Line #56 StealthPun/LiveActionFilms


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7	{{Stealth Pun}}s in live-action movies.
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10	* In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfFordFairlane'', the title character's vintage car is in fact a 1957 Ford Fairlane.
11	* In ''Film/AeonFlux'', when breaking into Trevor's estate, Aeon's partner shows off her new genetically modified feet, altered into hands for added utility. When Aeon asks how they're working out, she replies, "Useful". In other words, "Handy".
12	* ''Film/{{Annie 2014}}'': Daddy Warbucks' AdaptationNameChange is William Stacks, which means that he's informally known as [[Fiction500 Bill Stacks]].
13	* In ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'' Doc Brown warns about meeting yourself from another time, thus creating a paradox. Near the end, you actually have Doc Brown meeting up with himself; thus creating a "pair o' Docs". For those observant enough, the joke ''is'' explained (sorta) in the soundtrack, where the name of the track that plays during this scene has the punch line as its name.
14	* ''Baseketball'': Several involving Baxter and Yvette. Example: Yvette is wearing shiny metallic-looking lipstick, shows Baxter a dull grey trailer hitch and says "I finally got all the chrome off this for you."
15	* In ''Film/BigGame'', one of Oskari's neighbors is shown reading a newspaper article about president Moore's impending visit to Helsinki. The text is in Finnish apart from the headline, which reads "We Want Moore". Cross out one "o".
16	* From ''Film/TheBigLebowski'': "They're Nihilists, Donny. There's nothing to be afraid of", this punning on the nihilist conviction that life is meaningless.
17	* ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'' has a stealth pun in the White Supremacist Rally scene. The Rally speaker refers to their party as the American Socialist White People's Party, or, if you were to initialize it, ASWPP. The Neo-Nazis are [=ASsWiP(P)es=].
18	* The title character of ''Film/BubbaHoTep'' yells vulgarities in hieroglyphics during the final confrontation. ''The mummy's curse''.
19	* ''Film/CheaperByTheDozen2'': Nora, the family's eldest daughter, is pregnant all throughout the film. She ends up having her baby at the tail end of her family's summer vacation - specifically on Labor Day.
20	* In ''Film/{{Clue}}'', Professor Plum: "I work for U.N.O., the United Nations Organization. I work for a special branch, the World Health Organization." (I.e., he works for UNO [you know] WHO.)
21	* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', the police convoy is diverted by a large vehicle that had been set ablaze. When you see the vehicle up close, you realize what it is and the stealth pun indicates it as one of the Joker's jokes: It's a fire engine.
22	** And by the end of the second act, the Batmobile has lost a wheel (well, two, but whatever) and the Joker got away.
23	** And Two-Face's accident happens on 250 52nd Street. The street is a palindrome.
24	* ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'':
25	** In ''Film/JusticeLeague2017'', Wonder Woman first appears standing on the statue of "Lady Justice".
26	** In ''Film/ManOfSteel'' Zod attacks Superman with an I-beam. Supes parries with an EyeBeam.
27	*** Since [[spoiler: Krypton's codex (which contains the genetics for all to be created Kryptonians) is encoded in Kal-El's cells, he is ''[[LiteralMetaphor literally an everyman]]''.]]
28	** ''Film/WonderWoman2017'':
29	*** The first person to cross No Man's Land is a woman.
30	*** This is a non-sequel Wonder Woman film set during World War I. Thus, it's a WWI film in two different ways.
31	* The climactic moment of ''Film/DeadPoetsSociety'' has the students supporting John Keating by rising from their desks to quote "O Captain, My Captain" against their teacher's orders. Talk about your student uprising.
32	* ''Film/DungeonsAndDragons2000'' has the villain knock the hero to the ground and shout "not so [[Film/TheTalentedMrRipley talented now, are you Mister Ridley?]].
33	* In ''Film/EvanAlmighty'', Evan's wife is Joan. And the movie is about building an ark.
34	** This one may also count as a GeniusBonus. When God shows up in the back of Evan's car and scares the pants off him, God replies "Let it out, son. It's the beginning of wisdom." Proverbs 1:7 states "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom"
35	** Noah had a son named Ham. Evan has a son named Ryan, or Ry. Ham and Rye.
36	** You can barely see it, but when God appears before Joan as a server at the restaurant, his name-tag reads "Al Mighty".
37	* In the original ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'' the aliens have ray guns that fire gauntlets/armored gloves which strangle and throw people. That's right, the aliens have HAND-guns.
38	** It's also a case of "{{throwing down the gauntlet}}" (i.e. challenge) to the good guys.
