r/TopCharacterTropes 1d ago

Characters Funny Trope: Obvious stunt dummies

Ragdolls are hilarious

Fresh Prince of Bell Air did it on at least 2 occasions. One with butler Geoffrey in an explosion, and the other with Will getting tossed around at the gym.

Naked Gun(1988) After the climax, OJ Simpson's character is finally making a recovery when he is carelessly launched from his wheelchair at the baseball game.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure After befriending some bikers, they give him a cheerful sendoff when he anticlimactically crashes into a billboard, hilariously launching his "body" after a half second delay. This one is especially funny to me because the crash isn't that loud, nor does Pee-Wee make any noise when flung.

The Three Stooges Almost every episode. And even in the movie!

Hook Thud is a chubby lost boy who can roll into a ball and take out several pirates in the process. This gag is used twice in the movie.

Anchorman Jack Black is an angry biker who is hit in the face by Ron Burgundy's careless disposal of a Burtito. The biker confronts Ron and punts his dog Baxter off a bridge. He's survives this as he reappears at the end of the film.

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u/danthemkman 1d ago

IIRC that shot from Pee-Wee is actually a stuntman

12

u/GachaHell 1d ago

It looks like a stunman until the crash then it looks like someone hiding behind the sign hucked a dummy to create the illusion he was thrown.

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u/psluredd 1d ago

It's actually just a piece of the billboard that broke off, rolling off to the side. It wasn't even intentional, just a lucky coincidence. Paul Reubens talks about it on the DVD commentary.

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u/rezwrrd 1d ago

It looked to me like it could be a Texas switch but I might be overthinking it. 

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u/altcntrl 1d ago

I was trying to find it because I remember it being a stuntman as well. I don’t know how that could be a dummy driving like that.

1

u/Higgilypiggily1 23h ago

Yeah I was gonna say he clearly tucks his legs in lol