History Main / StupidCrooks

!!Examples

* ''TheGoodCrook'': Jackie always had aspirations of being a gangster. His first (and only) attempted robbery involves him threatening a diner with a gun, then changing his mind mere seconds later. He proceeds to apologize and try to explain himself, at which point an over-eager police officer tackles and arrests him.

* WoodyAllen's character Virgil Starkwell from his {{Mockumentary}} film ''TakeTheMoneyAndRun'' is shown to be pretty incompetent. His idea of sneaking a hidden camera into a bank to scout out a potential place to rob involved hiding the camera in ''a loaf of bread'' that he has to hold up to his face to take pictures with.
** His later film ''SmallTimeCrooks'' explores this again with a horribly botched bank robbery, and the bakery he and his wife opened [[TheConvenientStoreNextDoor as a front for their criminal activities]] becoming legitimately successful. Even after the characters decide to [[FakeRealTurn pursue the more legal activity instead]], Allen's character ''still'' looks to commit thefts, and he's ''still'' totally unsuccessful. [[spoiler: His wife Frenchy, however, is a bit more successful.]]
* The Coward, the Goon and the Seasoned Man, a popular Soviet comedic trio, are cast as these crooks in ''OperationY''.

* "Rocket Scientist" in ''[[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Detectice Comics]] #704. The story details the career of one of Gotham City's most incompetent crooks. His actions included once disguising himself by painting his face red (following an earlier mishap due to his choice of masks) only to collapse because the paint was toxic.

* WoodyAllen's character Virgil Starkwell from his {{Mockumentary}} film ''Take The Money And Run'' is shown to be pretty incompetent. His idea of sneaking a hidden camera into a bank to scout out a potential place to rob involved hiding the camera in ''a loaf of bread'' that he has to hold up to his face to take pictures with.
** His later film ''Small Time Crooks'' explores this again with a horribly botched bank robbery, and the bakery he and his wife opened [[TheConvenientStoreNextDoor as a front for their criminal activities]] becoming legitimately successful. Even after the characters decide to [[FakeRealTurn pursue the more legal activity instead]], Allen's character ''still'' looks to commit thefts, and he's ''still'' totally unsuccessful. [[spoiler: His wife Frenchy, however, is a bit more successful.]]
* The Coward, the Goon and the Seasoned Man, a popular Soviet comedic trio, are cast as these crooks in ''Operation Y''.

* TheWhitestKidsUKnow once did a skit about a group of would-be bank robbers who repeatedly fail the same criminal plot over and over for many different reasons, ranging from not being able to read the bank's blueprints, bringing friends from out of town along to the robbery, and posting plans to rob the bank on a blog (along with a hyperlink to the bank's website wherever the word "bank" is used).

* ''The Good Crook'': Jackie always had aspirations of being a gangster. His first (and only) attempted robbery involves him threatening a diner with a gun, then changing his mind mere seconds later. He proceeds to apologize and try to explain himself, at which point an over-eager police officer tackles and arrests him.

* Vincent Vega from ''PulpFiction'' has a large number of WhatAnIdiot moments, two of which are directly in relation to his job as a hitman and enforcer for Marcellus Wallace's criminal empire. Not only does he provide us the [[TropeNamer Trope Name]] for IJustShotMarvinInTheFace, but Vincent also [[spoiler: leaves his sub-machine gun away from him while he [[CentralTheme goes to the bathroom]] at Butch's apartment when he's supposed to be waiting for Butch to show up and kill him. Butch ''does'' show up, and, upon noticing the gun, picks it up and shoots Vincent dead after he steps out of the bathroom.]]

When it comes to committing crime, unfortunately, not everyone is an expert... or even a professional. A good caper usually takes the talent and skill of the likes of a like a ClassyCatBurglar or even TheSandiego to pull off, and you either have a good knack for it or you don't. Those that don't have a knack for anything on that scale may think smaller, plan a less rewarding crime with lower risks involved, and some people fail even at that.

