female representation in a genre work]] much better than the big blockbuster franchises that attempt to add an AffirmativeActionGirl or two. |
| 168 | * FilmingForEasyDub: In the 2020 episode reviewing ''Film/MoneyPlane'', Mike and Jay comment on how society has started crumbling and list several recent incidents of civil unrest in cities such as Portland and Chicago. Before naming each incident, they conspicuously cover their mouth with a coffee cup as an obviously dubbed-in voice-over describes the incident. The implication is that these incidents are becoming so common that whatever they say during filming would have been old news by the time they published. |
| 169 | * FullNameBasis: As with other [=RedLetterMedia=] projects, Rich Evans is credited as and often referred to by his full name, in contrast to the other members. |
| 170 | * FunnyBackgroundEvent: When Mike and Jay sign off in their the 2011 Toronto Comic Con footage, Creator/JakeLloyd is visible in the background, photobombing Mike by waving his arms at the camera. |
| 171 | * GainaxEnding: The end of the ''Film/RoboCop2014'' reboot review, where [[spoiler:the cop played by Rich Evans flies into space and lands on the planet of Film/HowardTheDuck, which is his favorite film. Also doubles as a BrickJoke.]] |
| 172 | * GenreDeconstruction: Mike and Jay talk about ''Blue Ruin'' and how it deconstructs {{revenge}} movies. |
| 173 | * GenreThrowback: In the review of ''Film/RedTails'', Stoklasa deconstructs this, asserting that making a film a throwback to 1940s wartime B movies actually hurt the film overall, because, while the subject matter and presentation were familiar and nostalgic, other, less positive tropes (cliched characters, illogical plotlines, caricatured and demonized villains...) were not excised and had already been a part of the genre from the beginning. He further asserts that this makes ''Film/RedTails'' an uncomfortably offensive film because "we know better." |
| 174 | * GuiltyPleasure: |
| 175 | ** Mike felt that ''Film/{{Annabelle}}'' was a flawed [[MoneyDearBoy cynically-made]] movie, but managed to get some enjoyment out of it. |
| 176 | ** When the topic of paranormal investigation comes up, Mike tends to get embarrassed and defensive, admitting that none of it is real and many of the people involved are obvious charlatans. Nevertheless, he still finds it compelling. For his part, Jay doesn't believe that people should feel this way and that they should just like what they like. |
| 177 | * HardWorkMontage: Jay has one of his day-to-day tasks since he's not quite as interested in talking about ''Star Wars'' than Mike and the director of ''The People Versus George Lucas''. |
| 178 | * HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Spoofed in the ''Film/JurassicWorld'' episode, wherein [[WebVideo/PreviouslyRecorded Jack and Rich]] announce they're leaving for [[UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo E3]] together - and then take great pains to point out that they'll be sleeping in separate hotel rooms - even though nobody asked and (it being Mike and Jay) nobody cares. |
| 179 | * HeavySleeper: Plinkett, once he falls asleep, is almost impossible to awaken. When he falls asleep in Mike's chair during the ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' review, Mike pushes him unceremoniously off and he collapses on the floor, still sleeping and snoring. |
| 180 | * HeroicBSOD: When Jay and Mike note the endless sequels coming in 2013, such as ''Film/AGoodDayToDieHard'', ''Film/FastAndFurious6'', ''Film/TheHangoverPartIII'', and so on. |
| 181 | * HissBeforeFleeing: Creator/GeorgeLucas does this when scared off by the original release of ''Star Wars''. |
| 182 | * HypocrisyNod: After Jay criticizes ''Film/WillysWonderland'''s lazy set design, Mike conspicuously looks around at their own set and half-intentionally bumps into the wall next to him to make it wobble. |
| 183 | * HypocriticalHumor: "Did you just say black? ''(To Rhoda)'' How does it feel to sit so close to a racist? ({{Beat}}) Anyways, the movie was directed by black filmmaker Clayton Prince ..." |
| 184 | * IAmNotShazam: In-universe example. In the review of ''[[Film/BloodWatersOfDrZ Zaat]]'', the duo keep referring to Dr. Leopard as "[=ZaAt=]". |
| 185 | * IGotARock: Mr. Plinkett leaves nuts as Halloween candy - nuts as in nuts and bolts. At some point, he eats them all himself. |
| 186 | * INeedAFreakingDrink: In episode 40 of ''Half in the Bag'', Mike and Jay goes out seeing ''Film/ParanormalActivity4'' wondering how bad it could be. GilliganCut to "2 hours later", where they sit in the repair shop and pour up vodka shots. |
| 187 | * InsistentTerminology: |
| 188 | ** Very often during early episodes, when Mike or Jay mention Rich Evans in an anecdote, they refer to him as "our friend Rich Evans", as if this is the first time they've ever brought him up and the audience would have no idea who he is. |
| 189 | ** When Mike and Jay discuss the Oscar nominations, they become very annoyed that ''Film/{{Krampus}}'' did not receive a nomination for "Sound Design," even though they felt it was much more worthy than those films that did, but was ignored because of the [[SciFiGhetto stigma against horror and fantasy films]]. The problem is, the Academy Awards do not have an Oscar for "Sound Design". The Oscar in question is the one for Sound ''Editing'', not ''design'', although to be fair this designation is so confusing to laypeople it has been explained ''on-air'' at more than one Oscar ceremony.[[note]]They also award an Oscar for sound ''mixing'', which only adds to the confusion, especially since what sound people refer to as mixing is similar to what most other disciplines would call... well, editing. But sound ''editing'' is the creation - or ''design'' - of sound effects. It should be noted that Oscar finally gave up and merged the two categories in 2020, under the new name "Best Sound".[[/note]] This is lampshaded when a subtitle reading "There is no Academy Award(R) for 'Sound Design'" appears on the screen each time one of them mentions "sound design." |
| 190 | * InsultToRocks: There's a priceless moment in their review of Creator/JohnTravolta's 2019 movie ''Film/TheFanatic'' when Mike realizes that it actually [[EpicFail made less money than]] ''Film/SpaceCop''. |
| 191 | * InstantAIJustAddWater: Connecting a VCR and a DVD player apparently creates an intelligent robot that wants to kill everyone. |
| 192 | * JumpScare: As a horror connoisseur, Jay particularly hates jump scares. Both reviewers criticized ''Film/ParanormalActivity4'' for consisting almost entirely of these. Jay also criticized ''Film/AnnabelleCreation'' and ''Film/It2017 for accompanying every scary scene with a loud banging noise to provoke a jump scare rather than actually making it scary. |
