History Film / VivaKnievel

* FiveSecondRetirement: After his gruesome crash, Even declares he'll never jump again. He's still in the hospital when he decides he's going to jump again. Evel explains he ''always'' says he's retiring after a bad crash, but gets over it afterward. This is basically TruthInTelevision for Evel, who during his career had broken ''almost every single bone in his body at one point or another'', declared he was done, then continued anyway.

* * StockFootage: A gruesome example -- the grainy footage of Jesse crashing while wearing Evel's uniform, with his body realistically contorting and jerking around, was taken from [[https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/may-26-1975-american-stuntman-evel-knievel-clears-a-row-of-thirteen-picture-id3096406 Knievel's own near-fatal crash at Wembley Stadium on May 26, 1975]].[[note]]This accident is [[FreakierThanFiction semi-fictionalized in the movie]] -- Evel managing to stand despite severe pain and telling the audience he's retired did actually happen in real life, and Frank Gifford was present for it.[[/note]]

* TheStoner: Jesse, who's hooked on Millard's coke.

** Eighth, with Evel either killed or critically injured, Barton will pose as one of the EMTs, load him into the ambulance, and drive off, presumably just to make sure he dies.

As the greatest bike jumper in the world, Knievel is offered a huge sum to exhibit his skill in Mexico. But the engagement is actually a trap laid by a drug lord (Creator/LeslieNielsen), who intends to kill Knievel as part of an elaborate scheme to smuggle heroin into the United States. Along the way, Evel must recover from a traumatic crash, reunite an alcoholic mechanic (Creator/GeneKelly) with his estranged son, and win the affection of a standoffish reporter (Lauren Hutton).

* CoffinContraband: Millard's plan is to kill Knievel in Mexico and smuggle heroin in the van carrying Knievel's body back into the United States.

* TheStoner: Jesse, who's hooked on Millard's heroin.

* TooDumbToLive: Even after learning of Mallard's scheme, Evel takes no action to prevent or expose it. He continues to play into the drug lord's hands, and only escapes death when Jesse happens to knock him out and take his place before the rigged jump. Then Jessie runs with the trope by going through with the jump, rather than alert the authorities.
** DrugsAreBad: Jesse is high on heroin at the time, so he wasn't thinking clearly.

* BeneathSuspicion: The operative logic in Millard's plan seems to be that a regular, ordinary coffin might be stopped and searched for drugs at the border, but not the coffin of the late Evel Knievel, the beloved and nationally mourned stunt cyclist, even if his body's being transported in a giant trailer.

* DrugsAreBad: Evel is vocally opposed to drug use, even preceding his bike jump with an anti-drug homily. Later he angrily refuses to believe that his alcoholic friend might be on "dope". ([[ValuesDissonance He is fine and dandy with Will being TheAlcoholic, however.]]) [[invoked]]

** Evel's hometown is Montana, the entire state.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Evel's crooked promoter Ben (Red Buttons) disappears without explanation after the first act, and his subplot is never resolved. It is mentioned Knievel never breaks a promise, and the promoter has been signed to two more jumps - but Knievel only performs one stunt under Ben's contract before doing a jump with Millard has his promoter. If Knievel is a man of his word like everyone claims, it's doubly odd Ben would vanish.
** In a DeletedScene, Ben was revealed to be responsible for Evel's crash, which is why he's not at the hospital or trip to Mexico. His carelessness was {{Foreshadowed}} in the first scene.

* BraggingThemeTune
* BrokenAesop / DoNotDoThisCoolThing: Evel scolds other characters for engaging in harmful vices like drinking and drug use, but he routinely endangers his own life with his motorcycle stunts. This contradiction is lampshaded in the Rifftrax commentary.

* DrugsAreBad: Evel is vocally opposed to drug use, even preceding his bike jump with an anti-drug homily. Later he angrily refuses to believe that his alcoholic friend might be on "dope".
** ValuesDissonance: He is fine and dandy with Will being TheAlcoholic, however.

* TheSeventies: Feathered hair, cocaine, and Marjoe Gortner!

''Viva Knievel!'' is a 1977 action film starring EvelKnievel as a strangely dressed man who jumps his motorcycle over things.

* SternNun: Sister Charity.

* StrawFeminist: Kate is supposed to be one, thanks to Evel's ProtagonistCenteredMorality, but she comes off as well-rounded and intelligent. Then she spends to much time with Evel - see Chickification above.

* HotScoop: Kate, the reporter sent to cover Evel Knievel.

* InsaneForgiveness: Evel is too magnanimous for his own good.
-->'''Millard:''' I've studied Knievel. He's a big man. He never holds a grudge. He forgives and forgets.

[[quoteright:349:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ea88b28f5b3b6a0569c7d0b3e807be39.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:349:And his last, too.]]

As the greatest bike jumper in the world, Knievel is offered a huge sum to exhibit his skill in Mexico. But the engagement is actually a trap laid by a drug lord (LeslieNielsen), who intends to kill Knievel as part of an elaborate scheme to smuggle heroin into the United States. Along the way, Evel must recover from a traumatic crash, reunite an alcoholic mechanic (Creator/GeneKelly) with his estranged son, and win the affection of a standoffish reporter (Lauren Hutton).

* CoolBike: Naturally, there are several in the film. One is even used as a bribe.

* StuntDouble: In a sense, Jesse serves as Evel's stunt double during the fateful jump.
** Evel also has a real double for the stunts.

* UnderminedByReality: The film presents Evel Knievel as gentle and long-suffering. But mere months after the film's release, Knievel attacked a former promoter with an aluminum baseball bat. (The promoter had written an unflattering biography of him.) Knievel spent six months in prison and lost most of his corporate sponsors, leading to his bankruptcy in the early eighties.
** The film also has to pretend Knievel's wife and children don't exist so he can have a romantic subplot with Lauren Hutton.

* CoffinContraband: Millard's plan is to kill Knievel in Mexico and smuggle cocaine in the van carrying Knievel's body back into the United States.

-->'''[[RiffTrax Kevin]]:''' ''(guffawing)'' And of course, since every car in TheSeventies were made of pure nitroglycerin!

* IronicNickname: Evel's explanation for his sobriquet. "I was such a good little boy, they nicknamed me Evil."[[note]]'''[[RiffTrax Kevin:]]''' ''(as reporter)'' Evel! Are you worried that quip made no sense?[[/note]]

As the greatest bike jumper in the world, Knievel is offered a huge sum to exhibit his skill in Mexico. But the engagement is actually a trap laid by a drug lord (LeslieNielsen), who intends to kill Knievel as part of an elaborate scheme to smuggle cocaine into the United States. Along the way, Evel must recover from a traumatic crash, reunite an alcoholic mechanic (Creator/GeneKelly) with his estranged son, and win the affection of a standoffish reporter (Lauren Hutton).

As the greatest bike jumper in the world, Knievel is offered a huge sum to exhibit his skill in Mexico. But the engagement is actually a trap laid by a drug lord (LeslieNielsen), who intends to kill Knievel as part of an elaborate scheme to smuggle cocaine into the United States. Along the way, Evel must recover from a traumatic crash, reunite an alcoholic mechanic (GeneKelly) with his estranged son, and win the affection of a standoffish reporter (Lauren Hutton).