| 1 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | !!Delta House |
| 4 | |
| 5 | [[folder:Otter]] |
| 6 | !!Eric "Otter" Stratton |
| 7 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/otter.jpg]] |
| 8 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/TimMatheson |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Rush Chairman of Delta Tau Chi, and Boon's best friend. The fraternity's resident [[TheCasanova ladies' man]]. |
| 11 | ---- |
| 12 | * AllGuysWantCheerleaders: {{Parodied}}. He subverts Mandy's romance (such as it is) with Marmalard by cheating with her (and getting further than he does). True to her archetype, she casually blows him off and dismisses his performance, the only blow to his persona that occurs. He consoles himself by seducing and satisfying the wife of the Dean of the college. |
| 13 | * BetterToDieThanBeKilled: His rant during the disciplinary hearing; he knows that they"re going to lose, but he manages to accuse the college of being un-American about it. |
| 14 | * TheCasanova: As shown below. |
| 15 | * ChivalrousPervert: He might be a bit of a shameless womanizer, but he's very respectful towards women and doesn't make any attempts to steal girls of any fellow fraternity members. However, that rule doesn't apply to Dean Wormer or Marmaland. Then again, this is [[{{Jerkass}} Wormer and Marmaland]] we're talking about. Of course, he can be considered a {{Subversion}} when you remember that he indulges in QuestionableConsent. |
| 16 | %%* CoolCar: His Corvette. |
| 17 | * DelusionsOfEloquence: He's trying to impress an older woman (who turns out to be the wife of the college's Dean) in the grocery store, as he picks up a large cucumber: |
| 18 | -->'''Otter:''' I think vegetables can be very sensuous, don't you?\ |
| 19 | '''Mrs. Wormer:''' No, vegetables are sensual. People are sensuous. |
| 20 | %%* FengSchwing: His room. |
| 21 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: With Boon. |
| 22 | * InsaneTrollLogic: His defense of the Deltas involves him trying to parlay the trial into an attack on the United States as a whole and walking out in protest. |
| 23 | * KickTheDog: Lying to a girl in mourning so he can hook up with her is a really shitty thing to do. |
| 24 | * LovableSexManiac: He has a lot of affairs with various characters, including Dean Wormer's wife, but he isn't a terrible person, at least compared to [[UpperClassTwit The Omegas]]. |
| 25 | * NakedOnArrival: We're introduced to him as he's about to get dressed for a date. |
| 26 | * NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: The Omegas give him a nasty one when Greg Marmalard [[BerserkButton is led to believe from Babs that Mandy's been having an affair with Otter]].[[note]]The affair didn't actually happen, however. Babs just made it up because she wanted Greg all for herself. In fact, Mandy and Otter only slept together once, and in the words of Mandy, "it wasn't that great."[[/note]] |
| 27 | * PetTheDog: He stands up for Flounder when the rest of the Deltas are planning on turning down his pledge. |
| 28 | * QuestionableConsent: He uses deception to sleep with a grieving girl. She willingly fools around with him, but if she found out he was lying, it's unlikely she would. |
| 29 | * ReallyGetsAround: Has an affair with three different women throughout the film, one of them being the BigBad's wife! |
| 30 | * SmallNameBigEgo: He's not quite as suave or charming as he believes himself to be. |
| 31 | * WoundedGazelleGambit: He pretends to be the unaware fiancé of a dead coed in order to get grief/sympathy sex from her roommate, and three dates for his friends. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[/folder]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Boon]] |
| 36 | !!Donald "Boon" Schoenstein |
| 37 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/boone_7.jpg]] |
| 38 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/PeterRiegert |
| 39 | |
| 40 | Otter's best friend, and Katy's boyfriend. Delta Tau Chi's resident [[DeadpanSnarker wiseass]]. |
| 41 | ---- |
| 42 | * AmbiguouslyJewish: German last name, short in stature, dark curly hair, unusual nose shape, New York accent, wisecracking personality - ''Come on''! Either he's Jewish, or [[{{Fauxreigner}} he's faking it really well]]. The actor, Peter Riegert, comes from a non-observant Jewish Family. |
| 43 | * AuthorAvatar: For Creator/HaroldRamis, who hoped to play the part himself. |
| 44 | * ConflictingLoyalty: Between his Delta brothers and his girlfriend. |
| 45 | %%* DeadpanSnarker |
| 46 | * HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue says that he and his girlfriend get married in 1964, only to get divorced five years later.]] |
| 47 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: With Otter. |
| 48 | * JewishAndNerdy: Subverted. Though AmbiguouslyJewish, he is arguably the fourth coolest guy in the Delta Tau Chi fraternity, as well as TheLancer to the supercool Eric "Otter" Stratton. ([[ShiksaGoddess His girlfriend]] does think he's a loser, though.) |
| 49 | * TheLancer: The more restrained foil to the sex-crazed Otter. |
| 50 | * LovableCoward: Makes no attempt to stand up for the girls during "The Negroes took our dates" scene and quickly makes himself scarce. It's [[PlayedForLaughs hilarious]]. |
| 51 | * ManChild: Katy sees him as this. |
| 52 | |
| 53 | [[/folder]] |
| 54 | |
| 55 | [[folder:Bluto]] |
| 56 | !!John "Bluto" Blutarsky |
| 57 | [[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bluto.jpg]] |
