Line #19 Film/DeadlyAdvice


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deadly_advice.jpg]]
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3	''Deadly Advice'' is a 1994 British BlackComedy drama film directed by Mandie Fletcher and starring Jane Horrocks, Creator/BrendaFricker, Creator/ImeldaStaunton, and Creator/JonathanPryce.
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5	Advised by the ghosts of five notable British killers, small town librarian Jodie (Horrocks) sets out to murder her domineering mother, Iris (Fricker), and anyone else who stands in her way to happiness.
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7	!!''Deadly Advice'' contains examples of:
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9	* AffablyEvil: The ghosts of the murderers are all extremely polite and helpful, offering Jodie all sorts of well-meaning advice. Which usually amounts to MurderIsTheBestSolution.
10	* BeneathSuspicion: The reason UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper gives as to why he was never caught. An unassuming hairdresser, he once even cuts Inspector Aberline's hair, showing how close to the investigation he could come without being suspected.
11	* BlackComedy: MurderIsTheBestSolution PlayedForLaughs.
12	* ChurchgoingVillain: Major Armstrong, Mrs. Webster and Dr. Crippen sit in the front row of the church singing along with the hymns after having pushed Jodie to murder her mother.
13	* DeadlyBath: G.J. Smith explains to Jodie how he drowned his wives in the bath by yanking on their ankles and pulling them under the water: which is illustrated with a flashback.
14	* DeadMansChest: After killing her mother, Jodie stuffs her body inside a chest and waits for her sister to get home.
15	* DeadPersonConversation: Jodie is advised by a HistoricalDomainCrossover of Britain's most infamous (deceased) murderers. This is less help for a budding murderer than one might suspect.
16	* DeathByFallingOver: [[spoiler:As a young girl, Jodie discovered her father in bed with his lover. In the subsequent argument, she shoved him and he toppled backwards over the edge of the balcony to his death.]]
17	* DoggedNiceGuy: Ted, the village doctor, continues his pursuit of Jodie despite all of the obstacles that her mother Iris throws in his path. [[spoiler:The final scene indicates that perhaps he is not quite such a nice guy after all.]]
18	* EatingTheEyeCandy: All of the hen's night are very appreciative of Bunny's strip act in Bristol. A similar thing happens later when he is dancing at the village dance.
19	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Jodie's murderous {{Spirit Advisor}}s: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Rowse_Armstrong Major Herbert Armstrong]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Julia_Martha_Thomas Mrs Kate Webster]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawley_Harvey_Crippen Dr. Crippen]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Joseph_Smith G.J. Smith]], and UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper.
20	* HistoricalDomainCrossover: Jodie is advised by a collection of Britain's most notorious murderers: Major Herbert Armstrong, Kate Webster, Dr. Crippen, G.J. Smith, and UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper.
21	* HypocriticalHumor: Major Armstrong, Mrs. Webster and Dr. Crippen sit in the front row of the church singing along with the hymns after having pushed Jodie to murder her mother.
22	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: When her car crashes, Beth is thrown through the windscreen and ends up impaled on the bale spike on the back of a tractor.
23	* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: This is G.J. Smith's primary advice to Jodie; explaining how he drowned his wives in the bath in such a way to avoid suspicion. It is on his suggestion that she [[MedicationTampering tampers with her sister's heart meds]] to weaken her heart further.
24	* MedicationTampering: Jodie empties out her sister's heart medication capsules and refills them with flour.
25	* MurderIsTheBestSolution: This is generally the advice the ghosts offer Jodie for any problem she faces. Only Major Armstrong suggests that she stop at one murder, as attempting a second was his undoing.
26	* MyBelovedSmother: Iris Greenwood rules the house with an iron hand and has such power over her daughters that they see themselves as becoming bitter old spinsters.
27	* MythologyGag: UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper mentions that his occupation was a hairdresser. Aaron Kosminski, one of the principal suspects in the original Ripper investigations, was a hairdresser.
28	* NerdyInhaler: Beth has asthma and uses an inhaler. It gets quite a work out when she visits the strip club.
29	* PrimalScene: At the end of the movie, it is revealed that Jodie had walked in on her father having sex with his lover on a trip to London. This is implied to have contributed to her delicate mental balance. [[spoiler:Although probably not as much as accidentally causing his death immediately afterward.]]
30	* ShearMenace: Jodie stabs Bunny with a pair of scissors.
31	* SpiritAdvisor: Jodie gains a group of spirit advisors in the form of [[HistoricalDomainCrossover the ghosts of five of Britain's most notorious murderers: Major Herbert Armstrong, Kate Webster, Dr. Crippen, G.J. Smith, and Jack the Ripper]]. Their advice is of varying quality and practicality.
32	* StagParty: Beth goes out on a hen night for one of the girls at the bank where she works. They go to a strip club in Bristol. By the end of the night, everyone is drunk, one girl is throwing up in her handbag, and the bride-to-be is in tears and wondering why she is getting married. Meanwhile, Beth has met Bunny, the stripper who will later move in with her.
33	* SuspiciouslySpecificSermon: TheVicar has a habit of preaching sermons especially apposite of Jodie and Beth's situation.
34	* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper confides to Jodie that the secret for getting away with murder is to look like someone no one would ever suspect: pointing out that he looks like a harmless old man, and not the monster everyone was searching for.
35	* TheVicar: The vicar has a habit of preaching sermons especially apposite of Jodie and Beth's situation without realizing it.

Context Film / DeadlyAdvice