Line #138 Characters/HappyEndings


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
2	! Main Characters
3
4	!!Alex Kerkovich
5	->'''Played By:''' Creator/ElishaCuthbert
6	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alex_kerkovich_6951.jpg]]
7	[[caption-width-right:300:I'm not as dumb as I am.]]
8
9	Jane's ditzy younger sister and the youngest (and most clueless) member of the group. She was once engaged to Dave but abandoned him at the altar but as of season 3 [[spoiler: they start dating again. But then, they break up again at the end of that season.]].
10
11	* AmicableExes: with Dave [[spoiler:until they start dating again. Then they break up again at the end of season 3. Amicably]].
12	* BigEater: Possibly the only character in the show who has an appetite bigger than Max.
13	* BrilliantButLazy: Literally. When she actively applied herself she proved to be so alarmingly intelligent that her friends couldn’t take it. Then she made one tiny error in front of some judgmental nerds, and that was enough for her to give up and go back to being willfully dumb, deciding that being smart wasn’t worth the effort.
14	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Alex originally didn't have any defining character traits, but she's gradually turned into the cute ditz.
15	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Set off events which meant the whole group was pranking one another because she's "Not as dumb as I am", by pranking her boyfriend with guns for food.
16	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Yeah, she's out there. Claims to have pig friends, for one thing.
17	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Often does this.
18	* TheCutie: Is cheerful and optimistic, more so than any of the others.
19	* TheDitz: In a webisode, she’s incredulous that the aliens Michael Jordan played with in ''Film/SpaceJam'' were actually cartoons.
20	* DumbBlonde: Although she notes she's a bottle blonde.
21	* {{Flanderization}}: She may have been slightly impulsive and childlike in the first two seasons, but was ultimately on par with her friends in the intelligence department. In season three, they exaggerated her impulsivity and childlike nature and being a complete ditz became her defining character trait. She still showed evidence of the old Alex and even had moments in which she was more clever than the crew, but she was "the dumb one" all throughout.
22	* FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome: Temporarily becomes smart in one episode. Ends up going back to her old ways when she finds that hanging out with other intellectuals isn't all that fun.
23	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Choleric (shares this with Jane)
24	* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Jane and Alex are normally on the same page but when they fight it gets bad, as seen in the Season 3 episode, The Incident.
25	* GuiltyPleasures: Alex loves cliched and formulaic RomCom movies.
26	* TheHeart: Has twice led charges for the group 'For Love!'
27	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: See the episode where she's looking for a new roommate.
28	* MsFanservice: While not as exploited as her sister, who had multiple nude scenes, she is a beautiful blonde played by Elisha Cuthbert, of course the show was going to exploit her trim body from time to time.
29	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
30	** Felt incredibly guilty about leaving Dave at the altar. Recurs throughout Season 1, whenever she's reminded of the pain she's caused him. They both manage to get past it though.
31	** She also got this way after chopping off some of her hair to try to protect herself from Max's prank (which ended up being pointless). [[spoiler: Or at least she's pretending to be.]]
32	* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: A lot of people continue to remember her for leaving Dave at the altar long after the pilot.
33	* OneHourWorkWeek: Owner and seemingly sole employee of a store that she spends hardly any time in.
34	* RunawayBride: How she was first introduced.
35	* PintSizedPowerhouse: Alex’s tiny size is often a source of humor, but she’s also shown to have near superhuman strength on rare occasion.
36	* SiblingYinYang Not too bright, very nice and easy personality contrasting with Jane's intelligent if ruthless approach to things.
37	* SmartBall: one episode sees her get smarter after doing extensive reading...only to revert to her dumb but sweet self at the end.
38	* StrongFamilyResemblance: With Jane.
39	* ThatCameOutWrong: Occasionally does this. Sometimes she notices.
40	* TooDumbToLive: To prove a point to Dave, Alex tried using her apartment chimney. She ended up setting the place on fire.
41	* TookALevelInKindness: She was [[TheBully a bully]] in elementary school, but grew out of this behavior.
