Line #26 YMMV/Assassins


1	!!Film:
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3	* CompleteMonster: [[PsychoForHire Miguel Bain]] stands in marked contrast to protagonist [[HitmanWithAHeart Robert Rath]]. While Rath has standards about [[AssholeVictim the sort of people]] he assassinates and [[NeverHurtAnInnocent abhors hurting innocents]], Bain has a penchant for indiscriminately slaughtering everyone who gets in his way. In the first mission we see him on, he kills the target and his bodyguards, then [[CopKiller kills several police officers]] to escape from custody. When Rath later traps him in the back of a car, Bain prepares to [[WouldHurtAChild snipe a nearby child]] to make Rath back down. During an exchange between a hacker named Electra and a group of Dutch clients who turn out to be Interpol agents, he blows away every agent and bystander he runs into and promises Electra that he'll personally cut out her heart. Rath saves Electra, but not before Bain kills Electra's two downstairs neighbours for no real reason. Bain eventually reaches an understanding with his anonymous employer to [[ContractOnTheHitman kill Rath himself]], whom he perceives as an irritating rival. Even when Rath offers Bain the opportunity to part ways peacefully at the end, he elects to kill both Rath and Electra instead (because as long as Rath is still alive, Bain will never feel like he earned the position of number-one assassin). Having no regard for any life he takes, Bain became a [[ProfessionalKiller contract killer]] largely for [[GloryHound glory]] and [[ForTheEvulz thrills]].
4	* DirectorDisplacement: This was Creator/TheWachowskis' first script (until it got changed), but Creator/RichardDonner directed.
5	* MemeticMutation: The scene where Miguel [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/antonio-banderas-laptop-reaction checks his computer]] has become a popular reaction GIF in the discussions about gaming news.
6	* {{Narm}}:
7	** Bain snapping the neck of a police officer just using one hand, making one wonder just how fragile that officer's spine must been if his head pulled sharply to one direction is enough to snap it.
8	** Bain's breakdown scenes came out as hilarious due to Banderas's over the top delivery: "[[ClusterFBomb Shit! Fuck! Motherfucker!]]"
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10	!!Theatre:
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12	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
13	** Depending on the route the director and actors involved take, the Balladeer can come off either as a pompous, smug, condescending prick who [[AssholeVictim got what was coming to him]], or simply as a naive WideEyedIdealist who's in ''way'' over his head. [[spoiler: If they take the former route, the Balladeer being turned into Oswald comes off as karma. If they take the latter, it just comes off as ''tragic''.]]
14	*** Is the Balladeer an annoying WideEyedIdealist who's hopelessly naive about the nature of the so-called "American Dream", who shouldn't judge the assassins so harshly and be so quick to dismiss them? Or is he just annoying because he's ''right''? As he points out in "Another National Anthem", ''none'' of the assassins actually got what they wanted in the end.
15	** Exactly how sympathetic the assassins are portrayed varies from production to production. (Czolgosz usually gets the most sympathy, though.)
16	* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Presidential. Assassins. Comedy. Musical. Though it eventually found its audience.
17	* AwardSnub: The Tonys' decision to categorize Assassins as a revival and not an original show at the 2004 Tonys has been rather controversial, as the general practice before and since the decision was/has been that Broadway productions are only considered revivals if they originally premiered on Broadway. With that being said, while it couldn't compete the for Musical, Score, or Book, it did quite well that year, winning the Tonys for Revival, Director (Joe Mantello), and Featured Actor (Michael Cerveris) among other accolades. Of course, given this success, a case can be made that Stephen Sondheim's music and lyrics, John Weidman's libretto, and the show itself in the top category all would've had a strong shot at winning if deemed eligible, which makes the snub even bigger.
18	* BrokenBase:
19	** 1991 or 2004? Pretty much every difference between the two versions is a subject of controversy, from the cast to the increased role of the Proprietor to [[spoiler: the balladeer being Lee Harvey Oswald.]] Even the addition of "Something Just Broke," though generally a welcome addition, has its share of detractors who say that throwing a sincere song about grief from the perspective of ordinary Americans into a black comedy about the assassins causes too much MoodWhiplash. Pretty much the only thing most people agree on about the 2004 production is that Dennis O'Hare is quite possibly the best Guiteau in the show's history.
