"Rien au monde ne leur ferait manquer leur rendez-vous hebdomadaire"note
Starting out as a 1997 feature film (followed by three sequels, a prequel, and a TV series), Les Boys depicts the (mis)adventures of an amateur hockey league.
The original movie focused on the players of an amateur hockey team (the titular "Boys"), made up of average Joes, and run by pub owner Stan. Stan's a good guy, with one vice - gambling. After losing a substantial amount ($50,000) to his mobster friend Méo, Stan is desperate, and is considering selling his pub ("Chez Stan"). However, Méo's a (relatively) good guy, and tells Stan that if his Boys can beat Méo's team of thugs, then the debt will be settled. If not, Stan loses the pub. After a series of close calls, the Boys manage to pull out a win, and Stan keeps the pub.
Notable for featuring several popular Quebecois actors: Rémy Girard (The Barbarian Invasions, InSecurity), Marc Messier (La Petite Vie), Patrick Huard (Bon Cop, Bad Cop), Pierre Lebeau (Bon Cop, Bad Cop), Yvan Ponton (Slap Shot), Michel Charette (Radio Enfer), Antoine Bertrand, and Guy Jodoin (Dans Une Galaxie Près De Chez Vous)... And that's just for starters!
"Les Tropes":
- 11th-Hour Ranger: After Julien is kicked out of the team when it's revealed that it's because of him that they got robbed in the second movie, Jean-Charles points out to Stan they need another player for the final match of the tournament. The next scene shows that Méo was chosen to replace Julien.
- Answer Cut:
- In the second movie, Jean-Charles points out to Stan that they're missing one player after Julien is removed from the team following his betrayal. After thinking about it, Stan tells him they have their replacement. The next scene shows it's none other than Méo.
- In the third movie, Stan tells the Boys that Fernand won't be present for their next match. Popol then asks his father who will be the goalie. It cuts to the next scene, with Popol himself as the goalie.
- At Arm's Length: One of the Russian players does this to Popol during the final match in the second movie.
- Benevolent Boss: Jean-Guy Racette's boss Mr. Madison in the prequel movie. At the end of said prequel, Racette decides to fire Stan's mother Marie after learning that Stan is responsible for stealing his car. However, Méo and Stan reveal to everyone that Racette sexually harassed Marie. Upon learning that, Madison immediately fires him and tells Stan to tell his mother to meet him later, causing Stan to smile and thank him.
- Berserk Button:
- Every so often Popol starts freaking out and screaming that his name is Leopold, damn it!
- Julien and his facial hair. Do not tease him about it!
- Jean-Charles, of course, will not react well to homophobic behavior, perceived or otherwise. To wit, he violently tackled someone who kept throwing slurs at him during a game to such an extent that he hospitalized the guy. He also refused to represent one of his teammates in court once he found out the conflict began when said teammate provoked the situation with homophobic insults.
- Bilingual Bonus: Sometimes, the Boys will use "joual" (Quebec slang) while speaking to unsuspecting Anglophones (Alex Kovalev, for example), who will later repeat the phrases (to other Francophones) without knowing their true meanings. Hilarity often ensues.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Two instances happen in the second movie:
- When a monk (whom Stan initially thought was a priest) ends up helping the Boys when they're stranded in the middle of nowhere, the monk borrows Stan's Mad Libs Catchphrase:Stan: Well, Mr. Priest, in my own book, it's Labine who is sending you.
Monk: In my own book, it's Providence, my son. - Stan has this habit of saying "Baptême". Violette, his Love Interest, says that when she offers to let him stay at her home for a while. Bob, who is present in that scene, can't help but laugh at hearing her say his friend's catchphrase.
- When a monk (whom Stan initially thought was a priest) ends up helping the Boys when they're stranded in the middle of nowhere, the monk borrows Stan's Mad Libs Catchphrase:
- Butt-Monkey: Marcel suffers from a lot of bad luck. For example, in the fourth movie, he gets a fine shoved through his mouth by an angry driver, he nearly drowns after Méo (who had no idea Marcel didn't know how to swim) pushed him off the rowboat they were in, and he nearly gets shot by Phil among other things.
