Acting Unnatural: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

May be related to the [[Centipede's Dilemma]], where a ''conscious'' attempt to do something is inexplicably harder than doing it ''un''consciously.

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' has Frog Ginyu trying to steal one of the Dragon Balls. When Gohan spots him, he starts leaning against the ball and whistling nonchalantly, which only makes him more suspicious because he's a frog.

* On at least two occasions in ''[[Baccano!]]'', Isaac advises Miria that the two of them should act casual to avoid suspicion. Isaac and Miria's idea of "acting casual" inevitably makes about as much sense as anything else they do - which is to say, none.

* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'': Since he and Anzu/Tea are stowaways on the ship to Duelist Kingdom (and Joey wasn't really supposed to be there either), Honda/Tristan advises everyone to "act casual" going past the guards...and then marches past looking ridiculously uncomfortable and suspicious. The guards notice this and call out to him... [[Hey, Wait!|to tell him not to be so nervous.]]

 

* ''[[Cars]]''. McQueen wants to surprise Sally with his new look.

{{quote|'''Mater:''' Here she comes!

'''Sally:''' All right, what's going on? }}

* In ''[[Toy Story 2]]'', Woody tells Buster the dog to "Act casual" while Woody hangs on his collar to rescue Wheezy unseen by humans. Buster begins to strut leisurely, and Woody hisses, "Not that casual!"

* ''The Signal''. A man has just been killed.

{{quote|'''Anna:''' ''[doorbell rings]'' Party guests!

* The agent who follows Erik down the stairs in ''[[Hanna]]''.

* In ''[[Picture Perfect]]'', it's actually amazing that Ernie did notice how unnatural the supposed family was acting most of the time.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* In the third [[Harry Potter]] Book, Hermione tries acting naturally after having caused some trouble for Ron and Harry... except she's reading her book upside down.

 

* In ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', when the protagonists try to work out who Barney's stalker is, they're told to try to look inconspicuous, and Marshall immediately reacts by acting very strangely, having no idea what to do with his hands, etc.

* When Rachel and Joey are having their brief fling in ''[[Friends]]'', Ross knocks on the door to Rachel's hotel room; she tells Joey that they aren't doing anything suspicious and he just needs to act "nonchalant". He poses awkwardly with his hands on his hips, staring at the ceiling, until admitting he doesn't know what "nonchalant" means.

* One of the challenges in the ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' digital short [https://web.archive.org/web/20121224080209/http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/snl-digital-short-extreme-challenge/787261/ Extreme Challenge].

* On an episode of ''[[The Good Life]]'', Tom and Barbara [[Mistaken for Cheating|think Margot is having an affair]]. When Jerry walks in, Tom tells Barbara to 'be natural'. They then both stand at attention and grin like idiots.

* In ''[[Frasier]]'', Frasier and his family are encouraged to do this by Martin after they accidentally cross the Canadian border, unaware that Daphne's work permit forbids her from leaving the country, and must pass through customs before re-entering. This eventually involves Frasier babbling his head off whenever the customs officer asks him a question, Niles buttoning up entirely, and Daphne saying the only thing she can say in a vaguely convincing American accent, which happens to be the word "Sure!" Martin, who actually ''does'' manage to act naturally, is not greatly impressed.

* ''[[Shut Up Flower Boy Band]]'': Ji Hyuk and Pyo Joo are fighting in gym class but when a teacher comes over, the two quickly hug.

 

* In a ''[[FoxTrot]]'' strip, Paige and Nicole [[Very Special Episode|shoplift a CD]]. Nicole tells Paige to act naturally. Paige holds her breath. Nicole tells Paige that acting naturally includes breathing. Paige immediately starts loudly panting as Nicole [[Face Palm]]s and adds "Quietly".

 

* ''[[The Simpsons Game]]''

{{quote|'''Lisa Simpson:''' It's the mother ship!

* In ''[[The Sims Medieval]]'', a [[Lovable Rogue|Spy]] who's doing something like eavesdropping or stealing from a messenger post will do a "stealth walk" that's so over-the-top it should logically be ''more'' noticeable than a natural walk.

 

* In one strip of ''[[Public Humiliation]]'', the children do exactly this—and the adults who see this see right through it, only to make the wrong conclusion—that one of the children is hoping the adult will not remember the overdue library book.

* In [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2001-01-09 this strip] of ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' Brad mishears "act casually" as "act casualty", which does not look very inconspicuous.

 

* Exaggerated in the ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' episode "Life of Crime." Spongebob and Patrick are panicking because (they think) they stole a balloon. Spongebob advises, "Just act natural," and, whether out of nerves or sheer stupidity, both of them start gibbering and acting crazy. They are immediately surrounded by a crowd who mistake them for street performers.

** In the episode "Boating Class", when Spongebob is asked to act natural, he gets on all fours and starts grazing like a cow.

'''Chief Wiggum:''' (While driving by) "Oh hello, Ma'am!" (To self) "What is it about a women and a dumpster?" }}

* ''[[Sym-Bionic Titan]]'': In "Lessons in Love", Newton and Kimmy are about to kiss when Lance and Ilana burst in. Newton randomly shouts out the word "Parallelogram!" and extends his book pages forward towards Lance and Ilana, while Kimmy [[Rushed Inverted Reading|opens her book upside down]].

* Miko and Raf [[Epic Fail|trying to lie to Optimus]] in an episode of ''[[Transformers Prime]]''. It goes as well as expected.

* ''[[Pinky and The Brain]]'': In the [[Christmas Episode]], the duo hide themselves in Santa's reindeer team, wearing antlers on their heads. The Brain tells Pinky to just act natural. Cue Pinky moving erratically, singing, laughing, and making his usual [[Verbal Tic]]s.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]

[[Category:Just for Pun]]

[[Category:Truth and Lies]]