Repo The Genetic Opera - Television Tropes & Idioms

Lungs and livers and bladders and hearts
You'll always save a bundle when you buy GeneCo parts!

In the not too distant future, an epidemic of organ failures devastates the planet. Panic erupts and scientists feverishly make plans for a massive organ harvest. Out of the tragedy, GeneCo, a multi-billion dollar biotech company, emerges. GeneCo provides organ transplantation for a profit. In addition to financing options, GeneCo reserves the right to implement default remedies, including repossession. For those who can't keep up with their organ payments, collection is the responsibility of organ repo men, skilled assassins contracted by GeneCo, ordered to recover GeneCo's property by any means necessary.

At the heart of the story is Shilo Wallace, a 17-year-old girl with a rare blood disease. She has been kept locked up and protected in her house, where she is guarded from the outside world by her father, Nathan Wallace. While Shilo struggles with her wish to leave the house and experience the outside world, Nathan struggles with his secret job as the Repo Man, and more specifically, his next target, a woman named Blind Mag. Blind Mag, an opera singer bound by contract to GeneCo, was a friend of Nathan's now-deceased wife, and is Shilo's godmother.

The Largo family, consisting of GeneCo president Rotti, his daughter Amber Sweet, and his two sons Luigi and Pavi, have their own plans. Rotti is dying, and the three siblings bicker and fight about who is to take the role as head of Gene Co. But, disappointed with his own children, Rotti takes an interest in Shilo...

Repo! The Genetic Opera's soundtrack became available on September 30th, 2008, and the film was given a limited release of ten theatres by Lionsgate Films on November 7th, 2008. Despite negative reviews, theatres showing it have so far been selling out consistently, and between showings at film festivals and clips and music released online, Repo! has already developed a cult following. Fans from several countries have been petitioning Lionsgate for a wider release.

"Won" one award at the Razzies in 2009 - basically for starring Paris Hilton.

You can find the official site at http://www.repo-opera.com

Repo! was written and composed by Terrance Zdunich and Darren Smith, and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman of Saw 2, 3, and 4 fame. Brought to you by the WTH Casting Agency, it stars:

Anthony Stewart Head as Nathan Wallace, father to Shilo and a widower, having lost his wife Marni. He doubles as a legal assassin known as the Repo Man.
Alexa Vega as Shilo Wallace, a young woman confined to her room due to the blood disorder she inherited from her mother.
Paul Sorvino as Rotti Largo, the dying president of GeneCo, looking for a worthy heir.
Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag, born blind but given the ability to see by GeneCo at the price of having to sing for the Gene Co Opera. She is marked for repossession and she is set to deliver her final performance for the company.
Paris Hilton as Amber Sweet, the surgery-addicted daughter of Rotti who is Mag's rival. She is addicted to surgery and to Zydrate, a euphoric painkiller, which she obtains illegally from Grave-Robber.
Bill Moseley as Luigi Largo, the eldest son of Rotti, described as being angry and abusive. He wields a knife at all times and is usually wearing an ascot.
Nivek Ogre as Pavi Largo, the younger son of Rotti, described as a vain, dim-witted, effeminate rapist and womanizer who wears women's faces as masks.
Terrance Zdunich as Grave-Robber, who acts as the film's Greek chorus: a Zydrate-peddler with connections to Amber, sexually and as a dealer.

Not to be confused with Alex Cox's Cult Classic 1984 comedy Repo Man, nor the upcoming film Repo Men, which has a curiously similar concept.

This film provides examples of:

All Devouring Black Hole Loan Sharks: GeneCo. You really, really don't want to encounter one of their Repo Men.
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Amber Sweet has a thing for Grave-Robber, and, it's implied, for Luigi, both indisputably 'bad' boys.
All Part Of The Show: Blind Mag's onstage death during the Genetic Opera, as well as the conflict between Nathan, Shilo, and Rotti. Heck, pretty much everything that happens in the Genetic Opera can fall under this trope.
All Take And No Give: Amber to Roti.
Applied Phlebotinum: Zydrate, and some of the organ transplants (Mark It Up suggests GeneCo provides brain transplants, for instance.)
- And in "Lungs and Livers"...
Spleens, intestines and spines and brains;
All at warehouse prices, but our quality's the same!
