Line #112 WebVideo/RedLetterMedia


1	[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/plinkett_4064.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:220:[-"Oh no! ''Half in the Bag'' has [[JumpingTheShark jumped the shark]]! It's never been the same since episode four!"-] ]]
3
4	->'''Nadine:''' Mister, please, just let me go! I promise won't say anything! I'll do anything, just let me go!\
5	'''Mr. Plinkett:''' ''Quiet! [[SkewedPriorities I'm making]] my Website/YouTube ''Franchise/StarWars'' review!''
6
7	[=RedLetterMedia=] is a film and video production company with a [[https://www.youtube.com/user/redlettermedia channel]] on Website/YouTube and a [[http://www.redlettermedia.com/ website]] that produces a number of films and short videos. The company was founded by Mike Stoklasa in Arizona, but it later moved to Milwaukee, WI. It began as a creator of zero-budget horror films and has gradually shifted to producing humorous film and pop culture {{review}}s online. Stoklasa currently operates the company with his business and creative partner Jay Bauman, along with their sole salaried employee, informal mascot, and Mike's lifelong best friend, muse, and punching bag Rich Evans.
8
9	[=RedLetterMedia=]'s online shows include:
10	* '''''WebVideo/MisterPlinkettReviews''''': Mike performs in voiceover as Harry S. Plinkett, who painstakingly reviews terrible films and sub-par offerings of beloved franchises. The character of Mr. Plinkett is a cantankerous old man prone to mumbling, mispronouncing words, and getting sidetracked on unrelated tangents. His reviews are heavily sprinkled with increasingly overt insinuations that he is a SerialKiller who murdered his own wife and regularly kidnaps other women. [=RedLetterMedia=] broke through as a channel with the Mr. Plinkett review of ''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace]]'', which was notable for its length and helped popularize long-form online video essays.
11	* '''''WebVideo/HalfInTheBag''''': A traditional movie-review series featuring Mike Stoklasa and Jay Bauman discussing new theatrical releases. While the show maintains a loose FramingDevice of the hosts being VCR repairmen working for Mr. Plinkett (played here by Rich Evans), the bulk of each episode is a ''Series/SiskelAndEbert''-style conversation about between one and three newly-released movies.
12	* '''''WebVideo/BestOfTheWorst''''': A series in which various members of the [=RLM=] team watch and discuss a marathon of three B-movies from their ''massive'' collection and host a roundtable discussion to determine the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Best of the Worst."]] After a few episodes, the gang introduced the tradition of also naming the "Worst of the Worst" and destroying the physical copy in some inventive new way.
13	* '''''WebVideo/PreviouslyRecorded''''': A since-concluded video game retrospective[=/=]review show hosted by Jack Packard and Rich Evans. In addition, they also have a lengthy playlist of livestreams available.
14	* '''''[[WebVideo/ReViewRedLetterMedia re:View]]''''': While ''Half in the Bag'' focuses on reviewing new films, ''re:View'' is a stripped-down, generalized review show with no framing device and no set criteria beyond whatever film or show two people want to discuss. It could be a very well-known film, it could be an '80s cult classic, it could be a weird art film, it could be Mike's hopeful pitch for a new Picard-led ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series, or it could be Mike and Rich bitterly mocking the [[Series/StarTrekPicard actual Picard-led]] ''Star Trek'' series for being a steaming pile. An otherwise identical spin-off of the concept called ''re:Visit'' was created for films that the hosts have seen only once and decided to reappraise.
15	* '''''The Nerd Crew''''': A parody of geek culture podcasts and [=YouTube=] shows, in which Mike, Jay and Rich play hosts who obsess over and shamelessly shill major corporate franchises, savagely mocking actual geek-centric podcast dialog and behavior. The segments usually air before major ''Star Wars'' events.
16	* '''''Red Letter Media Talk About....''''': Like ''re:View'', this is a stripped down discussion series without any gimmick or conceit beyond two people discussing a subject in entertainment. However, as implied by its blunt title and the fact that it's filmed on couches in the [=RLM=] break room, it's intended for quickie, impromptu discussions and recommendations that don't require a full-blown episode.
