History Film / AFineMess

* ContrivedCoincidence: What fuels the movie

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Spence Holden is not too far removed from Sam Malone, who Danson was playing at the same time on ''Series/{{Cheers}}''.

** DiamondsInTheBuff: Claudia is seen wearing earrings while [[BathtubScene taking a bubble bath and talking with Spence on the phone]], and arrives at Spence's apartment wearing earrings, a necklace and even rings on her fingers. The earrings and necklace are visible when she is on top of him in bed.
** NakedInMink: Claudia arrives at Spence's apartment wearing a white fur coat. Spence asks, "May I take your coat?" and Claudia answers, "Sure," [[ToplessnessFromTheBack shedding the coat and walking into Spence's bedroom wearing only panties]].
** NippleAndDimed[=/=]{{Sideboob}}: We see the top of Claudia's breasts and the side of her right breast on top of Spence but nothing more.
** IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: Claudia takes off her nightgown in the sauna, where she is hiding Spence and Dennis, and walks out naked.
** SceneryCensor: However, the back wall of the sauna is the exact height needed to cover Claudia's butt when she drops her nightgown and even after she walks forward out of the sauna to distract Tony.

* ShoutOut: The title is taken from Creator/LaurelAndHardy's CatchPhrase, "That's another fine mess you've gotten us into," and the piano delivery is a direct reference to ''Film/TheMusicBox''.

* {{Unfortunate Name|s}}: Dennis' boss is named Mr. Wardell Flecken, a shortened version of ''Fleckenshicker''. Dennis asks, "Is that like ''Shickenflucker''?"

* {{Meganekko}}: Ellen, with her giant 80's glasses.

** PantyShot. Along with the NakedInMink scene above, when Spence and Dennis deliver the piano, Spence sneaks up to Claudia's bedroom to surprise her in bed, and holds up her panties, saying, "In your rush, you forgot these."

As usual, you can find the basics at [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091051/ IMDB]].

* {{Unfortunate Name|s}}: Dennis' boss is named Mr. Wardell Flecken, a shortened version of ''Fleckenshicker''. Dennis asks, "Is that like ''Shickenflucker''?"
* YourCheatingHeart: It's not until ''after'' Spence and Claudia have had sex and he and Dennis have arrived to deliver the piano to Claudia that we learn that (A) she is married and (B) it's to the mob boss whose responsible for the horse doping that launched everything in the story into motion in the first place.

** IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: Claudia takes off her nightgown in the sauna, where she is hiding Spence and Dennis, and walks out naked. However,
*** SceneryCensor: The back wall of the sauna is the exact height needed to cover Claudia's butt when she drops her nightgown and even after she walks forward out of the sauna to distract Tony.

* InLoveWithTheGangstersGirl: Well, in lust at least, in Spence's case.
* {{Landlord}}: Spence promises he'll get the rent check
* LawOfInverseRecoil: Painfully averted in Turnip's case
* UsefulNotes/LosAngeles. It's announced that the doped horse, Sweet Sue, won the third race at Hollywood Park and the fourth race at Santa Anita. Hollywood Park is in Inglewood and Santa Anita is in Arcadia. Depending on which route you take, this is a 32-34 mile trip that would take 46 minutes. Meaning, the drugs given the horse were so powerful that it was able to win two races in the same day on two different tracks that were 30+ miles apart. Adding to the ArtisticLicense, it's noted that Sweet Sue "ran the last furlong backward, but still [[{{Pun}} won by a tail.]]"
* {{Maid}}
** FrenchMaidOutfit: See the page photo.
* TheMafia
** TheDon: Tony Pazzo
** TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily: As Tony Pazzo calls them, "those two numbskulls, Binky and Turnip."

* BikiniBar: There is a scene in a strip club where Binky and Turnip are talking about what happened with Claudia at Spence's apartment and trying to figure out what they should do. The girls are [[NotDistractedByTheSexy ignored]], almost as if the scene could have taken place anywhere.