| 193 | * JustAMachine: Jay states he'll never have any emotional connection to robots because they're just objects. |
| 194 | * {{Kayfabe}}: {{Defied|Trope}}. While the show nominally centers around Mike and Jay, two amoral VCR repairmen, the duo barely even try to conceal the fact that they're Mike Stoklasa and Jay Bauman, two internet sensations and indie filmmakers. Likewise, any additional members of WebVideo/RedLetterMedia are introduced as fictional characters with only the barest of pretense. |
| 195 | ** In their review of ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'', frequent guest reviewer Rich Evans is introduced as a comic book store owner they totally never met; since Rich was a major comics fan and expert, he had to be on the show for his insights, but would make no sense even for ''Half in the Bag'' for Mr. Plinkett to join in on the review. This becomes a RunningGag as Rich is then a homeless person they never met, a construction worker they never met, a police officer they never met, and so on. Ironically, they do meet comic book store owner Rich again for the review of ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2''. |
| 196 | ** For ''Film/ManOfSteel'', Mike asks Rich about how as a construction worker if he had any reactions to the buildings collapsing. Rich replied, "Construction worker...? ''Oh'', I'm a ''construction worker''!" |
| 197 | ** Jack joins Rich (in sort of a ''WebVideo/PreviouslyRecorded'' reunion) in some Kayfabe for the ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' review. They stick around for the ''Film/{{Pixels}}'' review. |
| 198 | ** In the ''Film/RogueOne'' episode, they have Rich being a building inspector, but Mike just shuts it down and demands they get on with the review. At the end, Rich forgets momentarily who he's ''supposed'' to be, as in ''Man of Steel''. |
| 199 | ** Most recently Rich has started appearing as [[ImaginaryFriend drug/boredom induced hallucination]] that only Mike can see. |
| 200 | * KnightOfCerebus: Jocelyn Ridgely seems to be their go-to actress for playing these characters. When she first appears in the show, it marks the beginning of a lengthy story arc [[spoiler:which culminates in George Lucas attempting to destroy every VCR and kill every VCR repairman in the world, so that nobody will ever be able to watch the original edits of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, which were only ever released on VHS (at least, for the purposes of the story).]] |
| 201 | * LackOfEmpathy: Jay and Mike. They almost never feel... gooeelt? Gooey-elt? Gweelt? Guilt-- no, that doesn't sound right. |
| 202 | * LamePunReaction: As part of the show's general AntiHumor schtick, Mike's terrible puns will often receive an humorously awkward pause, groan, or ironic production effect. In a 2011 episode, Mike announces that "the Pun Police" are coming over the sound of a siren. In another episode, after saying that he's "''hungry'' for more ''[[Film/TheHungerGames Hunger Games]]''," he immediately [[VomitIndiscretionShot vomits]]. |
| 203 | * LastSecondWordSwap: Mike (in full SarcasmMode) sending up FanDumb: |
| 204 | -->I call him Javier BOREDOM... I call him [[Creator/DanielCraig Daniel BOREDOM]]. |
| 205 | * LeaningOnTheFourthWall: When Mr. Plinkett announces he's going to inflate a hot air balloon with his farts, Mike seems to step out of character, and moans depressedly AsHimself, "Oh, my ''God''... this is my ''life''", then adds, "Really? This is where the show has gone?" |
| 206 | * MidReviewSketchShow: This is the general style of the show. Each episode begins with the FramingDevice, then transitions into the reviews, then transitions back into the FramingDevice. In keeping with [=RedLetterMedia=]'s AntiHumor style, the sketches themselves are often openly parodying the trope, in the sense that they are deliberately hackneyed and self-deprecating. |
| 207 | * MistakenForGay |
| 208 | -->'''Jay:''' I'm thinking of getting rid of my beard.\ |
| 209 | '''Mike:''' I didn't know you had a beard. What's [[TheBeard her]] name? |
| 210 | * MotiveRant: Rich the comic book guy gets a pretty epic one when he explains why he stole Mike's ''Horse Ninja'' idea: |
| 211 | -->'''Mike:''' ''What?!'' How is that possible?\ |
| 212 | '''Rich:''' You see Mike... you've stumbled upon the last unmade idea. A racehorse possessed by the soul of an enchanted ninja, seeking revenge upon an evil corporation hell-bent on weaponizing horse sperm.\ |
| 213 | '''Mike:''' ''(to Jay)'' That's a good idea.\ |
| 214 | '''Jay:''' ''(to Mike)'' It's pretty fucking good.\ |
| 215 | '''Rich:''' It's the last idea in the world... and it's all ''mine''. I'm gonna take this shit to Creator/MichaelBay or Mark Webb or Creator/BrettRatner and we're going to make it into a ''fucking'' movie. A ''god awful'' fucking movie that people are gonna see in droves! Nothing can stop me now! Soon you will see the world as I see it, as a fat shlub with terrible ideas! Now ''my'' terrible ideas can become ''larger, dumber, even more terrible ideas!'' Soon the world will know my ''WRATH!'' That the standards in Hollywood are so low right now, that even ''I'' can make a movie. ''A fucking horse ninja movie!'' And we're gonna shove Creator/ScarlettJohansson in there, [[ForTheEvulz just because man, who gives a fuck?!]] We're gonna shove her in the movie and give her random lines, her name's gonna be "LoveInterest" and she's gonna ''[[BestialityIsDepraved fuck a horse]]!'' |
| 216 | * MoodDissonance: Discussed in their review for ''Film/TheMummy2017'', when Mike notes that the first part of the movie is clearly going for a lighthearted, [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] or Franchise/IndianaJones-type "fun adventure movie" vibe, but trying to have that setting in the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror wartorn modern Middle East with ISIS and other terrorist groups out there]] just feels weird and uncomfortable. |
| 217 | -->'''Mike:''' This isn't ''fun'', this is awful!\ |
| 218 | '''Jay:''' Yeah, this is a little city being ''bombed!'' |
| 219 | * MundaneObjectAmazement: In one episode, Mike is amazed when Jay shows him that the video he wanted to watch is actually a piece of pre-VHS technology called ''a book''. |
| 220 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: |