17	* '''''Spitballs''''': An unscripted animated series where Mike, Jay, and Rich satirize Hollywood and the talentless hacks who run it by doing what they do best: coming up with absurd, farcical movie pitches and riffing on them while trying not to burst out laughing. Then Youtube animator [[https://www.youtube.com/@WeeZacharyP Wee Zachary P]] enhances it with some equally-deranged animation.
18
19	In addition to its web content, the production company also makes feature-length, relatively NoBudget films, most of them comedic.
20
21	* ''Film/GorillaInterrupted'', an embarrassing amateur film that first got Stoklasa and Evans working with Bauman.
22	* ''[[Film/OrangesRevengeOfTheEggplant Oranges: Revenge of the Eggplant]]''
23	* ''Film/TheRecovered'', a serious horror film starring Z-movie scream queen Tina Krause. It preceded and coincidentally resembles Franchise/TheSlendermanMythos.
24	* ''Film/FeedingFrenzy'', a HorrorComedy featuring Mr. Plinkett (as played by Rich Evans) as a major character.
25	* ''Film/DocOfTheDead'', a documentary done with Exhibit A Pictures and distributed through Creator/MGMPlus. They filmed a lengthy story line featuring Mr. Plinkett (played by Mike as in the reviews) fighting zombies, but only two brief sequences made it into the film.
26	* ''Film/SpaceCop'', the first feature film to be released after their online videos became their primary focus.
27
28	Their discussion thread is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=q9q53xcmr8xuecps6z3tvldf&page=1 here]].
29
30	Supporting member Jack Packard was signed by Website/TheEscapist to cover videogames in mid-2019, and has since launched a new gaming-centered show called ''Underdeveloped'', as well as LetsPlay videos with [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee Croshaw]].
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34	[[foldercontrol]]
35
36	!!Examples given by their other works:
37
38	[[folder:The channel overall]]
39	* AntiHumor: The channel loves anti-humor. Groan-inducing jokes, [[DontExplainTheJoke which often get immediately explained]] or [[OverlyLongGag dragged out to the point of absurdity]], are very common, in addition to [[BadBadActing stilted acting]], [[StylisticSuck shoddy production values]], deliberately hackneyed plots in the MidReviewSketchShow, and [[MoodWhiplash alarming shifts in tone]]. It's all so horribly unfunny that it's hilarious. ''The Grabowskis'' is essentially one long exercise in parodying the sitcom format with antihumor. Mike discusses his love of antihumor during the ''Half in the Bag'' review of ''Film/PGPsychoGoreman.''
40	* AsideGlance: [[AntiHumor Terrible jokes]] are usually punctuated by looking into the camera by one or more hosts, sometimes with a smug "Did you get it?" expression or in a perplexed "What is going on?" fashion.
41	* BizarreBeverageUse: In the Mr. Plinkett review of ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', Mr. Plinkett states that if he wanted a message, he'd go listen to his answering machine... which he then does. He listens to a message from the Department Of Cultural Guilt, telling him to continue feeling guilty about horrible things he did to the Native Americans. Mr. Plinkett's response to the message is to pour a cup of coffee on the answering machine before the message is even over, causing it to short out.
42	* ButtMonkey: If it's embarrassing, humiliating, or degrading, nine times out of ten on this channel it will happen to Rich Evans.
43	* TheCassandra: Rich has an uncanny ability to predict the plot twists of movies and games, but the other hosts often doubt him.
44	* CatchPhrase:
45	** Rich Evans is prone to shrieking "Oh my god!", which seems to have caught on with other members such as Mike and Jay, to the point that it's become a common joke and frequently written into their gags. Here's a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpMY6TYSuRs super cut.]]
46	** "That's right, Jay" and "Are you saying...?"
47	** Mike also frequently shouts at the top of his lungs, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcz36EfinJw "Ooooooooooh FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK."]]
48	** ''The Nerd Crew'' has "Very cool", said with as much mock-sincerity as possible.
49	** Jay frequently says "[[OhCrap Oh,]] ''[[OhCrap no]]''!" and "How em''barr''assing!" when witnessing or discussing something his dislikes.
