Sarcasm Failure: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

‘Well, there's always the invisible squid-like creature that sucks all the air out of—’ Rincewind began, but sarcasm did not carry very well out here. The universe diluted it. The huge, black, solemn eyes in the sky withered it.''|''[[Discworld/The Last Hero|The Last Hero]]''}}

** Or that something is exceptionally satisfying (possibly disturbingly so) when [[Batman]] smiles.

*** The best example being when Harley Quinn, who spends every waking moment with (and fawning over) the Joker, [[Ax Crazy]] king of [[Evil Laugh|maniacal laughter]], reacts to Batman's laughter with a meekly frightened:

** When the [[Justice League of America]] nearly got taken out by Batman's contingency plans in the ''Tower of Babel'' arc, someone shouted an order at [[Plastic Man]] and he replied with "On it." The response was "...What, no jokes?" "This is not funny."

* Marvel's [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]] is famous for his [[You Fight Like a Cow|habit of quipping his way through fights]]. If he's not joking, it probably means the villain has ''really'' pissed him off, and is in for quite a bit of pain. There's also this line from the ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man (video game)|Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' video game, right before the boss fight with the Rhino:

** And from the Ultimate Clone Saga, Jessica Drew puts it well:

* Similarily to Spidey, and that smiling fellow from Gotham, [[Deadpool|yours truly]] is typically a [[Motor Mouth|Motor Mouthed]], wise cracking mutant amongst X-Men (shaddap, don't interrupt me) who always knows how to [[Put the Laughter In Slaughter|put the pancakes in peoples' pancreas]], to such an extent, in fact, that talking non-stop might actually be a distinguished sort-of tactic that I utilize since it distracts and frustrates my opponents to such a degree they cannot focus properly on the fight. HowEVVUHR, when coprolite ''really'' has hit the fan, I will shut my cookie cove, the little yellow boxes will disappear and very, ''very'' bad things happen to those wretched writhing worms who have wrought my wholesome wrath.

* Lenny in ''[[Shade the Changing Man]]'' was always good for a snark, no matter how dire the situation. Her [[Sarcasm Failure]] was a result of an author, an unwitting personality plunderer, who had written her into his book, and shocked her enough to drive her to a suicide attempt.

== Film ==

* Kup, the grizzled veteran in 1986's ''[[Transformers: The Movie]]'', often told war stories comparing situations to battles he'd been in. Eventually they discover [[Big Bad|Unicron]] ''devouring their home planet''.

'''Kup''': Nope...never seen anything like it. }}

* In ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film)|The Lord of the Rings]]'', when [[Elves vs. Dwarves|the dwarf and the elf]] stop competing and focus on fighting together, you know they're in serious danger.

* Variation: In ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'', Han Solo has a Swagger Failure when the hyperdrive fails. That's when you know they're in ''real'' danger.

'''Han''': [[Oh Crap|I think we're in trouble.]] }}

* In ''Manhattan'', [[Woody Allen]] gets dumped when his girlfriend reveals that she's going back to his (married, though soon to be divorced) best friend. You can see him clearly reaching for a standard Woody one-liner, but instead he can only stammer, "I'm... I'm stunned, I'm, I'm, I'm...."

* In ''[[Harry Potter (Franchise)/Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows|Harry Potter]]'', Fred Weasley is reduced to this after he sees that George's ear has been blown off. George, however, is [[Incredibly Lame Pun|not]].

** Immediately [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]]:

** On the other hand, when {{spoiler|Fred dies,}} we can safely assume George doesn't start cracking jokes about it.

*** Likewise, {{spoiler|Mad Eye's death}} made the twins shut up.

* ''[[M*A*S*H|Mash]]'': This show attempted this with Hawkeye, but overdid the seriousness.

** The ''[[Futurama]]'' parody, where Hawkeye is a robot (named 'iHawk') who switches between IRREVERENT and MAUDLIN modes, is an indication of the result.

'''iHawk (irreverent):''' ''(as Groucho Marx)'' Dis isn't a war, it's a moider! }}

* ''[[The West Wing]]'': The entire cast, to varying degrees.

** Xander is a better fit to the original trope.

*** One example of Xander playing this one for comedy (there are probably many others): in the Season 4 episode "Something Blue," Willow accidentally, and unbeknownst to the rest of the gang, casts a spell that makes Spike and Buffy fall in love and become engaged.

'''Giles:''' Three excellent questions. }}

*** As is Giles, who can usually be counted on for a dry remark. In the seventh season, as the cast falls once again into mocking Xander's [[Weirdness Magnet|dating habits,]] Giles rather sharply points out that they are fighting a war for their very survival.

* From ''[[Dexter]]:'' The usually lecherous Masuka becomes stone serious when investigating the crime scene where a cop was attacked.