[[quoteright:232:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/afinemess_2170.jpg]]

->'''AILEEN''' (Brooke Alderson): "This is a Cadillac without doors!"
-> '''PHIL''' (Dennis Franz): "So what? It's a Cadillac."

'''''A Fine Mess''''' is a 1986 comedy film directed by Creator/BlakeEdwards and starring Ted Danson, Howie Mandel, Creator/MariaConchitaAlonso and Paul Sorvino, released by Creator/ColumbiaPictures. The plot centers around small-time con artist and aspiring actor Spence Holden (Danson) and his best friend, frustrated waiter Dennis Powell (Mandel) who stumble upon a horse doping plot and the gangsters involved, turning the movie into an extended chase, leading to them accidentally buying a piano at an auction. Claudia Pazzo (Alonso) offers them $8,000 for it (though they paid $10,000), since she claimed that she had wanted to buy it herself but "this crazy racehorse" caused her to get "held up in traffic." Later that night, Spence calls her up and asks if it would be possible to deliver the piano to her house tomorrow, and that he'd really like to see her again. She says she'll be over in 20 minutes. (See below under NakedInMink.) Unfortunately, she's married to Tony Pazzo (Sorvino), the local mob boss whose idiot flunkies, Maurice 'Binky' Drundza (Stuart Margolin) and Wayne 'Turnip' Parragella (Richard Mulligan), are the ones responsible for doping the horses in the first place. Dennis hates his job as a rollerskating waiter and his boss and wants to open an Indian food restaurant called Gandhi's, which would specialize in curry, although he's never actually ''tried'' it before. He also strikes up a relationship with the lady from the auction, Ellen Frankenthaler (Jennifer Edwards.)

* HorseRacing: It's what kicks off the whole plot.

'''''A Fine Mess''''' is a 1986 comedy film directed by Creator/BlakeEdwards and starring Ted Danson, Howie Mandel, Creator/MariaConchitaAlonso and Paul Sorvino and was released by Creator/ColumbiaPictures. The plot centers around small-time con artist and aspiring actor Spence Holden (Danson) and his best friend, frustrated waiter Dennis Powell (Mandel) who stumble upon a horse doping plot and the gangsters involved, turning the movie into an extended chase, leading to them accidentally buying a piano at an auction. Claudia Pazzo (Alonso) offers them $8,000 for it (though they paid $10,000), since she claimed that she had wanted to buy it herself but "this crazy racehorse" caused her to get "held up in traffic." Later that night, Spence calls her up and asks if it would be possible to deliver the piano to her house tomorrow, and that he'd really like to see her again. She says she'll be over in 20 minutes. (See below under NakedInMink.) Unfortunately, she's married to Tony Pazzo (Sorvino), the local mob boss whose idiot flunkies, Maurice 'Binky' Drundza (Stuart Margolin) and Wayne 'Turnip' Parragella (Richard Mulligan), are the ones responsible for doping the horses in the first place. Dennis hates his job as a rollerskating waiter and his boss and wants to open an Indian food restaurant called Gandhi's, which would specialize in curry, although he's never actually ''tried'' it before. He also strikes up a relationship with the lady from the auction, Ellen Frankenthaler (Jennifer Edwards.)

!!!A Fine Mess of Tropes:

* PrettyInMink: Claudia has a white fox fur coat and a black one.

* CoversAlwaysLie: Most posters of the movie show an irate Spence holding a gun to a screaming and flailing Dennis(in drag). It was actually just a brief diversionary tactic used to get away from the police and had nothing to do with the plot.

* {{Meganekko}}: Ellen

* OnlySaneMan: Dennis, despite his odd personality, thinks Spence's plan is crazy and dangerous.

* OnlySaneMan: Oddly enough Dennis, despite his odd personality, thinks Spence's plan is crazy and dangerous.