| 58 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JohnBelushi |
| 59 | |
| 60 | Sergeant-at-Arms of Delta Tau Chi, and the fraternity's resident [[BigFun party boy]]. Wild and unhinged even by Delta standards, he's both a [[TheAlcoholic drunk]] and a [[BigEater glutton]]. |
| 61 | ---- |
| 62 | * {{Acrofatic}}: He doesn't look particularly fit, but shows his gymnastic prowess in the climax. He also successfully eludes the Omegas in the food fight scene. |
| 63 | * TheAlcoholic: Chugs an entire bottle of Jack Daniels in about fifteen seconds. |
| 64 | * AsideGlance: While peeking into the girls' dormitory and right before smashing the guitar, in both cases primarily as an excuse for John Belushi's trademark raised eyebrow. |
| 65 | * BerserkButton: In addition to Live folk music, he really loses it when they take the bar away. |
| 66 | %%* TheBigGuy |
| 67 | * BigEater: He eats some of pretty much EVERYTHING the cafeteria is serving (including a golf ball!)--although, then again, he doesn't actually wind up eating most of it, and isn't shown indulging in food nearly as much as alcohol throughout the rest of the movie. He may just have been doing it for the gross-out effect--it happens. Jamming an entire cheeseburger into his mouth in one go is an impressive feat, though. |
| 68 | * BigFun: The biggest and most fun-loving of the Deltas. |
| 69 | * TheBigGuy: Of the BigFun variety. |
| 70 | * BreakoutCharacter: He's the one character from the film that everyone remembers and he's the most prominent in the marketing (even though he's more of a supporting character). |
| 71 | * BrilliantButLazy: He has a GPA of 0.0 and has spent seven years as an undergrad but is regularly shown as witty, clever and surprisingly charismatic when he wants to be. The ending even states he went on to become a Senator. |
| 72 | * CanCrushingCranium: He crushes a can to try and cheer up Flounder. When that fails, he goes whole hog and cheerfully smashes a beer ''bottle'' on his head instead. |
| 73 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He has the lousiest GPA of the whole group and his attempt at a RousingSpeech not only says mixed-up historical facts but it's actually labeled as "psychotic" by Otter. |
| 74 | * DumbassHasAPoint: |
| 75 | -->'''Bluto:''' What the fuck happened to the Delta I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're gonna let it be the worst. "Ooh, we're afraid to go with you Bluto, we might get in trouble." Well just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Wormer, he's a dead man! Marmalard, dead! Neidermeyer...\ |
| 76 | '''Otter:''' Dead! Bluto's right.\ |
| 77 | ''[Other characters look at each other in amazement]''\ |
| 78 | '''Otter:''' Psychotic, but absolutely right. We gotta take these bastards. |
| 79 | * ExtremeOmnivore: He even eats ''a golf ball''. |
| 80 | * {{Expy}}: of an Alpha Delta Phi brother with the frat name of "Flounder." |
| 81 | * EyebrowWaggle: He climbs up a ladder to spy on sorority girls, then [[BreakingTheFourthWall turns to the camera]] and waggles his eyebrows. |
| 82 | * FacialDialogue: A lot of his "dialog" is this. |
| 83 | * {{Fratbro}}: TropeCodifier. Frequently drunk, and always on the lookout for mischief, he neglects his studies to the extent of flunking three years then receiving a grade point average of exactly 0.0. His many fratboy activities include starting a cafeteria {{Foodfight}}, spying on women students changing and smashing someone's guitar in the middle of a song. When the dean expels him and his frat brothers, Bluto rallies them to commit one last act of mayhem at Homecoming. |
| 84 | * GlobalIgnorance: He thinks Germany was responsible for the Attack on Pearl Harbor despite the fact he would've been old enough to live through World War II - the film takes place in the 1962-63 academic year and it's his seventh year at Faber, putting his birth year at around 1938-39. Although a two- or three-year-old would not take notice of world affairs. |
| 85 | * JabbaTableManners: He uses his disgusting eating habits to piss off the Omegas and provoke a food fight. |
| 86 | * LargeHam: Really gets loud when excited. |
| 87 | * LazyBum: With a GPA of "'''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis 0.0]]'''" and a three-time flunker, he stands head and shoulders ''below'' the rest of his BookDumb colleagues (even D-Day manages to be better, as he has ''no'' grade point average and doesn't even take classes at Faber). [[TakeThat He gets to be a Senator]]. [[spoiler:When the "documentary" is made, Bluto is unavailable for comment as he's currently serving as ''President'']]. |
| 88 | * LifeOfTheParty: The biggest party animal in Faber. |
| 89 | * MadeOfIron: It's frankly amazing Bluto's hard-partying ways, which include famously downing a bottle of whiskey in one chug and showing no signs of drunkenness, haven't killed him yet. |
| 90 | * ManChild: He's been in college for seven years, and is the most immature of the Deltas. |
| 91 | * {{Mascot}}: The heart and soul of the party-loving Deltas. |
| 92 | * NeverGetsDrunk: Zigzagged. He can and even is drunk in his intro scene but it's implied it takes a ''lot'' of alcohol to reach that point. He even famously downs a whole bottle of whiskey in one go and shows no signs of intoxication at all. |
| 93 | * ThePeepingTom: He uses a ladder to peer through the second-story window of a sorority house and looks up the cheerleaders' skirts while under the bleachers. |