42	* WeWantOurIdiotBack: In one episode, she becomes fairly smart which makes Dave and Jane feel threatened. They even try to coax her back to her old ways.
43	* {{Womanchild}}: She was the flower girl at her sister's wedding, a role usually reserved for five-year olds.
44
45
46	!!Jane Kerkovich-Williams
47	->'''Played By:''' Creator/ElizaCoupe
48	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jane_kerkovich_4666.jpg]]
49	[[caption-width-right:300:You lightly bite one security guard and they act like you're a criminal!]]
50
51	Brad's wife and Alex's older sister. She was something of an irresponsible party girl in her college days, but matured into a competitive, driven, career-minded perfectionist.
52
53	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Turns out, she has an older sister that makes Jane look like Alex whenever she's around.
54	** ExperimentedInCollege: Penny says she dated a huge number of girls and called it 'just a phase.'
55	* BigSisterInstinct: If Alex is being taken advantage of, like the instance when Alex's new roommate was using her for a hidden web cam porn site, she is willing to get physical.
56	* ComedicSociopathy
57	* CompetitionFreak: Demonstrated in 'She Got Game Night' and 'Deuce Babylove 2: Electric Babydeuce.' After she and Brad defeat Max and Alex in a tennis match, she takes Alex's racket and begins to smash it against the court, saying 'You don't deserve this!'
58	%%* ControlFreak
59	* CoolBigSis: Mixed with BigSisterInstinct, she's a Neurotic ControlFreak yes, but damnit if she isn't there for Alex through thick or thin.
60	* CrazyPrepared: Part of the side effects of being a ControlFreak, and shown to what extremes it is possible in "The Kerkovich Way." This becomes a BerserkButton in "Un-sabotageable", Max says at times she's woefully unprepared. Jane responds by decking him.
61	%%* {{Determinator}}
62	%%* FormerTeenRebel
63	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Choleric (shares this with Alex)
64	* FreudianExcuse: A lot of her present day and past actions were seemingly motivated by an attempt to match or outshine her older sister who, when she's around, turns Jane into Alex.
65	* GuileHero: When she's using her powers for good.
66	** ManipulativeBastard: when she's not.
67	* HappilyMarried: To Brad.
68	* LegFocus: Both Max and Alex (when she's carrying the SmartBall for an episode) note that Jane almost never wears long pants so she can show off her legs get outside validation, which she says she needs a lot of.
69	* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: she wears the pants in the relationship.
70	* MsFanservice: Though all the women (and men, for that matter) on the show are rather attractive, Jane most fits this trope, from constantly baring her legs to being unabashed in her sexual desire for her husband, to the completely naked (though censored) scene she gets in the Season 3 opener.
71	* {{Sensual Slav\|s}}: The Serbian heritage is played up much more with her, even though it’s Alex who still has the maiden name.
72	* SignificantBirthdate: [[spoiler: Christmas]].
73	* TheSmartGuy: together with her husband Brad.
74	* StealthHiBye: She's ridiculously good at those.
75	* StrongFamilyResemblance: With Alex.
76	* TokenEvilTeammate: The show casts her in lovable villain mode a surprising number of times.
77	* WeWantOurJerkBack: one episode had her mellow down significantly, much to the eventual chagrin of her friends who found her new personality too relaxed and unmotivated.
78	* WhereDaWhiteWomenAt: Apparently Brad's not the only black guy Jane's dated.
79	-->'''Jane''': Why are you ''having'' private messages with Megan? What are you writing that I can't read?\
80	'''Brad''': I am writing "none of your business." I don't ask what you're writing to Jamal, or Malik, or [[GhettoName Ladwinian]]!
81
82	!!Dave Rose
83	->'''Played By:''' Creator/ZacharyKnighton
84	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dave_rose_449.jpg]]
85	[[caption-width-right:300:Champaigne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends.]]
86
87	Alex's melancholic ex-fiance who as of season 3 [[spoiler: start dating again]], who quits his boring office job to start a food truck business. Tries to be "the cool guy" of the gang but usually fails.
