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The Man Who Knew Too Little: Difference between revisions
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Wallace proceeds to [[Large Ham|ham his way]] through the underworld of secret agents and espionage. He almost immediately decides to break from "the script" and help the person he was ordered to kill: Lori ([[Joanne Whalley]]), a [[Hooker With a Heart of Gold|call-girl with a heart of gold]] who's trying to blackmail the Defense Minister she's been sleeping with. Along the way, Wally accidentally convinces his "superiors" that he's a loose cannon who knows of their devious scheme to restart the Cold War by blowing up the dignitaries at a historic peace accord. And all the while, Wallace thinks the bullets, [[Truth Serums]], car chases, and dead bodies are [[All Part of the Show]].
It should be noted that, beyond the <s>similar titles</s> title which is obviously a [[Shout
----
This film provides examples of:
* [[And You Thought It Was a Game]]
* [[Anticlimax Cut]]: In one scene, Wallace tells Lori that he's not completely a good guy, that if she wants his help, she'll have to do something for him. The dialogue is set up to make the viewer think Wallace is talking about sex... then the scene cuts to Wallace driving Lori's Cooper Mini.
* [[Axe Before Entering]]: Used as a blatant [[Shout
** For extra points, he uses a croquet mallet, which is what Jack Torrance used in the original novel.
* [[Balcony Escape]]: Wallace prefers doing this for the film because its much more dramatic than the more conventional method. Since he isn't that strong, he has trouble doing it.
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* [[Cringe Comedy]]
* [[Defeat Means Friendship]]: After his assassination attempts of Wallace fails for the umpteenth time, Boris gains so much respect for him that he embraces Wallace, gives him a [[I Call It Vera|gun of sentimental value]], and announces his intention to retire and become a butcher full time.
* [[Did the Earth Move For You, Too?]]: "Wow, that felt like an explosion."
* [[The Fool]]: Wallace.
* [[French Maid]]: Lori's costume in her introductory scene.
* [[Hey, Catch!]]: "You've got to see just how dead they are. They might be able to '''catch this!'''"
* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: Alfred Molina (Doctor Octopus) as Boris the Butcher
** Peter Gallagher (Buddy Kane from ''[[American Beauty]]'') as the brother-in-law
* [[Hoist By His Own Petard]]: Sir Roger and Sergei {{spoiler|get blown up by their own bomb.}}
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* [[Mistaken for Badass]], of course.
* [[Mistaken for Spies]]
* [[Not
* [[One Dialogue, Two Conversations]]: Ninety-four solid minutes of this trope.
* [[Performance Anxiety]]:
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* [[Professional Killer]]: Spencer, Boris, and The Plumbers. All are Hitmen rather than Assassins.
* [[Sociopathic Hero]]: Viewing the events of the movie from the point of view of the actual spies can lead to a wildly different interpretation of Wallace. He comes off as an absurdly skilled (even by badass standards) rogue agent who is doing everything he does just for laughs, and that it's so easy for him, he can afford to goof around and just do whatever amuses him at the time. Among his many deeds include pretending like he's going to execute Lori, [[For the Evulz|for no reason whatsoever,]] playing with a dead body and applauding it for being so remarkably dead, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|and running over traffic cones]] while fleeing assassins, simply because he's always wanted to do it and now seemed like a good time. Basically, to those not in on the joke (Everyone but Wallace), he might as well be the super-spy version of [[The Joker]].
* [[Shout
** When Boris leaves his minions alone with Wallace he instructs them "...and watch that man." - referencing the source material of the film.
* [[Spy Speak]]: "Remember to flush."
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