| 94 | * TheRuntAtTheEnd: Before the Delta Tau Chi members launch their mission of sabotage against Faber College's homecoming parade, there is a "tick-tock" montage (with eerie music by Music/ElmerBernstein) of several of the guys checking their watches to see if it's time to go. Everyone is wearing an expensive watch that marks the time as precisely eleven o'clock—except for Bluto, whose watch is really cheap-looking and broken, and is showing a blatantly wrong time to boot—because he's wearing it ''upside down''. |
| 95 | * SirSwearsALot: After finding Neidermeyer's horse dead from a heart attack, all that comes out of his mouth is, "Holy ''shit''!" |
| 96 | |
| 97 | [[/folder]] |
| 98 | |
| 99 | [[folder:Hoover]] |
| 100 | !!Robert Hoover |
| 101 | [[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hoover.jpg]] |
| 102 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JamesWiddoes |
| 103 | |
| 104 | President of Delta Tau Chi. The most straight-laced member of the fraternity (not that that's saying much...), he serves as the resident OnlySaneMan, doing his best to reign in his friends' antics--if only to prevent them from getting arrested or thrown off of campus. |
| 105 | ---- |
| 106 | |
| 107 | * TheDogBitesBack: After getting pushed too far by Dean Wormer and Omega House, [[spoiler:Hoover casts aside his conscience and helps the rest of his fraternity get revenge.]] |
| 108 | * LastNameBasis: His fellow Deltas all call him "Hoover" (or "Hoov" for short). |
| 109 | * NormalFishInATinyPond: The closest thing to a normal student among Delta. With 4 Cs and an F, he has the highest GPA known of the group, a passable 1.6. |
| 110 | * NotSoAboveItAll: While he's the most moral of the Deltas, he's not above stealing exam answers or pulling pranks. It seems he only wants show enough restraint so that the group remains on Dean Wormer's good side and doesn't get kicked off of campus. |
| 111 | ** He's also the only Delta shown to be visibly enjoying the parade before they mess it up. |
| 112 | * OnlySaneMan: Within the Delta leaders, he's usually the only one not involved in their crazy schemes. He also has the highest GPA in Delta, although that's not saying much. |
| 113 | * StraightMan: He usually tries to be the voice of reason among the rest of the Delta leaders, but most of his advice is heard by deaf ears. |
| 114 | * SupportingLeader: Technically, he's the Deltas' president. |
| 115 | * TeamDad: He's the only one of them who seems to genuinely care about avoiding trouble and staying on Dean Wormer's good side (at least enough to avoid getting thrown out of school), and generally tries to keep the Deltas from going too far off the rails. Granted, they usually ignore his advice... but at least he tries. |
| 116 | |
| 117 | [[/folder]] |
| 118 | |
| 119 | [[folder:Flounder]] |
| 120 | !!Kent "Flounder" Dorfman |
| 121 | [[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flounder.jpg]] |
| 122 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/StephenFurst |
| 123 | |
| 124 | One of Delta Tau Chi's newest freshman pledges, and the younger brother of previous Delta member Fred Dorfman--allowing him to be accepted as a legacy member. |
| 125 | ---- |
| 126 | * ButtMonkey: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMENQeCbxfI During their review of the night's rushees]], the Deltas yell, boo, and throw beer cans at Kent's picture the moment it comes up on the projection screen. (When Otter tries to speak in support of Kent, they start throwing cans at ''him'' instead.) He doesn't gain much more respect, being harassed by Neidermeyer, getting roped into a prank by Bluto and D-Day, and having his brother's car completely trashed. (Although, in the novelization, the Deltas consider him a hero for throwing up on Dean Wormer.) |
| 127 | * CaptainObvious: His asking "You guys playing cards?" [[DeathGlare Hostile gazes]] ensue. |
| 128 | * FatComicRelief: An overweight ButtMonkey. |
| 129 | * MeaningfulName: "Flounder" was the frat name of the Alpha Delta Phi brother that Bluto was based on. |
| 130 | * MoralityPet: Serves as one to Otter, as the latter frequently takes pity on him and tries to help him out. |
| 131 | * NoSocialSkills: His social skills are pretty much non-existent and he has a hard time befriending the Deltas when he first enters. |
| 132 | * ThrowTheDogABone: Flounder spends the entire film getting teased, bullied, picked on and being on the receiving end of jokes, so the revelation that he has a girlfriend feels like the one time things go well for him. |
| 133 | * TheWoobie: InUniverse, the others start to feel bad for him when they realize how sad he is over his brother's car being totaled. |
| 134 | |
| 135 | [[/folder]] |
| 136 | |
| 137 | [[folder:Pinto]] |
| 138 | !!Larry "Pinto" Kroger |
| 139 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pinto.jpg]] |
| 140 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/TomHulce |
| 141 | |
| 142 | A freshman pledge to Delta Tau Chi, accepted alongside his friend Kent Dorfman. The most average character among the Deltas, he serves as the film's primary AudienceSurrogate. |
| 143 | ---- |
| 144 | * AboveTheInfluence: He resists having sex with Clorette when she passes out. |
| 145 | * AuthorAvatar: Made obvious in the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, revealing his future career as an editor for ''National Lampoon''. |
| 146 | * CaptainObvious: "Boon, we're the only white people here". |