- Celebrity Paradox: In the fourth movie, Stan mentions Slap Shot. Yvan Ponton (who plays the role of Jean-Charles) also played the role of Jean-Guy Drouin in that movie.
- Character Catchphrase: Stan oftentimes says "Baptême", which means "Baptism" in French and is a mild curse word in Quebec.
- Childhood Friends: As shown in the prequel movie, Stan, Bob, Jean-Charles, Marcel, Fernand, and Méo have known each other since they were kids.
- Christmas Episode: The prequel movie takes place during the holiday season and includes scenes such as a Christmas party where the future Boys receive gifts from their parents.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Some members of the team just stop showing up in-between certain installments and are never mentioned again, with Ti-Guy almost being an exception; after being a prominent member of the team for the first three films, he's seen hospitalized in the fourth which explains his absence... and then he, also, is never heard from or mentioned again.
- Cliffhanger: The end of the first episode of Season 3 was one, with Méo suddenly staggering around, clutching his chest and collapsing on the ice in the middle of a game. He'd had a heart attack due to his bad eating and smoking habits. He survived and cleaned up his act... somewhat, but suffered from a fear of death for a few episodes until Stan managed to pull him out of it.
- There was later a similar incident with Stan, who collapsed with a heart attack after a fight with Popol. He got better, but had fun taking revenge on Popol (with Méo's help)... until Popol also had a heart attack!
- Comically Missing the Point:
- Fernand makes a speech where he announces his retirement in the first movie. He says "It's useless, I'm no longer able to follow." Julien then replies "Come on, Fern. You don't need to follow, you're a goalie."
- When Stan and Mario have an argument over both the latter wanting to leave France to be with his son and the fact they no longer have their proper hockey equipment:Stan: A Boy never abandon!
Mario: Well I don't wanna be a Boy in that case!
Stan: It's not you who is saying that.
Sylvain: Who is it?
[Stan looks at Sylvain for saying such a stupid thing, while Sylvain still looks confused.] - Ti-Guy's mother thinks that her son is gay. When she tells him that he should come out of the closet, he's confused and asks her "What's the matter? My outfit isn't alright?"
- Lisette gets angry when Fernand tells her he won't go to his nephew's baptism due to leaving for four days with the Boys to some remote place, especially since Fernand is the baby's godfather. She then shows him a white dress that she paid $200 just for the baptism:Fernand: [annoyed] $200 for a dress?! He's six months old! He doesn't even clearly see!
Lisette: It's not for him, it's for you!
Fernand: ...Do I look like a guy who wears a dress?!
[Lisette looks at him in bafflement.]
Fernand: You're so slow-witted sometimes!
- Creative Closing Credits: The credits to the second movie show footage captured by Marcel's camera during their trip in France.
- Cue the Rain: After the Boys lose a match in the fourth movie, Stan gets angry over it and leaves the arena. While walking, he says to himself that the only thing missing is rain. Naturally, it immediately rains afterwards and he loudly complains about it.
- Dance Party Ending:
- The first movie ends with the Boys, along with some of their respective loved ones, celebrating their victory at Stan's pub, with many of the characters dancing.
- The third movie ends at Stan's new pub, with the Boys singing a song titled "Le Boys Blues Band" while everyone else present is dancing to it.
- A Day in the Limelight: Each episode usually focuses on one Boy in particular.
- Demoted to Extra: Bob and Ti-Guy, who were major characters in the first three movies, are given significantly less screentime in the fourth movie. Bob sits out for most of the movie due to being busy as a movie producer until he shows up again just in time for the final match that the Boys need to win in order to play against the Legends. As for Ti-Guy, as a result of his actor Patrick Huard declining to reprise his role, he was recast with some other actor and ended up at the hospital, with his head completely covered by a cast and ultimately appearing in only two scenes.