39	* In ''Film/{{Gifted}}'', when Frank rhetorically asks, "Do I look gifted to you?" with reference to his intellectual ability, Bonnie looks down at him with probably a different idea of [[BiggerIsBetterInBed "gifted"]] in mind.
40	* In ''Film/HaroldAndKumarGoToWhiteCastle'', after the film's antagonists steal a parking space from Harold (played by John Cho) they yell, "Better luck, tomorrow!" While working as a line in the film, it's also a pun on the name of the [[Film/BetterLuckTomorrow indie film]] that introduced John Cho as an actor.
41	* ''Film/HomeAlone1'' has Kevin getting in deep trouble with his family for spilling milk all over their plane tickets. So they're all "crying over spilled milk".
42	* In the middle of ''Film/HoneyIShrunkTheKids'', Nick asks Russ where he learned [[KissOfLife artificial respiration]] after he delivers it to Amy. Russ replies, [[DudeShesLikeInAComa "In French class"]]. Nick doesn't get it and the build-up is left unfinished... then, [[CallBack at the very end of the movie]], right after the FadeToBlack, Nick [[LateToThePunchline suddenly gets it]] and laughs hysterically.
43	* Riddled throughout ''Film/HotFuzz'', normally in the form of a Stealth BondOneLiner. For example, Creator/SimonPegg and Creator/TimothyDalton have [[spoiler:a stand down in a small model town.]] The pun? [[spoiler:This town isn't big enough for the both of us.]]
44	** Also lampshaded when [[spoiler:a swan causes the villain to crash his car during his escape.]] with this exchange:
45	--->'''Nicholas Angel:''' I feel like I should say something smart.\
46	'''Danny Butterman:''' You don't have to say anything at all.
47	** [[spoiler:I guess you could say it was his swan song.]]
48	* ''Film/HotShotsPartDeux'' has the rescue action take place in a {{Qurac}} country (albeit one with a sufficient enough jungle backdrop to allow parodies of the Vietnam set ''Rambo: First Blood: Part 2''). They actually show it on a map by fashioning it out of the Iranian side of the Iran/Iraq border. Presumably due to the upheavals which lead to this split, Iran is labelled simply as A Hard Place. In other words, it was placed between Iraq and A Hard Place.
49	** Same movie has Topper Harley reading ''Literature/GreatExpectations''. When he asked what he thought about it, he replied that it's not what he hoped for.
50	* Similarly, the point in ''Film/HotToTrot'' when Don's father dies is marked by the sound of a bucket being kicked. It's a little easier to miss this one because the scene occurs in a barn: a natural place for metal buckets to be located.
51	* In ''Film/{{Inception}}'', during Yusuf's dream, in the first level, Cobb accidentally creates a locomotive in the middle of the street. He was probably thinking about his dead wife, Mal. In other words, it was his train of thought.
52	** And also the moment their plan goes off the rails.
53	*** It also tells us that the relationship turned into a real trainwreck.
54	*** Seems like his reason for doing that is he's going crazy, or that he has a loco motive.
55	* ''Franchise/IndianaJones'':
56	** There is a brief scene in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' in which [[DamselOutOfDistress Marion Ravenwood]] knocks out a sword-wielding kidnapper with a frying pan...proving that "the ''pan'' ['pen'] is mightier than the sword." (This gag was then done more literally and {{lampshade\|Hanging}}d in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''.)
57	** In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', when Indy and his father Henry Sr. stop to argue about whether they should head to Berlin to get back the grail diary or press on to Iskenderun to save Marcus, they're at a literal crossroads, with a sign shaped like a cross.
58	* ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'': The guy at the beginning of the movie, who tells the four drivers about [[spoiler:the treasure buried under a big W]], kicks a bucket with his foot as he dies.
59	* In ''Film/JeepersCreepers'', the two main characters are nearly run off the road by a truck with a VanityLicensePlate which says "BEATNGU". Darry guesses it just meant "beating you", but it's never stated what it really meant: [[spoiler:"be ''eating'' you", as the driver is really the man-eating monster.]]
60	%%* In Film/JohnDiesAtTheEnd Fred toasts to "All the kisses I've snatched, and vice-versa."
61	* In ''Film/JumpinJackFlash'', Creator/WhoopiGoldberg's character is told that a spy's computer code key can be found in the eponymous Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}} song. She tries inputting every lyric she can think of, but nothing seems to work until she tries entering [[spoiler:the key of the song itself: B-Flat]].
62	* ''Film/KamenRiderGenerationsDrPacmanVsExAidAndGhostWithLegendaryRiders'' has people being infected with a virus spread by tiny creatures that resemble VideoGame/PacMan. They all literally have PacManFever.