| 147 | * TheEveryman: Unlike the other characters who have their quirks and defining characteristics, he's just a regular, naive college freshman learning the ropes from the upperclassmen. When the others select him as a pledge, their feelings towards him can be summed up as "sure, why not?" |
| 148 | * EvilSoundsDeep: In the GoodAngelBadAngel scene, devil Pinto has a deep voice, while angel Pinto's voice is comically high-pitched. |
| 149 | * FiveFingerDiscount: He steals food for a party by hiding it in his jacket. The check-out girl notices, but doesn't turn him in. Two of the items hidden in his jacket are a couple of small roasts, and they're hidden so that they look like boobs. |
| 150 | * GoodAngelBadAngel: When Clorette passes out, he has one of these moments. The angel wins. |
| 151 | * NiceGuy: He feels guilty when Boon gets him to shoplift a bunch of meat and when he thinks about having sex with a passed out Clorette. |
| 152 | * WhatYouAreInTheDark: Pinto is the only character to resist temptation of any kind — and what he resists is [[SexAsRiteOfPassage particularly tempting]]. Further, he resists without knowing at the time that his intended is not exactly in his own age demographic. His resistance only lasts so long.... |
| 153 | |
| 154 | [[/folder]] |
| 155 | |
| 156 | [[folder:D-Day]] |
| 157 | !!Daniel "D-Day" Simpson Day |
| 158 | [[quoteright:342:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d_day.jpg]] |
| 159 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BruceMcGill |
| 160 | |
| 161 | Delta Tau Chi's resident daredevil, rarely seen without [[BadassBiker his trusty motorcycle]]. |
| 162 | ---- |
| 163 | * BadassBiker: He even has a mustache to go with it. |
| 164 | * BookDumb: He doesn't have a grade point average because all his courses for the term are marked incomplete. However, he's a genius when it comes to engineering and metalwork. |
| 165 | * BrokeTheRatingScale: His GPA. All his courses are marked as incomplete, so he ''doesn't have one.'' |
| 166 | %%* {{Cloudcuckoolander}} |
| 167 | * CoolBike: His Harley-Davidson Sportster. |
| 168 | * DrivesLikeCrazy: He enters the rush party by crashing his motorcycle through the front door of Delta House and driving straight up a flight of stairs. During the homecoming parade, he takes charge of driving the float with the sole intent of wrecking everything in sight as revenge for the Deltas being expelled. |
| 169 | * EveryoneHasStandards: He gives Flounder a gun loaded with blanks to persuade him to kill Neidermeyer's horse as a test. [[spoiler: He's shocked and runs off in panic when the horse dies of a heart attack.]] |
| 170 | * EverythingIsAnInstrument: In his first scene, he plays the "William Tell Overture" on his throat after crashing through the front door of Delta House. ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll8wgBo7kSs Over 30 years later, McGill could still do it.]]) |
| 171 | * TheSmartGuy: As the mechanic of the group. |
| 172 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Deliberately invoked in the movie's WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue - while everyone else gets a description of what happened to them, D-Day's descriptor - flashed onscreen as he is driving off in a stolen police car - simply reads, "Whereabouts unknown." |
| 173 | |
| 174 | [[/folder]] |
| 175 | |
| 176 | !!Omega House |
| 177 | |
| 178 | [[folder:Marmalard]] |
| 179 | !!Gregory Marmalard |
| 180 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/greg_marmalard.jpeg]] |
| 181 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JamesDaughton |
| 182 | |
| 183 | President of Omega Theta Pi, and Chairman of Faber's Pan-Hellenic Council, making him one of Dean Wormer's most trusted advisors. Mandy's boyfriend. |
| 184 | ---- |
| 185 | * ArchEnemy: He and Delta house have been at each others throats for quite some time. |
| 186 | * BeenThereShapedHistory: The epilogue mentions that he's one of the men responsible for Watergate. |
| 187 | %%* TheDragon: To Dean Wormer. |
| 188 | * {{Jerkass}}: Of the SmugSnake variety. |
| 189 | * KarmicRape: In the epilogue, he's mentioned to have been raped in prison after being convicted of playing a role in the Watergate scandal. |
| 190 | * TheLoinsSleepTonight: Each time he takes Mandy to MakeOutPoint. His luck doesn't improve with Babs, who utters the infamous query, "Is it supposed to be this soft?" |
| 191 | * LousyLoversAreLosers: Unlike Otter, Marmalard has pretty unfulfilling sex with his girlfriend. He can't even get through a hand job. |
| 192 | * PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: In the first scene, he shows obvious prejudice against racial minorities and the disabled. |
| 193 | * PrisonRape: The epilogue reveals that he went on to become a White House aide during Nixon's presidency, and was subsequently raped in prison. Probably meant to double as a BlackComedyRape, since he's a first-class douchebag (and according to his girlfriend, was saving himself for marriage). |
| 194 | * RapeAsComedy: [[spoiler:His ultimate fate in prison.]] |
| 195 | * UpperClassTwit: As president of the sophisticated Omega House, Marmalard acts very arrogant and snobby. Especially towards Delta House. |
| 196 | |
| 197 | [[/folder]] |
| 198 | |
| 199 | [[folder:Neidermeyer]] |
| 200 | !!Douglas C. Neidermeyer |
| 201 | [[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/niedermyer.jpg]] |
| 202 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MarkMetcalf |
| 203 | |
