Line #66 Film/Clifford


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
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3	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clifford_1994_movie.jpg]]
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5	A 1994 BlackComedy film directed by Paul Flaherty, starring Creator/MartinShort, Creator/CharlesGrodin, and Creator/MarySteenburgen. Produced by Creator/OrionPictures in 1990, its release was delayed for several years due to financial problems.
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7	The film opens in the year 2050, introducing Roger (Creator/BenSavage), a 10-year old Catholic schoolboy. The boy has just blown up the school gym because of a personal grievance (his parents wouldn't allow him to join the basketball team). Elderly priest Clifford Daniels (Short) catches up to him and tries to convince him to change his ways. To do so, Daniels starts telling his own life story.
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9	Flashback to 1990, with Clifford as a 10-year-old troublemaker. He has a personal grievance, too. He wants to visit Dinosaur World, a theme park located in California. Instead his parents book airplane tickets to Hawaii for a convention where his father is to speak. But Clifford finds a way to visit California anyway, namely by causing a disturbance on the plane and forcing an emergency landing. Clifford’s father asks his brother, Clifford’s uncle Martin (Grodin) to take care of Clifford for the week so he and his wife can head to the convention. In order to prove to his fiancée, Sarah (Steenburgen) that he really loves kids, Martin agrees, even promising Clifford that he’ll take him to Dinosaur World. However, Martin’s sleazy boss, Gerald Ellis (Creator/DabneyColeman), tasks him with redesigning a mass transit system in a few days, forcing Martin to renege on his promise. Thinking Martin lied to him, Clifford sets about making Martin’s life a living hell…
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11	Not to be confused with [[Literature/CliffordTheBigRedDog the large red dog of the same name]].
12	----
13	!!This film provides examples of:
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15	* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler: At the climax, Larry the scary Rex malfunctions and nearly kills Clifford, but he is saved by his uncle.]]
16	* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: At some point, Clifford narrates a rather outrageous story of having been abducted by your stereotypical outlaw bikers: "They tied me up...and then they told me stories that they do on their bikes. Some of them were fun, but some of them were scary!"
17	* [[spoiler: AmusementParkOfDoom]]: [[spoiler: Dinosaur World is an example of this...well, since [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor it ended up being a comeuppance]] for Clifford's antics throughout the film.]]
18	* TheAtoner: The Clifford of 2050 is a very different person than the one of 1990.
19	* BaitAndSwitchComparison: One of the taglines, comparing Clifford to a pit bull: "The other one is a dog."
20	%%* BigBad: Clifford.
21	* BoundAndGagged: [[spoiler: Bound but not Gagged. Martin has Clifford in a straitjacket during his visit to Dinosaur World.]]
22	* CharacterTitle: ''Clifford'' is a movie about a boy named...Clifford.
23	* ClearMyName: [[spoiler: Part of Martin's motivation in the latter part of the film. Clifford initially framed him for placing a bomb under city hall, leading to his arrest. When the charge didn't stick and no bomb was found, the police filed charges against him for initiating a panic. Martin repeatedly tries to get Clifford to sign the confession which would clear his name.]]
24	%% * CompanionCube: Steffen, Clifford's toy ''Brontosaurus''.
25	* DeathGlare: Clifford does this whenever he is about to wreak havoc.
26	* DinnerWithTheBoss: While Martin is in San Francisco, he notices Sarah having a romantic dinner of sorts with their boss Gerald Ellis.
27	* DisproportionateRetribution:
28	** Roger blows up the school gym because he wasn't allowed to join the school basketball team.
29	** When Martin is unable to take Clifford to Dinosaur World thanks to a last-minute project dropped on his lap, Clifford proceeds to make his life a living hell.
30	* TheDitz: Miss Sarah Davis as she comes across as rather naive given that she is oblivious to Clifford's antics. Also, see HypocriticalHumor below:
31	* DodgyToupee:
32	** When Clifford first met Mr. Ellis, he said "My that's the bestest looking wig I've ever seen!"
33	** Said toupee gets tossed from a moving vehicle after Sarah supposedly ripped it off by [[DateRapeAverted pushing him away]]. As a result, Martin notices his boss wearing a distinctly different toupee that boasts a ponytail prior to doing his major presentation.
34	* EnfantTerrible: While Clifford does not fit the "adorable child" description, he is a child. A child who sabotages aircrafts and wrecks lives.
35	* ForcedPerspective: To make Clifford seem smaller, most of the other actors would stand on boxes or ledges in certain scenes. For the party scene, most of the extras were actually tall actors and actresses, most being around 6'4" tall.
36	* GilliganCut:
37	** When Clifford's father inquires his son's whereabouts, it cuts to the plane abruptly descending.
38	** Subverted when Martin attempts to break the news about not being able to go to Dinosaur World, it then cuts to Clifford losing control of himself and attempting to hijack Martin's car which causes him to weave through traffic.
39	* HeWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler: Martin lets his hatred towards Clifford get the best of him and ends up becoming worse of a monster than what Clifford ever was.]]
40	* HumiliationConga: What happens to Martin after his model [[EarthShatteringKaboom explodes]] on him during his presentation.