50	** Jay saying "I guess we should talk about..." with the faintly concerned tone of a parent who's been trying to put off discussing his child's paste-eating habit. Usually followed by "Should we get into spoilers?"
51	** Rich is also known for saying "AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDS".
52	* ChromosomeCasting: RLM in general is somewhat notorious for this. Although their movies and shows ''have'' had women in them, and some of their female collaborators ''have'' stuck around for a while, they all leave eventually. No women have appeared onscreen in any RLM project since 2016.
53	* EmbarrassingOldPhoto: The [[https://i.imgur.com/mHk9zGP.jpg Dick the Birthday Boy]] of Rich Evans, which has achieved minor meme status and even appeared on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld-aisAWtmw The Ellen Degeneres Show]].
54	* InCaseOfXBreakGlass: After a ''WebVideo/BestOfTheWorst'' episode in which Creator/MaxLandis made a guest appearance and brought ''Film/DoubleDown'', a Creator/NeilBreen film, as one of the three movies to review, the RLM crew kept another Breen film under a glass container in the studio marked with "In Case of Max Landis, Break Glass." After sexual assault allegations were leveled at Landis, the RLM channel [[MissingEpisode de-listed]] ''Double Down'', and the glass case was quietly relabeled "In Case of Emergency, Break Glass." The crew eventually did break the glass and watched the film when another film they had scheduled to review proved unwatchable.
55	* InNameOnly: [[invoked]] Invoked verbatim when describing such films as ''Film/TheHangoverPartIII'' and ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness''.
56	* {{Malaproper}}: Rich occasionally stumbles over his speech or mispronounces words, such as saying he's "ambivalous" instead of "ambivalent." The rest of the gang is quick to mock him about it, and occasionally text will display the guessed-at spelling of whatever it sounds like he just said. After watching ''Lycan Colony'', Rich criticizes the constant malaprops by one of the actors and adds, "And I'm Rich Evans!" In one ''Best of the Worst'' after Mike stumbles over the same line several times in a row, Rich says, "I'm suing you for copyright infringement."
57	* PermaStubble: Mike's signature look is sporting a beard so short that it looks like two days' worth of stubble shaved into the shape of a beard. It strangely works for him, and when he grew his beard out during the Covid pandemic, fans thought he looked suitably disheveled.
58	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The Covid-19 pandemic forced some [[{{Retool}} retooling]] of the franchise, as well as being a subtopic of [[RippedFromTheHeadlines much of the commentary]].
59	** Half in the Bag had Mike and Jay sitting six feet apart surrounded by towers of stockpiled toilet paper. They looked even more dishevelled and deranged than usual. They also had to resort to discussing Netflix releases and small independent films, as cinemas were closed and the bigger premieres were postponed.
60	** The Plinkett Review of ''Star Trek: Picard'' was solely voiceover of series and stock footage, without any skits filmed of Plinkett and his cats.
61	** Re:View had the chairs moved further apart and the presenters wearing masks. The film/series posters in the back were replaced by news stills relating to the pandemic.
62	** Best of the Worst was put on hiatus, with no new episodes released between March 7th and Jun 20th.
63	* RougeAnglesOfSatin:
64	** Internet commenters are invariably quoted with their exact words, all spelling and grammatical errors included.
65	** Also, Rich's [[{{Malaproper}} mispronunciations]] are almost always [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rh1k2R2rv8 spelled out on screen.]] He {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d it when Mike promised to fix one of his gaffes in post-production, laughing that what Mike meant was he'd exaggerate it with JumpCut editing and a downloadable .gif.
66	* RunningGag:
67	** An AccidentalInnuendo or lame {{Pun}} is almost always followed by the [[StockSoundEffects Stock Sound Effect]] of a slide whistle.
68	** Rich Evans getting so overemotional or freaked out he runs amok and knocks over cameras, plows through green screens, and--in one infamous incident--rips toy boxes apart and masturbates with a Darth Vader head in a trailer reaction video.
69	** Rich Evans' raucous, high-pitched laughter.
70	** Treating Rich Evans as a Hollywood megastar due to his childhood "Dick the Birthday Boy" photo appearing on the ''Ellen [=DeGeneres=] Show''. This goes so far as to have him upstage ''actual'' Hollywood celebrity guests.