| 221 | ** In the aftermath of ''Rise of Skywalker'', the rest of the crew (mostly jokingly) blames Mike for suggesting Creator/JJAbrams direct any new ''Star Wars'' films back in 2009 with his influential Mr. Plinkett reviews (and thus, causing a great deal of greviances the team has with the Star Wars sequels). Mike (mostly jokingly) loudly declares [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial he had absolutely, positively, HOPEFULLY nothing to do with it.]] |
| 222 | ** After ''The Last Jedi'', the team noted Mr. Plinkett hoped Star Wars would subvert some of its usual cliches to keep things interesting. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor The movie did that, and some more.]] |
| 223 | * MythologyGag: |
| 224 | ** During the ''Film/JurassicWorld'' review, Mike laughs at Jay, "What are you doing, nitpicking everything?! Who are you, Mr. Plinkett?"[[note]]The Mike!Plinkett, that is.[[/note]] |
| 225 | ** In the ''Film/RogueOne'' review, when discussing a hologram Tarkin disguise, Rich says someone on the Death Star might blurt, "Grand Moff Tarkin, [[WebVideo/MisterPlinkettReviews what's wrong with your face?]]" |
| 226 | [[/folder]] |
| 227 | |
| 228 | [[folder:N-Z]] |
| 229 | * {{Nerdgasm}}: The crew often fake this, most recently ''Film/RogueOne''. |
| 230 | -->'''Jay:''' I applauded it for being different!\ |
| 231 | '''Mike:''' '''''IT BROKE NEW GROUND!'''''\ |
| 232 | (Jay, Mike, and Rich all crack up) |
| 233 | * NiceJobFixingItVillain: How Mike and Jay get their store back. [[spoiler:Plinkett mistakenly kills the owners of the game store.]] |
| 234 | * TheNicknamer: Mike does this a lot, such as calling Creator/ChanningTatum "Film/MagicMike" during the ''Film/WhiteHouseDown'' review. |
| 235 | * NoJustNoReaction: Rich's reaction to seeing a character doing a karate kick in the ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' trailer. |
| 236 | * NoodleIncident: "Remember that time when we misplaced [Plinkett's] kitchen?" |
| 237 | * NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer: During the Half in the Bag review of ''Film/GhostRiderSpiritOfVengeance'' they have to put "This is REALLY in the movie" below one of the weirder scenes included by the directors of ''Film/{{Crank}}''. |
| 238 | ** Their review for ''Film/It2017'' repeatedly makes use of the caption "This is a scene in a scary horror film" when showing clips from [[Film/It1990 the TV miniseries]] that perhaps don't come across [[{{Narm}} quite as effective as intended.]] |
| 239 | * NutritionalNightmare: In the episode where Mike and Jay review ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'', there's a subplot about Mr. Plinkett trying to intentionally have a heart attack through eating ''a lot'' of greasy food (mostly bacon burgers with added butter). |
| 240 | * NWordPrivileges: Mike and Jay substitute "regal" for "retard" (as in "[[Film/TropicThunder Never go full retard]]") in their review of Creator/JohnTravolta's ''The Fanatic'', when discussing his apparent attempt (and attempts by other actors for similar reasons) to [[InspirationallyDisadvantaged win awards by playing mentally disabled people.]] |
| 241 | * ObfuscatingInsanity: While most of the time Plinkett comes across as genuinely lost and senile, he occasionally has moments where he seems to be a devious manipulator who just enjoys having Mike and Jay around so he can mess with their minds. |
| 242 | * OfCorpseHesAlive: Mike and Jay carry Plinkett's skeletal corpse to his lawyer to attempt a ''Film/WeekendAtBernies'' ploy. The lawyer doesn't buy it for even a second. |
| 243 | * OneSteveLimit: ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' apparently has characters called Bruce Wayne, Bane, Bruce Bane and [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]], and they travel to Brisbane to watch basketball. It's very confusing. |
| 244 | * OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: In their review of ''Film/JackAndJill'' they make a very half-hearted one as they make the transition from the review proper to making their case that the movie is basically a scheme to pump the cash from an inflated movie budget into the pockets of Sandler and his friends. Though the first two notes they start to read from their lawyers are themselves libelous (and even in the third, Mike has to change the word "cohorts" to "associates" as he is reading the statement.) |
| 245 | * OverlyLongGag: Part of the show's SignatureStyle is running lame gags into the ground so hard that they become funny. |
| 246 | ** Mike dialing the paranormal investigators' number in the ''Film/ParanormalActivity4'' review. |
| 247 | ** Mike asking Jay which summer movies he has seen which include ''Film/{{Elysium}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Planes}}'', and ''Film/FastAndFurious6'' in ''Film/TheWolverine'' review. Each one is responded with the same clip of a blunt no from Jay. |
| 248 | ** ''Film/IndependenceDayResurgence'' has Mike incorrectly title the film, replacing "resurgence" with other "re" words, such as "retribution" and "redemption," for over a minute. When he finally goes to say the correct title, he's actually forgotten what it was. |
| 249 | ** In the review of ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'', Jay theorizes that because [=VCRs=] are finally going out of production, people who want to keep watching their old VHS tapes will [[ThisIsGoingToBeHuge ring the shop's phone off the hook for repairing their old machines.]] They sit in near complete silence waiting uninterrupted for the phone to ring for ''nearly fifteen minutes.'' [[spoiler:The phone finally rings with a wrong number.]] |
| 250 | * OverlyNarrowSuperlative: In their review for ''Film/{{Unfriended}}'': |
| 251 | -->'''Mike''': I can honestly say that ''Unfriended'' was the very best horror film set on [=FaceBook=] and Skype that I've ever seen.\ |
| 252 | '''Jay''': I would have to agree with that, yeah. |
| 253 | * ParallelPornTitles: |
| 254 | ** According to Mike, ''Prometheus'''s first title was ''[[Film/TheGirlWithTheDragonTattoo2011 The Girl With a Dragon in Her Cooch]]''. |
| 255 | ** The ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' review was interrupted to highlight a number of real ''Film/MadMax'' pornos. |
| 256 | * PercussiveMaintenance: Mike's favored method of repairing VCR and game consoles, including the use of power drills, hammers and axes. |
| 257 | * PermaStubble: Mike's facial hair is usually somewhere between five o'clock shadow and about three days of growth trimmed into the beginning of a beard. |
| 258 | * PetTheDog: Plinkett of all people literally pets a dog at some point. [[ItMakesSenseInContext Okay, it was a VCR he mistook for a dog]], but still. |
| 259 | * PoesLaw: InUniverse. Mike and Jay think the trailer of ''Film/TheZookeeper'' is a fake movie trailer parody of by-the-numbers comedies starring Kevin James. |