| 204 | Sergeant-at-Arms of Omega Theta Pi and of Faber's Pan-Hellenic Council, and head of the college's ROTC chapter. |
| 205 | ---- |
| 206 | * AmusingInjuries: He suffers this when Otter and Boon hit first his horse and then him with golf balls, causing the horse to run off while dragging him behind on the ground. He's later seen wearing a neck-brace, but eventually recovers. |
| 207 | * AxCrazy: It’s really surprising how he didn’t become a Section 8 [[spoiler: before his men decided they had enough of him and killed him]], considering how he responds to Flounder teasing him with a spray bottle by [[DisproportionateRetribution loading his rifle with live ammo and trying to kill him.]] |
| 208 | * ArmchairMilitary: Inverted. He's too crazy to notice that ROTC isn't an actual arm of the military and thus he shouldn't go around treating his subordinates like it was "real" boot camp. |
| 209 | * ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Leaving his horse in the care of a person who obviously had no idea what he was doing, and who the horse very obviously was uneasy and unhappy around. Granted, that was probably his idea of a suitable punishment for Flounder. |
| 210 | * ArtisticLicenseMilitary: |
| 211 | ** Why in the hell is he carrying live ammunition on a parade anyway? |
| 212 | ** Why is he having ROTC candidates perform physical training in ceremonial uniforms? |
| 213 | *** Answer to both: [[AxCrazy He's a complete nutcase]] who clearly doesn't understand how the military actually works. |
| 214 | * BadBoss: let’s see…short fuse? Check. Vicious? Check. Abusive? Check. Generally an asshole? That’s a big check. Even by drill sergeant standards this guy is constantly talking down to his men, not just Flounder. [[spoiler: Is it any wonder why his own troops in Vietnam shoot him?]] |
| 215 | * BerserkButton: Asshole that he is (and he is ''a lot''), what seems to make his blood boil even more is people who don't have professionalism in the ROTC. The moment he went from somewhat-hating the Delta ROTC's to making them his sworn enemies was seeing a "pppledge pppin" on Flounder's uniform (and that he forgot to ''tuck in those pajamas!''). |
| 216 | * TheBrute: At the climax, all of the other antagonists are in various levels of shock and befuddlement at the chaos that the Deltas have caused on the parade. Neidermeyer is like that... for a few moments, and then grabs one of the rifles the ROTC members were carrying, loads it with ''live ammunition'', and starts shooting at the first Delta he can get his eyes on (that being Flounder). |
| 217 | * TheBully: Towards Flounder. |
| 218 | * CrazyPrepared: A truly unpleasant example -- for some reason he decided to bring ''live ammunition'' for the ROTC's Springfield rifles to the parade, which makes him a truly dangerous threat when Flounder confronts him. |
| 219 | * DeadSerious: If not for a DeusExMachina, Flounder would have been the only Delta House frat boy to ''die'' at the climax. |
| 220 | * DeathGlare: Gives a few throughout the movie, usually towards the Deltas. |
| 221 | * DisproportionateRetribution: He responds to a spray bottle-wielding Flounder by ''trying to shoot him with a Springfield rifle'', without any care for any potential injured bystanders. |
| 222 | * DrillSergeantNasty: He's the Sergeant-At-Arms for Faber and he certainly invokes the trope when yelling at the ROTC cadets. |
| 223 | * EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He sure loved that horse. |
| 224 | * FauxAffablyEvil: He acts friendly in the first scene with Pinto and Flounder, but it's not hard to detect his contempt for them. |
| 225 | * HairTriggerTemper: He can't go five seconds without blowing his top and screaming at whatever has triggered his ire. |
| 226 | * HatesEveryoneEqually: In his EstablishingCharacterMoment, he has nothing but contempt for all of the other ROTC members. And he still does at the parade. It's just that the Deltas he hates a ''hell'' of a lot more. |
| 227 | * HateSink: There is nothing positive that can be said about this guy. He's aggressive, smug, and downright unbearable to be around. |
| 228 | * {{Jerkass}}: So violently angry and loathsome he makes the rest of his fraternity look pleasant by comparison. Even when playing nice during the first scene, he treats Flounder and Pinto like dirt. As for pretty much every other second he's onscreen, he doesn't bother playing nice. |
| 229 | * KarmaHoudiniWarranty: In contrast to the other named Omegas Greg and Chip, he gets off pretty lightly in the climax. The former is knocked out and the latter is trampled, but Neidermeyer just gets awkwardly carried off by a broken float, despite the fact that he was mere seconds away from committing a murder. As noted below, however, karma catches up to him. |
| 230 | * KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: He gets [[UnfriendlyFire killed by his own troops]] during Vietnam.]] |
| 231 | * LargeHam: As a DrillSergeantNasty, especially towards Flounder. |
| 232 | * TheNeidermeyer: The TropeNamer and page image. Many military movies had a pompous blow-hard before and after, but he is something truly special. |
| 233 | * PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: He isn't shy about using the word "faggots" to demean his fellow ROTC candidates, either. Note which hand picks up Neidermeyer in Flounder's DeusExMachina moment. |
| 234 | * SmugSnake: When the Deltas lose their charter and most of their possessions, he just gloats about it. |