- Did I Mention It's Christmas?: A few scenes in the third movie indicates it takes place during the holiday season. For example, one scene shows Bob walking around town and coming across Christmas decorations, a guy dressed like an elf, another guy dressed like Santa Claus, etc. while "Deck the Halls" is playing in the background. Another scene has Méo giving some money to some mother (whose husband owes money to Méo) so they would have a proper Christmas Eve for her son. Other than that, the movie itself doesn't focus that much on Christmas.
- Disappeared Dad:
- Julien has one, but he came back (in search of Julien's money). Somewhat subverted in that, while Julien comes to accept him as his father if only because his real father's unlikely to ever return in his life, the man turned out to be a reluctant con-man who was unwilling to go through with conning him, giving said money back.
- The prequel reveals that Stan was only three years old when his father passed away.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Bob asks Karine to distract the goalie from Méo's team so they can score a point. She succeeds by using her body and writing a phone number on the glass.
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Éric Lapointe is the singer for the theme songs of the first three movies. In the third movie, he plays the role of Bruno, one of the Boys.
- The Dog Bites Back: Marcel is fired from his job as the coach to Phil's team after he gave to Phil a fine as a parking officer. Phil then humiliates Marcel even further by pouring some juice on him. When Phil is running away from all the Boys who are angry at him, he gets into his car and tries to leave. However, it's then revealed that Marcel broke the car's brakes as a revenge, resulting in Phil crashing his car into the inside of a dumpster.
- Doomed by Canon: Regarding the prequel, considering that he was never mentioned in either the previous movies or the TV series, it was a Foregone Conclusion that something bad was going to happen to Ben. Sure enough, he dies by drowning in a frozen lake.
- Dope Slap: Stan is worried for Popol after the latter has left with most of the other Boys. Martin says it'd be a shame if Popol died given that he's Stan's only son. Jean-Charles responds to this stupid remark by slapping the back of Martin's head.
- Dramatic Thunder: Stan meets Michel Bergeron at the latter's house during a storm. Bergeron suggests to Stan to go to some remote place with his team to make his players be closer together. He adds that the remote place should have "No women, and especially no beer." A dramatic thunder is then heard after he immediately says that.
- Dream Intro: The fourth movie begins with Stan having a dream where the Boys are playing on the same team as the Legends (which include iconic real life hockey players such as Guy Lafleur), while Stan himself is the coach of said team. The dream also features Jacques Demers, a real life former head coach, as the waterboy.
- Driven to Suicide: After being made fun of by his friends one time too many for having made reservations at a not-so-ideal hotel, Ti-Guy is tempted to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge and drowning. Ultimately, he decides otherwise when he notices the presence of another man looking at him, who seemingly wants to prevent Ti-Guy from doing the unthinkable. However, after Ti-Guy unintentionally insults him, the other man tries to commit suicide by jumping, only for the water to be too shallow for anyone to drown in it. As a result, the other man is simply injured and Ti-Guy decides to get him out of there.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The first film has a very different tone than its sequels and subsequent spin-off television series, including the depiction of characters, especially Méo. Whereas in the second movie and forward, he's both an ally, team member and friend to the Boys, he is the center antagonist to Stan in the first, wanting to take his pub away from him in exchange of not breaking his legs due to the money he owes him from a card game. The sheer difference in his attitude post-first film is strong enough that he may as well be a completely different character.
- Embarrassing First Name: Méo's full name is Roméo Levasseur. As a kid, he hated being called by his first name. However, he started to hate it less when Bob introduced him to the school principal's secretary while mentioning his first name, causing the secretary to joyfully pinch Méo's cheek and to say that it was "a pretty little name".