| 260 | * PricelessMingVase: Subverted. In the review of ''Film/CowboysAndAliens'', Plinkett puts out a priceless vase on a flimsy stand while people are throwing [[BrokenWindowWarning bricks with notes]] responding to Mike and Jay's ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' review [[WindowPain through his window]]. The vase is never broken... until the next episode, that is, where the first thing they do is smashing it with a baseball bat without any further comment. |
| 261 | * ProductPlacement: This trope is frequently discussed and parodied in the ''Jack and Jill'' review, especially when outlining its ExcusePlot: |
| 262 | -->'''Mike:''' They wanna get Al Pacino in a '''Dunkin' Donuts''' commercial.\ |
| 263 | '''Jay:''' '''Dunkin' Donuts'''? \ |
| 264 | '''Mike:''' '''Dunkin' Donuts'''.\ |
| 265 | '''Jay:''' Did you say '''Dunkin' Donuts'''?\ |
| 266 | '''Mike:''' '''Dunkin' Donuts'''.\ |
| 267 | '''Jay:''' Oh, so '''Dunkin' Donuts''' is in the movie?\ |
| 268 | '''Mike:''' '''Dunkin' Donuts''' plays a prominent role in the film. |
| 269 | * {{Pun}}: From [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmwyWerz5KI Red Letter Media Talks About]] ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmwyWerz5KI Alien: Covenant]]'': |
| 270 | -->'''Jay:''' I guess the ''Alien vs. Predator'' films aren't canon anymore.\ |
| 271 | '''Mike:''' I wouldn't worry about it, Jay. All these films feel like ''[[Creator/TheCannonGroup Cannon]]'' now.\ |
| 272 | ''[Mike gives the camera a sniveling, disgusted half-smirk while the Cannon logo appears.]'' |
| 273 | * PutOnABus: In the ''Film/ManOfSteel'' review, Mr. Plinkett is forced to move out of his house since the city is going to pave a highway over his property. Later reviews take place in the Lightning Fast VCR repair shop. However, TheBusCameBack. Mr. Plinkett is revealed to have moved into an apartment that he shares with Palpatine and still calls Mike and Jay to fix the very same VCR. |
| 274 | * RecycledScript: [[invoked]]Jay discusses this in their review of ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' when comparing that film and ''Film/JurassicWorld'', noting that [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools this isn't inherently a bad thing]]. Although both movies are essentially "soft remakes" of the first movies in their respective franchises, he [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks strongly disliked]] ''Jurassic World'' for that reason but ''[[Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad absolutely loved]] The Force Awakens''. |
| 275 | * RecycledSoundtrack: Pretty much all of the music, including the opening piano piece, is freeware music from iMovie or Incompetech. |
| 276 | * RedOniBlueOni: Mike has even joined the [[spoiler:Crips]], while Jay is a [[spoiler:Blood]]. |
| 277 | * ResetButton: |
| 278 | ** Mr. Plinkett's LaserGuidedAmnesia thanks to dementia allows Mike and Jay to mooch off him as VHS repairmen once more, after Plinkett had exiled them. |
| 279 | ** Mr Plinkett wasn't really dead [[spoiler:(it was his twin brother who had assumed his identity who died from eating greasy hamburgers)]] and his house gets rebuilt by the city as part of his settlement for their destroying an historic monument (which his house was, somehow). Naturally, his VCR still isn't working and needs repairing. |
| 280 | --->'''Jay:''' So the government rebuilt your house but couldn't give you a working VCR?\ |
| 281 | '''Plinkett:''' Exactly as it was, as per the agreement. |
| 282 | * RetroactiveIdiotBall: During the ''The Rise of Skywalker'' video, Mike and Jay point how that film establishing Force healing as a power raises the question of why it wasn't used in ''Star Wars'' films released earlier, like Obi-Wan not healing Qui-Gon in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''. |
| 283 | * RippedFromTheHeadlines: Episodes filmed during the Covid-19 epidemic have Mike and Jay under lockdown, with hoarded supplies and a barrier built between them. They also both let their beards grow out to look disheveled. |
| 284 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Mr. Plinkett does this, hunting down Mike and Jay for leaving him to freeze on top of a mountain. [[spoiler:Ultimately rendered moot as he ends up killing Game Store Rich and Jack. This indirectly helps Lighting Fast, and latter Plinkett seems to have forgotten the whole thing .]] |
| 285 | * RuleAbidingRebel: Mike brings this up in the ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', describing it as "passive-progressive." Specifically, he points to the fact that the creators and advertising clearly label the film as an effort of diversity and rebellion, but also make all the actual diverse and rebellious elements completely irrelevant to the plot so that they can be easily censored in international releases. The most obvious is its gay representation, which amounts to a FreezeFrameBonus while the rest of the film goes out of its way to try to establish that all the leads are heterosexual. |
| 286 | * RuleOfThree: Discussed while talking about Lucas' record of creating cultural icons. Mike asserts, "Two means coincidence. Three equals a pattern," while trying to decide if Lucas has created three cultural icons. |
| 287 | * RunningGag: |
| 288 | ** Mike excessively congratulating himself for making a bad pun/zinger. |
| 289 | ** The BaitAndSwitch segues into talking about the current movie. |
| 290 | ** As with every RLM show, whenever the guys need to walk or run off camera, they'll take extremely short, trotting steps. |
| 291 | ** The plot review voice-over recorded by Jay is sometimes intentionally and humorously inaccurate, such as when he reads the plot synopsis of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'' before the review of ''Film/BladeRunner2049''. |
| 292 | ** If Rich appears as a character other than Mr. Plinkett, he'll usually be shot repeatedly while he screams, "Ow! Fuck!" |
| 293 | ** They absolutely refuse to review ''Film/TheBatman2022'', with references to this lack of review still happening nearly two years after the film came out. |
| 294 | * SadClown: Mike describes Creator/AdamSandler as this in the ''Film/{{Pixels}}'' review, punctuated by showing pictures of him looking miserable and comparing it to Creator/OrsonWelles' wine commercial. |
| 295 | * SchmuckBait: |
| 296 | ** The ''Film/OzTheGreatAndPowerful'' review contains a storyline about Mr. Plinkett's meth addiction. At the end of the episode, Rich Evans gives a PSA concerning meth addiction with a phone number to call, which was a phone sex line at the time. Later it connected to a martial arts school in Ohio, ruining the joke. |