41	* HypocriticalHumor: While Martin is trying to convince Sarah of being innocent, she doesn't believe a word he says, [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech points out that he comes off as a phony]], and proclaims "I can spot a phony a mile away." The next second, a DragQueen asks Sarah if she has seen his/her missing dog. Sarah fails to notice he is actually a guy, adressing him/her as "Ma'am."
42	* ItNeverGetsAnyEasier: At some point, Martin attempts to reason with Clifford that visiting Dinosaur World might be his dream now and failing to achieve it is painful, but Martin has had similar disappointments, with a place he wanted to visit as a child getting closed before he ever had a chance to; he survived. But then Clifford ask this about the pain and the disappointment, "Does it ever get easier, Uncle Martin?". Martin has to admit: "Not really."
43	%%* {{Jerkass}}: Clifford.
44	* KubrickStare: Clifford gets these whenever he starts planning some mischief.
45	%%* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Clifford, Clifford, Clifford
46	* ObliviousToHatred: Somewhat surprisingly, Clifford is shocked and saddened when Martin outright says the he hates him after (reluctantly) rescuing Clifford from the Dinosaur World ride. It’s implied that this is what started Clifford on the road to being a better person by 2050.
47	* ParentalIssues: Clifford reacts to Martin's suggestion of returning him to his parents as if it is a threat, pleading: "Don't send me back to my parents, they hate me!" Martin points out: "Not as much as I do!"
48	* PointyHairedBoss: Gerald Ellis (Creator/DabneyColeman) is Martin's boss. At some point, he decides that the location Martin chose for the train line they are designing is off. He chooses a location two miles away. Martin quickly estimates that this would cause the line to go right through the Sepulveda Dam. Ellis still doesn't get that this is a problem, "you'll come up with something."
49	* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: Played with. [[spoiler: Martin begins the film caring very much for Clifford, but after the latter puts the former through so much Hell, he ends up going insane and sees no problem with leaving Clifford to die. However, he does eventually forgive Clifford.]]
50	* QuestForSex: [[spoiler: It is implied that this is the main reason why Mr. Ellis took Sarah Davis to San Francisco. It is obvious as he is trying to [[BlackComedyRape put some moves on her]] and woo her away from Martin.]]
51	* RecordedSplicedConversation: [[spoiler:Clifford gets Martin arrested in front of Sarah's family after calling in a fake bomb threat in city hall, made out of mixing audios of Martin's scolding of Clifford with his answering machine.]]
52	%%* SanitySlippage: Oh so much for [[ButtMonkey Martin]] as the movie progresses...
53	* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler: Martin initially has no qualms with letting Larry the Scary Rex have Clifford for a snack after all of the sheer hell Clifford has made out of the former's life throughout most of the movie. Martins's better nature eventually takes over, however, and he grudgingly saves Clifford at the last moment.]]
54	* ShoutOut: Martin warns Sarah against taking Clifford with her, "[[Film/TheExorcist Don't blame me when his head starts spinning around! Watch out for the green vomit!]]."
55	* TheEighties:
56	** The hairstyles of the attendees of that [[WildTeenParty party]] Clifford was throwing.
57	** In the scene where Clifford eats breakfast, the Pepsi can had the pre-1992 logo given the fact that this movie was actually filmed in 1990.
58	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
59	** Martin gives a blistering one to Clifford after [[spoiler: rescuing him from the Larry the Scary Rex ride]].
60	-->'''Clifford Daniels''': I'm sorry...
61	-->'''Martin Daniels''': ''(pushes Clifford away as he tries to hug him)'' ''NO!'' '''''NO!''''' Clifford, don't... I don't want to hug you. I can't imagine ''anyone'' ever wanting to hug you!
62	-->'''Clifford Daniels''': But I really am sorry...
63	-->'''Martin Daniels''': You really are sorry? You know ''sorrow'' is a ''human'' emotion, and as we know, you are ''NOT'' a human boy! You're just, this... this '''destructive''' thing and eventually everyone just gets to ''hate'' you!
64	%%** Also, Sarah dishes one out to Martin while he encounters her in San Francisco.
65	* SuddenlyShouting: Clifford does this after his second, faster trip through the Larry the Scary Rex ride to get under Martin's skin.
66	-->'''Clifford Daniels''': A thought occurred to me. Do you think Miss Sarah and Mr. Ellis, ''perhaps'', would name their '''''FIRST CHILD MARTIN?!?!?!'''''
67	* TerrifyingTyrannosaur: The main attraction of Dinosaur World is [[spoiler:a huge, animatronic ''Tyrannosaurus'' aptly named "Larry, the scary Rex"]].
68	%%* ThisMeansWar: Clifford's reaction to his uncle failing to keep a promise.
69	%%* TimeShiftedActor: Averted.
70	* VillainProtagonist: Clifford was one as a child. He would do anything to go to Dinosaur Land, even if it meant ruining others' live. As an adult, not so much.
71	* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler: Martin's psychosis and anger get the best of him when he decides to put the ride on hyperdrive to scare the Hell out of Clifford, but this causes the ride to break and Clifford almost dies because of him. He later regrets it.]]

Context Film / Clifford