| 235 | * VillainousBreakdown: Reduced to screaming "FAGGOTS! FAGGOTS!" at his men when they can't stop the Deltas from crashing the parade. |
| 236 | |
| 237 | [[/folder]] |
| 238 | |
| 239 | [[folder:Diller]] |
| 240 | !!Chip Diller |
| 241 | [[quoteright:306:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chip_diller.jpg]] |
| 242 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/KevinBacon |
| 243 | |
| 244 | A new freshman pledge to Omega Theta Pi, and a high-ranking ROTC officer. |
| 245 | ---- |
| 246 | * ButtMonkey: Pretty much every time he's on screen it's to suffer some kind of physical abuse.[[note]] Also doubles as a RealLife example as Creator/KevinBacon couldn't sit with the rest of the crew during the premiere because the usher didn't believe he was in the movie.[[/note]] |
| 247 | * ComedicSpanking: During his initiation scene. |
| 248 | -->"Thank you, sir! May I have another?" |
| 249 | * ComedicUnderwearExposure: During the Initiation scene, when he's about to get paddled by the other Omegas. |
| 250 | * HeelFaithTurn: Years after graduating, he becomes a Christian missionary after seeing Jesus in his food numerous times. |
| 251 | * SquashedFlat: This happens to him when he tries to stop a panicking throng. |
| 252 | * TokenGoodTeammate: By comparison, at least. We don't learn much about him aside from being a member of the elitist, snobby Omegas. He still doesn't do anything particularly villainous and he's a saint next to pricks like Marmalard and Neidermeyer. |
| 253 | * TooKinkyToTorture: Invoked and parodied: during his Omega initiation, he's stripped down to his underwear and spanked with a paddle--and after each wallop, he's forced to cry out ''"Thank you, sir! May I have another?"'' |
| 254 | * ThrowTheDogABone: After all the abuse he suffered, he's the only one of the Omegas to live a fulfilling life after college. Appropriate, since [[Creator/KevinBacon his actor]] went on to have the most prolific and successful career of anyone in the main cast. |
| 255 | * VillainousBreakdown: "ALLLLL IS WELLLLLLLLLL!!!" |
| 256 | |
| 257 | [[/folder]] |
| 258 | |
| 259 | !!Faber Staff |
| 260 | |
| 261 | [[folder:Dean Wormer]] |
| 262 | !!Dean Vernon Wormer |
| 263 | [[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/john_vernon_0.jpg]] |
| 264 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JohnVernon |
| 265 | |
| 266 | Dean of Students of Faber College. Determined to go to extreme lengths to have the Deltas booted from campus, he serves as the film's primary antagonist. |
| 267 | ---- |
| 268 | * AntiVillain: Subverted. At first, he's a DeanBitterman who's just enforcing campus rules. But then after he expels the Deltas, he tells them he informed their local draft boards of it, clearly hoping they'll all get sent into combat and killed. |
| 269 | * BigBad: The biggest threat to the Deltas. He plans to get them expelled and won't stop until they give up or improve their behavior. |
| 270 | * ColdHam: John Vernon took it to nearly iconic levels in the movie. |
| 271 | * TheComicallySerious: Wormer is a very serious character, but a lot of his lines are hilarious because of how well they work in reaction to the others. |
| 272 | * CruelToBeKind: Well, you must admit that fat, drunk, and stupid ''is'' no way to go through life. |
| 273 | * CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Most of the oddly-phrased threats he directs at the Deltas: |
| 274 | --> "Grab the bull by the balls and kick those punks off campus."\ |
| 275 | "The time has come for someone to put his foot down...and that foot is me."\ |
| 276 | "You'll be out of here like shit through a goose." |
| 277 | * DeadpanSnarker: Some of his lines towards the Deltas in regards of their reckless behavior. |
| 278 | * DeanBitterman: While not the {{Trope Namer|s}}, Dean Wormer is the TropeCodifier for this type of character. However, since the film is [[UnbuiltTrope much more cynical]] than later WackyFratboyHijinx films, he often comes across as a [[VillainHasAPoint Villain With A Point]], and the Deltas really are engaging in "pranks" that no sane college administration would tolerate. |
| 279 | * HeroAntagonist: Subverted. While it seems that he's only the villain because the protagonists are delinquents, he flat out ignores the fact the Omegas do much of the same rule-breaking and indirectly tries to get the Deltas killed. |
| 280 | * {{Jerkass}}: He's not any nicer and antagonist toward Delta House than the rest of the Omegas. |
| 281 | * JerkassHasAPoint: His anger towards the Deltas is understandable as they've been constantly breaking campus rules and have a poor Grade Point Average. |
| 282 | --> Fat, drunk, and stupid is ''no'' way to go through life, son. |
| 283 | * KickTheDog: Driven to his limits, he expels the entire Delta House, which he is entirely justified in doing as they are collectively and individually a degenerate menace -- the last straw being their collective midterm grades. He goes over the line by also informing the Delta's local draft boards that they are now eligible for military service, for no reason other than malice; mind you, this is 1962, and in about four years [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar things will get pretty scary for draftees]]. |
| 284 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Averted. WordOfGod says he's a caricature of UsefulNotes/RichardNixon. |