63	* The Bride's exchange with O-Ren Ishii in ''Film/KillBill Vol. 1'' could count, since (unless you were able to get a good look at her passport when she flew to Japan) we don't learn until Vol. 2 that her name is [[spoiler: Beatrix Kiddo]]:
64	-->'''O-Ren Ishii:''' You didn't think it was gonna be that easy, did you?\
65	'''The Bride:''' You know, for a second there, yeah, I kinda did.\
66	'''O-Ren Ishii:''' Silly rabbit.\
67	'''The Bride:''' Trix are...\
68	'''O-Ren Ishii:''' ...for kids.
69	** A possible double bonus: So you're saying that they called a woman named [[WesternAnimation/TheWorldOfPeterRabbitAndFriends Beatrix]] a "rabbit"?
70	* In ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'', the code (2625) to get into the princess' cell? On a numeric keypad (phone) it can alternately spell ANAL or COCK. [[spoiler: Well... she DID offer...]]
71	* In ''Film/LandOfTheLost'' (2009) it's telling that the place with an above average tachyon flow is one decidedly lacking in taste - "tachyon" can sound like "tacky-on".
72	* In ''Film/ManWithTheScreamingBrain'', William Cole (Creator/BruceCampbell) suffers severe trauma and has the damaged tissue repaired with the brain tissue of a former KGB agent. Cole and the agent are able to hear each other's thoughts; when this first started happening, Cole immediately asked where the KGB agent was. His response? "Where do you think?"
73	* The opening credits to ''{{Film/Mandy 2018}}'' are set to "Starless" by Music/KingCrimson, a song which originally appeared on the album ''[[Music/RedKingCrimsonAlbum Red]]''. Shortly after the song ends, we meet our two protagonists, one of whom is named Red.
74	* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
75	** ''Film/IronMan2'':
76	*** If you are acquainted with some of the more advanced notions in physics and have a quick eye, you'll notice that on the last page of Howard Stark's notebook there's a reference to an "Abnormal Zeeman Effect", which any [[GeniusBonus nerd can tell you]] is a magnetic equivalent of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stark_effect Stark]] effect.
77	*** And, Rhodey and Stark fight in Iron Man armour in a wrestling ring. Remind anyone of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_%27Em_Sock_%27Em_Robots This]]?
78	** ''Film/{{The Avengers\|2012}}''
79	*** In Black Widow's first appearance, she defeats her "kidnappers" with technically eight limbs - four of her own and four of the chair's legs she was tied to.
80	*** Also, Tony Stark (Iron Man) spends much of the film wearing a Music/BlackSabbath t-shirt.
81	** ''Film/IronMan3'': How would you describe Tony Stark's official girlfriend when she's wearing the Iron Man armor? Iron Potts. Also, how would you describe her [[spoiler:when she is infected with Extremis]]? [[spoiler:A hot pepper.]]
82	** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'':
83	*** During the prison escape scene, the Pina Colada song plays. The song's real title? "Escape".
84	*** Yondu opens a capsule expecting [[spoiler: the Infinity Stone]] but instead got [[spoiler: a troll doll]]. In other words, he got [[spoiler: {{Troll}}ed]].
85	* ''Film/TheMatrix''. After capturing Neo, the Agents implant an insect-looking robot that acts as a TrackingDevice into his body. Later on, Morpheus's team prepares to extract it.
86	-->'''Trinity''': We think you're bugged.
87	* In ''Film/MeanGirls'', Janis Ian ([[ShoutOut named for a lesbian folk singer]]) has been hounded throughout high school by rumors that she's gay. While hating her former best friend for starting the rumors and causing her to be ostracized, she never actually denies liking girls, and at times it seems the movie is teasing us with the question. Then at the end, she winds up in a relationship with Kevin, after he comes up to her to find out if she fits his policy of "only dating women of color":
88	-->'''Kevin:''' You Puerto Rican?\
89	'''Janis:''' ''Lebanese''.\
90	'''Kevin:''' I feel that.
91	* ''Film/MenInBlack3'': When Jay is in the 1969 MIB headquarters, he sees [[OnePhoneCall an arrested alien speaking to his father on a telephone]]. That is, to say, [[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial an extra-terrestrial is phoning home]].
92	* This may or may not be a stretch, but after the makers of ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' ran out of money, they just [[AntiClimax had the film end with everyone being arrested by the police]] for [[ChekhovsGag the death of a historian earlier in the film]]. In other words, the ending is a ''cop''-out.
93	* In ''Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife'', a segment where a married couple in their forties visit a Medieval dungeon-themed restaurant is appropriately named "Middle Age".
