Line #14 StraightMan/LiveActionFilms


1	Examples of the StraightMan from live action films.
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4	* ''Film/TheFortyYearOldVirgin'': Creator/SteveCarell as the eponymous character. However, his role has some overtly comedic moments, as in the famous body-waxing scene, in which it's the ladies doing the waxing who are playing the "straight man" role.
5	* ''Creator/AbbottAndCostello'': Bud Abbott from the films and radio, as mentioned.
6	* ''Film/{{Airplane}}'':
7	** In an innovative SubvertedTrope, this film had no comedic actors; in effect the entire cast was straight men reacting to the ridiculous situations they're put in (except Johnny, the fruitloop in the control tower). Yes, even Creator/LeslieNielsen. Before ''Film/{{Airplane}}!'', [[LeslieNielsenSyndrome he primarily acted in horror B-movies]] One journalist even went so far as to say that Nielsen's job description was unchanged for his early dramatic roles and the comedic roles which he became better known for: both hinged on his ability to say completely ridiculous lines with a straight face.
8	* Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger: There's a good chance that if he's in a comedy, he will play the StraightMan. This is particularly apparent in ''Film/Twins1988'' and ''Film/{{Junior}}'', where in both he plays the straight man to Creator/DannyDeVito, but can also been seen in films like ''Film/LastActionHero'' and ''Film/JingleAllTheWay''.
9	* Creator/DavidSpade: Played the straight man to Creator/ChrisFarley in a couple movies, notably ''Film/TommyBoy'' and ''Film/BlackSheep1996''. The duo had planned to do more films in this fashion, but due to Chris Farley's passing this never happened.
10	%% * ''Film/HaroldAndKumarGoToWhiteCastle'': Harold to a T.
11	%% * ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'': Creator/SpencerTracy.
12	%% * Creator/JackLemmon: Plays the straight man to Creator/WalterMatthau in ''Film/TheOddCouple1968'' and ''Film/GrumpyOldMen''.
13	%% * Creator/JasonLee: In pretty much any role except ''Film/VanillaSky''.
14	* Creator/MarxBrothers:
15	** Margaret Dumont, the classic foil for the Marx Brothers, especially Groucho. Her characters were often derided as stuffy and humorless, but [[TheComicallySerious that's exactly the point]].
16	** Zeppo Marx himself was a straight man for his brothers, as he had a non-comedic stage persona, but all the requisite timing and skill. After Zeppo's departure, other actors (such as Allan Jones in ''Film/ANightAtTheOpera'' and ''Film/ADayAtTheRaces1937'') would take the role.
17	%% * ''Film/MysteryTeam'': Kelly to the wild and zany eponymous trio.
18	%% * ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'':
19	%% ** Will Turner plays the Straight Man to Jack Sparrow.
20	%% ** More appropriately, Will is the OnlySaneMan to a crew of pirates including: Jack; a highly superstitious and heavy-drinking ex-Royal Navy seaman (Gibbs); a dwarf (Marty); a pirate whose tongue was cut out and can only talk through a parrot (Cotton); the parrot (Mr. Cotton's Parrot, whom no one can quite figure out how he was taught to speak); two formerly cursed and none-too-bright ex-crewmen of Jack's treacherous first mate (Pintel and Ragetti); said treacherous first mate (Barbossa); an undead monkey; and a rather deranged voodoo priestess and imprisoned sea goddess (Tia Dalma).
21	* ''Franchise/StarWars'': [=C-3P0=] acts as this to [=R2-D2=], while also providing the audience of some idea of just what is being said by his otherwise [[TheUnintelligible unintelligible friend]].
22	* ''Film/TheThreeStooges'':
23	** Larry, since his style of humor was often to merely react to the extreme characterizations of Moe and Curly (and later Shemp).
24	** It is probably more accurate to say that the miscellaneous guest actors in the shorts constituted the straight men, who (like the supporting characters in Marx Bros. films) are there to act appalled at the comedians' antics.
25	%% * ''Film/{{UHF}}'': Bob (portrayed by David Bowe) and Teri Campbell (portrayed by Victoria Jackson)
26	* ''Film/WithnailAndI'': In a less obviously comedic example, Creator/PaulMcGann as Marwood/"I" plays a pitch-perfect straight man to Creator/RichardEGrant (Withnail), grounding his manic performance in a solid emotional reality; the film wouldn't work nearly as well as it does without him.
27	%% * ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'': Creator/NickFrost as Andy. From the same trilogy, Creator/SimonPegg's characters Shaun and Nicholas Angel were this to Ed and Danny Butterman in Film/ShaunOfTheDead and Film/HotFuzz, respectively.
28	* ''Film/{{Clue}}'' has, for irony’s sake, the man being blackmailed for being gay, [[spoiler: Mr. Green.]]

Context StraightMan / LiveActionFilms