| 297 | ** At the beginning of their ''Film/Mother2017'' review, Mike and Jay jokingly recommend it as a family friendly, mass appeal film. |
| 298 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Mr. Plinkett, during a robot attack: "Fuck this, I'm taking a bath!" |
| 299 | * ScullyBox: In-universe. The ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' episode had Jay and Mike standing next to one another during the intro. At the end, Jay visibly steps down, and Mike directly [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the use of the trope as being necessary for Jay to be "almost as tall as me". |
| 300 | * SelfDeprecation: |
| 301 | ** Mike and Jay often jokingly diss their own films, including ''Film/FeedingFrenzy'' and ''Film/TheRecovered'', as being horrible movies. |
| 302 | --->'''Mike:''' If you looked up "forgettable" in the dictionary, you would find a picture of us, and then beneath that, you'd find a picture of this movie, ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'', the remake. |
| 303 | ** Don't miss a chance to purchase RLM's greatest hits on "ancient non-digital media." |
| 304 | ** Also, they really like to do whatever they've criticized in the movie they've been reviewing in the ending segment of the episode, for example in the ''Film/JackAndJill'' and ''Film/{{Transformers|FilmSeries}}'' episodes. |
| 305 | ** Mike describes an awkward exchange of clearly ad-libbed dialogue in ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'' as "so bad it was straight out of ''Film/SpaceCop''." |
| 306 | ** When they come back after their ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'' review to acknowledge a couple of things they'd missed, Jay mentions that he still couldn't tell where Harley got her cell phone from -- as [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight Rich, playing a prison security guard, slips phones into their pockets and chucks one at Mike's head while remaining completely unnoticed]]. |
| 307 | ** Positively reviewing ''Film/WonderWoman2017'' they make a point to add a box-out of Mike being very rude about Gal Gadot's debut as the character in ''Batman Vs Superman'' and how he thinks she'll be awful in a standalone movie. |
| 308 | ** During their long take on diversity in film criticism while reviewing ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' they opine that, even though they do it, they objectively think that reviewing movies is possibly the least important job in the entire world. |
| 309 | ** In one of their round-up episodes talking about streaming services they talk about how "boring" they are for often talking more about the business of movies than the stories and characters, and that's why lots of people don't like them and think they are too cynical. |
| 310 | ** During the ''Money Plane'' review, Mike explains that he feels sick that something made by humans could be so bad. As he does, the poster for ''Film/SpaceCop'' briefly flashes across the screen. |
| 311 | ** Upon hearing from Mr. Plinkett about the existence of Platform/YouTube shows where people talk about movies, Mike and Jay immediately call the concept lame and embarassing. |
| 312 | ** In "Mr. Plinkett Watches Night Court," Jay comments on how horribly the [[ContinuityReboot new timeline]] has aged already. This is a reference to featuring Creator/JustinRoiland in the episode that created the new timeline just weeks before Roiland was fired from ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' after numerous abuse and inappropriate conduct accusations came to light. |
| 313 | * SellOut: |
| 314 | ** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hAovTH_n8M this]] merchandise promo. Jay and Mike make it apparent they're ashamed ''by remaining completely miserable and monotone.'' |
| 315 | ** When they pretend to shill out ''Film/GrownUps2'', their bodies start to protest by [[BloodyHilarious bleeding profusely.]] |
| 316 | ** A gag at the end of their review for ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', after Mike and Jay talk about how much they loved the movie, has them help Rich with reciting his Disney-issued "praise letter" (talking about how they'll edit it out in post and trying to hide the fact that Rich is clearly reading it off the paper by [[StylisticSuck awkwardly zooming in on Mike and Jay, cutting off parts of the frame and sometimes leaving half the screen in darkness]]) as a potshot at the part of their fanbase who were angry that they liked the movie. |
| 317 | ** After several years of giving fairly positive reviews to MCU movies, Mike and Jay started getting accused of being shills for Marvel, so they'll occasionally make sarcastic reference to the heaps of money they're getting for promoting Marvel. |
| 318 | * SerialEscalation: "Fuck You, It's January!" was coined in 2015 to explain the concept of the DumpMonths. Due to the rampant rise of sequels, reboots, gimmick films and bad horror ideas in the years following, the line was changed to "Fuck You, It's Year!" in 2016 and "Fuck You, It's Forever!" in 2017. |
| 319 | -->'''Mike:''' ''ENDLESS TRASH!!!'' |
| 320 | * SharedUniverse: Relentlessly mocked, especially by the presence of the various Mr. Plinketts. Despite an entire episode where Mike spoke with indie filmmaker Alexandre Phillipe about the making of the Plinkett reviews, Mike later claims to have never heard of the reviews in their "2013 recap" episode. |
| 321 | * ShoutOut: |
| 322 | ** Creator/GeorgeLucas is [[ThisWasHisTrueForm eventually revealed to be]] one of the aliens from ''Film/TheyLive''. |
| 323 | ** Mr. Plinkett lives on 847 [[Series/AllInTheFamily Hauser St.]] (Interestingly, there is a real Hauser Avenue in the guys' hometown of Milwaukee.) |
| 324 | ** Several scenes from ''Film/Titanic1997'' are interspersed with parodies of the film, including Creator/CheriOteri as Old Rose. |
| 325 | ** Mike makes one to his other series, ''Best of the Worst'', in ''Film/TheWolverine'' review when trying to decide whether that one or ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' is better. |
| 326 | ** ''[[Film/BloodWatersOfDrZ Zaat]]'' was one of the first films the show reviewed, and the guys will occasionally use it as a punchline when they need to name a terrible movie. |
| 327 | ** Before their review of ''Film/LateNightWithTheDevil'', they reference needing "self-sealing stembolts," a RunningGag from ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. |