* ''TheGoodCrook'': Jackie always had aspirations of being a gangster. His first (and only) attempted robbery involves him threatening a diner with a gun, then changing his mind mere seconds later. He proceeds to apologize and try to explain himself, at which point an over-eager police officer tackles and arrests him.

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* ''TheGoodCrook'': Jackie always had aspirations of being a gangster. His first (and only) attempted robbery involves him threatening a diner with a gun, then changing his mind mere seconds later. He proceeds to apologize and try to explain himself, at which point an over-eager police officer tackles and arrests him.
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* ''TheGoodCrook'': Jackie always had aspirations of being a gangster. His first (and only) attempted robbery involves him threatening a diner with a gun, then changing his mind mere seconds later. He proceeds to apologize and try to explain himself, at which point an over-eager police officer tackles and arrests him.
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[[caption-width-right:320:I said put your leaves in the air!]]

[[caption-width-right:320:They say you always remember your first time...]]

A subtrope of StupidEvil.

See Also: CutLexLuthorACheck, when someone with a habit for committing crime could actually achieve fortune and success through more sincere and legal means. The supporting characters in a TerribleTrio can commonly evoke this trope.

See Also: CutLexLuthorACheck, when someone with a habit for committing crime could actually achieve fortune and success through more sincere and legal means.

** Just about every character in ''LockStockAndTwoSmokingBarrels'' qualifies one way or another. The film's tagline is even "A Disgrace to Criminals Everywhere." However, special note has got to be given to Dean and Gary, who are instructed by John the Baptist to retrieve antique muskets from an estate home and keep anything else they can carry for themselves. Even in a house decorated with numerous expensive antiques, the rationalize that "old" must mean "worthless." [[spoiler: And that's not to say nothing about how they sold the guns John the Baptist wanted them to get for quick cash, thinking they were too old for him to want anything to do with. The rest of their adventure follows them attempting to get the guns back, which do end up in the hands of the man who wants them without their help, but Dean and Gary don't know that...]]

** In ''RaisingArizona'' H.I.'s attempt to steal baby diapers with an unloaded gun becomes a lot more complicated when all the store clerks and police officers he runs into are packing heat and aren't afraid to use it. Lucky for his sake, they all seem to be graduates from The ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy.

--> '''Homer:''' Homer, you genius!

When it comes to committing crime, unfortunately, not everyone is an expert... or even a professional. A good caper usually takes the talent and skill of the likes of a like a ClassyCatBurglar or even TheSandiego to pull off, and you either have a good knack for it or you don't. Those that don't have a knack for anything on that scale may think smaller, plan a rewarding crime with lower risks involved, and some people fail even at that.

[[DescribeTopicHere Describe Stupid Crooks Here]]

!! Examples

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* ''[[{{Fallout3}} Fallout 3]]'' has Mel, an ineffective would-be mugger that the player character can find in a random encounter. He demands that the player give him all your money in a very unassertive tone, stammers, and otherwise shows himself to be nothing short of pathetic. If the player has a high enough Perception skill, he can notice that Mel's gun [[WeaponForIntimidation isn't even loaded]]. If engaged in combat, Mel is a totally unarmed pushover.

The few times when a crook manages to get away with anything, the matter usually comes down to a fluke circumstance or two and a hefty dose of [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] that allows the crook to slip by when everyone else is preoccupied with a much larger mess that was made, especially true if the character isn't actually after any plot-crucial [[MacGuffin MacGuffins]] and the character only serves to advance other circumstances of a story; in the very rare event that a [[StupidCrooks Stupid Crook]] ''does'' get away with a plot-crucial MacGuffin by the end of the story, expect this to feel like a ShockingSwerve.

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Often leads to MuggingTheMonster and BullyingADragon. WeaponForIntimidation can show up in a subverted fashion, where an unusable weapon draws aggro from people who can fight back with greater force.

[[quoteright:320:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Dummy_4330.jpg]]

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