- Even Evil Has Standards When it's revealed that Julien betrayed his friends, even Méo is outraged by it. The mobster goes on a rant where he freely admits he did a lot of nasty things in his life, but he never betrayed his friends. However, given that Stan reacts by saying "Oh come on." upon hearing that, Méo comes across as more of a hypocrite in this case.
- Exact Eavesdropping: During the third act of the third movie, Ti-Guy is behind a closed door in the men's room when he overhears Phil talking with some guy named Gabriel. It turns out Phil is trying to make Stan go bankrupt so Gabriel could buy the plot of land his bar is on and built some condos there. Later on, after some hesitation, Ti-Guy reveals the truth to everyone else, causing some trouble to Phil.
- Fainting: At the end of the fourth movie, Fernand does this when standing in front of the real life goalie Martin Brodeur. This is followed by Lisette fainting as well upon seeing what happened to her husband.
- Fake-Hair Drama: François hides his baldness in the first movie with a wig and isn't too proud of it. At the end, his love interest Sonia removes the wig, tells him he's prettier without it, and compares him to Bruce Willis, making François smile.
- Feeling Their Age: Bob continuously struggles with this starting with the third film, creeping its way into the series. At one point, he even sleeps with a woman both younger and more energetic than him; he struggles so much to keep up with her that he needs to medicate himself halfway through and try to find an excuse to leave before satisfaction.
- Fictional Video Game: In the fourth movie, one scene has Martin playing a game on his Game Boy Advance titled Shark Hunter. The goal of the game is to hit as many sharks as possible with a harpoon.
- The "Fun" in "Funeral": A few comedic things happen during Labine's funeral, such as Ti-Guy accidentally dropping his cellphone in Labine's coffin (after Bob taps him on the back) and having to retrieve it without making it look awkward.
- Funny Phone Misunderstanding: After Jean-Charles calls his husband Christopher and tells him that he and the Boys will probably be late for their next game, Christopher calls Fernand's wife Lisette about it, telling her that something bad happened. She immediately assumes that Fernand had a heart attack and she calls Popol's girlfriend Valérie about it, telling her that the Boys were forced to eat Popol. Valérie then calls Mario's wife Brigitte and tells her that the Boys were forced to eat each other, that all that remains are bones, and that Popol apparently exploded.
- The Gadfly: While driving a plane that contains several of the Boys, Willie jokingly asks Marcel if he wants to drive instead. Both Marcel and the Boys panic over this idea given how clumsy Marcel can be, causing Willie to laugh. Not too long afterwards, he tells them it's important to know where the parachutes are if there's a problem with the plane engine. The Boys ask him where are the parachutes, causing Willie to reply in amusement that they're in the basement at his home.
- Groin Attack: During the final game in the second movie, Sylvain ends up catching the puck with his crotch. It doesn't take long before we see him putting some ice on it.
- Growling Gut: While waiting for Willie to come back with his plane, Jean-Charles hears what he presumes to be a bullfrog. However, Martin points out it's just his stomach and he's starting to be hungry.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the first movie, Méo is the Big Bad, threatening to break Stan's legs if the former doesn't get the money owed by the latter and coming up with the idea of having his team go up against the Boys as a way to settle Stan's debt (which would result in Stan losing his pub if his team loses). In the sequels and the TV series, he's on much better terms with the Boys, to the point of even joining their team.
- Helping Granny Cross the Street: One scene in the third movie has Méo help an old woman with a walker crossing the street. A driver almost runs over them and he apologizes, but Méo gets angry. He yells at the driver and uses the old woman's walker to smash against the car. However, this results in the walker losing some pieces. But even though he broke the walker, the old woman is actually thankful for what Méo did and tells him that if there were more people like him, there would be fewer lunatics on the roads.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: In the fourth movie, Phil makes a cameo where he's threatening the Boys with his gun. He deliberately shoots at a bees nest that's right above Julien. The latter catches the nest and panics before throwing it at Mario, who then throws it to Phil, who is visibly nervous at having to deal with the bees coming out of it while the Boys take this opportunity to leave.
