History Main / CallingTheOldManOut

* [[AvertedTrope Despite]] REALLY deserving it, Gendo Ikari never got Called Out by his son Shinji in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', although his wife's ghost did confront him about his behavior close to the end [[spoiler:and his last words before dying were "I'm sorry, Shinji"]]. But by then, ''everyone'' had a few words for him, including other dead people.

In {{Gundam Seed}} Athrun does this. Totally justified, considering that his father is [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope becoming increasing unstable]] and trying to [[spoiler: [[FinalSolution kill all the Naturals]] ]]. Athrun [[spoiler: [[WhatTheHellDad gets shot for his troubles]] ]], and is unable to stop him.

* Hamlet, in his CrowningMomentOfAwesome, absolutely rips his mother to shreds for her quasi-incestuous ways.
--> '''Hamlet:''' Now, mother, what's the matter?
--> '''Gertrude:''' Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.
--> '''Hamlet:''' Mother, ''you'' have ''my'' father much offended.

--> '''Gertrude:''' Have you forgotten me?
--> '''Hamlet:''' No! By the rood, not so. You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife, and -- would it not be so! -- you are my mother.
* ''IntoTheWoods'': The Baker does this to [[spoiler:The Mysterious Man]] at the end of act two, resulting in the [[TheElevenOClockNumber eleven o'clock number]] "No More'', in which the absent father helps his son to not repeat his mistakes.
* ''The Glass Menagerie'': Tom tells his mother off before leaving.

* In ''You Can't Take It With You,'' Tony tells off his father for giving up on the dreams of his youth, including being a trapeze artist and a saxophone player. Tony Sr. still has the sax in the back of his closet, though.

* The father and son of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' set up a Calling The Old Man Out throughout the entire game (case in point: in a {{Flashback}} where a young Tidus doesn't show any grief for his missing father and wishes that he'll never come back, his mother asks him if he won't wish for his return so that he can tell him how much he hates him). Near the end of the game [[spoiler:they subvert it when Tidus, who has sympathized too much with his father to resent him anymore, tries to call out Jecht despite the tears from his eyes and the knot in his throat. To his credit, Jecht had already acknowledged what a horrible father he had been]].

** Harry himself throws a Grand Mal fit in Dumbledore's office at the end of ''[[HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order Of The Phoenix]]'' over a combination of the shock of [[spoiler:Sirius']] death, Dumbledore's misguided avoidance of him for the entire book, and the revelation that Dumbledore had been hiding even more information from him than he suspected (Information that might have helped avert the aforementioned death). To his credit, Dumbledore ''does'' let him vent his rage before apologizing and promising to tell Harry the whole truth ([[TheChessmaster Which still wasn't ''the whole'' truth]], but still things he admits he should've told Harry from the start).
** In ''[[HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]''

* A subplot of the well-cast film ''TheQuickAndTheDead''. Leonardo [=diCaprio=]'s [[YoungGun young, confident gunslinger]] spends most of his time in a gunfighting tournament provoking his father (Gene Hackman) into a duel. Hackman asks [=diCaprio=] not to duel him, but when [=diCaprio=] refuses to back down, Hackman shoots him down immediately.

* A somewhat [[strike:KickTheDog]]KickTheSonOfABitch example is found in the end of ''KissKissBangBang'', where a father in his deathbed is slapped around and insulted by Gay Perry for sexually molesting his daughter. Harry at the end justifies this by saying, "Don't worry, he was creepy."

* Dr. Ruth in ''{{Scanners}}'' doesn't get this treatment until after he's dead. Once Cameron learns that [[LukeIAmYourFather Dr. Ruth was his father]] who had him kept as a street-wandering pariah his whole life, he is horrified, and does nothing to defend Ruth from the insults of BigBad Darryl Revok ("That was ''Daddy''."). And when the inevitable NotSoDifferent moment comes up, it's not Revok comparing himself to Cameron; it's Cameron comparing Revok to Ruth. And Revok is [[BerserkButton outraged]].
* In Peter Jackson's ''{{Braindead}}'', Lionel finally stands up to his manipulative, possessive mother. Unfortunately he's waited until she's turned into a gigantic monstrosity, but he's still properly equipped to take her down the old-fashioned way.

* In ''FindingNeverland'', Emma spends most of the movie trying to control the lives of her daughter and school-aged grandsons, attempting to keep James Barrie out of their lives. Near the end of the movie, George, the eldest brother, finally takes a stand against her meddling.

* In ''CitySlickers'' Mitch (Billy Crystal) asks his buddies Ed(Bruno Kirby) and Phil(Daniel Stern) to describe "the best day and the worst day in your life". Ed recalled when stood up to his father, a serial adulterer:

* Tai Lung of ''Film/KungFuPanda'' angrily calls out his adoptive father, Shifu, when he returns to claim the Dragon Scroll. Angrily relaying that everything he ever did was to make him proud. And his fury over Shifu not doing anything when he was denied the scroll.

