Comic Role Play: Difference between revisions

 

There's also psychological roleplaying - where you pretend you're the other person - which always seems to end up:

Bob: Oh yeah? "Hi, Bob, I'm Alice. I just love to nag all day and am never supportive." }}

 

* In [[The Film of the Book]] ''[[Never Let Me Go]]'', Hailsham students are shown doing a role-playing exercise to teach them to order things in a cafe. Much awkwardness ensues. And apparently the lesson didn't take, since the (now grow up) characters are shown in a later scene being struck dumb when asked for their order by a waitress in a real cafe.

* In ''[[Riding in Cars With Boys]]'', Beverly Donofrio has to tell her parents that she's pregnant at 15. She practices on her best friend, Fay.

'''Fay''': My daughter's a tramp! My daughter's a tramp! You're 15 years old, how could you do this to me? Why don't you just take my gun. Take my gun and shoot me in the head with it, tramp! I wish that you were never born! How was that? }}

* In the 2005 film version of 'Pride and Prejudice', Mr. Bingley practices proposing to Jane Bennett with Mr. Darcy in the role of Jane. Darcy generally doesn't get farther than answering "Mr. Bingley" before Bingley breaks off and tries another approach.

* In the ''[[Friends]]'' episode "[[The One With...]] The Stoned Guy", Ross doesn't know how to talk dirty to his new girlfriend, so he practices with Joey, leading to a [[Ho Yay]] [[Not What It Looks Like]] moment when Chandler walks in on them.

* ''[[Gilmore Girls]]'' did this with Rory and her mother. Lorelai was pretending to be Rory's then-boyfriend, Dean, when Rory was trying to figure out how to tell him she'd kissed another guy. But Lorelai was having too much fun making fun of Dean's hair.

* ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'': Olive tells Aunt Lily {{spoiler|(who's been revealed to be Chuck's mother)}} to say to her what she wants to say to Chuck. Unbeknownst to Lily, Olive's brooch is bugged and the real Chuck is listening in.

* On ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'', Tobias and Lindsay go to couples' counseling (with a doctor played by [[Actor Allusion|Bob Odenkirk]]) in which this is one of the tools used. Tobias, who thinks he's an actor, does a terrible job at playing Lindsay ("I'm a woman, with womanly needs!"). Eventually, the psychologist starts playing Tobias, and it gets... awkward. Quickly.

** At least three other ''[[Community]]'' examples: Abed and Troy swap multiple times during a role-playing pep-talk, Britta role-playing {{spoiler|"Star-Burns"}} to help the group {{spoiler|"deal with his death"}}, and an [[Community/Recap/S3 E16 Virtual Systems Analysis|entire episode]] is built off of a variant of this trope, with Abed and Annie in the Dreamatorium.

* ''[[30 Rock]]'' has one of the NBC psychologists having Tracy doing a role-playing exercise to deal with his [[Disappeared Dad|daddy issues]]. The psychologist has Tracy talk to the chair like it's his dad. Tracy has trouble imagining that the chair is his dad, so [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Jack pretends to be Tracy's dad]]. It goes downhill fast.

'''Tracy''': No need to resort to racist stereotypes. }}

* On ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', Spike makes several attempts to practice an apology speech (complete with a box of chocolates as a peace offering) using a mannequin wearing a blonde wig and one of Buffy's sweaters. At least one attempt ends with him losing an argument to the mannequin and then bashing it over the head with the box of chocolates before carefully picking it up, dusting it off, and starting over.

* Happens in ''[[Drawn Together]]'' when Xandir's roommates role play as his family to help him confront them about his homosexuality. However, his friends decide to go for the worst-case scenario approach and by the end of it, over half the group is dead. Xandir thanks his friends' corpses and merrily goes off to speak to his family.

* ''[[Life With Louie]]'' does this, when Andy thinks about asking his boss for a pay rise. Ora convinces him to try with Louie. Of course, it turned into [[Crowning Moment of Funny]]:

'''Andy:''' Calm down? He just fired me! }}

** Right after that, Ora and Louie do it again, to show Andy how he should act.

* ''[[Rugrats]]''- In the subplot to the first episode, "Tommy's First Birthday", adult brothers Stu and Dru Pickles attempt to stage a puppet show version of "Little Red Riding Hood". While the babies go on the episode's adventure, we keep flashing back to the puppet show's degeneration into petty bickering and emotional baggage. After it ends, a third adult comments [[Deadpan Snarker|"Well, it was definitely a spirited performance."]]

* ''[[The Replacements]]'' has Gordo trying to teach Dick how to treat women so he asks Dick to pretend that him is K.

'''Dick''': Oh Sorry K, I was staring at your moustache, [[Completely Missing the Point|it would tickle me?]] }}

* ''[[Daria]]'' had the Morgandorfer family go through the psychological version, switching roles in a family therapy session. It starts out funny, but Helen ends up genuinely getting her feelings hurt.