Buffalo '66



Buffalo '66 is a 1998 indie movie starring Vincent Gallo, who also wrote and directed the movie, and Christina Ricci. Billy Brown has just been released from prison and the first thing he plans to do is introduce his wife to his parents. The problem with that plan is he doesn't have a wife, so he kidnaps a ballerina named Layla (Ricci). After a brief struggle and a very awkward dinner, Layla decides to stay with him for a night of bowling and "spanning time". She soon learns that Billy plans on getting even with the football player who was indirectly responsible for his imprisonment. What follows is a dark comedy about depression, revenge, and finding love.

Contains examples of:
"Goon: What, you think I'm retarded?
 * Alliterative Name: Billy Brown.
 * All Just a Dream:
 * Biggus Dickus: In the beginning sequence, when Billy is desperately trying to find a bathroom, a man looks over from the stall beside him and reacts with awe at the size of Billy's member.
 * Big Screwed Up Family: The Browns.
 * Blatant Lies: Billy has been telling his parents he has been working for the CIA for five years and told them he had a wife. When he ends up having to kidnap Layla and bring her to them, he gets twisted up in more lies until Layla actually helps untangle them with a few of her own.
 * Bullet Time: A similar effect to The Matrix, which it preceded. The violent climax is shown in a series of still images, which the camera pans around as if still hand-held.
 * Butt Monkey: Billy's friend Goon.

Billy: Yeah Goon, sometimes I really think you might be."

"Billy: You know why they call you Goon? Because you're retarded. And you're ugly. You're an ugly retard. And they call you Goon because you're ugly and retarded. And you'll always be Goon... Goon, Goon, Goon. And that's what I'm gonna call you for the rest of your life, is Goon. Goon, Goon, Goon, Goon, okay? So fuck you."
 * The Cameo: Mickey Rourke as the bookie and Rosanna Arquette as an old crush.
 * Cluster F Bomb: Billy drops a lot of `im as evident by some of the dialogue shown here.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: Billy went to prison because he turned to crime when he was hit with a huge gambling debt. The gambling debt happened due to Scott Wood missing a field goal kick, resulting in the Bills losing the Super Bowl. Because of this, Billy decides to kill Woods.
 * Driven to Suicide:
 * Earn Your Happy Ending:
 * Extremely Short Timespan: Aside from the occaisional Flash Back, the entire movie takes place within 24 hours.
 * Furo Scene: A rarity twofer. This movie has a Western example of this trope and it's between a man and a woman, yet it isn't sexualized.
 * Hates Being Touched: Billy hates being touched... even if it's by Christina Ricci.
 * He Man Woman Hater: Billy claims that he could have had girlfriends in the past but chose not to since he believes all women are decietful. He warms up to Layla anyway.
 * Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Billy's dad ignored him and his mother was too concerned with Buffalo Bills' games to ever pay attention to him. This is exemplified in the scene where it is revealed they only have one, single picture of their son.
 * Humiliation Conga: Even before the events of the movie, Billy had an abusive childhood, was teased at school, lost a lot of money to gamblers on a one-in-a-million field goal kick, and spent five years in prison. When he gets out, his parents aren't impressed by the fabricated life or his hot "wife".
 * I Am Not Shazam: Eventually, Goon hates being called Goon since that isn't his name and demands people call him Rocky.

""I'm asking you to come there and make me look good. Alright? And if you make a fool out of me, I swear to God, I'll kill you right there. Boom! Right in front of Mommy and Daddy. And I'll tell you something else, you make me look bad... I will never ever talk to you again, ever. But if you do a good job, well, then you can be my best friend. My best friend that I've ever had. You hear me?""
 * Imagine Spot: A bored Layla tap dancing in the bowling alley. Suddenly, she is literally in the spotlight while a King Crimson song plays in the background.
 * Jerkass Woobie: Billy is a huge jerk but we eventually learn he's a Jerk With a Heart of Gold and has his reasons for being so nasty.
 * Just Got Out of Jail: Billy at the beginning of the movie.
 * Literary Agent Hypothesis: According to Word of God, the events in the movie were not what "really" happened but is Billy's perception of his own actions. Considering his low self-esteem, it makes sense.
 * Male Gaze: Billy's father hugs Layla when they meet and he then shakes her back and forth in an obvious attempt to watch her breasts bounce around (she's still wearing her ballerina uniform).
 * Man Child: Billy, very much so.
 * A Man Is Not a Virgin: It is heavily implied that Billy is a virgin since he claims to have never had a girlfriend.
 * Meaningful Name: An in-universe example. It's likely that Billy's mother gave him that name due to her intense love of the Buffalo Bills.
 * Nice Shoes: Layla wears a pair of silver sparkling tap shoes throughout the film that wouldn't have looked out of place in The Wizard of Oz.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Billy plans to kill a football player named Scott Wood because he missed a goal kick during the Super Bowl, which resulted in him acquiring a huge gambling debt. This is in reference to former Buffalo Bills kicker, Scott Norwood, who missed the game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXV against the New York Giants in 1991.
 * No Name Given: The only other name Goon goes by is Rocky, likely another nickname. We never learn his real name.
 * New York State: Takes place in Buffalo.
 * Murder Arson and Jaywalking: Billy's threat to Layla:


 * Pet the Dog: Billy will insult or threaten Layla or Goon one moment and then apologize and say something sweet the next. At one point, he buys Layla a heart-shaped cookie.
 * Potty Emergency: When Billy is released from prison, he suddenly has to use the restroom. He tries to go back inside the prison to use the facilities but they don't let him back in. He spends the next 10 minutes or so trying to find a restroom, which is how he eventually meets Layla.
 * Stick Shift: Billy needs his hostage Layla to drive him to his parents' house. He only drives cars that "shift themselves."
 * Stockholm Syndrome: A possible explanation for Layla warming up to Billy, although he only kidnaps her for a few hours and obviously does not have a weapon. She chooses to stay after that.
 * Taking You With Me:
 * Ugly Guy Hot Wife: Even though Layla isn't really his wife, she does end up falling in love with him.
 * Well Done Son Guy: Billy hates his parents but still wants their approval.