88
89	* AmicableExes: with Alex. [[spoiler:Until they start dating again. Then they break up again at the end of season 3. Amicably]].
90	%%* ApologisesALot
91	* BeardOfSorrow: Seems to have one in early episodes after getting jilted, but it eventually just becomes part of his look.
92	* CampStraight: less so than Brad, but it's there.
93	* CatchPhrase: "Let me back up..." after a bad opening to an explanation, then again after the explanation fails, then at last being cut off as he leads into some anecdote about his childhood. His father shares the same phrase.
94	* CharacterTics: slaps Max after high-fives.
95	* ConsistentClothingStyle: V-Neck Tee-Shirts. There's even an entire episode where Max and Alex try to hold an intervention for the fact that his entire wardrobe is nothing but Vs.
96	-->'''Max''': Dave, are you wearing a different V-Neck than you were two hours ago?\
97	'''Dave''': ''(proudly)'' I am, thank you for noticing. I actually keep one in the truck in case I want to make the old switch. I call it, my "Emergen-Tee".
98	* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife
99	* DistractedByTheLuxury: Sneaks back into the apartment he shared with Alex… because her bathroom is nicer than Max’s.
100	* TheDitz: Not as much as Alex, but they ''did'' once work out their relationship issues after getting locked together in a series of smaller and smaller rooms. Also, he's blindingly naive when it comes to scams for the most part.
101	* DreadfulMusician: he's a singer-songwriter. A really bad one.
102	* TheEeyore: he's a wee bit prone to depression.
103	%%* TheEveryman
104	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Melancholic
105	* HypocriticalHumor: despite his obsession with being cool, he's basically the opposite of that, as his friends often point out.
106	* TheLeader / TheHero: However, Penny lampshades his atypical nature of this trope by pointing out "Dave, for a leading-man type, you partake in some really outlandish behavior".
107	* LimitedWardrobe: Dave seems to wear exclusively v-necks.
108	* MrFanservice: Of the men, he had the most amount of fanservicy moments. Given he was an attractive, nicely-shaped gentlemen, it wasn't hard to see why.
109	%%* OneOfTheKids
110	* ProperlyParanoid: Is prepared for most of Max's pranks [[spoiler: except for faking his death.]]
111	* PungeonMaster: The proprietor of Steak Me Home Tonight pretty much has to be.
112	* RunningGag: Tends to explain things by going way too broad, saying 'Let me back up'. Eventually its revealed his dad does the same thing.
113	* WhiteAngloSaxonProtestant: Although he's apparently 1/16 Navajo.
114
115	!!Max Blum A.K.A. Joseph Reynolds
116	->'''Played By:''' Creator/AdamPally
117	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/max_blum_1887.jpg]]
118	[[caption-width-right:250:Wow, a 90s hippie jam band. You know what I'd rather listen to? Myself being shot in the face.]]
119
120	Penny's ex-boyfriend, Dave's friend since college and Brad's former roommate on ''Series/TheRealWorld'': lazy, sarcastic, gay and perpetually unemployed.
121
122	* AllGaysArePromiscuous: In the first season, toned down in the second and seemingly averted in the third where Max begins looking for a steady boyfriend.
123	* BadassBoast: Attempts several of these in the prank episode, but keeps failing to say his own name correctly.
124	* TheBear: {{Lampshaded}} in Ordinary Extraordinary Love.
125	%%* BigEater
126	%%* BreakoutCharacter
127	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Spends the first season moving from fling to fling, finds himself unwittingly in a serious relationship through the second season, starts looking for a serious relationship in the third season when he breaks up with his boyfriend in the second.
128	%%* ComedicSociopathy
129	%%* DeadpanSnarker
130	%% * FatAndProud: Averted.
131	%%* FatSlob
132	%% * FourTemperamentEnsemble: Phlegmatic
133	* GetRichQuickScheme: ''a lot'', due to his unwillingness to take up a full-time job.
134	* GuiltyPleasures: Max reads Japanese Tiger Beat.