| 285 | * PetTheDog: He has one moment in which he speaks to any of the Deltas in a manner that's not threatening, mocking, bullying, or enraged; one instant in which he reveals a glimpse that beneath it all there was (or used to be) a genuine educator; one line in which he very nearly relates to any student as a human being, and that line is directed to Kent Dorfman. |
| 286 | --> '''Dean Wormer:''' Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son. |
| 287 | * SadistTeacher: Or rather "Sadist Dean". |
| 288 | * VillainHasAPoint: While his methods are questionable, he's not precisely wrong in his intent to weed out Delta House. |
| 289 | * VillainyFreeVillain: Skirts the line on this, increasingly so as the film goes on. While he [[JerkassHasAPoint has some genuine points about how the Deltas act]], and he's certainly within his rights to enforce campus policy, a combination of the Deltas' increasing antics and pressure from [[CorruptPolitician Mayor [=DePasto=]]] sends him further down a path of villainy -- enlisting one group of students to spy on another, runs a KangarooCourt in which the spied-upon have no reasonable chance to address the charges against them (some of which are false), and justifying all this with a "double-secret probation". Ultimately, he crosses the line into full-blown villain by sending the Deltas' information to the draft board ''after'' he expels them. |
| 290 | |
| 291 | [[/folder]] |
| 292 | |
| 293 | [[folder:Jennings]] |
| 294 | !!Dave Jennings |
| 295 | [[quoteright:260:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/professor_jennings.jpg]] |
| 296 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DonaldSutherland |
| 297 | |
| 298 | Professor of Literature at Faber College, and an aspiring novelist. |
| 299 | ---- |
| 300 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: He's the cool professor at Faber. In the classroom, he's up front with his students about how boring he finds Milton. In private, he calls his own work a piece of garbage. Katy says he's the only professor she likes, and Pinto agrees that he's a wonderful teacher. [[spoiler:He also has no qualms with sleeping with Katy (who's one of his students at the time), despite knowing that she has a boyfriend.]] |
| 301 | * CoolTeacher: While not a particularly motivating or laid-back teacher in the classroom, but certainly a guy who enjoys hanging around and smoking pot with his students after class. Ultimately {{deconstructed}}, as he [[spoiler: seduces Katy, causing further drama for the Deltas.]] |
| 302 | * FanDisservice: A split-second peek we get of his bare ass. |
| 303 | * HippieTeacher: He's a university-level version of this. In a slight variation, the film's setting is contemporaneous with the actual hippie movement, making him a CoolTeacher as well. As it turns out, he's just as bored by the subject matter of his lectures as his students are. |
| 304 | * PantsFree: In one scene, he reaches to get something from a cabinet, raising his sweater and exposing his pants-less buttocks. |
| 305 | * SophisticatedAsHell: He's got a strong vocabulary; not surprising for an English professor. |
| 306 | * TeacherStudentRomance: [[spoiler:With Katy.]] |
| 307 | |
| 308 | [[/folder]] |
| 309 | |
| 310 | !!Other Characters |
| 311 | |
| 312 | [[folder:Mandy]] |
| 313 | !!Mandy Pepperidge |
| 314 | [[quoteright:197:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mandy.jpg]] |
| 315 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MaryLouiseWeller |
| 316 | |
| 317 | Greg's girlfriend, Babs' best friend, and an old flame of Otter's (much to her embarrassment). |
| 318 | ---- |
| 319 | * CaptainOblivious: She doesn't notice Bluto spying on her, despite the loud noise made by the ladder, nor him being right in front of her window. |
| 320 | * EveryoneLovesBlondes: One Omega and multiple Deltas lust after her. |
| 321 | * HighHeelFaceTurn: Had a relationship with Otter in the past. In the end, she ends up eloping with Bluto. |
| 322 | * MsFanservice: The scene where she strips and is about to masturbate while Bluto watches from a ladder outside. |
| 323 | * TokenGoodTeammate: The only character from the Omega side that is portrayed sympathetically. |
| 324 | |
| 325 | [[/folder]] |
| 326 | |
| 327 | [[folder:Babs]] |
| 328 | !!Barbara Sue "Babs" Jansen |
| 329 | [[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/babs_6.jpg]] |
| 330 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MarthaSmith |
| 331 | |
| 332 | Secretary of Faber's Pan-Hellenic Council, and Mandy's best friend. A stereotypical SouthernBelle. |
| 333 | ---- |
| 334 | * AlphaBitch: Lives up to the 1962 stereotype. |
| 335 | * GreenEyedMonster: She is jealous of Mandy's relationship with Greg, who she wants all for herself. |
| 336 | * NakedFreakOut: In her final scene. Especially funny because the YeahShot for Babs's segment in the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue freezes her in that state of undress, [[OffscreenInertia thereby leaving her stuck on the street in her underwear]] ''[[AndIMustScream forever]]''! (Or at least until the 2003 "documentary".) |
| 337 | * ReluctantFanserviceGirl: In her final scene. |
| 338 | * RunningGag: Beginning with this film and continuing into all the other films Landis made at Universal, the usual "When in Hollywood, Visit Universal Studios" card placed at the end of the film would then have "(Ask for Babs)" added to it. The 2003 "documentary" that shows the characters where they are at that point even shows her at work on the tram tour. |