| 328 | * SincerityMode: Even these guys can't hate ''every'' movie. The moments where the duo (and occasionally trio) of Mike and Jay get to cut loose and talk about a movie they truly enjoyed are often wonderful to bold. |
| 329 | -->'''Jay:''' Mike, what did you think of ''[[Film/TheForceAwakens Star Wars: The Farce Awakens]]''?\ |
| 330 | '''Mike:''' Well...I loved it. ([[WhenHeSmiles suppressing a small, beautiful smile]]) It was everything I hoped it would be. |
| 331 | * SoBadItsGood:[[invoked]] |
| 332 | ** Mike says ''Film/{{Battleship}}'' is not "so bad, it's good", but "so dumb, it's good". |
| 333 | ** Mike and Jay consider ''Film/WishUpon'' this, even encouraging people to watch it ''[[SpringtimeForHitler because]]'' [[SpringtimeForHitler it's so unintentionally hilarious]]. |
| 334 | * SoOkayItsAverage[[invoked]]: Their general consensus is that this is the worst kind of movie, or at least the least interesting one to talk about on their show. In contrast, they dedicate several episodes to showcase SoBadItsGood movies. |
| 335 | * SophisticatedAsHell: Mike, Jay, and just about everyone else who discusses movies with them perfectly balances a learned and erudite approach to film critique with a sense of playful clownishness. There's also a distinct lack of snobbery in their analysis, as exemplified when they denounced critical darling ''Film/{{Boyhood}}'' as being dull, ponderous and self-indulgent, then praised ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' for succeeding at its goal of being a fun, light-hearted action movie. |
| 336 | * SpitTake: |
| 337 | ** Mike does in the review of ''Film/SuckerPunch'' when mentioned that it was meant to empower women. |
| 338 | ** He gets another one when Jay informs him that [[Film/{{Twilight}} Taylor Lautner was in love with a]] [[RunningGag vampire baby]]. |
| 339 | ** In the ''Film/AfterEarth'' review, Mike in a INeedAFreakingDrink moment downs a bottle of pills, then suddenly spits it out and exclaims, "''LAXATIVE?!''" |
| 340 | * StatusQuoIsGod: The VCR will never get fixed, ever. It gets so bad that in the 154th episode of no progress whatsoever, the VCR company sends in a guy to observe them in their workplace and do a progress report. At the end of the video, he reprimands them severely...[[spoiler:for doing their jobs [[BaitAndSwitch too]] ''[[BaitAndSwitch fast.]]'']] |
| 341 | * StealthInsult: Mike gets a fabulous one in their review of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', when Jay notes that the whole first act of the movie is the Avengers basically just "[[DespairEventHorizon wallowing in misery]], which I enjoyed." |
| 342 | -->'''Mike:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Of course you did.]] |
| 343 | ** Jay, in turn, gives one that's at least as good when Mike is discussing [[AuthorAppeal his shameless love of]] ''Series/GhostAdventures''. |
| 344 | --->'''Mike:''' I'm not gonna speculate whether they fake their evidence, I don't know, I'm not gonna talk about that.\ |
| 345 | '''Jay:''' I'm not gonna ''[[ExactWords speculate]]'' about that either. |
| 346 | * StockSoundEffects: Every time Mike hurls something offscreen it makes the stock sound of a plate being broken, even that sound makes no logical sense. |
| 347 | * StraightMan: Jay is usually depicted as this, in contrast to the senile Plinkett and the bizarrely fetishistic Mike (though both he and Mike are about equally misanthropic). |
| 348 | * StylisticSuck: Anytime anyone is called upon to "act". The "plot" and any "effects" fall under this as well. |
| 349 | ** Every time gore effects are used, they are cheap shoestring budget effects that an independent movie maker might use. This ties in with Mike and Jay's explanation of why computer generated blood looks so fake and lifeless while low budget horror still feels lively and fun to watch. |
| 350 | ** During their discussion of ''Film/AbrahamLincolnVampireHunter'', the glow from the greenscreen used to chroma key the driving effect is quite visible on Mike and Jay's faces, as well as the interior of the car. However, all other stereotypical amateur greenscreen mistakes are not present at all, leaving the impression the glow was left in deliberately, and is [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall far more pronounced]] when discussing the film's own [[SpecialEffectsFailure jarringly bad and amateurish CGI]]. |
| 351 | ** The review for ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'' begins with a parody of amateur internet reviewers complete with terrible sound and shallow observations before shilling likes and subscribers. Then they return to the VCR repair shop and start the real review. |
| 352 | * SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum: George Lucas' face melted off after he realized that he could never cleanse the world of the original ''Star Wars''. |
| 353 | * SureLetsGoWithThat: During the ''Man of Steel'' review, Jay exclaims he needs money to buy more crack. Mike quizzically asks, "Jay, you ''smoke crack''?!" Jay offhandedly replies in the affirmative while shrugging. |
| 354 | * TakeThat: |
| 355 | ** At the fans who were disappointed by [[spoiler:the fake Mandarin twist]] in ''Film/IronMan3'' by Mike in the ''Film/ManOfSteel'' review. He imitates their feelings towards it with a dumb-sounding lisp. |
| 356 | ** During the ''Film/{{Looper}}[=/=]Film/{{Dredd}}'' review, Mike gets a call from Rick Berman - former ''Star Trek'' producer and now pizza delivery guy. |
| 357 | ** At the people who accused them of being Marvel fanatics by hating ''Film/ManOfSteel'' and liking a lot of Marvel movies in their ''Film/TheWolverine'' review even though they actually liked ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''. |
| 358 | ** Mike and Jay took a number of shots at ''Film/{{Boyhood}}'' around the time of its release, sarcastically praising it for [[DancingBear taking 12 years to make]] while implying criticism of its [[SlidingScaleOfPlotVersusCharacters lack of plot]], pretentious dialogue and underwhelming cinematography. |
| 359 | ** At the end of their review for ''Film/{{Nightcrawler}}'' and ''Film/BirdmanOrTheUnexpectedVirtueOfIgnorance'', they discuss videos doing one continuous take and the risk of looking like they're just showing off. They later sarcastically talk about how the continuous shot in Creator/CoreyFeldman's music video was needed to advance the story and didn't look sloppy or anything. |
| 360 | ** Rich Evans mocks the ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' [=YouTube=] reaction videos by going ''way'' overboard on the fanboyish, masturbating a droid. He's still doing it in "Fuck You It's January (2015)". |