20	** "Something Just Broke". Some hate the number, even if they think it's a good piece of music on its own, as they believe the show should stay focused on the assassins and that we don't need to experience normal people's suffering to realize that the main characters are bad people. On the other side, fans of the song say that it absolutely is necessary, believing that you can't spend all this time showing the crimes of the assassins without showing the heartbreak and fallout of the common man in response, and that the song is what truly drives home just how dangerous these men and women are. The fact that the song wasn't in the original off-Broadway production (it was written for the 1992 London premiere) and was originally optional had been brought up by the former camp, while the latter camp points to the song now being legally uncuttable and the writing team standing by it (Sondheim wrote that "it is not only necessary, it is essential.")
21	* CantUnHearIt:
22	** Depending on who you ask, either Victor Garber or Michael Cerveris as John Wilkes Booth.
23	** Dennis O'Hare as Charles Guiteau.
24	* CrossesTheLineTwice: The whole damn play.
25	** The very premise itself crosses the line twice. It's a comedy about presidential assassination.
26	** Sarah Jane Moore pointing a gun at her son? Terrifying. Sarah Jane Moore pointing a gun at her son to get him to stop whining about ice cream? Hilarious.
27	** Moore and Fromme plotting to assassinate Gerald Ford? Disturbing. Moore and Fromme planning to assassinate Gerald Ford while getting stoned and [[ItMakesSenseInContext shooting a bucket of chicken?]] Hilarious.
28	** Even though you know the subject coming in, The Proprietor blurting out "Come here and kill a president" can get a laugh just because of how forthright he is. Stephen Sondheim specifically said it was designed to make the audience feel unsure of whether or not they should be laughing or feeling uncomfortable.
29	** After Zangara rattles on about all the ways he tried in vein to fix his stomach, Booth's blunt, out of nowhere reply of "Have you considered shooting Franklin Roosevelt?" always gets a laugh.
30	* CryForTheDevil:
31	** The three ballads are used effectively in this way, but the one that seems to get the audience's sympathy most is "The Ballad of Czolgosz," along with Czolgosz's solo from "Gun Song" that leads into it, where assassin Leon Czolgosz's motivations are stated clearly: he was a lonely man, who all throughout his life had lived in poverty and misery for reasons beyond his control, so he killed big business president Bill [=McKinley=] to "take control of his fate".
32	** Despite Booth's sympathy level going way down when he blurts out that racism was his real reason for wanting to kill Lincoln, his heartbreak over all the deaths of his Southern brethren ''is'' genuine enough that we felt for him before his PrecisionFStrike, even knowing he's already committed his famous crime.
33	* CultClassic: Let's face it: a BlackComedy musical about presidential assassins was [[AudienceAlienatingPremise never going to be a smash hit.]] Predictably, it initially met rather negative reviews and ran for only 72 performances in its original off-Broadway run. Since then, it has been VindicatedByHistory to an extent, but it's still the sort of show that you're far more likely to have heard of from a friend or read about in a biographical blurb on Sondheim than to have actually read. It does have a small but loyal following, however, and many consider it one of Sondheim's finest works.
34	* EvilIsCool: John Wilkes Booth is rightfully portrayed as a vile lunatic who ultimately failed in his true goal. However, Booth is also depicted as a smart, suave, dangerous man who easily manipulates and commands the respect of his fellow assassins.
35	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Initially met a much better reception in the UK than in the USA.
36	* HarsherInHindsight:
37	** The entire show after 9/11, particularly Guiteau's religious fanaticism and Byck's plan to fly a plane into the White House. The revival was intended to open in November 2001, but after the attacks it was postponed for several years.