At The Opera Tonight: Trope Namer. There are several performances at the in-story opera, but only two of them are plot-relevent (Blind Mag's farewell performance and Amber's song during which her face comes off. Much more important are the things going on backstage.
Awesome Moment Of Crowning: One at the end, when Amber takes over the company.
Ax Crazy: Luigi Largo, who basically walks around with a flask and a knife, drinking and stabbing those who get in his way.
The Baroness: Rotti's henchgirls.
Bastard Understudy: Amber, Luigi, and Pavi as a subversion — Rotti tries to set them up to follow in his footsteps, but it doesn't quite work out. Later played straight with Amber proving she really is her father's daughter by convincing her brothers to back her as she takes over GeneCo, shunting Rotti's chosen heir aside.
Battle Butler: Rotti's henchgirls as a female example.
The Beautiful People: Pavi and Amber fit the evil version of this trope. At least Pavi thinks he does.
Berserk Button: Do not mess with the Repo Man's daughter.
Beware The Nice Ones: Nathan. Let The Monster Rise.
Big Bad: Rotti Largo.
Big Lipped Alligator Moment: The whole song 'Seventeen' seems like this...
Big Screwed Up Family: The Largos come very close to epitomising this trope.
Bittersweet Ending: Though Nathan dies, Shilo is now free from her captivity.
Bloody Hilarious: Mark It Up, among other scenes.
- And don't forget Thankless Job. The Repo Man seems to have a lot of fun despite having a "thankless job".
The Brainless Beauty: A subversion with Pavi Largo, who is horribly scarred and wears fleshmasks, but is still considered beautiful by his many admirers. Subverted with Amber—she seems like she'll fit this trope, but then demonstrates that she has more than enough brains to manipulate her brothers into backing her when she takes over GeneCo.
Break The Cutie: Shilo is pretty much doomed to this from the start.
Brother Sister Incest: Amber Sweet and Luigi have a whole lot of UST going on. Pavi thinks it'd be a great idea:
Pavi: My brother and sister should fuck!
- According to Pavi's official My Space, it's heavily-implied that he and Amber- ahem- like each other.
BSOD Song: Nathan gets not one, but three of these. Let the Monster Rise, Legal Assassin and Night Surgeon.
The Caretaker: Nathan Wallace, for his daughter, Shilo.
Camp Gay: Pavi Largo, sort of. He's bisexual, and is mostly seen with women, but man can he flounce!
Casanova: Rotti Largo, in his younger days.
The Chessmaster: Rotti Largo.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The Largo children are vying for a place as their father's rightful heir, and are pretty damn vicious about it. In Luigi's case, also chronic frontstabbing.
Complete Monster: Played with, with the Largo family and the Repo Men.
Consummate Liar: Rotti certainly seems to count. He killed Marni out of jealousy, but has Nathan believing that he did, with tragic results. There's also Nathan as a better-intentioned version; he's poisoning Shilo to keep him with her, but has Shilo (and everyone else except the Largos) convinced that she inherited Marni's illness.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Rotti Largo. What else can you call the guy who used his corporation's wealth and power to legalise organ repossession?
Crapsack World: A crapload of people died in the organ failure epidemic, and a fair proportion of those who are left are now addicted to painkillers, surgery, or both. The country is also pretty much ruled by a corporation with sufficient wealth and power to have murder sanctioned by law.
Critical Dissonance: Most critics were tough on this film. They warned people away, rated it as low as possible, expressed horror at the casting choices, scoffed at the low budget, and generally just sat there being sick into their hats. But to no avail- a large percentage of the people who actually watched the film loved it, and Repo has gathered together a very strong underground following.
Crowning Moment Of Awesome: Take your pick.
Crowning Moment Of Funny: Luigi upon being offered decaffeinated coffee: "I will shoot you in the FACE!"
Crowning Moment Of Heartwarming: Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much. 'Nuff said.
Crowning Music Of Awesome: Every damn song.
Cult Classic
Cut Song: Come Up And Try My New Parts, among others. Several were cut because they were too good, and big showstoppers would have interrupted the flow of the movie.
Cyberpunk
Dystopia: See Crapsack World.
Dead Little Sister: While she's his wife, not his sister, Marni fills this role for Nathan.
