Watch It

Watch It is an ensemble comedy from 1993 starring Peter Gallagher, John C. Mc Ginley, Jon Tenney, Tom Sizemore, Suzy Amis, Cynthia Stevenson, and Lili Taylor.

Danny, who owns a garage/car lot, Michael, a lawyer, and Rick, a salesman, all live together in a house in The Windy City. They all like to play practical jokes on each other, and one of them will usually say "Watch it!" when the joke is played. Into this situation comes John, Michael's somewhat estranged cousin, and a drifter. At a party Michael takes John to, John sees Anne, Michael's on-again, off-again girlfriend (Michael seems like he's the Ur Example of I'm a Man, I Can't Help It, but in reality, he has a Freudian Excuse; see below); Anne catches Michael cheating and leaves the party, so John, who's attracted to her, follows her, and they strike up a friendship that leads to a relationship. However, John can't really commit and Cannot Spit It Out, so Michael moves in, apologizes to Anne, and they get engaged. But does he mean it? And does she still have feelings for John?

There's also the plot of the practical jokes, as well as a subplot about Rick getting into a relationship with Ellen, a schoolteacher.

"Michael: Was she vocal? Rick: Vocal? She should have been a carnival barker, for crying out loud! Michael: Are you telling me you weren't listening outside my door? Rick: Well, sure, to a reasonable hour, but 3 a.m? "Oh my God, Michael. Oh my God, Michael! Oh Oh OH OH OH!" I mean, what are you DOING to these girls, for Chrissakes?"
 * The Baby Trap:
 * Blatant Lies: At the party, Danny tells John he doesn't play the "Watch It" game anymore..
 * Brick Joke: John takes Anne to Comiskey Park for their first date. Near the end of the movie, he gives her tickets for the last home game of the season, hoping she'll show up..
 * Calling Your Orgasms: According to Rick, one of the women Michael sleeps with is like this:

"Rick: And if you remember one thing from our conversation out here, please let it be this: The moment you start loving a woman, you can begin counting the days until that bitch walks right out the front door on you."
 * Cannot Spit It Out: The closest John gets to a declaration of love is when he tells Anne, "I don't know that I don't love you." Naturally, she's not convinced by that.
 * Chekhov's Gag:.
 * Deadpan Snarker: John, Michael and Rick each have a bit of this.
 * Drives Like Crazy: John, although to be fair, it's not his fault;.
 * Freudian Excuse: John explains to Anne that when he and Michael were younger, Michael's mother was crazy, and John's parents stepped in, adopting Michael. However, when John's mother died, his father gave Michael back to his mom. This, John explains, is the source not only of his estrangement with Michael (John promised Michael at the time he would never have to return to his mom), but also his attitude towards women.
 * Rick sort of hints at one during his speech to John about how women like Anne are only attracted to assholes like Michael:

""That's pretty well thought out... but angry Rick. Very, very angry. Who broke Rick's heart? Did somebody break Rick's heart?""
 * John, of course, calls him out on this:


 * Hey, It's That Guy!: Sgt. Horvath, Agent Fritz Howard, and Dr. Perry Cox all live together, and Sandy Cohen is Agent Howard's cousin. And they both want Edie Finneran, who works with Corey Flood.
 * Joy Lass is the teacher who gets involved with Rick.
 * Jerk Jock: All three of the guys played baseball in college, and so they all continue to show traits of this, Michael and Rick especially. In Rick's case, however, he got better.
 * My Girl Is Not a Slut: An interesting subversion; when Rick finds out Ellen hadn't slept with anyone for a long time before him, he freaks out because that shows she only sleeps with people she cares about, and he wants to keep the relationship casual. This leads to his later Jerkass behavior, before he finally gets better.
 * Technology Marches On: Nowadays, those three words Michael wanted to hear would be "Internet Web Cam", not "Video Tape Camera".
 * Wacky Fratboy Hijinx: The "watch it" gags can be seen as an outgrowth of this, as Danny, Michael and Rick started doing them in college.
 * The Windy City: The film takes place in Chicago; John even takes Anne to Comiskey Park as a date.