History Film / AlphaDog

* ButtMonkey: Elvis, from most of Johnny's group. In one scene, they resort to throwing homophobic insults to make fun of his kiss-ass attitudes towards Johnny.

* OIderThanTheyLook: Zack is 15 during the events of the story, but, as Julie and Susan point out when they meet him, he looks like he's 12. In a couple scenes, he claims he's [[YoungerThanTheyLook 17]].

* AssholeVictim: Somewhat applies to Elvis once he realizes how much trouble he is in. He tries to beg Pick for help but Pick refuses to help him since he used his mom's car to drive to the area that he would be excecuting Zach at. Soon enough, Elvis is then cornered and arrested shortly after and is sentenced to Death Row. Given that he showed no mercy in killing Zack it's hard to feel sorry for him.

* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: [[AvertedTrope An]] ''[[AvertedTrope extreme]]'' [[AvertedTrope aversion]]. Right from the start of the film, it's very clear that Johnny and his gang are a bunch of loser assholes that only an idiot would want to emulate, though Zack himself admires them and grows to enjoy his "kidnapping." [[spoiler:Just to drive the point home further, Johnny's gang eventually murders Zach, making him TooDumbToLive.]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Zack is killed at the end of his kidnapping and Johnny's gang completely falls apart as a result. If anything, the only real bittersweet element to it is that those directly involved are at least implicated, so it's impossible to feel sorry for most of the other main characters since the rest of them are * AssholeVictims at best.]]

* AxCrazy: [[spoiler:Elvis becomes more and more grim when the news of who needs to carry out the hit on Jake reaches him]].

* FreudianExcuse: The film shows the parents being every bit as indulgent and hedonistic as their children or at the very least unconcerned about the lifestyle they embrace. Sonny, for instance, pretty much raised Johnny to be a dealer and yet takes no responsibility for his part in the crimes committed. Zack's parents, in contrast, are overprotective and rule every part of his life, pushing him towards the other end. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any good parental figures.

* HateSink: Johnny is a rare example of the main character being this, being the most unlikable of the main characters by far. He's arrogant, violent, rude, abusive, manipulative, and, oh yeah, he organized the '''murder''' of a ''[[WouldHurtAChild 15-year-old boy]]'' over $1,200. When he gets arrested at the end of the movie and has the possibility of getting the death penalty if found guilty, you're not gonna feel sorry for him.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Zack is killed at the end of his kidnapping and Johnny's gang completely falls apart as a result. If anything, the only real bittersweet element to it is that those directly involved are at least implicated, so it's impossible to feel sorry for most of the other main characters since the rest of them are * AssholeVictims at best. See WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue for details.]]

* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:{{Averted|Trope}}. Zack breaks down crying and desperately pleads and begs as they put the tape over his mouth all while Frankie and Keith are in tears.]]

* IdiotBall: Arguably the entire point of the movie. These guys, especially Johnny, come up with a pretty stupid idea and execute it in perhaps the dumbest way imaginable. To say "they brought this on themselves" [[{{Understatement}} hardly begins to cover it.]]

* {{Jerkass}}: Where to start? Johnny Truelove, while not an ''entirely'' bad guy, is thoroughly unlikeable.

** Same can pretty much also apply to Tiko, Keith, Elvis, and Frankie when they get arrested. See WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue for details.

* StupidCrooks: Kidnapping a 15-year old boy in broad daylight over a feud with his brother is stupid enough, but anyone in Johnny's gang thinking [[spoiler:murdering Zack]] would alleviate their situation and that they wouldn't get caught and eventually receive capital punishment for it is truly deserving of a Darwin Award. This is especially considering there are '''38 witnesses''' to this. Johnny is actually given an offer by his lawyer to possibly serve minimum jail time to return Zack safely and plead guilty, but chooses not to simply for not wanting to do ''any'' jail time at all. Even dumber for Johnny, his father (and likely the other family and maybe their lawyer) knows Johnny ordered [[spoiler:Zack killed, and his father pleads with him to call off the hit. Johnny refuses, claiming that Zack is probably already free because his gang are just a bunch of fuck ups.]] He seems to literally be putting faith in his criminal partners being idiots.

* WouldHitAGirl: During the fight at the house party, Jake decks a girl who was charging at him straight in the face, making her fall to the floor.

* VillainOfAnotherStory: Johny's godfather Cosmo. The real person he's based on, Jon Roberts, was an associate of the Medellin Cartel. Although there are hints to his criminal past, in this film he just functions as an old friend and confidante of the Truelove family. He also helps Johnny escape to Paraguay.

** Elvis gets more confident when given the order to kill [[spoiler: Zack]], but when the murder is discovered he starts panicking and begging for help.

* DirtyCoward: Elvis gets more confident when given the order to kill [[spoiler: Zack]], but when the murder is discovered he starts panicking and begging for help.

* TheMobBossIsScarier: Frankie is very reluctant to carry out Johnny's order to [[spoiler:murder Zack]], but Elvis convinces him they have no choice, saying that if they disobey him, they are risking retaliation from Sonny Truelove, Johnny's father and supplier. Ironically, Sonny is completely against the idea and tries to intervene, not least because Johnny and his gang are already on the police's radar as prime suspects.

* StockholmSyndrome: Zack's response is a combination of this and not taking the situation seriously. He's beaten up, kidnapped, tied up and gagged. And yet he shows absolutely no ill will towards his captors. He ends up having a great time with them, and freely offers to claim he ran away to keep them from getting in trouble. This is based on reports that the real Nicholas Markowitz was often seen in public with the people who kidnapped him, and apparently made no real effort to escape.

