History Film / BenAndArthur

** Upon fatally shooting Ben, Victor claims that killing him [[{{SoulsavingCrusader}} "saved his soul"]]. If anyone in this film actually cared about real dogma, they'd realize killing Ben without giving him a chance to repent of his sins would be doing the opposite-putting it in great danger of damnation.

** Specifically, "negative energy" is a concept whose definition varies between esoteric groups, while "karma" is a belief found in religions whose origins stem from India (e.g. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism). Neither concept is discussed in the Bible and you would be hard pressed to find any Christian denomination that teaches them.

** Christians are OK with hiring hitmen to kill gay people, and priests in fact have contact info for them they can give you if you request it.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even Stan thinks Victor's plan to ''kill'' Arthur is "a bit extreme".

* HollywoodAtheist: A rather strange aversion, since Arthur does fit most of the usual criteria for a Hollywood Atheist, but his positions are obviously those of Sam Mraovich himself.

** Upon fatally shooting Ben, Victor claims that killing him [[{{SoulsavingCrusader}} "saved his soul"]]. If anyone in this film actually cared about real dogma, they'd realize killing Ben without giving him a chance to repent of his sins wouldn't be doing his soul any favors.

* HalfwayPlotSwitch: The first half of the film features Ben and Arthur trying to have the state of California legally recognize their marriage; the second half focuses on Ben and Arthur dodging the sinister machinations of Arthur's brother Victor.

* ImprobableAimingSkills: In the film's climax, [[spoiler:Victor]] shoots [[spoiler:Arthur]] seven times, but [[spoiler:Arthur]] hangs on long enough to fire off a single shot at [[spoiler:Victor]] -- which hits him right in the forehead, killing him instantly.

* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Victor believes he must perform the "Final Deed" by [[spoiler: killing Arthur]] in order for the church to readmit him. Far from dissuading Victor, the priest [[spoiler: gives Victor a phone number for an assassin that can do the job. The assassin [[YesExceptNo succeeds in killing Ben... except that Ben is later seen as to have survived the attempt]], but missed out on killing Arthur, who was away on errands. On the second attempt, Victor takes the assassin with him, only to dispense with his services when both of them are already in the building. Victor then enters Ben and Arthur's apartment alone to ([[FinalDeath permanently]]) kill Ben and, later, baptise and kill Arthur.]]

* WorstNewsJudgementEver: While the overturning of Hawaii's decision to legalise gay marriage would be a pretty significant event, it's highly doubtful that any California newspaper -- at least at the time that the film was made -- would run it as their front page story. Had the film been released a decade later however, odds are it'd be a much lesser example of this trope thanks to the controversy around Proposition 8.

* MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext: Why oh why is it important to see Arthur ''vacuum his carpet'' after Victor visits and admonishes him?

* WorstNewsJudgementEver: While the overturning of Hawaii's decision to legalise gay marriage would be a pretty significant event, it's highly doubtful that any California newspaper -- at least at the time that the film was made -- would run it as their front page story. Had the film been released a decade later however, odds are this trope wouldn't apply thanks to the controversy around Proposition 8.

* WorstNewsJudgementEver: While the overturning of Hawaii's decision to legalise gay marriage would be a pretty significant event, it's highly doubtful that any California newspaper would run it as their front page story.

* ImprobableAimingSkills: In the film's climax, [[spoiler:Victor]] shoots [[spoiler:Arthur]] seven times, but [[spoiler:Arthur]] [[{{LastBreathBullet}} hangs on long enough]] to fire off a single shot at [[spoiler:Victor]] -- which hits him right in the forehead, killing him instantly.

* ImprobableAimingSkills: In the film's climax, [[spoiler:Victor]] shoots [[spoiler:Arthur]] seven times, but [[spoiler:Arthur]] hangs on long enough to fire off a single shot at [[spoiler:Victor]] -- which hits him right in the forehead, killing him instantly.

* HeteronornativeCrusader: Victor and Stan.

* ArtisticLicenseReligion: Holy water is water that has been blessed by a priest. Chemically speaking, it's ordinary water. Sam Mraovich, however, believes that holy water is concocted through a recipe.

* ClusterFBomb: The priest, of all people, gives one as he looks for white-out in his office.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Ben]] gets shot dead with about ten minutes to go, then just gets kinda forgotten about for the remainder of the film's running time.
** [[spoiler:The Attorney]] as well; she only gets mentioned twice after her death, and the whole subplot about launching a lawsuit against the state of California is completely forgotten about.

* [[spoiler: [[{{MurderIsTheBestSolution}} Murder is the Best Solution]]]]: Victor believes he must perform the "Final Deed" by [[spoiler: killing Arthur]] in order for the church to readmit him. Far from dissuading Victor, the priest [[spoiler: gives Victor a phone number for an assassin that can do the job. The assassin [[YesExceptNo succeeds in killing Ben... except that Ben is later seen as to have survived the attempt]], but missed out on killing Arthur, who was away on errands. On the second attempt, Victor takes the assassin with him, only to dispense with his services when both of them are already in the building. Victor then enters Ben and Arthur's apartment alone to ([[FinalDeath permanently]]) kill Ben and, later, baptize and kill Arthur.]]