71	** Mike bringing up ''Star Trek'' wherever he can, to the annoyance of anyone who isn't Rich.
72	** Jay bringing up obscure, artsy movies that none of the others have ever seen and assume are creepy fetish films.
73	** Flinging or dropping props and pieces of set dressing, producing stock sound effects of shattering glass or cats screeching.
74	** In the Bandcamp commentaries, Mike pretending to be a hipster film critic snob.
75	** People stating that Rich has "horrible diabetes," often pronounced the Wilford Brimley way: "DIE-uh-BEET-uss."
76	** Mike loves joking about the elderly and will take any opportunity to mock them.
77	* SelfDeprecation: The hosts frequently disparage themselves and their channel for the sake of humor.
78	** After referring to George Lucas as a "hack fraud," the hosts often level the same criticism at themselves, to the point that this has become a hallmark of the channel's fandom.
79	** The hosts are quick to criticize their own feature-length films and sometimes even jokingly urge people not to watch them.
80	** The hosts make a lot of cracks about Jay Bauman's short height, which is often pronounced by appearing onscreen with Mike and Jack, who are both over six feet tall. When he has to use a ScullyBox to make the framing line up better, they never fail to point it out afterward.
81	** The cast frequently make jokes that Rich is in poor health, with punchlines about him having "horrible diabetes."
82	** Rich's frequent [[{{Malaproper}} malapropisms]] are always pointed out either by the hosts themselves in the moment or with onscreen text added later.
83	** Mike consulting notes written on a folded-up piece of printer paper. He'll often intentionally crinkle the paper as he handles it, with additional sound effects of crumpling paper added in.
84	* SignatureLaugh: Rich's magnificent laugh. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQzwzkleOWs Witness its raw power.]]
85	* SoreLoser: In "''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' Trivia," Mike loses the quiz and consequently litters the closing credits with notes about how the game was rigged and that he only got the last question wrong because he knows ''more'' about the show than Rich.
86	* StockSoundEffects: The editors love inserting a particular sound effect of pottery breaking, originating from ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors'', whenever they TrashTheSet.
87	* StylisticSuck: A hallmark of most RLM videos is periods of intentionally stilted delivery, clumsy editing and awkward situations.
88	* TakeThat: Zigzagged with Mike's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf2tBFfMLMk&feature=push-u-sub&attr_tag=N9j-Ke8co4L1ajMO%3A6 Pathetic Man-Child Destroys 2,387 Vintage Star Wars Figures]] video. While the video is meant to be an obvious jab towards the more volatile parts of the ''Star Wars'' fanbase, it can also interpreted as the culmination of Mike's disillusionment with the franchise.
89	* TheTeetotaler: While the hosts of most shows drink pretty heavily during filming, Rich Evans does not drink at all and usually sips on water or Diet Coke. This is never drawn attention to and sometimes cleverly obfuscated. During the ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'' episode of ''Half in the Bag'', the three hosts supposedly down a shot of Crystal Skull Vodka, but an edit skips over the part where Mike hands out the shots he's poured, suggesting that the shot Rich actually drinks was probably just water. When the others get ''really'' drunk, Rich sometimes will make an AsideGlance to camera and will take on the role of OnlySaneMan.
90	* TrashTheSet:
91	** The members are very cavalier about flinging objects and knocking things over on their sets for physical comedy. Every once and a while, they will acknowledge the work it takes it clean things up afterward.
92	** There's a particular RunningGag consisting of destroying objects, props, and even sets that Rich in particular built himself.
93	* TrollingCreator: The guys will occasionally reference a work that the fans are obviously calling on them to review, but then instead review something else.
94	** In their ''Film/EnemyMine'' and ''Series/MidnightMass'' videos, both hosts mention having seen ''[[Film/Dune2021 Dune]]'' before spending the rest of the video talking about something else.