Deadly Doctor: The Repo Men are trained medical professionals, who mostly do their work with scalpels. The Genterns don't kill people nearly as often as the Repo Men, but they're still extremely sinister.
Deadpan Snarker: Grave-Robber has some moments of this throughout the film.
Depraved Bisexual: Pavi. Oh, the Pavi. (Though, since he's only confirmed as such in the Expanded Universe and in the film is only seen with women, it comes off as a little more Bi The Way)
Did Not Do The Research: Follows the mainstream opinion that organ transplants actually would be helpful, when in reality, transplants almost all fail within 2 years before they need another. Also, side effects from the immunosuppressive therapy.
- Justified - set Twenty Minutes Into The Future (which would make it an inferred example of Science Marches On)
  - Science has already marched on—most organ transplants are lasting about a decade now, with appropriate drugs, and the longest lasting transplant thus far is sitting at just over fifteen years before needing replacing. In any case GeneCo's organs are synthetic, and likely more durable than natural body parts. Moreover, it's the basic premise of the whole shebang, and thus an Acceptable Break From Reality.
Die For Our Ship: Amber for the Shilo/Grave-Robber fans.
Discretion Shot: Pavi getting an "oral examination" from two Genterns.
Draco In Leather Pants: Pretty much all of the male characters.
The Dragon: The Repo Men, Rotti's henchgirls.
Ear Worm: EVERYTHING.
- Zydrate comes in a little glass vial.
  - "A little glass vial?"
  - "A LITTLE GLASS VIAL."
  - "And the little glass vial goes into the gun like a battery."
Elite Mooks: The Repo Men and the henchgirls again
Ensemble Darkhorse: Grave-Robber is actually a relatively minor character, but has one of the biggest fan followings. Single Mom has something of a reverse Ensemble Darkhorse going on — even though she only appears for a few minutes, the fans hate her.
- Don't forget DJ Granny. Does she even get ten seconds of screen time?
Estrogen Brigade Bait: Depending on what you like, Grave-Robber, Pavi Largo, Luigi Largo, Rotti Largo, Amber's bodyguards, Nathan Wallace, and even the Repo Men can apply.
Even The Guys Want Him: Terrance Zdunich as Grave-Robber has turned at least one male bisexual. Watch "Zydrate Anatomy" and just try to resist him.
- This effect is compounded in "Come Up And Try My New Parts". The same song has even the girls wanting Amber Sweet.
  - Come Up and Try My New Parts has that affect on people who used to think Paris Hilton was repulsively dumb...
Everyone Calls Him Barkeep: Quite a few instances. Grave-Robber, Single Mother, Band Leader, News Reporter, and Repo Man.
- DJ Granny.
Evil Is Sexy: Given the fans' opinions on Luigi and Pavi, plus the attention they both get throughout the film...
Evil Laugh: Rotti gets one in "Things you see in a Graveyard."
Evil Sounds Deep: Nathan's voice as the Repo Man becomes much deeper and hoarse. Just compare Legal Assassin to Thankless Job.
- Apparently lampshaded:
Nathan: (deep) So Rotti thinks he can take Shilo...
Shilo: Dad?
Nathan: (normal) Nothing, Shilo, nothing. Go to bed.
- Also subverted, with Pavi.
Exactly What It Says On The Tin: The Genetic Opera is an opera about (at least in part) genetics. Grave-Robber is a grave robber. Blind Mag is (or rather, was) blind.
- Of course in Repo "genetics" seems to be a catch-all word describing anything having to do with medicine—Infected is the only song that really uses the word properly.
  - Not if the artificial organs are genetically engineered, which seems likely, extrapolating from current biotech. There are Real Life experiments to create rejection-resistant pig parts to fit into humans.
Executive Meddling: An attempt at it, anyway. In the DVD commentary Darren Bousman mentions several instances of having to go to war with one or more of the producers in order to get a certain scene into the final cut. As Bousman refused to name names, however, it is anyone's guess as to whether these fights were with various producers, or all with the same producer who just happened to be a pain in the arse.
Expanded Universe: Each of the eight main characters (plus the Repo Man) has a myspace page of his or her own. What goes on there is considered canon, sometimes a little moreso than the movie (for example, Rotti has stated on multiple occasions that some of his more diabolical plots were artistic licence on the parts of Mssrs. Zdunich, Smith, and Bousman.)