38	** These lines tend to get laughter or applause after the controversial 2016 election of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump :
39	--->Every now and then the country goes a little wrong\
40	Every now and then a madman's bound to come along
41	** Depending on your view, much of the show can be seen as either this or HilariousInHindsight after the 2016 presidential election, especially the parts in Byck's second monologue which sound almost disturbingly like he's discussing the origin of [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump "alternative facts"]]... Also this:
42	--->'''Balladeer:''' Listen to the stories, hear it in the songs:\
43	Angry men don't write the rules, and guns don't right the wrongs.\
44	Hurts a while, but soon the country's back where it belongs.
45	** The end where the assassins [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou point their guns at the audience]]. Nowadays, a stage theater is one of the few places in America people ''haven’t'' been shot. Yet.
46	** The Capitol raid of January 6, 2021 put some perspective on this show.
47	* JerkassWoobie: The collection of characters are anything but good people, but a lot of them end up being quite pitiable, particularly Giuseppe Zangara.
48	* MoralEventHorizon: No matter how much their sympathy is played up, each and every assassin crosses it during when they try to kill the president. The Proprietor egging them on means he's crossed it as well.
49	* OneSceneWonder:
50	** Depending on the direction, The Proprietor may pop up throughout the rest of the show (and in the 2004 version, he leads "Another National Anthem," a song originally led by Byck), but he's only scripted for the opening scene, leading "Everybody's Got the Right".
51	** In the original production, Lee Harvey Oswald was this as well, though ever since the 2004 Broadway revival, it has become common practice to double him with The Balladeer. Still, the actor only acts as Oswald for that one scene. And what a scene it is!
52	** The Housewife who sings the main solo in "Something Just Broke".
53	** Emma Goldman is pretty memorable for a character who's only in one scene, not counting her speech from offstage.
54	** Gerald Ford due to being hilariously clueless.
55	* QuestionableCasting: Brandon Uranowitz as Czolgosz. His talent wasn't in question, with many surprised by the casting still expecting him to do a good job. Still, the idea of an intimidating bass-baritone character typically played by tall men now being portrayed by a short tenor most famous for playing the dorky Mendel in ''Theatre/{{Falsettos}}'' proved strange to many. The fact that Uranowitz's casting was announced alongside Will Swenson playing Guiteau even caused some to believe that the actors' roles were mixed up, as Swenson is a more obvious Czolgosz than Uranowitz, who would seem more at home as Guiteau. When people saw his work though, [[AbilityOverAppearance he earned excellent notices]], and was praised for being quite unsettling despite his diminutive stature.
56	* SignatureScene: “The Ballad of Booth”.
57	* StrawmanHasAPoint:
58	** The Balladeer may represent the American Dream [[AssholeVictim and may be smug and condescending depending on which interpretation you watch]] but, as he points out during "Another National Anthem", shooting the Presidents didn't solve the Assassins' problems.
59	---> '''Balladeer''': Yes, you made a little moment and you stirred a little mud\
60	But it didn't fix the stomach and you've drunk your final Bud\
61	And it didn't help the workers and it didn't heal the country\
62	And it didn't make them listen and they never said "we're sorry."
63	** Although none of the assassins are what you can call role models (or even sane), Czolgosz's views on wealth disparity, Byck's complaints of political hypocrisy and Guiteau's "Look On The Bright Side" philosophy can all be relatable to the average audience member.
64	* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Let's list our main characters. We have a group of people who have attempted to assassinate a US President. Then we have a group of characters who actually ''have'' assassinated a US President. Then we have the mysterious figure who eggs them all on to commit these crimes. Then we have a single good person who, depending on the production, [[spoiler: gets chased away by the assassins]] or [[spoiler: becomes one of them]].
65	* VindicatedByHistory: Received mixed to negative reviews on its initial release. Although part of the criticism was about the direction and staging, large portions of the criticism were also aimed at the show's tonal dissonance, short runtime, and small list of songs. The 2004 Broadway production, however, won four Tony Awards (including best revival of a musical), and many consider Assassins to be among Sondheim's finest accomplishments.

Context YMMV / Assassins