Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Funny / RoboCop1987

Go To

1%%
2%%Image removed via crowner in the Moments Images Cleanup thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=gngq16j7
3%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1642193091068711500
4%%Please start a new thread or use the Suggestion thread for a new image.
5%%
6----
7* The best example of BlackComedy ever created for any film: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFvqDaFpXeM Dick Jones demonstrates ED-209]]. To demonstrate a [[BlatantLies typical arrest and disarming procedure]], Jones hands another board member, Kinney, a Desert Eagle and tells him to point it at ED-209.
8-->'''ED-209: PLEASE PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPON. YOU HAVE TWENTY SECONDS TO COMPLY.'''\
9'''Dick Jones:''' I think you better do what it says, Mr. Kinney.\
10''[Kinney obliges, and throws the gun towards ED-209. ED-209 takes a step towards Kinney and ''roars'', like a lion]''\
11'''ED-209: YOU NOW HAVE FIFTEEN SECONDS TO COMPLY. YOU ARE IN DIRECT VIOLATION OF PENAL CODE 113 SECTION NINE.'''\
12'''Techs:''' Pull the cord!\
13'''ED-209: YOU NOW HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO COMPLY.'''\
14''[The board members on Kinney's side of the table begin retreating as they realize what's about to happen. Kinney tries to shelter among them to confuse ED-209, only for them to shove him in the direction of the Old Man's model of New Detroit]''\
15'''Kinney:''' Help! Help me! HELLLP!\
16'''ED-209: FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE. I AM NOW AUTHORIZED TO USE PHYSICAL FORCE.'''\
17''[ED-209 fires on Kinney with both of its guns at full automatic. Kinney is thrown backwards onto the model city and flops about as he is riddled with hundreds of bullets, [[BloodyHilarious long after he is most certainly dead]]. This goes on for a full fifteen seconds before the techs are able to yank the cord out of the motherboard. As the ED-209 shuts down, the terrified executives get back on their feet, and the Old Man [[{{Facepalm}} buries his face in his hands]]]''\
18'''Bob Morton:''' Somebody want to call a goddamn paramedic? Let's go, Johnson!
19** And the Old Man's only response to the incident?
20--->'''The Old Man:''' [[{{Understatement}} Dick... I'm very disappointed.]]\
21'''Dick Jones:''' I'm sure it's only a glitch. A temporary setback.\
22'''The Old Man:''' You call ''this'' a glitch?!
23*** Creator/PeterWeller considers this his favorite line of the film.
24** Somehow, the technicians thought it was a [[IdiotBall brilliant idea]] to load live rounds in ED-209. ''For a demonstration in front of executives''.
25** Funnier is the fact that when Kinney points his gun at Jones, ED-209 doesn't react at all, despite the fact it is supposedly designed to be a replacement for a police officer and protect civilians, but it DOES get triggered and totally goes berserk when the gun is pointed towards it, hinting at how useless this massive contraption actually is.
26** And if all that's not enough, there is an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cDgbf23u_E alternate take]] where ''[[BeyondTheImpossible Kinney survives]]'', [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction to his mild bemusement]].
27** By this point, it is painfully obvious how comically flawed ED-209 is in design but one cannot forget its greatest enemy: [[EpicFail Stairs!]] When Dick sics one on [=RoboCop=], it seems like he is at the end of his rope until he is chased into a stairwell. ED-209 is close behind but stops at the top step. It sees the precarious position it is in and realizes its oversized feet are way too big for the steps. It cautiously tries to walk down the steps almost looking like a kid afraid to dip their toes in pool water and, you guessed it, slips and falls down the stairs on the first step! ED lands flat on its back, unable to get up and actually starts squealing like a pig! As in actual pig noises! The lion growls are obviously for intimidation but you have to wonder what the thought process was in designing ED-209 and who thought it was a good decision to actually program it to make pig squealing when in danger!