- As well, there's a project that was worked on that gave GeneCo, Zydrate, the Genetic Opera, the Zydrate Support Network, and two anti-GeneCo groups their own webpages, filled with hilariously in-universe info.
Eye Scream: Yeah. You know the one.
Face Death With Dignity: Mag in the end.
Fetish Fuel: The Genterns are basically designed to fulfill every "sexy nurse" fantasy ever.
Funny Foreigner: The entire Largo family is Italian, though Pavi's the only child with an accent. He and his brother Luigi make up the main comic relief of the movie. Of course, with a movie like Repo!, the comic relief duo is made up of a rapist and a murderer...
- Co-writer Terrance Zdunich stated at a 2008 screening afterparty that a young, stuttering Pavi crafted the accent to hide his speech impediment. This is widely accepted as a canon part of the Expanded Universe.
The Future Is Noir: See Dystopia.
Gas Mask Mooks: Rotti's henchgirls in Things You See In A Graveyard. For once, the trope is actually used in a sensible manner (they're tossing gas bombs).
Genre Busting: Cyber Punk Gothic Musical, with Gorn
Genre Savvy: Grave-Robber is somewhat ahead of the curve. It's most noticeable in Bloodbath, but is present throughout the movie.
"And the mighty fine print hastens the trip to our epilogue. (EPILOGUE!)"
Giggling Villain: Pavi Largo has such a cute little effeminate laugh, it's hard to believe he's actually something of a monster.
Good Scars Evil Scars: Luigi's torso is covered with crude surgical stitches, and he likes to show them off.
Gorn: Guaranteed whenever the Repo Man is sent after a new victim. There's also Amber Sweet's surgery montage. (What did you expect? It's directed by the guy who did three Saw films.)
Groin Attack: Amber crushes Luigi's two best friends in "Mark It Up". And being Amber, licks his ear at the same time.
Guinea Pig Family
Harmless Villain: Amber Sweet. She's just as bad as her siblings, but she's usually too busy shooting up to do anything really nasty. At least, until Epitaph..
Hey Its That Guy: There are several well known personalities in the film, but the most surprising is Nivek Ogre, the lead singer of the industrial rock band Skinny Puppy.
- Really? Ogre's the surprising one? How about Alexa Vega being the main character? That definitely threw this troper for a loop, especially after watching Spy Kids again, with the opening scene being Alexa Vega, in a white nightie, sitting at a window...
  - In this troper's experience, most people are thrown by Paris Hilton.
  - Either that, or by the combination of Paris Hilton and somebody else. For example, the legions of X Japan and Skinny Puppy fans running to google with their brains bleeding out of their ears, trying to work out what Paris Hilton was doing in the same photo as their speed metal/industrial rock legends! Spare particular pity for any Skinny Puppy fans who found Nivek Ogre on British Best Friend. And those are just the two instances of Paris-related confusion this troper knows about. There are probably many more.
  - Joan Jett...
  - Sarah Brightman, you guys. Seriously.
Hospital Hottie: The Genterns appear to be hired simply because they look good in white minidresses. Or less.
Hologram: Mag's eye-thing.
Idiot Plot: People go along with plans against them or manipulations they had songs about figuring out or present when they were first explained, do nothing to avoid falling for them, and then act surprised at the reveal.
Ill Girl: Shilo, continuing the proud tradition of Marni (dead before the story starts) and Blind Mag (cured, at least temporarily.) Or at least, so it seems. Nathan's actually been poisoning her to keep her with him after her mother died.
Implacable Man: A legion of them, in the form of GeneCo's Repo Men.
Incurable Cough Of Death: Rotti's terminal disease.
In The Blood: Shilo inherited Dead Marni's blood disease.
- Subverted in another sense, as when Nathan is dying and Shilo learns his secret, they both agree that she doesn't have to make the choices he made.
Inadequate Inheritor: Pavi, Luigi, and Amber, according to Rotti.
Its All My Fault: Nathan, for just about everything, partly due to a constant chorus of It's All Your Fault from the Genterns and Marni.
Jekyll And Hyde: Nathan and the Repo Man are played as being two entirely separate characters; one quiet, gentle father, and one remorseless killer.
Kavorka Man: They all love-a the Pavi! Despite him being a horrifically scarred man with the mind of a horny teenage Vanity Smurf who wears women's faces.