** More recently, Sun has done this to her father, chewing him out for his treatment of her husband. She also informed him that she had bought a controlling share in his company. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome It was awesome]].

* In a recent ''Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}}'' story "American Son" Harry Osborn finally does this to his father NormanOsborn (aka Green Goblin, aka Iron Patriot, aka Worst Father in Comics).

* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series, author J.K. Rowling allows Dumbledore to do the honors in calling out the Dursleys for their shabby and abusive treatment of Harry in the beginning of ''[[HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]''.

** And in ''[[HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'' Harry gets to confront [[spoiler:Lupin, who just abandoned his wife and unborn child.]] To his credit, [[spoiler: Lupin realises he's being an idiot and, next time he sees Harry, asks him to be godfather to his newly born son.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Katara loudly vents her pain and frustration at her father for leaving her and her brother behind to fight in the war; Hakoda, loving father that he is, takes it like a man, expresses his regret and asks her forgiveness, which she finally gives to him.

** In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': When [[spoiler: Hiroshi Sato]] reveals that he's working for the Equalists, he spends quite a bit of time trying to get his daughter, [[spoiler:Asami]] to undergo a FaceHeelTurn and join him. She refuses, repeatedly, before saying that his wife would have ''hated'' him for what he's become, and that he has no more room for love, he's so filled with hate. Even as he tries to kill his once beloved daughter, and she strikes him down, she's crying.

-->-- '''Music/GarthBrooks''' [[TropeNamer names a trope]]

* In ''TheBrothersKaramazov'', Dmitri Karamazov calls his father out and ends up beating ''the everliving crap'' out of him in a fit of rage. It's part [[MacGuffin inheritance money]] and part LoveTriangle which spurs him.

* There are a few ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' fics that had Gohan calling out his father for constantly leaving. Like [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4825209/1/No_More_Forgiveness No More Forgiveness by The Masked Otaku]].

* In ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn'', Molly does this to the titular character. Double as a tear jerker:
-->'''Molly''': "Where have you been? '''DAMN YOU''', ''where have you been''?!". "How dare you, how '''dare''' you come to me now, when I am '''this'''?!"

* Creator/MercedesLackey does this one to a turn in ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Magic's Pawn]]'': after a series of traumatic experience that include the death of his first love, a failed attempt at suicide, and the sudden acquisition of a massive array of powers that he doesn't really want, Vanyel is drugged to the gills and barely conscious but still able to pull a mild {{Carrie}} on his abusive father for spending his entire childhood trying to have the "weakness" beaten out of him and make sure that he became a "real man." He repeatedly uses his new telekinetic powers to knock his father to the ground, demanding to know if he's finally "strong enough" and how his father likes being pushed around by someone bigger and stronger than he is.

* Creator/MercedesLackey does this one to a turn in ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Magic's Pawn]]'': after losing his first love and acquiring a huge array of powers he doesn't really want, Vanyel is barely conscious but able to pull a mild {{Carrie}} on his abusive father, telekinetically pushing him around, knocking him down and saying, in essence, "How do ''you'' like it -- getting smacked around by someone bigger and stronger than you are?"

* ''Manga/DeathNote'' inverted. Matsuda, who looked up to Soichiro, calls out the guy's son on his indirect father-killing.
-->'''Matsuda''': What was it all for then?! What about your dad? What the hell did he die for?!
-->'''Light''': My dad? You mean Soichiro Yagami? That's right, Matsuda! In this world, all those honest people like him fight for justice, they always lose! You want a world where people like that are made to be fools?! I know you understand, so kill the others! SHOOT THEM!!
-->'''Matsuda''': You led your own father to his death. And now that he's gone, you call him a fool?!

* In ''TheGunslinger'', Roland calls out Cort for the ritual coming-of-age challenge of every gunslinger. Due to a plot by Walter, Roland is only 14 when he issues the challenge. Walter expects Roland to be disgraced and exiled. Some creative thinking on Roland's part plays a key role in the outcome of the challenge.

* ''FanFic/TheImmortalGame'': When Rarity is finally confronted by her CompleteMonster father, [[TheDragon Esteem]], he offers her a chance to [[WeCanRuleTogether join him]] and live like royalty in the new SocialDarwinist society he and [[BigBad Titan]] are creating. Rarity not only refuses, she calls him out on all the terrible things he's done -- including but not limited to putting her through TrainingFromHell as a child, killing her mother, and being the one who let Titan out of his [[SealedEvilInACan can]] in the first place. She tops this with [[IHaveNoSon completely disowning him]] and swearing to defeat him and his master.

* Literally happens in ''Series/PawnStars''.

* Reversed in {{Ayreon}}'s "Day 16: Loser" off "The Human Equation". Here we have the abusive, alchoholic, jerkass, complete monster of a father berating and calling out his own son while in the hospital. He goes on about how weak, helpless and pathetic his son is before leaving. The closest we get to a response is when the son's rage persona freaks out and screams at the father.