'''Masuka:''' My friend was stabbed, and he might die. }}

** It's actually used as a barometer of Masuka's mental wellbeing at times. Later that episode:

'''Deb:''' And he's back! }}

** Similarly, we get an impression of how gruesome a murder scene is when Dexter himself (a blood-spatter analyst who is also a serial killer who chops up his victims) gets nauseous at the sight of it. It's also a hint that the scene had been constructed specifically {{spoiler|to remind him of his repressed memories regarding his mother's brutal murder.}}

** In all fairness though, it's been indicated as fairly likely that these reaction shots aren't always the ones from those contestants, since, you know, it's a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLNRaK1jBUw TV show and everything] (Skip to about 05:20 for the relevant chunk)

* As ''[[Boy Meets World]]'' went on Eric got sillier, more erratic and [[Cloudcuckoolander|just plain damn weird]], but when he did get serious you ''knew'' things were bad. Like the time a prank war caused a ''serious'' fault in the friendship and he was the only one willing to work it out, the silliest thing he did was pick up Rachel and drag her back into the classroom Mr. Feeny had locked them in and sit on her so she could read what he had written.

* ''[[The Middleman]]'' subverts this in "The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation":

'''Wendy:''' Man, [[Pulp Fiction|I don't even have an opinion]]. }}

* ''[[Psych]]'' played this straight, then subverted it, when Shawn is targeted by a [[Serial Killer]]. Shawn quickly loses his snark as he was overwhelmed by the pressure. As the situation grows more dire, Shawn convinces Gus that he should joke around for both of them. Which Gus does, resulting in hilariously awkward and terrible prop comedy.

* Certain news stories on ''[[The Daily Show]]'' can get this reaction out of Jon Stewart.

* Whenever Morgan and Garcia of ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' aren't bantering and flirting, you know things are bad.

'''Garcia''': No. I can't be my cheery self when you are where you are. }}

* Garret from ''[[Thief]]'' is usually a prime [[Deadpan Snarker]] and has wry, or at least interested, insights into a lot of things you see during your missions and cutscenes. He usually shuts up during the more frightening areas of the game. The Shalebridge Cradle from the third is especially notable: Garret speaks exactly two lines during the entire mission, and both of them are more to the effect of [[Oh Crap]].

* One of the routes you can take in ''[[Dragon Age 2]]'' is to turn [[Player Character|Hawke]] into a snarker who turns every situation into a joke, [[Dude, Not Funny|no matter how appropriate that may be.]] One mission in the second act involves someone stealing [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|qunari]] gunpowder, except {{spoiler|it's not gunpowder, it's a poison gas that makes all non-qunari go insane and kill everything. The elf responsible tries to make bombs to blow up a street to frame the qunari, but instead winds up poisoning lots of people, and doesn't entirely see it as a setback. Upon learning this, Silly!Hawke's response is:}}

** There's also the quest in which {{spoiler|Leandra is taken by a serial killer and Hawke has to follow a trail of her blood to find her.}} Every version of Hawke, be they [[The Paragon]] or a [[Deadpan Snarker]] or a [[Blood Knight]], will sound horrified and panicky.

* ''[[Iji]]'' has the Scrambler, a [[Silliness Switch]] that either turns the game into a [[Blind Idiot Translation]] or makes the lines even crazier ("You promised me a pony... with missiles... I want a missile pony!"). However, near the end of the game, [[Recurring Boss|Asha]] tries to {{spoiler|kill your [[Voice with an Internet Connection]], Iji's brother Dan}}. When Iji finally kills Asha, she screams, "That's what you get, you [[Precision F-Strike|bastard]]! That's what you get for trying to {{spoiler|kill him}}!" Even with the Scrambler on, this line is almost untouched.

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'': Happens twice in one episode. At first, it was Skulker, completely ignoring Danny and not saying a word. Later in the episode, it's ''Danny'', who is searching for his sister. He attacks Skulker and demands answers, no quips involved.

'''Danny:''' Not in the mood! }}

* In ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'', when the Green Goblin's glider slams into a building while flying backwards, just before impact the Goblin jumps off the glider, does a backflip in midair, and lands on the glider on the other side of the building.

* When Slade [[Back From the Dead|returns]] in ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' and [[Badass Abnormal|demonstrates his new powers.]]

'''Slade''': Whoa? That's it? No clever comment? I was looking forward to that. }}

* In ''[[Batman Beyond]]: Return of the Joker'', The Joker spends most of the film quipping, laughing, and generally being his usual [[Monster Clown]] self (with a bit of [[Surrounded by Idiots|anger on the side]]). The only scene that makes him drop it all is {{spoiler|when Tim Drake shoots him.}}

* In [[Avatar: The Last Airbender]], near the end of the series, {{spoiler|Sokka and Toph are dangling off an airship. Sokka's space sword and boomerang are gone, and things look really bad for them.}} This may be the only point in the whole series that Toph and Sokka, the two [[Deadpan Snarker|snarkiest]] characters in the series, are both acting serious.

== Comic Books ==

* Lampshaded in one early ''[[Hack Slash]]'' story, just after the normally cynical and caustic Cassie is hit on by a bunch of drunk college kids, and can only manage a sputtered refusal.