95	** The guys had amassed a huge collection of the film ''Film/{{Nukie}}'' on VHS but seemed steadfast in their refusal to review it on ''Best of the Worst''. In their 100th ''Best of the Worst'' episode, they filled the entire board of Plinketto with ''Nukie'' tapes, making it look like they would finally review it, but after the Pinketto ball landed on one of the tapes, Rich placed the Neil Breen film ''Fateful Findings'' over it, and they watched that instead. When they finally ''did'' review it, it was as part of a larger video mocking the new speculator market around VHS tapes, and the actual part dedicated to reviewing ''Nukie'' was two minutes long. They did release a full ten-minute video dedicated to the film later.
96	* WallOfBlather: A common joke across their videos is to portray a long speech as tedious and uninteresting by fading in and out across sections of the speech.
97	* WorldOfSnark: RLM's style of humor revolves around deadpan snarking and a condescending tone. All of the hosts effect this style, with Mike leading the charge. Even though they frequently indulge in zany, slapstick style comedy, it's always done in a sarcastic, AntiHumor way.
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Other Specific Works]]
101	* TenMinuteRetirement: In ''The Nerd Crew'' episode on the ''Solo'' premiere, Mike, after realizing what a sad existence he's living, leaves the crew, causing Jay and Rich to go their separate ways as well. A few days later, he lands a job as a telemarketer, where, after being encouraged by one of his clients, believes that he was born to review movies and brings the crew back together.
102	* AbusiveParents: The Grabowskis.
103	* AntiClimax: In the "Pong Movie Pitch" episode of ''Spitballs'', the boys aim for a deliberately unsatisfying solution to how the rampaging Pong ball that escaped into the real world is stopped. They settle on [[CutTheJuice the cleaning lady at the bowling alley accidentally unplugging the Pong arcade cabinet that's generating it]]. What's worse it, the Sony exec who's spying on the boys likes their idea.
104	* BaitAndSwitch: The Grabowskis episode "The Hardware Store" starts out as a typical sitcom but ends up as a [[spoiler:SurrealHorror]].
105	* BlackComedyRape: In episode 2 of "The Nerd Crew", Rich Evans recounts a time he was threatened by a Sony executive at a screening of ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'', who then proceeded to shove his hand down his pants. Rich has no idea this incident could be considered sexual assault and is playing down what happened because he wants to stay in Sony's good graces.
106	* BlatantLies: Played for laughs in the fourth episode of "The Nerd Crew", titled "''Film/TheLastJedi'' Trailer Breakdown and Analysis!". A big part of of it is spent by Jay, Mike, and Rich giving shout-outs to their fake sponsors--various parodies of Loot Crate and similar products. When they do get around to actually talking about the trailer, Rich gives his impressions about it but accidentally talks about ''Film/ThorRagnarok'''s trailer instead. By the time the misunderstanding is brought up, Jay simply says they have no time left and the episode ends.
107	* BoobBasedGag: Occasionally pops up in their work, as Mike seems [[BuxomBeautyStandard preferential toward casting busty women]] in their films. Most memorably, the two main female characters of the RLM short "The Great Space Jam" size up one another's racks before deploying them as weapons.
108	* ClosedCircle: The "Pong Movie Pitch" episode of ''Spitballs'' features a group of characters transported into a ''Pong'' arcade cabinet. They need to find a way out while evading a rampaging Pong ball.
109	* ContinuityReboot: In their trailer for "New Alien Commentary Track", Jay and Mike mentions that the new ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' movie is going to ignore ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'' and ''[[Film/AlienResurrection Resurrection]]''. Mike then comments that "if the movie doesn't get the box office results you want", the makers could just retcon or even reboot the series, with examples like the ''Superman'', ''Hulk'', and ''Spider-Man'' films... and redoing ''Game Station 2.0'' as ''WebVideo/PreviouslyRecorded:''.
110	* CreepyStalkerVan: In a CrossOver with Creator/MacaulayCulkin's website ''Website/BunnyEars'', titled "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Macaulay Culkin Points at Milwaukee]]", Mike offers to show Mack around the city.
111	-->'''Mike''': Well, my filthy van is right over there. Come with me and I'll show ya some things you can point at.
112	* DontExplainTheJoke: In season 5 of ''The Grabowskis'', WebVideo/ChadVader arrives to deliver groceries, causing the LaughTrack to go crazy. The husband wonders why, so the wife explains that [[ComicallySerious Darth Vader is a dark and serious character, so putting him into innocuous situations like delivering groceries is funny]].