Knife Nut: Luigi Largo. 'Nuff said.
Les Yay: Marni and Blind Mag.
Loveable Rogue: Grave-Robber is (obviously) a graverobber, a drugdealer, and sleeps in a dumpster — but he makes up for it by being really loveable.
- Not to mention that it's hinted that he sleeps with his buyers in exchange for Zydrate.
  - Hinted? He's shown screwing Amber Sweet on screen—and just take a look at how the scalpel sluts were acting around him in Zydrate Anatomy.
Love It Or Hate It: You'll feel strong one way or the other.
Magic Plastic Surgery: Amber's face gets fixed right back up. Temporarily.
Magnificent Bastard: Rotti Largo, nigh constantly. Things You See In A Graveyard, Gold, and We Started This Op'ra Shit, and Pièce De Résistance showcase this especially well.
Manipulative Bastard: Rotti again, to the point where it's hard to tell what wasn't orchestrated by him.
Meaningful Name: Rotti.
Missing Mom: Marni, and the Largo children's mother(s).
Mooks: The GeneCops and Amber's eunuch valets.
Morality Pet: Marni, for Nathan. When she died, Shilo replaced her. Shilo also acts as a Morality Chain — it's implied she's all that's stopping him from taking on the sociopathic Repo Man persona full-time.
Mr Exposition: Grave-Robber, whose song Zydrate Anatomy introduces himself, Amber Sweet, Blind Mag, some Applied Phlebotinum in the form of zydrate, the veritable epidemic of surgery addiction, and reveals one of Rotti Largo's many, many plots.
- Hell, he does this from his very first number. Check out the opening lines of 21st Century Cure
Industrialisation has crippled the globe
Nature failed as technology spread
And through this wake, a market erected
An entire city built on top of the dead.
And you can finance your bones and your kidneys
For every market a sub-market grows.
But best you be punctual with making your payments
Lest it be you on the concrete below...
Ms Fanservice: Where to begin? Amber Sweet, the Genterns, the scalpel sluts, Rotti's henchgirls...
My Greatest Failure: Part of the reason Nathan is such a crazypants is because he was a doctor before he became a Repo Man, and was unable to save his wife.
Naive Newcomer: Shilo Wallace. After being locked in her bedroom for seventeen years, with nothing but what her father tells her and what she can see out her window to inform her about the world, she breaks out of the house. A fair chunk of the story deals with the trouble that naivety gets her into.
No Fourth Wall: Grave-Robber breaks this all the friggin' time. In Genetic Repo Man, he speaks directly to the audience. He gets caught by the police in the middle of a musical number. Towards the end of the move he calls out the fact that it's a rock opera and acknowledges the epilogue.
Offstage Villainy: Pavi is described as a rapist in the promotional materials, but this is never mentioned in the movie, and all the girls we see him with are entirely willing. This is probably because while brutal murders are hilarious, rape is hard to joke about.
Just Here For Godzilla: Fans of Anthony Stewart Head, Sarah Brightman, Paul Sorvino, Alexa Vega, Paris Hilton, Bill Mosely, and/or Nivek Ogre went to see Repo! based solely on their favourite actor/singer's appearance therein. In what is possibly a subversion, almost all of them are now devoted fans of the movie.
- Just the cast? Why stop there! Take a look at the musician list, and see members of Bauhaus, Ko Rn, Rasputina, and Guns N Roses being credited, then look at the who the music producer is- X Japan's bandleader. And then watch 'Seventeen'- see that Joan Jett cameo? That's right- people WILL have found this film because of rock bands.
  - Don't forget POE! This Troper was SO HAPPY that POE lent her voice to this movie.
Out Damned Spot: Nathan is very good at his job, and even enjoys it to some extent, which brings on bouts of this — especially when combined with guilt trips from Dead Marni and taunting from the Genterns.
Overprotective Dad: Nathan takes this to some scary extremes with Shilo.
The Paid For Harem: Rotti's henchwomen/body guards.
Parental Abandonment: Neither Shilo nor the Largo siblings have a mother presents.
Parental Favoritism: Subverted. Rotti can't stand any of his own children, but thinks Shilo's pretty cool.
Papa Wolf: Nathan as the Repo Man.