94	* In the film ''Film/TheMuppets2011'', Camilla and her fellow hens cluck out Music/CeeLoGreen's "Forget You", or as it's better known in its uncensored version, "[[ClusterFBomb F**k You]]". It's never spelled out anywhere, but put that all together and you realize the chickens are saying.... "Cluck You".
95	* For the first shot of the villain in ''Film/TheNeverendingStoryIITheNextChapter'', she has no face until she takes a swipe of some mystical glowing gunk on her hands and swipes it over her face. Guess she just had to put her face on.
96	** Either that or it's Face creme.
97	* The title characters of ''Film/TheOogielovesInTheBigBalloonAdventure'' hang around with a sentient vacuum cleaner named J. Edgar. He's named after [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Edgar_Hoover J. Edgar Hoover]] - "Hoover" also being the name of a popular vacuum cleaner manufacturer.
98	* In ''Film/PacificRim'', there is the scene where Raleigh and Mako see and talk about the newly rebuilt Gipsy Danger and there is construction work causing sparks behind them. You could say sparks are literally flying between them.
99	* In ''Film/{{The Parent Trap\|1998}}'', when Hallie, impersonating Annie, meets Martin at the airport, the song that plays is Soulful Strut, which is an instrumental version of "Am I The Same Girl?".
100	* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'' has this. Davy Jones' heart was locked in a locker…which can also be called a chest—''his'' chest.
101	** Also, one of his crew is a very short man who's mutating into a crustacean. In other words, the guy's a shrimp.
102	* In ''Film/ThePrestige'', Tesla's assistant is named '''Alley'''. Who owns a black '''cat'''. An alley cat.
103	* The film ''Film/{{Raazi}}'' appears to have a NonIndicativeTitle...until you figure out that the title and the protagonist's name (Sehmat) both mean "willing" in Hindi.
104	* In ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'', the meal the characters have been eating is suddenly revealed to be the remains of Eddie, played by the singer Music/MeatLoaf. The audience traditionally fills in the joke: "Not Meatloaf again!"
105	** "That's a rather tender subject."
106	*** "That's a rather tasteless joke."
107	** And don't forget the well-hung speakers.
108	** Meat Loaf also made an appearance on ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt''. Take a wild guess at what happened to his character.
109	* ''Film/Scarface1983'': Tony says “Say hello to my little friend!” while high on cocaine. One possible side effect of cocaine is erectile dysfunction.
110	* The title of the excellent German short film ''Film/{{Schwarzfahrer}}'' means fare dodger, though it could literally be interpreted (with some license) as "black rider". It features a black man sitting on a tram next to a RacistGrandma who puts him through racial abuse, including saying all black people had AIDS. When the conductor comes round to collect the tickets, the black man [[spoiler: eats her ticket, making her a lawbreaking type of schwarzfahrer. For added irony, a biker onlooker who never had a ticket gets let off.]]
111	* The theme song of the 2002 live-action ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' movie was performed by... Music/{{Shaggy}}. It was called "Shaggy, Where Are You?"
112	* In ''Film/ScotlandPA'', an adaptation of ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'', it is casually mentioned that Donald (Donalbain in ''Macbeth'') and Malcolm's father, Duncan, made most of his money through donut sales. ''Duncan Donuts''. Later, Donald takes over the restaurant, which had been renamed to [=McBeth's=], and calls it, well, guess what... ''UsefulNotes/McDonalds'', of course.
113	* At the end of ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', a cake decorated like the FBI logo is served at a celebratory dinner, with the first slice containing the word "justice." In other words, Justice is Served.
114	* In ''Film/SlumberPartyMassacreII'', Courtney is served a hamburger which she hallucinates as a pair of bloody severed hands on a bun... or a '''hand'''burger.
115	* When Larry finds what he needs to place in the action figures in ''Film/SmallSoldiers'', he triumphantly exclaims, "[[Film/GoodbyeMrChips Hello, Mr. Chips!]]"
116	* There was a blue moon in ''Film/TheSmurfs'' that the Smurfs conjured up in order to get home, and there would have been one in ''Film/TheSmurfs2'' [[ThinkOfTheCensors if Grouchy was allowed to flash his butt]].
117	* The nature of the Creator/MelBrooks film ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'' means there are plenty of Stealth Puns, and not always due to DoubleEntendre:
118	** One instance where the joke gets explained. ''Spaceball One'''s radar dish is ''literally'' jammed (as in a huge jar of jam is launched at it). It eventually oozes onto the radar screen and Dark Helmet takes a taste and identifies it as raspberry jam. This makes him realize Lone Starr is behind this because only he would dare "[[BlowingARaspberry give him the raspberry]]".