113	* DullSurprise: Heavily parodied in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZOLKwSsFik Rich Evans Auditions for]] ''Film/BladeRunner2049''".
114	* {{Flanderization}}: The first ''Nerd Crew'' episode is an exceptionally dry, satirical troll job about three boring, soulless corporate stooges parroting actual fanboyisms. Successive episodes make them more exaggerated, turning them into trend chasing, sycophantic sellouts. However, as shown by [[https://youtu.be/lzTNdgjvlr0 this video]], their behavior is not that much of an exaggeration from actual nerd culture channels.
115	* GagPenis:
116	** The alien cocks in "The Great Space Jam" are unusually long and used as weapons.
117	** In the "George Foreskin Grill" promotion for ''VideoGame/TroverSavesTheUniverse'', Rich Evans is volunteered to demonstrate the grill's functionality by using it to circumcise his exaggeratedly fake penis. [[spoiler: The grill melts his member in two.]]
118	* {{Hipster}}: Jay and Josh warn before their ''re:View'' episode about ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'' that if they're the hosts, be ready to shut the video off because they're going to enthuse about cult arthouse films. (Their next film? ''Film/TrueStories''.)
119	* HalfEmptyTwoShot: {{Discussed\|Trope}} during their commentary track for ''Film/{{A Nightmare On Elm Street\|1984}}'', when Mike pretends to have a panic attack while watching the movie.
120	-->'''Mike''': [[ObfuscatingStupidity Ohmigosh, Rich? Rich? Rich?]] Why is there so much space on the right side of the frame? Rich, why--why is there a distracting amount of space on the right side of the frame?!
121	-->'''Rich''': [[BlatantLies I'm sure there's no reason.]]\
122	''[Jumpscare]''\
123	'''Mike & Rich''': "OH MY GAAAAAAWD!"
124	* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Rosemary The Whore from "The Western Ore Musical". Flint lampshades this when he says "Hey, there, whore with your heart of gold."
125	--> '''Rosemary''': You see, Mr. Eastrock that where you are wrong, ever since I was a little girl, I've loved things that are hard. But [[AccidentalInnuendo mama misunderstood me]] and pushed into a life of prostitution. When really it was my love for rocks, minerals, and ore, especially ore.
126	* HypocrisyNod: A promo-video has Mike and Jay taking about reboots and remakes, and Mike points how the business model of Hollywood seems to be that if something doesn't work you should just start over and redo it. Examples includes ''Film/FantasticFour2005'' being replaced by ''Film/FantasticFour2015'', Film/SupermanReturns being replaced by ''Film/ManOfSteel'', ''Film/{{Hulk}}'' being replaced by ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'', ''Film/SpiderMan1'' being replaced by ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'', and finally ''Gamestation 2.0'' being replaced by ''WebVideo/PreviouslyRecorded''.
127	* ImpossibleHourglassFigure: The [[SnakePeople Snake Women]] in "The Franchise/{{Care B\|ears}}oars Save Christmas"
128	* KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect: Discussed in the commentary track for ''Film/AlienVsPredator'' when Mike points out that there must be Predator (and Klingon) engineers building their spaceships and other technology.
129	* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: The series finale of The Grabowskis ends with the two title characters experiencing a flashbacks of [[BlatantLies "Good times"]].
130	-->'''Honey:''' Cliff, did you see that too?\
131	'''Cliff:''' Yeah, I did. And let's never speak of it again.
132	* LineOfSightName: When "George Lucas" visits the Chicago Comic Con to destroy all the copies of ''Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial'', he tells one vendor that his name is 'Paul Superman' after seeing someone in a Superman costume walk by.
133	* MegaCorp: Disney becomes one in an episode of ''The Nerd Crew''. After buying out [=ExxonMobil=] and Kroger, they create "Disney+ Basic Needs", a service that assigns people a number designation and requires them to pay $159.99 a month just for access to food and gasoline. Soon after, they launch "Disney Healthcare Plus" after buying out all public and private healthcare providers.
134	* MemeticMutation: [[invoked]] Conversed. In "The United States of Noooo!", Mike discusses the meme status of [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader's]] BigNo He mentions that before it became big on the internet, he thought he and Rich were the only ones who found it funny.