Plucky Comic Relief: Luigi and Pavi again.
Psycho For Hire: The Repo Men by definition—remorseless killers on GeneCo's payroll.
Psychopathic Manchild: Luigi Largo when he's having a temper tantrum.
Psycho Supporter: The Largo siblings, for Rotti and for eachother.
Punch Clock Villain: The Repo Men and the Genterns.
Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Largo children.
- Also, the Repo men. An early expositionary scene shows that the Repo Men don't all wear Nathan's black vinyl surgeon's outfit, they all wear equally bizarre, but unique outfits.
Rape As Comedy - Luigi is a murderer with anger management issues. Pavi is a rapist who wears women's faces as masks. And they're the comic relief characters.
A Real Man Is A Killer: At least, according to Luigi.
Rescued From The Scrappy Heap- To an extent, Paris Hilton. Many Repo! fans went in to see the film unhappy about her having a role, but after seeing her performance, came out with at least a grudging respect for her. A fair number have actually grown quite fond of her, defending her where they would once have joined in with the mocking.
- This Troper finds that the easiest way to get people to see it who would otherwise have refused because of Hilton is to reassure them that she's playing a spoilt, slutty heiress whose face falls off.
The Resenter: Rotti Largo. Poor guy.
Roaring Rampage Of Revenge: Subverted. Nathan starts out well, but gets taken down only a couple of minutes in by Luigi Largo and his very large knife.
Rock Opera: Repo! is an opera in the most traditional sense—nearly all dialogue is sung.
Rule Of Funny: There is no apparent reason for Pavi's foppish Italian accent aside from that it makes him funnier.
Scenery Gorn: This is everywhere, but the best example is right at the beginning, when the camera pans in across the sea, past the broken bridge (which is covered in corpses), over a massive graveyard and into the grimy, grey industrial city scape, before looping a giant flying GeneCo billboard and disappearing down a chimney.
Serious Business: This hellhole of a future loves its opera. Though it makes sense to a degree: Rotti is the most powerful man in the world, Rotti loves Opera...
Shoot The Messenger: Rotti had the doctor who told him he was terminally ill executed.
Soap Opera Disease: Shilo's rare genetic blood disorder. We don't know anything about it, except that it killed her mother, made her hair fall out, can't be cured, and makes her delicate enough that her father thinks it's a good idea to keep her locked her in her bedroom for the rest of her life. Eventually justified—Nathan has been poisoning her so she can't leave him.
Spell My Name With A The: "Why does no one ever tell the Pavi these things?"
Squick: Pretty much every time Shilo is on screen with an adult character, Amber Sweet's surgery montage, Mark It Up, Grave-Robber getting up close and personal with his corpses, Blame Not My Cheeks, Blind Mag's final song.
The Starscream: All of the Largo siblings would happily topple each other for a shot at the top, until the very end when their father's crushing rejection of all three of them causes Luigi and Pavi to happily stand behind and support Amber when she takes over the company- to the point of Luigi threatening to kill anyone who doesn't give his sister the applause she deserves.
- I thought it was implied that Luigi did that (and killed the bidders) out of lust and jealousy.
Stealth Pun: Word Of God says that Amber Sweet's real name is Carmela Largo
Strapped To An Operating Table: At least one of the Repo Man's victims. Another one gets strapped to a chair.
Stripperific: The Genterns and Amber, whose wardrobe came from Ms. Hilton's own copious closets according to the first DVD commentary.
Superpowered Evil Side: When Nathan is with Shilo, he couldn't hurt a fly — but as the Repo Man, he becomes a total sociopath.
Sure Why Not: The creative team has been very accepting of fan theories (such as the idea that Single Mom's name is actually Mary Sue).
Sympathetic Murderer: Nathan Wallace.
Tear Jerker: Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much again. That song makes everyone this troper knows tear up.
Terrible Trio: When Amber convinces her brothers to follow her in rebuilding GeneCo, that is.
There Are No Therapists: While almost everyone in the movie is messed up to some extent (only Blind Mag seems to function on a remotely normal level until she rips her own eyes out), especially Nathan, the three Largo children make them all look positively healthy.
- The Expanded Universe canon materials found on the Largo kids' My Spaces imply that Pavi and Amber might have had a chance at normality if their mother had survived their childhood... but Luigi was always like he is.