| 361 | ** In the ''Jurassic World'' review, they mention Creator/JossWhedon accusing the film of sexism based on a single scene and decide to refer to him as Sensitive Joss Whedon. They then decide to shorten it into the initials ''SJW'', which appear in bolded text. |
| 362 | ** In the ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' review, Mike mentions the recent revivals of ''Series/TwinPeaks'', ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'', and ''Series/FullHouse'', where a picture flashes up on screen for each show he names. ''Twin Peaks'' and ''Arrested Development'' each get a shot of their actual promo material, ''Full House'' gets a picture of a toilet. |
| 363 | ** Creator/RianJohnson's immortal quote from 2017 about "subverting expectations" while making ''Film/TheLastJedi'' is almost guaranteed to be weaved into the conversation of a film, to the point where the joke is used by Jay across all RLM productions. |
| 364 | ** When Mike notes that a part of ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' reminded him of ''Film/JupiterAscending'', Jay replies "You're the first person to think of that movie in three years." |
| 365 | ** The guys really don't like WebVideo/CinemaSins. In their review of ''Film/AQuietPlace'', they deride internet critics who just nitpick the plot and pretend that it's criticism. The video then goes into a parody of WebVideo/CinemaSins videos, counting up such "sins" of ''A Quiet Place'' as its ConservationOfDetail and ShowDontTell narrative. In their review of ''Film/{{Us}}'', Mike says that it would be irrelevant to make a big deal about the plot holes, and each time he mentions one, Jay sarcastically says "Ding!" in parody of ''Cinema Sins'' videos. |
| 366 | ** Mike's explanation for [[AdvertisedExtra Captain Marvel's absence from most of the plot]] of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' is "she had to go remove all those [[OldShame press junket videos of her]] from [=YouTube=]". |
| 367 | ** When Jay (in their review of ''Film/ItChapterTwo'') asks Mike if he knows who plays the witch character in [[Film/TheBlackcoatsDaughter Oz Perkins]]' upcoming ''Gretel and Hansel'' movie, Mike ''passes up a chance to make a Star Trek joke'' in favor of immediately replying "Creator/BrieLarson?" |
| 368 | ** The duo have made clear on ''multiple'' occasions that their opinion of Creator/BryanSinger could be charitably summed up as "he's a creep." |
| 369 | --->'''Mike:''' [''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''] marks the return of director Bryan Singer, a man who was recently accused ''of making two really good X-Men movies.'' |
| 370 | *** Mike gives us two for the price of one when he refers to the [[TroubledProduction behind-the-scenes drama]] related to the production of ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' as "Bryan Singer saying 'I don't wanna do ''X-Men 3'', give it to that ''other'' [[Creator/BrettRatner sex pervert]]!" |
| 371 | *** In their "2019 Movie Catch-Up" video, Mike sets up Jay for a hell of a zinger. |
| 372 | ---->'''Mike:''' [''Film/BohemianRhapsody''] had a creepy vibe, because Bryan Singer's fingerprints were all over it...\ |
| 373 | '''Jay:''' Mmmm, that's not the only thing ''his'' fingerprints were all over. ''([[CrossesTheLineTwice Rimshot]])'' |
| 374 | *** In the ''Film/{{Verotika}}'' review, Mike makes a joke about Singer being disappointed upon contracting COVID-19, because "[[CrossesTheLineTwice He was hoping for COVID-17 or COVID-16.]]" |
| 375 | ** A good chunk of the ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'' review has them poking fun at people becoming overly emotional over a movie based on a franchise that was once very cynical, that - despite the movie ostensibly being a tribute to Creator/HaroldRamis - includes a CG ghost version of Ramis and is obviously trying to set up more sequels to justify making a cinematic universe out of the Ghostbusters franchise after the last attempt in 2016 failed. |
| 376 | * TakeThatAudience: |
| 377 | ** In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hAovTH_n8M "Selling Out" video]], Jay's response to Mike listing things they have on sale is [[UnpleasableFanbase "When is the next Plinkett review?"]]. [[invoked]] |
| 378 | --->'''Mike:''' That's right, Jay. |
| 379 | ** When Mike's girlfriend Jessi began appearing in ''Best of the Worst'', certain members of the fandom began spitefully referring to her as "the Yoko Ono of RLM". Not missing a beat, the next episode of ''Half in the Bag'' features a random (female) ghost character who stands in the corner and does nothing. Jay announces that she is his girlfriend, leading Mike to describe her as "the Yoko Ono of the VCR repair shop", and Jay promptly mocks him for saying something so stupid. |
| 380 | ** The entire premise of the ''Grown Ups 2'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCkl-Vgc4-I review.]] [[spoiler:After echoing the opinions of Adam Sandler fans who actually like his awful movies, the fans' opinions cause Jay and Mike to bleed profusely from the head.]] |
| 381 | ** Invoked during the discussion for ''Film/Ghostbusters2016''. Rich points out that the filmmakers' obvious attempts to address criticism within the movie itself come off as painting everyone who loved the original film as a misanthropic BasementDweller. He very sensibly notes that insulting your core audience --who made the franchise a [[CashCowFranchise cash cow]] to begin with-- is not a great moneymaking strategy. |
| 382 | * TechnologyMarchesOn: In-Universe, Mike and Jay haven't had a VCR repair job in 15 years before Plinkett called them. Eventually, they start getting business from hipsters who use [=VCRs=] 'ironically'. |
| 383 | * TeleFrag: At the end of episode 43 when Mike and Jay play a trivia game that causes VHS tapes to appear out of thin air, one of them materializes into Mr Plinkett's head. |
| 384 | * ThatPoorCat: Every item casually tossed out of frame will produce the sound effect of either a yeowling cat or shattering glass. |
| 385 | * ThisCannotBe: Jay and Mike are amazed that ''Film/ParanormalActivity4'' makes ''Film/JackAndJill'' look ''competent''. |
| 386 | * ThrowItIn: [[invoked]] Subverted in the ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'' review: |
| 387 | -->'''Mike:''' It's sort of amazing how we just... *coughs wildly* SORRY *cough* PLEASE LEAVE THIS IN THE FINAL EDIT *cough* |
| 388 | * TitleScream: Every episode opens with Stoklasa's Plinkett voice saying "Half in the [=BaaAAAaaag=]", followed by a random comment ("Jay and Mike are frauds!" etc.). |
| 389 | * ToBeContinued: Episode 66 retroviews the original ''Film/RoboCop1987'' film (as well as the two sequels), and ends with a To Be Continued as Mike, Jay and Rich go off to watch the [[Film/RoboCop2014 remake.]] |