28*** You could also argue that the squealing is the programmers' (paid by Morton) way of calling Dick a [[StealthInsult pig]].
29*** The sequels show that OCP still hasn't fixed [[DumbMuscle ED-209's]] numerous flaws, what with its foot getting stuck in open manholes or its dumb AI easily being hacked by a ''child''.
30** [[FunnyBackgroundEvent If you look in the background]] while the Old Man is talking to Dick and Morton, you can see the paramedics casually strolling in.
31* The Media Break segments for how ridiculously perky the anchors are, no matter how serious the situation. Special mention goes to Casey Wong, who after reporting Officer Frank Fredrickson is fighting for his life on the operating table thanks to Boddicker, gives a cheerful "Good luck Frank!" complete with fist pump. Jess Perkins has her moments too, and her (intentionally?) over the top 80s wardrobe is a sight to behold.
32* The convenience store robbery scene has a couple:
33** As a stealth jab at the Miller Lite beer, the robber immediately locates the store owner's safe hidden within a stack of Miller Lite beer cans, implying that the light beer is so undesirable that it is used as camouflage that no customer will ever look into.
34** The robber starts panicking at [=RoboCop=], firing shots at him while screaming "FUCK ME!" in terror over and over while being unable to hurt Murphy.
35** [=RoboCop=] bending the convenience store robber's gun barrel a full 90 degrees. "I'd buy ''that'' for a dollar!"
36*** [[{{Narm}} The fact that in 2028, televisions seem to have gotten much smaller than they are now.]]
37* The attempted rape scene: "[[GroinAttack Your move, creep!]]"
38** What's better is when the would-be-victim throws her arms around [=RoboCop=], eternally grateful, and he replies, "[[TheSpock Madam, you have suffered an emotional shock. I will notify a rape crisis center.]]"
39* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtHqqkpfmMU The hostage situation scene at City Hall]].
40** The scene is established with the police arriving and setting up a perimeter with yellow crime scene tape. Which [=RoboCop=] nonchalantly drives through and breaks. As he leaves his car, he is promptly swarmed by the reporters, who try to ask him questions before the tactical team can clear them away.
41** [=RoboCop=] tells the negotiator to keep Miller talking while he's going upstairs to take him down. Miller has some demands that he wants paid for on the city's dime:
42--->'''Negotiator:''' Okay Miller, don't hurt the Mayor! We'll give you whatever you want.\
43'''Ron Miller:''' First, don't fuck with me! I'm a desperate man! And second, [[YouGetMeCoffee I want some fresh coffee.]] [[InsaneTrollLogic And third, I want a recount! And no matter how it turns out I want my old job back!]]\
44'''Negotiator:''' OK.\
45'''Ron Miller:''' And I want a bigger office. And I want a new car! And I want the city to pay for it all!\
46'''Negotiator:''' What kind of car, Miller?\
47'''Ron Miller:''' Something with reclining leather seats, that goes really fast and gets really shitty gas mileage!\
48'''Negotiator:''' How 'bout the, uh, 6000 SUX?\
49'''Ron Miller:''' Yeah! Okay sure! ''[steps over to the window]'' What about cruise control? Does it have cruise control?\
50'''Negotiator:''' Hey no problem, Miller. Let the Mayor go, we'll even throw in a Blaupunkt![[note]]a German brand of car radio.[[/note]]\
51'''Ron Miller:''' Lieutenant, don't jerk me off! When people jerk me off, I kill them! You wanna see?! ''[grabs the Mayor and pulls him to his feet]'' Get up, your public wants to see you! ''[pushes the Mayor over to the window]'' Nobody ever takes me seriously! WELL GET SERIOUS NOW! AND KISS THE MAYOR'S ASS GOODBYE! ''[[=RoboCop=] punches through the wall behind Miller, grabs him in a headlock and pulls him backwards through the hole, his gun going off in the process. Once in the adjacent room, [=RoboCop=] spins him around, then punches him out the window with a mean right hook to the face]''
52** [[BrickJoke Later in the movie]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl8mQhxhE_Q we see a commercial]] in which an uncanny T-Rex chases terrorized civilians through a city street. Then its eyes pop out with a cartoony sound effect when it sees a big 6000 SUX, "An American Tradition!" and then on the bottom of the screen, we see the text "[[HummerDinger 8.2 MPG]]".