'''Cassie''': ''[blushing] Yeah, let's never speak of that again.'' }}

== Fan Works ==

* ''[[Turnabout Storm]]'': [[Ace Attorney|Phoenix]], expert [[First-Person Smartass]], nearly always has a snarky remark about the weirdness around him, especially now that he's stuck in [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|Equestria]]; but one of Pinkie's comments plain short circuited him.

'''Phoenix:''' ... ''(No comment...)'' }}

* [[Dragon Ball Abridged]]'s Freeza keeps a mental checklist on how many time he's heard [[Stock Phrases|certain heroic speeches]]. Eventually, he meets [[Idiot Hero|Goku]];

'''Freeza:''' I'm sorry, that's a new one. }}

== Film ==

* ''[[Ghostbusters]]'': The normally deadpan Egon Spengler delivers this classic example just after Gozer incarnates as the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man:

'''Egon:''' Sorry Venkman, I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought. }}

== Live Action TV ==

* In ''[[Friends]]'', Chandler gets one of these when he sees Joey dressed as an elf.

** He also does this when he accidentally spills to Rachel that Ross is in love with her. He sputters [[It Makes Sense in Context|"crystal duck"]] a couple of times and then descends into meaningless babble.

** And in a [[Throw It In]] example: at one point Chandler mocks Ross' attire by saying "Donald Trump called and he wants his blue blazer black" (instead of "back"). Matthew Perry genuinely messed up the line, but the other actors took advantage of it and went with it, pointing out the mistake and making fun of snarky Chandler. (Monica: "No, no, you messed it up! You're ''stupid.''")

* Every so often on ''[[Cash Cab]]''. Most [[Term Confusion|hilariously]] and [[Too Much Information|unbelievably]]:

'''Ben Bailey:''' ... [[Sarcasm Failure|The correct answer]] was ''henna.'' }}

** Although if you had [[Hentai]] drawn on your body, I'm sure you'd ''want'' it to be temporary.

* Certain news stories on ''[[The Daily Show]]'' can get this reaction out of Jon Stewart. His reaction to Newt Gingrich using a "describe yourself in one word" question to describe himself as "cheerful" (after using an entire debate prophesying doom, gloom and general unpleasantness if he's not elected)? Walk off the stage.

* ''[[The Rachel Maddow Show (TV)|The Rachel Maddow Show]]'': Rachel Maddow was reduced to this in an attempt to respond to a somewhat poorly worded Republican speech, as seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxHoWEdcbcM here.]

* ''[[The World Ends With You]]''. After {{spoiler|Beat betrays the Reapers for Neku}} in the first day of the third week, [[Those Two Bad Guys|Kariya and Uzuki]] warn him that 'he's treading on thin ice'. The character responds triumphantly that it couldn't possibly happen; Shibuya is ''too hot for there to be any ice for him to tread on''. Despite both Neku and Kariya being prime [[Deadpan Snarker|Deadpan Snarkers]], [[Sarcasm Failure]] immediately strikes everyone present.

* Also in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]'', Beckett suffers a humorous form of [[Sarcasm Failure]] if you end up having a discussion on Kindred origins with him as a [[Mad Oracle|Malkavian]]. While the 'normal' player characters have theories he's already well-acquainted with, the Malkavian ones are a bit more... Unique.

* Throughout ''[[God Hand]]'', Gene has a mocking quip for pretty much every scenario... ''except'' the first time he meets the Mad Midget Five. After a stunned second, the best he can do is to choke out, ''"Douchebags!"''

== Web Original ==

* ''[[The Nostalgia Critic]]'' This happens to the Critic a bit, at which point the [[Running Gag]] of him [[Lampshade Hanging|literally aborting the joke]] occurs. Thinking about this (perhaps a little too much) leads to wondering how often these are unintentional and put in during editing, vs. how many of these are pre-scripted. Fantastically done in the ''[[Bio-Dome]]'' review

'''Nostalgia Critic''': (beat, stunned) "What am I supposed to say to that?" }}

* [[Memetic Mutation|What is this I don't even]]

** ''[[Highlander: The Source|Highlander the Source]]'' has the same, with him early on commenting that all he has to do is show the clip and his reaction shot, because the stupidity speaks for itself.

* [[Retsupurae]] and [[Nausea Fuel|The Ultimate Challenge]]:

* [[The Nostalgia Chick]] got her best moments of this in her ''[[Beauty and The Beast The Enchanted Christmas]]'' review. The [[Plot Hole|Plot Holes]] are so great that she can only reply sometimes by breaking down crying.

** "What....-ever, just end!"

* The ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' episode "Almost Got 'Im" involves several members of Batman's [[Rogues Gallery]] telling each other stories of their most brilliant attempts to kill Batman that ''almost'' succeeded. [[The Joker]], who is saving his story for last, spends most of the episode quipping at and mocking the other villains' attempts. However, [[Dumb Muscle|Killer Croc]]'s 'brilliant plan' is so dumb Joker can only stare dumbfounded at him, with this sort of "what-the-hell-is-this-guy-even-''doing''-here" expression frozen on his face.

** For those of you who are curious, Killer Croc's "brilliant attempt" at trying to kill Batman was throwing a rock at him.

{{reflist}}