135	* MindScrew:
136	** Recipe for Disaster.
137	** "The Hardware Store"
138	* NegativeContinuity: The Nerd Crew have a recurring gag where one of them is out for a paycheck and isn't familiar with the classic films in whatever franchise they're shilling, but they can never keep straight which one it is. Mike, Jay, and Rich have all at one point or another done the "I've never seen ''Star Wars''" bit, even if it blatantly contradicts a previous episode where they were ribbing one of the others for not seeing it.
139	* NightmareFetishist: Jay's fondness for weird exploitation films is occasionally exaggerated by the other members into claiming he's obsessed with the most perverse and debauched films out there.
140	* OhCrap: During a ''Nerd Crew'' episode discussing all the new streaming services offered by various companies, the cast (who are all openly owned by Disney) begin [[EvenEvilHasStandards reacting with increasing dread]] as they learn about all the basic needs that Disney is monopolizing, learning that they'll soon need barcode tattoos to have access to food and background checks for gas. Mike has a panic attack upon learning that Disney has also monopolized the health care industry.
141	-->Mike (forcing a smile): "Wow! It really sounds like ''Disney'' is holding everyone hostage over basic every day needs...[[HeelRealization It's not just about movies anymore...]]"
142	* OnlySaneEmployee: Rich Evans is technically RLM's only employee (Mike and Jay are co-owner/operators) and he is often presented as performing this function when "out of character", being tortured by the mercurial, deranged antics of Mike, and being called upon to do virtually all of the hard labor required to keep the studio running (he builds all the sets and manufactures all the props, among many other menial tasks).
143	* OverlyLongGag: Used in a number of videos. One such example is the Chad Vader episode of ''The Grabowskis'' in season 5. The couple initially think that Chad Vader is hysterical, but after a few versions of his basic schtick, they stop laughing and just stare at him. The end of the episode has another example, in which the couple does nothing but cry about a tragic accident for several long minutes.
144	* ProductPlacement:
145	** Parodied with "The Nerd Crew," who are blatant shills advertising the newest big budget film and the merch associated with as well as overpriced parodies of Loot Crates filled with mediocre merchandise.
146	** The ''re:View'' for ''Film/DemolitionMan'' opens with Jack and Rich munching on Taco Bell in reference to the restaurant's very prominent appearance in the movie. [[FunnyBackgroundEvent Jay comes in at one point to silently swipe a taco and then walk back off camera.]]
147	* OrphanedSeries:
148	** ''[=GameStation 2.0=]'' was a parody of your typical late [[TheNoughties noughties]] video game review show, hosted by Rich Evans, with a weird, nonsensical "plot" for a framing device, produced during the brief period when RLM was affiliated with Machinima. The show abruptly ceased production pretty much as soon as the partnership with Machinima did, with two SpiritualSuccessor series: ''Previously Recorded'' for the video game review content, and ''The Nerd Crew'' for the parody of review shows.
149	** ''Quick Cuts'' was the studio's first attempt at a serious, straightforward review show with no gimmicks. The idea was that any of the crew could produce their own segment whenever the mood struck them. The problem was the only person the mood ever seemed to strike was Jay, who hosted the first four episodes before stopping, not wanting ''Quick Cuts'' to become "The Jay Show". The SpiritualSuccessor shows, ''Re:View'' and ''X and Y Talk About...'', notably both feature pairs instead of just one person.
150	* RunningGag: In ''The Nerd Crew'' shorts, the gang plays a group of sell-out ''Star Wars'' groupies, but Jay will occasionally state that he has never even seen one of the ''Star Wars'' films previous to the one they're discussing. No one will react to this confession.
151	* SdrawkcabSpeech: In ''The Nerd Crew'' episode on streaming services, Jay at one point talks backwards. When reversed, he says, "We all bow to our Disney overlords! Hail the mouse! Hail the mouse!"
152	* ShoutOut:
153	** Darth Maul running away in terror at the sight of fifty Jedis. ...and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPPj6viIBmU this guy]].