* RunForTheBorder: With the cops on his heels for his role in [[spoiler:Zack's murder]], Johnny decides he needs to leave the country, initially deciding on Canada, then Mexico, but both times he has a VillainousBreakdown off-screen and refuses because of the likelihood that he will be caught. He eventually escapes to Paraguay with help from Sonny and his godfather, where he's arrested 5 years later. (The real Jesse James Hollywood fled to Brazil.)

* TheMobBossIsScarier: Frankie is very reluctant to carry out Johnny's order to [[spoiler:murder Zack]], but Elvis convinces him they have no choice, saying that if disobey him, they are risking retaliation from Sonny Truelove, Johnny's father and supplier. Ironically, Sonny is completely against the idea and tries to intervene, not least because Johnny and his gang are already on the police's radar as prime suspects.

* TooDumbToLive:
** At least as depicted in this movie, [[spoiler:Zack taking his own kidnapping so lightly no doubt contributed to his death. While he's still a teenager, he's old enough to comprehend the gravity of the situation.]]
** A case might also be made for anyone in Johnny's gang thinking [[spoiler:murdering Zack]] would alleviate their situation and that they wouldn't get caught and eventually receive capital punishment for it. This is especially considering there are '''38 witnesses''' to this. Johnny is even given an offer by his lawyer to possibly serve minimum jail time to return Zack safely and plead guilty, but chooses not to simply for not wanting to do ''any'' jail time at all.
*** Even dumber for Johnny, his father (and likely the other family and maybe their lawyer) knows Johnny ordered [[spoiler:Zack killed, and his father pleads with him to call off the hit. Johnny refuses, claiming that Zack is probably already free because his gang are just a bunch of fuck ups.]] He seems to literally be putting faith in his criminal partners being idiots.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: [[spoiler:The legal consequences to the individual members of Truelove/Hollywood's crew as a result of the kidnapping and murder of Zack Mazursky/Nick Markowitz are shown at the end. Tiko Martinez/William Skidmore gets 9 years for kidnapping, Keith Stratten/Graham Pressley is convicted of Murder 2 and detained until 25, Frankie Ballenbacher/Jesse Rugge gets life imprisonment and Elvis Schmidt/Ryan Hoyt is on death row. Johnny Truelove/Jesse James Hollywood himself was finally apprehended after eluding the authorities for five years and if convicted, faces the death penalty.]]

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: [[spoiler:The legal consequences to the individual members of Truelove/Hollywood's crew as a result of the kidnapping and murder of Zack Mazursky/Nick Markowitz are shown at the end. Tiko Martinez/William Skidmore gets 9 years, Keith Stratten/Graham Pressley is convicted of Murder 2 and detained until 25, Frankie Ballenbacher/Jesse Rugge gets life imprisonment and Elvis Schmidt/Ryan Hoyt is on death row. Johnny Truelove/Jesse James Hollywood himself was finally apprehended after eluding the authorities for five years and if convicted, faces the death penalty.]]

It stars Creator/EmileHirsch as Johnny Truelove, an impulsive and cocky PsychopathicManChild marijuana dealer living in the late '90s Southern California. Johnny, alongside best bud Frankie Ballenbacher (Music/JustinTimberlake), suckup Elvis Schmidt (Creator/ShawnHatosy), and a host of other friends and business associates, spends his day-to-day life partying, getting high, and generally living the hip-hop thug life he idealizes from music, movies, and video games, much to the dismay of Johnny's father, Sonny (Creator/BruceWillis). Where Johnny goes, the money, the friends, and the girls follow.

* AffablyEvil: With the exception of Johnny and Elvis, all of the gangsters. This goes a long way to explaining why Zack doesn't want to leave.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Frankie, Elvis, and Keith genuinely like Zack and are horrified at Johnny's utter heartlessness (not that it stops ''them'' from doing the deed anyway).

*** Even dumber for Johnny, his father (and likely other family and maybe their lawyer) knows Johnny ordered [[spoiler:Zack killed, and his father pleads with him to call off the hit. Johnny refuses, claiming his gang is such a bunch of fuck ups that Zack is probably already free.]] He seems to literally be putting faith in his criminal partners being idiots.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: [[spoiler:The legal consequences to the individual members of Truelove/Hollywood's crew as a result of the kidnapping and murder of Zack Mazursky/Nick Markowitz are shown at the end. Tiko/Skidmore gets 9 years, Keith/Graham is convicted of Murder 2 and detained until 25, Frankie/Rugge gets life imprisonment and Elvis/Hoyt is on death row. Truelove/Hollywood himself was finally apprehended after eluding the authorities for five years and if convicted, faces the death penalty.]]

* AffablyEvil: With the exception of Johnny, all of the gangsters. This goes a long way to explaining why Zack doesn't want to leave.

* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: [[AvertedTrope An]] ''[[AvertedTrope extreme]]'' [[AvertedTrope aversion]]. Right from the start of the film, it's very clear that Johnny and his gang are a bunch of loser assholes that only an idiot would want to emulate, though Zack himself admires them and grows to enjoy his "kidnapping."

* BoomerangBigot: Jake Mazursky is a Jew, but he and his girlfriend appear to be Neo-Nazis, with several white supremacy tattoos on their bodies and a Hitler poster decorating his kitchen. Played for laughs more than anything, with her doing a Nazi salute while wearing a ModestyBedsheet when his (equally Jewish) brother Zack pays them a visit.

* KnightTemplarBigBrother: When Jake learns that Johnny has kidnapped his little brother to get back at Jake, he promises his estranged stepmom that he will do anything to get Zack back. Jake immediately goes on a rampage, crashes a local house party held by some of Truelove's friends by beating up half the people in the room and when Truelove calls him up, Jake threatens Truelove with enacting brutal and painful vengeance unless he releases Zack. Deconstructed, however, in that this doesn't help Zack's return at all and just prompts Truelove to relocate with his victim.