53*** The font used in the ad can look like it's saying [[BeingGoodSucks GOOD SUX]]. [[DoubleEntendre Which has more than one meaning]].
54** When the hostage taker is punched out the window by [=RoboCop=], the news cameras fixate at his body falling and hitting the ground, deliberately averting GoryDiscretionShot in-universe for the sake of sensationalism.
55** For extra humor, the first newscaster shown on the scene is played by Bill Farmer, better known as the official voice of Goofy for Disney. He was a stand-up comic / community theatre actor in Dallas when the first movie rolled into town and was looking for local actors to fill in small parts.
56* Speaking of the 6000 SUX, the many, many other satirical commercials.
57** ''It's Not My Problem'', the [[StylisticSuck trashy sitcom]] that everyone, both good and bad, watches. It's not the sitcom itself, but more the scene right before Murphy's brutal death where [[SoUnfunnyItsFunny Emil and his friend switch to the channel and immediately start laughing uproariously, even if no joke's been made.]]
58*** Not just Emil - the old man at the convenience store that gets robbed is watching it and is laughing so hard at absolutely nothing that he begins to lose his breath and wheeze.
59*** I'd buy '''that''' for a dollar!! Ahahahaha!!!
60*** After Robo busts his first thug, a nearby TV has the show playing. The crime-fighting spectacle ends and goes silent just in time for the star of the sitcom to scream his catch phrase.
61* When Robo is with children and interviewed by a TV reporter:
62-->'''Reporter:''' Robo, excuse me, Robo, any special message for all the kids watching at home?\
63'''[=RoboCop=]:''' Stay out of trouble. (''children aren't very happy to hear that'')
64* In a blink and you'll miss it moment, we see that a board member has pissed himself in his hurry to leave the bathroom prior to Bob Morton's confrontation with Dick Jones at the sinks.
65** Or just because an angry Jones is ''[[BringMyBrownPants that scary]]''.
66** Prior to that scene, another member is also at the urinal that visibly flinches when Dick is mentioned. He gives a nearby stall a [[RightBehindMe passing glance]], alerts the other colleagues in the bathroom and they all flee in apparent terror.
67* Robo shoots out Emil's tires, causing him to crash his bike and [[RagdollPhysics go flying.]] Robo picks up him up and tries interrogating him while Emil can only groan in pain. Frustrated, Robo drops him like a sack of potatoes after the second "WHO ARE YOU?"
68* When Robo confronts Leon Nash after finding out his true identity. Nash tries and fails to fight him when he demands to know where Clarence Boddicker is, and ends up getting dragged by his hair to an unknown location. His hammy screaming during it all makes it all the more funny. Though one has to wonder what [[NothingIsScarier Robo did offscreen to make him talk.]]
69** The best part of it is when Nash pulls a gun on Robo, who swats it out of his hand and into the crowd of dancers at the club. Some random guy catches it and continues to dance like nothing happened.
70** Then, in a classic example of DiggingYourselfDeeper, Leon tries to kick Robo in the nuts. Which he doesn't have. Because that area is now made of a kevlar/titanium laminate. The result is [[BallsOfSteel very predictable]].
71* "Bitches, leave!"
72** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31rrZeTH9HI It gets better]] -- Paul Verhoeven is Dutch, and his DP Jost Vacano is German. They both spoke good English, but had yet to fully grasp American idioms. According to Kurtwood Smith (Boddicker) and Miguel Ferrer (Morton), Verhoeven and Vacano did not realize how pejorative the term "bitches" was, and proceeded to block out the entire scene while referring to (and addressing!) the actresses as "Bitches". The ladies took it in their stride professionally, but both Smith and Ferrer admit to rolling on the floor and howling with laughter.