135	%%* GuysAreSlobs
136	* ICallHimMrHappy: Apparently his "underpants monster" is called Chad.
137	* InformedJudaism
138	** NiceJewishBoy: Loves his parents and they love him, before and after he belatedly comes out to them.
139	* ItsAllAboutMe: Is pretty self-centered most of the time. But deep down he does care about his friends.
140	%%* TheLancer
141	* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: although he does eventually become a limo driver for some time. He's usually either unemployed or with a job that as Brad puts it, shows that 'Max leads the league in having jobs you didn't know were jobs.'
142	%%* OneOfTheKids
143	%%* PermaStubble
144	* PerpetualPoverty: due to perpetual unemployment.
145	* PlatonicLifePartners: With Penny.
146	* RefugeInAudacity: Lots of his actions. Such as [[spoiler: faking his own death as a prank.]]
147	%%* TheSlacker
148	* StraightGay: Much to Penny's chagrin, he's basically "a straight dude that happens to like guys."
149	* TwoferTokenMinority: gay and Jewish.
150	* [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have To Be Spiders?]]: It's his third biggest phobia behind public speaking and drag queens with no makeup.
151
152	!!Brad Williams:
153	->'''Played By:''' Creator/DamonWayansJr
154	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brad_williams_8733.jpg]]
155	[[caption-width-right:350:All about me, what time is it? Sex o'clock!]]
156
157	Jane's easygoing (and somewhat effeminate) husband who has a ThoseTwoGuys vibe with Max. Met Max, and later the rest of the group, due to both him and Max being roommates on a season of ''Series/TheRealWorld''.
158
159	* CampStraight: “So what, now a brother can’t twirl?”
160	* CatchPhrase: Often issues a quick, high-pitched "What?" in response to a racist or otherwise offensive comment in conversation. This is typically ignored by the other characters, who continue to talk amongst themselves.
161	* CharacterTics: Brad dry heaves when he sees someone ready to throw up.
162	%%* TheCharmer
163	* CrazyJealousGuy: Can get jealous pretty easily when it comes to his wife. To be fair, Jane's not that much better.
164	%%* TheDandy / SharpDressedMan
165	%%* DeskJockey
166	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Sanguine (shares this with Penny)
167	* GuiltyPleasures: Brad loves cliched and formulaic RomCom movies.
168	%%* HappilyMarried: To Jane.
169	%%** OppositesAttract.
170	%%* InTouchWithHisFeminineSide
171	%%** MasculineGirlFeminineBoy
172	* TheSmartGuy: shares this role with Jane.
173	%%* TokenMinority
174	* UnconfessedUnemployment: For a while in the second season finale. Inverted in the third season premiere where he pretends to be jobless.
175	%%* WorkHardPlayHard
176
177	!!Penny Hartz
178	->'''Played By:''' Creator/CaseyWilson[[quoteright:289:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/penny_hartz_7162.jpg]]
179	[[caption-width-right:289:Ah-mah-zing.]]
180
181	A friend of Alex, Jane and Dave since childhood, as well as Max's ex-girlfriend (he refers to it as his "first gay relationship"). She's constantly on the prowl for the right guy but tends to scare potential suitors away with her slightly manic personality.
182
183	* AbandonedCatchphrase: Penny's CatchPhrase in the first season was "Ah-mazing!" She quietly dropped it on the second season, acknowledging that it was SoLastSeason... [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall It's really more of a summer expression.]]
184	* TheBeard: Went into a relationship with Max to fool his parents into thinking he was gay. Something she wasn't particularly fond of.
185	%%* BrainyBrunette
186	* ButtMonkey: Her relationships are constantly failing, she's often the butt of everyone's jokes, her birthday's cursed, and she keeps hitting her head.
187	* BuxomBeautyStandard: Her large bust is often noted by other characters InUniverse, such as Max and the Car Czar referring to her as 'Countess von Boobs' and 'Honey boobs-boobs'.
188	* CatchPhrase: "Ah-mah-zing".
