Van-Damme, the beast, the tiger in a cage
A
Dramedy starring
Jean-Claude Van Damme as
Jean-Claude Van Damme. A tired, washed-out failure, struggling for work and (subsequently) money, the film starts with JCVD returning to his hometown of Brussels, Belgium. When one day going to the local Post Office to receive a wire transfer, he suddenly finds himself smack-bang in the middle of a robbery, held at gun point and marched into the back with the
other customers and staff, where he's forced to juggle their expectations of "the Muscles from Brussels" with the fact he's a 48 year old man who
really doesn't want to get shot.
His day does not improve from there.
Quite probably the finest film Jean Claude Van Damme has starred in for years (possibly ever), and immediately recognized as such when it was released. It gets a lot of mileage out of both the public's perception of him, and the current state of his career.
This movie provides examples of:
- Actor Allusion - there are several discussions about Jean-Claude's famous movies / TV appearance.
- Anachronic Order
- Ascended Fanboy: one of the robber is a huge fan of Jean-Claude Van Damme, and his hero just come in the post office he is working in. The two boys in the video club also count.
- As Himself
- Bittersweet Ending: JCVD is in prison, but he can meet his daughter
- Boring, but Practical: At the end, in his Imagine Spot, Jean-Claude first pictures taking out the gunman holding him hostage with a flashy high kick, but when it comes to the act itself just goes with a straight elbow-shot to the guy's gut, which works just as well.
- Character Title: and also some kind of Mononymous Biopic Title, but it is not a Biopic of Jean-Claude van Damme.
- Deconstruction
- Die Hard In A Bank: A very clever deconstruction of this trope.
- Fake Action Prologue: the opening scene is a Show Within a Show
- Hey, It's That Guy!: François Damiens (the police officer) is well known in Belgium for his role: François l'embrouille
- Hostage Situation
- Imagine Spot: Jean-Claude imagines himself taking out the final robber single-handedly, and the crowd cheering him on. He does manage to elbow the man in the gut before the police finish the job for him
- Logo Joke
- Nice Guy: JCVD is portrayed as one of these throughout the film, which is lampshaded by the owners of the shop across the street from the bank
- The Oner
- Painting the Fourth Wall
- Right Hand Versus Left Hand: Most of the action of the film centers around the police and the robbers not being entirely sure what the other one is doing, or at least having a distorted perception of motives
- Take That: Jean-Claude's fanboy complain about John Woo's behaviour, how he dumped JCVD when he became famous in Hollywood. There is also a joke about Steven Seagal.
- Taking The Kids
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: played straight for one robber, averted for another one.
- Wrongful Accusation Insurance: Subverted. Jean Claude is convicted and serves time for embezzlement that he performed while being threatened by the actual robbers.
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