73* While meeting with a cocaine distributor, [[Creator/KurtwoodSmith Clarence]] actually threatens to [[Series/That70sShow shove the entire coke factory up his ass]].
74* Arriving at the factory to apprehend Boddicker, [=RoboCop=] gets both [[BadassBoast an awesome one-liner]] and [[TheComicallySerious some classic dry humor]].
75-->'''[=RoboCop=]:''' Come quietly or there will be... [[{{Understatement}} trouble]].
76** Steve Minh's response is to rack his shotgun and [[PrecisionFStrike drop a perfectly timed F-bomb]].
77--->'''Steve Minh:''' [[FacingTheBulletsOneLiner Oh, fuck you!]]
78* It is an absolute guilty pleasure to laugh at an arrogant bully and sociopath like Clarence Boddicker crying and screaming like a little girl for [=RoboCop=] to ''stop'' throwing him through plate-glass windows.... while reading him his undeserved Miranda Rights.
79-->'''Boddicker:''' WHAT IS THIS SHIIIIIIIIIT?!?!?! *tossed*
80** Boddicker finally manages to get through to Murphy when the latter is strangling him to death.
81--->'''Boddicker:''' You're a ''cop''!\
82'''[=RoboCop=]'s GUI:''' [-DIRECTIVE 3: UPHOLD THE LAW-]\
83''*Murphy hesitantly releases his chokehold*''\
84'''[=RoboCop=]:''' Yes. I am a cop.\
85'''[=RoboCop=]'s GUI:''' [-ARREST MODE_-]
86** And then when he's finally brought to [=RoboCop's=] precinct, the first thing he does at the reception desk is spit blood on the paperwork.
87--->'''Boddicker:''' Just give me my fucking phone call.
88* During a riot after the cops go on strike, Emil is just casually drinking some whiskey and watching a TV through the window of an electronics store, ironically acting better behaved than the rioters. When some of the rioters toss a newspaper box through the window of another store, Emil actually reacts in shock at the noise before deciding "Screw it", throws his bottle at the window, before knocking enough out with a crowbar to turn on the volume and continue watching the show.
89* Joe and Emil's childish glee when they try out the Cobra assault cannons for the first time. Even funnier given Joe's petulant reaction, not even thirty seconds earlier, to Clarence blowing his car up.
90-->'''Emil:''' I '''''LIKE IT!!!'''''
91* In the final confrontation, realizing he's outmatched, Boddicker drops his weapon and smugly announces to [=RoboCop=] that he's willing to go quietly. [=RoboCop=] in turn calmly announces to Boddicker [[YouAreAlreadyDead that he's not arresting him anymore.]] Boddicker, realizing he's misjudged the situation, goes from "smugly untouchable" to "DirtyCoward" in about five seconds.
92-->'''Boddicker:''' ''[Increasingly worried]'' H-hey, now wait a second. Now, wait a minute. [[{{Understatement}} You're taking this kind of personal, aren't ya?]]
93* Blasting the ED-209 outside OCP HQ. [=RoboCop=] walks away from the apparently intact ED-209, the camera gradually zooming out to reveal just the legs staggering around drunkenly for a few moments.
94* "Dick, you're ''fired!''"
95-->'''[=RoboCop=]:''' Thank you. ''[shoots Jones out the window]''
96* [=RoboCop=] shoots Jones out the window, Johnson jumps up with this ''huge'' smile and gives Robo a thumbs up.
97** Just before that is that quick look he gives to Jones while his confession is playing on the video screens, with a smirk that says "Oh, you are ''fucked'', my man."
98* The Old Man gives Dick a quick elbow to the gut after firing him, then hauls ass outta there with shocking speed for a, well, old man- just before Robo unleashes the hail of bullets.

Top