| 390 | ** After the ''Film/RoboCop2014'' review, "Officer Rich" finds himself on the ''Film/HowardTheDuck'' planet, [[YankTheDogsChain only to find]] that there will be ''no'' To Be Continued on ''his'' adventures there. Ever. |
| 391 | * TooBleakStoppedCaring: |
| 392 | ** Invoked by Jay on why he was bored by ''Film/RogueOne'' - the characters aren't squeaky-clean, but they don't get much motivation to fight the Empire until some plot-based prodding makes them. |
| 393 | ** Mike tends to feel this way about horror movies that lack consistent rules that give the protagonists opportunities to escape. ''Film/{{Unfriended}}'' and ''Film/{{Slenderman}}'' being notable examples. |
| 394 | * TrashTheSet: Part of the [[=RedLetterMedia=]] SignatureStyle is being very cavalier about breaking sets and props: |
| 395 | ** Plinkett's house takes quite the beating over the course of the show. |
| 396 | ** Carol's house in Episode 73 gets absolutely destroyed by Mike and Jay. |
| 397 | * UncannyFamilyResemblance: Harry S. Plinkett (Sr. and Jr.), Telekinetic Plinkett, Telekinetic Plinkett's brother, and Harriet Plinkett are all played by Rich Evans. |
| 398 | * UndercoverCopReveal: {{Inverted|Trope}}. "Officer Cooper" turns out to be an undercover ''hooker'', out to get Mike and Jay to pay money so that she and her colleagues can perform "humiliating sex acts". Cue EvilLaugh. |
| 399 | * UnpleasableFanbase: Invoked in the review of ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon''. Jay expresses his frustration that a fanbase will either react to movies by saying that they are terrible or will form a backlash against acclaimed movies by calling them over-rated. Also mentioned in the reviews of ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' and ''Prometheus'', Mike and Jay's deadpan sarcastic "That Creator/ChristopherNolan[=/=]Creator/RidleyScott is an overrated hack" when talking about minor plot holes is clearly a TakeThat at this kind of FanDumb. |
| 400 | * TheUnreveal: The story behind that red spot on Jay's shirt. When Mike asks him about it during their ''Film/Shazam2019'' review, Jay says, "It's actually a funny story" and does not elaborate further. |
| 401 | * TheUntwist: [[invoked]] The mastermind behind all of the attempts on Jay and Mike's lives is -- George Lucas (again), trying to wipe the original cut of ''Star Wars'' from the face of the Earth (again). Jay and Mike go on openly express their disappointment about TheReveal being just "another George Lucas thing" and make small-talk over Lucas' MotiveRant, barely even paying attention to him. |
| 402 | * VerbalTic: An amiable "Sure," for Jay. |
| 403 | * VerySpecialEpisode: Spoofed in episode 49, wherein Mr. Plinkett develops a meth addiction. |
| 404 | * VillainsOutShopping: Palpatine arguing with Plinkett over the apartment's chores list. |
| 405 | * VillainProtagonist: Jay and Mike are total monsters in the FramingDevice. Bilking Mr. Plinkett for every cent he has is only the beginning. In one episode, Mike accidentally dismembers the mailman while demonstrating why low budget horror movies do better with ugly effects used creatively rather than throwing money at the screen. Jay disposes of the body in the next episode and neither show any remorse or concern other than the dirt tracked around from digging his shallow grave. |
| 406 | * VisualPun: The "bomb" George Lucas uses to kill the repairman and their guest is a ''Film/HowardTheDuck'' DVD box. |
| 407 | * VulgarHumor: |
| 408 | ** The ending of the ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' review. Plinkett's ruptured colostomy bag sets off [[CrossesTheLineTwice over a minute of Mike and Jay throwing up]]. |
| 409 | ** Despite having little time for many grossout movies, they were happy to admit to liking the box office flop ''{{Film/Grimsby}}'' ('Brothers Grimsby' in the US) because so much of what Creator/SachaBaronCohen does is his movies is identical in tone to their OTT moments. |
| 410 | * WhamShot: [[AC:Classic Yellow Cake Mix [[spoiler:Now with Gay Pheromones!]]]] |
| 411 | * WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Early episodes of ''Half in the Bag'' are contradictory about whether the show is set in Teaneck, New Jersey (setting of the Plinkett Reviews) or Milwaukee, Wisconsin (RealLife home of Red Letter Media). About the same time that the "two separate Plinketts" theory prevailed, so too did the show's setting in Milwaukee. |
| 412 | * WhiteMaleLead: Discussed and parodied with the review of ''Film/ReadyPlayerOne'', in which the main character Parzival is described by Rich as being one of these. His terms are a hell of lot less flattering though: to quote, Rich calls him a "Boring White White Rice Motherfucker". |
| 413 | * WhosOnFirst: In their "2019 Movie Catch-Up" video, Jay starts in on one after Mike goes to see a film called ''Yesterday''. [[SoUnfunnyItsFunny This being RLM]], he gives up halfway through. |
| 414 | -->'''Jay:''' [[StoppedCaring I don't have the energy to do the bit.]] |
| 415 | * WhoWantsToLiveForever: At the start of the ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'' review, VCR Repairman Rich brags he's now immortal. After discussing the movie, Rich slowly walks into the back of the store. A gunshot is heard, after which Rich is heard cursing, "Aw, ''fuck''!" |
| 416 | * WordOfGay: In the ''Film/{{Chappie}}'' review, Plinkett, Jay and Rich discover they all have a Grindr profile, with captions above them saying "[[InvokedTrope Confirmed As Gay]]". |
| 417 | * WorstWhateverEver: Carried over from other shows such as ''WebVideo/BestOfTheWorst'', Mike's liberal use of this trope has become something of a RunningGag or personal catchphrase. On separate occasions he has declared ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderman2'', ''Film/JackAndJill'', ''Film/TheMummy2017'', ''Things'', ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian2011'' to be the worst movie he's has ever seen. When he declares this about ''Film/AMillionWaysToDieInTheWest'', Jay lampshades it by asking, "The new one?" |
| 418 | * YeahShot: Lampshaded by Plinkett who remains moving normally and wondering what is going on anytime Jay and Mike end a review with a freeze frame jump. |
| 419 | * YouLookFamiliar: Other RLM members will occasionally join a review, almost always as a different character. |
| 420 | * YourCostumeNeedsWork: The one time Mike used the Mr. Plinkett voice on-camera, Jay told him that it was a terrible Plinkett impression. |
| 421 | [[/folder]] |
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