The Song Before The Storm "At the Opera Tonight"
Third Person Person: Mainly seen with "The Pavi", but potentially a y-linked Largo trait, since both Rotti and Luigi do this a few times each as well, and Amber probably would if she ever managed a sentence that didn't start with 'I'.
Troubled But Cute: Fan opinion is divided if Grave-Robber is this, or just very sarcastic and very pretty.
Twenty Minutes Into The Future: Repo! is set in 2056, and GeneCo has been around since 2030.
Unintentionally Sympathetic: Not only is Rotti Largo terminally ill, he's had to deal with Luigi, Amber, and Pavi. They could make anyone turn into a bastard.
- So he wasn't a bastard before that, when he murdered the woman he loved and framed an innocent man for it? Naaah, he was just cranky that day.
  - Bear in mind that "Gold" implies he had less than impressive beginnings, had to work for everything, and lost the woman he loved to the man he respected so much he considered him a potential heir to his entire fortune and empire. It doesn't change the fact that he did evil things, but it doesn't make him a Complete Monster anyway. Arguably every character in the film except Luigi has shades of grey
- This Troper actually found Amber pretty sympathetic. I mean, in the whole movie, she's the only one who seems to show any concern over her father through out the film Also, she actually seems hurt when Rotti disowns her at the end.
The Vamp: Amber Sweet in a nutshell and latex panties.
Viewers Are Morons: Comic book sections are integrated into the movie telling the audience, in plain text, about the Marni/ Rotti/ Nathan love triangle, Amber's surgery addiction, and Mag's bad contract, often before a song that gives the same information. Most egregious in the "Things you see in a Graveyard" number, where the comic spoiled the reveal that Rotti murdered Marni, nearly killed Shilo in the process, and conned Nathan into thinking he botched the job.
- To be fair though, they did the comic segments largely due to budget constraints. Remember that this was actually a very low budget movie.
- It's when the comics explain things that are explained equally well in the very next song that it gets annoying.
Villainous Breakdown: Rotti Largo at the end of the film. When Mag defies him during her act, cuts the ropes holding her up so that she crashes onto a cast-iron fence prop and is impaled. He insists to the audience it's all part of the show, then drags Shilo and Nathan on stage and tries to force Shilo to kill Nathan. When she refuses, he loses it in front of the entire Opera audience, shoots Nathan himself, then finally succumbs to his disease due to the stress of the breakdown.
Villain Protagonist: Given that Repo!'s cast is largely ensemble, Nathan, Rotti, Luigi, Pavi, Amber, and Grave-Robber could all count.
Villain Song: Gold and Things You See In A Graveyard for Rotti Largo, Legal Assassin and Thankless Job for the Repo Man, Mark It Up as a borderline case for Pavi and Luigi, and the Cut Song Come Up And Try My New Parts for Amber Sweet especially if you're a Shilo/Grave-Robber shipper.
Villain With Good Publicity: The Largo family and GeneCo are mostly known for curing the organ failure epidemic and hosting the Genetic Opera, an extremely popular event. They also have several reporters on their payroll who tend to brush aside any bad publicity — and anyone who did dare to badmouth them too loudly might find themselves up for repossession sooner than they had expected.
What Do You Mean Its Not For Kids: A lot of people take their young children to see this movie, because hey, it has the girl from Spy Kids in it! And it's a musical! Never mind that it was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, or that the other stars include two horror film veterans and a violent gangster film veteran, or that the tamest of the trailers still contains a shot of someone being disemboweled...
- Though to be fair, the director started out directing Hairspray and other such musicals.
Wingding Eyes: Mag, more noticeable in the comics sections
WTH Casting Agency: One of the best examples ever. You would never ever EVER expect to find this group of people in the same movie, and some, like Sarah Brightman, you'd never think to find in that kind of movie.
- A behind-the-scenes example... the director vehemently refused to even consider Paris Hilton. Eventually they made him audition, and she rocked out so hard that he hired her on the spot.
Your Mileage May Vary: Repo! is either the most awesome thing ever or the most mediocre thing ever. Which side you agree with usually reflects whether or not you liked Saw, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the Sweeney Todd film.
- And Tank Girl. And Les Parapluies de Cherbourg.
Zettai Ryouiki: most of Shilo's outfits