154	** Creator/GeorgeLucas is [[ThisWasHisTrueForm eventually revealed to be]] one of the aliens from ''Film/TheyLive''.
155	** "The Hardware Store" contains characteristics reminiscent of Creator/DavidLynch's works.
156	** In the "Bloodhound Gang vs Marilyn Manson Trivia Showdown", Mike quips, [[Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery "Sir, you have a four. I suggest you hit."]] when he's discussing how Rich would bet in Blackjack.
157	* SoUnfunnyItsFunny: "101 Wacky Kids Jokes" Parts [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQlPr3hxXuA 1]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN0fqt-BjRI 2]]. They even do a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhz49OjLZK4 "with kids" edition]] where they read the titular book to two kids to see their reaction. One kid hates the jokes and ends up ignoring them. The other kid laughed a lot. But it's hard to if it was at jokes or at Mike and Rich.
158	* StylisticSuck: Above and beyond their standard appreciation for this trope, ''The Nerd Crew'' is built around this concept, being an extended TakeThat against Collider's ''Jedi Council'' podcast and similar online critics who simply shill whatever product they're covering in exchange for free stuff or attention.
159	* SurrealHumor: ''Film/GorillaInterrupted''
160	* TakeThat:
161	** WebVideo/ChadVader is mocked several times in RLM's early years, with Chad Vader himself appearing in an episode of ''The Grabowskis'' where (in typical series fashion) he is mocked repeatedly for the one-note premise of his own series. In ''Half in the Bag'', during the interview with Alexandre Philippe, Mike takes a moment to observe how the many parodies of Darth Vader have diluted the impact of his character and specifically calls out Chad Vader. This may just be a Milwaukee-Madison rivalry thing, however.
162	** ''Star Trek Discovery Season 2 In a Nutshell'' opens with a title card declaring it a product of "CBS All Ass" and spirals from there, mocking the show's contrived plots, sloppy writing and bizarre obsession with "science, fuck yeah" moments.
163	* ThatWasNotADream: Mike in "The United States of Noooooo!" wakes up and says he had a bad dream about the ending of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' stumbling out of a contraption and screaming "No," then invoked the Trope.
164	* TheyKilledKenny: Sammy Grabowski.
165	* TotallyRadical: The basic premise of their show ''Dudebros''.
166	* TropeEnjoymentLoophole: [[invoked]] In ''Film/TheSacrament'' episode of ''Quick Cuts'', Jay makes it clear that he dislikes "found footage" movies. But in his ''Quick Cuts'' review of ''Film/WNUFHalloweenSpecial'', he mentions it works, partially because it's about a news show's Halloween special, [[JustifiedTrope so it makes sense that there'd be a camera]].
167	* TwistEnding: In "Das Foot", there's a guy going around chopping off women's feet. It looks like it's Mike's character. [[spoiler: It turns out that he did chop the 1st woman's foot off. But the guy behind the rest of them was her fiancé. He was trying to find a replacement foot for her after she died.]]
168	* UndyingLoyalty: In ''The Nerd Crew'', Mike, Jay, and Rich are this to Disney.
169	-->'''Mike''': Remember the mantra!
170	-->'''Mike, Jay, and Rich''' (in unison): Loyalty to Disney. Loyalty to the brand. Loyalty is salvation. Loyalty is life.
171	* TheUnreveal: In "Dick the Birthday Boy: The Legacy Continues," Mike and Rich spend 15 minutes discussing how they finally recovered the lost additional photographs of "Dick the Birthday Boy" and will examine them at the end of the video. Once they finally break out the polaroids, however, the images are blurred out, and Mike explains that they will never publicly display the photos. After seeing them in person, recurring guest Freddie Williams released sketches of the photos that he drew from memory.
172	* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Cliff Grabowski to an extreme. He is neglectful and abusive towards his baby son Sammy, doing things such as getting his head stuck on a sewer grate and intentionally electrocuting him with his microwave, and murders his wife twice over things such as not wanting to fix the lock to their apartment.
173	[[/folder]]
174
175	----
176	->[[RunningGag Hey, email me, if you want a Pizza Roll]]. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Make an edit on this web zone if you want a Pizza Roll.]]

Context WebVideo / RedLetterMedia