119	** At one point a Spaceball guard yells at the character Barf, "That son of a..." after Barf [[FlippingTheBird flips the bird]] at him. Since Barf is a [[HalfHumanHybrid Mawg]] (half man, half dog) we can only assume that the canine genes come from his mother: an actual bitch.
120	* ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'': [=McCoy=] tries to arrange a flight to the Genesis planet, which is currently restricted by Starfleet, the alien he tries to charter with says "[[StrangeSyntaxSpeaker Genesis allowed is not! Is planet forbidden!]]", a subtle nod to the 1956 sci-fi film ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet'', which Creator/GeneRoddenberry cited as a major influence upon ''Franchise/StarTrek''.
121	* In ''Film/StarTrek2009'', the alien in the bar that sits between Uhura and Kirk has elongated features. So why didn't the bartender say "Why the long face?"
122	** Podcast/RiffTrax did it.
123	*** The character was credited as "Long Face".
124	* In yet another ''Franchise/StarTrek'' film, the commanders of a Klingon vessel give the order of "Fire at will." There is an immediate cut to the bridge of their target, the ''Enterprise'', currently commanded by Commander Riker. Will Riker.
125	** Picard did the same thing in the series during a training exercise.
126	** And in a ''Literature/StarTrekNewFrontier'' novel, we get "[[IAlwaysWantedToSayThat I've been wanting to say this for ages]]...Fire at Will."
127	** That joke was done in ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'' too, but the order was followed by a volley of gunfire and the line, [[DontExplainTheJoke "Do not fire at Will, he is my second mate. Fire at the Sea Duck!"]]
128	** This same joke is also in ''Film/IndependenceDay''. During the scene of the first assault on one of the megaships, the pilots are given the command "Fire at will." Guess whose character is leading this assault? Creator/WillSmith.
129	* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
130	** ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' taught us all that the internal temperature of a Tauntaun is... lukewarm.
131	** ''Film/RogueOne'' has a profoundly annoyed Darth Vader Force-choke the ambitious Director Krennic, telling him, "Be careful not to choke on your aspirations". Given the medical definition of aspiration...
132	** Vader enjoyed these even when he was still Anakin. In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', he cuts off Count Dooku's arms and calls him an "unarmed" prisoner not three seconds later.
133	* The end credits for ''Film/StrangerThanFiction'' include a few visual puns. For instance, the credit for the casting director has a couch underneath it.
134	* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'':
135	** The T-800 chases John Connor through a mall carrying a [[Music/GunsNRoses box of flowers with a shotgun inside]]. The [[Music/GunsNRoses Guns 'N Roses]] song "You Could Be Mine" appeared in the movie, and was also played over the credits.
136	** John Connor's foster parents at the beginning are Todd and Janelle Voight. If they legally adopted him, John's name would've become "[[Creator/JonVoight John Voight]]".
137	* In ''Film/TheatreOfBlood'', in which a ThemeSerialKiller murders the critics who panned his performances with methods lifted from the plays of Creator/WilliamShakespeare, Inspector Boot mentions that one of the plays, ''Theatre/TitusAndronicus'', involves "an old queen" being forced to [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies eat her children baked in a pie]]. A few scenes later, when the killer reenacts that particular murder, his victim of choice is the CampGay critic.
138	* In ''The Ward'', [[spoiler: Iris]] is killed off via a deliberately fatal lobotomy -- there's an unspoken pun when you connect her name and the fact that [[EyeScream her eye is punctured by an ice pick]], since [[spoiler: the iris is a part of the eye.]]
139	* The soundtrack to ''Film/TheWickerMan1973'' is primarily in the style of European folk music, so "Cave Chase", a PsychedelicRock instrumental heard during a chase scene through a cave, definitely sticks out. As it turns out, it was meant as a pun about "rock" music.
140	* In ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'' when [[spoiler:Peter]] is surrounded by Blanks, Andy threatens to "punch their lights out". At this point the Blanks are emitting light from their eyes and mouths.
141	* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''
142	** Michael Fassbender kept his natural auburn hair for his role as ComicBook/{{Magneto}} in ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' and ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'', which makes him... Erik the Red.[[note]] Bonus points for "Erik the Red" being the alias Cyclops used way back in the day to infiltrate an organization a robot double of Magneto was setting up. ....Comics are odd.[[/note]]
143	** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'': The temp score used in the Comic Con trailer is a Music/HansZimmer piece called "[[TimeTravel Time]]".
144	* In ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'', twice Tallahassee guns down zombies whilst [[spoiler:riding a rollercoaster]]. In other words, it's [[spoiler: an ''on-rail shooter'']].
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Context StealthPun / LiveActionFilms