* NameAndName

* SeriousBusiness: Ben gets ''really'' upset when Arthur forgets to lock up their bike, resulting in it being stolen.

* [[{{UglyGuyHotWife}} Ugly Guy, Hot Husband]]: Arthur and Ben, respectively, altough they're not married.

A tale of Arthur's quest to get married to his hunky boyfriend Ben, in the face of opposition from Arthur's psychotically homophobic brother Victor, Victor's psychotically homophobic church buddies, Ben's psychotically homophobic ex-wife, and a legal system which is just as psychotically homophobic as... yeah, this film is kinda {{Anvilicious}} like that ([[TruthInTelevision sadly]], SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped, [[DontShootTheMessage as hilariously incompetent the delivery is]]).

A labor of love for writer-director-star Sam Mraovich, which quickly became a magnet for SnarkBait in the wake of its release, and has been likened to "a gay version of ''Film/TheRoom''" -- though in actual fact it was released [[OlderThanTheyThink a year before Tommy Wiseau's epic]] -- thanks to its [[NoBudget minimal production values]], [[HamAndCheese entertainingly dreadful acting]], and one of the most unsubtle deliveries of its message outside of a 1950s propaganda film.

* AuthorAvatar: Arthur is pretty obviously this for Sam Mraovich, though apparently some of Ben's backstory is also that of Mraovich.

* DawsonCasting: Inverted and lampshaded; the guy playing the private investigator looks way too young, which Victor calls him out on. It turns out that he's an ''intern.''

* StraightGay: Both Ben and Arthur. Yes, we have a film where two of the three main characters are Straight Gay, and the third is Camp Straight.

* [[{{UglyGuyHotWife}} Ugly Guy, Hot Husband]]: Arthur and Ben, respectively. Somewhat subverted in that their marriage is not recognized by the State of California.

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Ben]]. See the Unexplained Recovery entry below.

* UnexplainedRecovery: [[spoiler:Ben]], partially. Even though [[spoiler: Victor's assassin clearly killed Ben, Arthur is later seen carrying a weak but very much alive Ben into their apartment. This is despite coming home from the hospital, where Ben should have ostensibly received better care.]]

* InformedAbility: Ben is supposed to be both a nurse and a musician, but is never seen practicing either (if you don't count a brief moment during his honeymoon with Arthur when Ben is called in to work as a nurse). Instead, Ben works at a café washing paper cups with Arthur, with the pretext that he [[PlotHole left his nursing job]] to focus on his music.

* FanDisservice: Arthur is nude when he is baptized by Victor and later when he is left sprawled across his own bed.

* UnexplainedRecovery: [[spoiler:Ben]], partially. Even though [[spoiler: Victor's assassin clearly killed Ben]], Arthur is later seen carrying a weak but very much alive Ben into their apartment. This is despite coming home from the hospital, where Ben should have ostensibly received better care.

* UnexplainedRecovery: [[spoiler:Ben]], partially. Even though [[spoiler: Victor's assassin clearly killed Ben]], Arthur is later seen carrying Ben into their apartment, limping but alive if barely. This is despite coming home from the hospital, where Ben should have ostensibly received better care.

-->'''Victor (to Arthur):''' [[{{PunctuatedForEmphasis}} Get. Out. NOW. Now.]]

* [[spoiler: [[{{MurderIsTheBestSolution}} Murder is the Best Solution]]]]: Victor believes he must perform the "Final Deed" by [[spoiler: killing Arthur]] in order for the church to readmit him. Far from dissuading Victor, the priest [[spoiler: gives Victor a phone number for an assassin that can do the job. The assassin [[YesExceptNo succeeds in killing Ben... except that Ben is later seen as to have survived the attempt]], but missed out on killing Arthur, who was away on errands. On the second attempt, Victor takes the assassin with him, only to dispense with his services when both of them are already in the building. Victor then enters Ben and Arthur's apartment alone to (permanently) kill Ben and, later, baptize and kill Arthur.]]

* EvilPlan: There are actually ''three'' of them: The first, where Victor and Stan attempt to [[CureYourGays "cure" Arthur]]; the second, which is called the "Final Plan" and is never elaborated upon; and the third, which is the "Final Deed" that calls for [[spoiler: the death of Arthur]].

** This should ''not'' be confused with the "Final Plan", which is never elaborated upon. Victor mentions the "Final Plan" ''after'' he learns that Ben and Arthur did not ingest the potion but ''before'' he is expelled from the church, meaning that there would have been no incentive to [[spoiler: kill Arthur]] during that span of time.