189	* DrunkenMaster: When Penny gets ''really'' drunk, she can speak fluent Italian.
190	* FriendToAllChildren: Sees herself this way, which is why she’s taken aback when two kids she’s babysitting prefer aloof Max.
191	* FagHag: Penny wants to be this to Max. Because of the whole StraightGay thing it doesn't really work out.
192	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Sanguine (shares this with Brad)
193	%%* GenkiGirl
194	* HeroicBSOD: Enters one when she goes on a cleanse.
195	* InsultBackfire: Thinks the nicknames her co-workers give her are meant as compliments. It takes a while for her to realize that "old spinster", "un-dateable", and "train wreck" may not be forms of praise.
196	* LargeHam: Is very loud, outspoken, and often overreacts.
197	%%* LikeFatherLikeSon:
198	* LastHetRomance: for Max, or according to him, first gay romance, as Penny acts like a CampGay man.
199	%%* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces
200	* MaamShock: First in the pilot, when she responds to being called ma'am by saying she's going to "go bawl my eyes out, and then I'll be back to physically fight you.". In a later episode, she has a more subdued but still surprised reaction when a waiter calls her ma'am.
201	%%* MistakenForRacist: In the episode that she dated Hitler. ItMakesSenseInContext.
202	%%* NotWhatItLooksLike: Often the victim of this.
203	%%* PlatonicLifePartners: With Max.
204	* RunningGag: Penny is constantly hitting her head on things. In one episode, she's actually prescribed a helmet by her doctor because of this.
205	* StatuesqueStunner: May be considered this at 5'8''.
206	* VerbalTic: Really fond of abbreviations, or “abbrevs”.
207	* WeightWoe: The plot of one episode revolved around her dieting, which she couldn't keep up for long.
208
209	! Secondary Characters
210
211	!!Derrick
212	-> '''Played by''': Stephen Guarino
213
214	The gang's "offensively stereotypical gay" friend.
215
216	* AllGaysArePromiscuous: averted; he gets married to his boyfriend Erik in season 2.
217	%%* CampGay
218	* CatchPhrase: ''[sung]'' Draaaa-maaaa!
219	%%* DramaQueen
220	* {{Foil}}: to Max, who is as far removed from DRAMA! and gay stereotypes as possible.
221	* TookALevelInKindness: Considerably nicer in his season 3 appearances than he was when introduced in the second episode.
222
223	!!Scotty
224	->'''Played by''': Seth Morris
225
226	A friend of Max's who is weird and psychotic but it occasionally called upon for various favors.
227
228	%%* ComedicSociopathy
229	%%* GuysAreSlobs
230
231	!!Dana Hartz
232	->'''Played by''': Creator/MeganMullally
233
234	Penny's upbeat, creative mother. She has been thrice divorced and is a traveling lounge singer.
235
236	%%* BlitheSpirit
237	%%* CoolOldLady
238	%%* GenkiGirl
239	%%* GoodParents
240	* ManicPixieDreamGirl: A rare older example.
241	* ParentWithNewParamour: Currently dating Dave's father, "Big" Dave.
242	* ThePollyanna: She's always looking on the bright side of things.
243
244	!!Grant
245	->'''Played by''': Creator/JamesWolk
246
247	Max's "perfect" on/off boyfriend.
248
249	* AchillesHeel: Despite everyone thinking he's perfect he reveals he has a secret need to be liked.
250	* TheAce: Seems to be great at everything and the group becomes instantly enamored with him (to the point of obsession) where usually they automatically hate every other significant other any of them bring home.
251	* {{Catchphrase}}: "Para hoy!" which is spanish for 'for today'.
252	* MrFanservice: They get their mileage out of having James Wolk for three episodes, especially an extended shirtless scene in "Everybody Loves Grant".
253	* StraightGay: Like Max he has no stereotypical traits, only downplayed in comparison to Max ironically as he also doesn't have Max's uber-masculine "frat boy" traits either.
254	* WalkingShirtlessScene: See entry under MrFanservice.

Context Characters / HappyEndings