| 339 | * SouthernBelle: Though ironically, her portrayer was born in Detroit, Michigan. |
| 340 | |
| 341 | [[/folder]] |
| 342 | |
| 343 | [[folder:Marion]] |
| 344 | !!Marion Wormer |
| 345 | [[quoteright:321:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/321full_verna_bloom.jpg]] |
| 346 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/VernaBloom |
| 347 | |
| 348 | Dean Wormer's wife. Considerably more fun-loving than her humorless husband. |
| 349 | ---- |
| 350 | * CollegeWidow: Although not an actual widow. Although her husband is still living, he doesn't pay too much attention to her (preferring instead to use her as arm candy), and she finds him stuffy and boring. So she turns to the frat boys and their WackyFratboyHijinks...successfully. |
| 351 | * DeadpanSnarker: When Otter flirts with her. |
| 352 | -->'''Otter:''' So we're having a toga party and you're more than welcome.\ |
| 353 | '''Mrs. Wormer:''' I'm old enough to be your mother...almost. |
| 354 | * LadyDrunk: She drinks heavily, probably implying she isn't happy with her life. |
| 355 | %%* MrsRobinson: With Otter. |
| 356 | * OfCorsetsSexy: Somehow has one on underneath her dress. |
| 357 | * PutOnABus: A newspaper reveals that she's going to Sarasota Springs on "vacation" (actually a rehab program). |
| 358 | |
| 359 | [[/folder]] |
| 360 | |
| 361 | [[folder:Katy]] |
| 362 | !!Katy |
| 363 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/katy_3.jpg]] |
| 364 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/KarenAllen |
| 365 | |
| 366 | Boon's girlfriend, and Delta Tau Chi's most prominent female associate. |
| 367 | ---- |
| 368 | * EasilyForgiven: Boon catches her having an affair with Jennings, but the two of them manage to reconcile in the end. |
| 369 | * OnlySaneMan: The most level-headed character in the movie. She constantly wishes that Boon would stop being so immature and start acting more responsibly. |
| 370 | * TeacherStudentRomance: She has an affair with Jennings. |
| 371 | |
| 372 | [[/folder]] |
| 373 | |
| 374 | [[folder:Clorette]] |
| 375 | !!Clorette [=DePasto=] |
| 376 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/colette_6.jpg]] |
| 377 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/SarahHolcomb |
| 378 | |
| 379 | Daughter of the mayor of the (unnamed) town where Faber College is located. A cashier at the local supermarket, she becomes Pinto's primary love interest after the shy pledge strikes her fancy. |
| 380 | ---- |
| 381 | * DudeShesLikeInAComa: When she passes out as they're making out, Pinto is given the choice to have his way with her. |
| 382 | * FakeBoobs: She stuffs her bra with toilet paper, as Pinto discovers just before she passes out at the toga party. |
| 383 | * GirlishPigtails: Her default hairstyle, emphasizing her youthful innocence. |
| 384 | * MafiaPrincess: Her father is heavily implied to have Mob connections. |
| 385 | * OralFixation: Seen chewing gum in nearly all of her early scenes. |
| 386 | * ReallySeventeenYearsOld: [[spoiler:Actually, she's ''13''. Originally, she was written as a 16-year-old, but her age was changed as a CensorDecoy. The censors and MPAA didn't mind either way and the writers decided to make her 13.]] |
| 387 | * YoungerThanTheyLook: Much to Pinto's surprise. |
| 388 | |
| 389 | [[/folder]] |
| 390 | |
| 391 | [[folder:Mayor [=DePasto=]]] |
| 392 | !!Mayor Carmine [=DePasto=] |
| 393 | [[quoteright:259:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mayor_2.jpg]] |
| 394 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/CesareDanova |
| 395 | |
| 396 | Mayor of the (unnamed) town where Faber is located, and willing to go to extreme lengths to prevent Delta from wreaking havoc on his town. Implied to be linked to the Mafia, he kicks off the events of the film's plot when he demands that Dean Wormer crack down on Delta to prevent them from causing trouble during the Homecoming Parade. |
| 397 | ---- |
| 398 | * CorruptPolitician: He extorts money from the college to finance the parade and, when Wormer offers a mild protest, replies calmly, "If you mention extortion again, I'll [[KneeCapping have your legs broken]]." This is not typical behavior for most small college-town mayors, but his name and accent suggest strongly that His Honor may be at the very least [[TheMafia well-connected]]. |
| 399 | * GreaterScopeVillain: While Wormer is the main antagonist, he's taking orders from the Mayor. |
| 400 | * IResembleThatRemark: When Wormer calls the Mayor's order that he give money to help fund the parade "extortion" ("the use of or threat of violence to obtain something against the other person's will", meaning Wormer is calling the Mayor a criminal kingpin), the Mayor threatens Wormer with bodily harm if he uses that word again. |
| 401 | * MayorPain: The perfect example of the "criminally corrupt" version. Although the Dean was already looking for a reason to kick the Deltas out, it's De Pasto who tells Wormer that if he doesn't do it and the Deltas cause any trouble at the parade as a result, ''he will have the Dean's legs broken''. He also strong-arms the Dean to give money to fund the parade, which explicitly will strain the college's budget. |
| 402 | * PapaWolf: When he finds out about his daughter being molested, he has Dean Wormer come down on the culprits. When he discovers Pinto as the perpetrator, he chases him down. |
| 403 | [[/folder]] |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Characters / AnimalHouse
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