- Hope Spot: After the Boys end up being stranded in the middle of nowhere while their personal belongings had just been stolen by two criminals, Bob realizes that the criminals didn't steal Ti-Guy's cellphone. The Boys rejoice over this, until Ti-Guy says that the battery is empty. Fortunately, a monk arrives with his car a few seconds later and agrees to give them a lift.
- I Choose to Stay: At the end of the second movie, when the Boys are about to leave France, Stan reveals to them that, because of his romance with Violette, he won't return to Quebec, before adding "Well, not for the time being, anyway." Subsequently, the next movie starts with him returning to Quebec.
- Identical Grandson: The prequel movie is set in the 60's and focuses on some of the Boys when they were kids. Thus, they're not played by their actors from the previous installments. With that said, Marc Messier (Bob), Yvan Ponton (Jean-Charles), and Luc Guérin (Marcel) were cast in that movie as their respective character's father, while Rémy Girard was cast as his character's uncle (namely Stan's Uncle Fred). Also, Michel Charette, who played Popol in the previous installments, made a cameo as Fred's cousin Raymond. Considering that Popol is also Stan's son, that means Popol looks just like his father's uncle's cousin.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: After seeing Ti-Guy having a conversation with his sister Chantal, Phil makes an implied threat by saying:Phil: Don't hurt her. She's my favorite sister.
Chantal: Well of course, I'm the only one! - Incompatible Orientation: During Jean-Charles' wedding, François is flirting with a woman. However, when she mentions that they "don't play for the same team", he gets the hint and stops flirting with her.
- Indignant Slap: Boisvert asks a woman at Phil's pub what does she do for a living. She replies that she's a dance teacher. However, he makes a sexist remark by joking that she teaches lap dancing. It doesn't take that long before she angrily gives him a slap on the face.
- Insignia Rip-Off Ritual: After learning that Julien betrayed them, Stan removes the team's logo from Julien's jersey.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Several of the Boys are much older than several of their teammates. For instance, the players from Stan's generation (such as Bob, Jean-Charles, Méo, Marcel, and Fernand) are friends with those who are from Popol's (Stan's son) generation.
- Irony: In the fourth movie, Marcel arrives late to a match. Much to the amusement of his teammates, Marcel, who's a parking officer, was late because he received a fine.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Jean-Charles does this to Méo in the men's room regarding a guy named Pierre Monette who owed $500 to Méo.
- "Just Joking" Justification: At the end of the second movie, when the Boys are about to leave France, Laurent (played by Daniel Russo) tells them "If you ever come back here, we'll pretend to not know each other, okay?" Popol nods while being unsure, only for Laurent to say he was just kidding.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": The Boys tend to be quite excited whenever they meet a real life hockey player. One of the best examples is in the fourth movie. In it, they hope to win a tournament that will allow them to play a match against the Legends, which is a team made up of iconic players such as Guy Lafleur. The Boys ultimately win the tournament and are quite overjoyed when meeting the Legends. In fact, when Lafleur scores a point against the Boys, the latter rejoice over it.
- Lame Pun Reaction: When Stan introduces Willie to the rest of the Boys, he says that Willie is an excellent bush flying pilot ("pilote de brousse" in French). Martin then jokingly calls Willie "Brousse Willie" and laughs over it, with Marcel laughing along. Annoyed by it, Willie makes it clear to these two that puns aren't welcomed in the place they're in.
- Large Ham: Pierre Lebeau as Méo can be quite over-the-top, particularly when he's angry.
- Laugh of Love: Ti-Guy has a few chuckles while talking with Chantal after he falls in love with her.
- Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: Phil interrupts a conversation between Ti-Guy and Chantal. After revealing to Ti-Guy that Chantal is his sister, Phil notices the way they're staring at each other and tells them he's going to leave them alone. Before leaving, he tells Ti-Guy that there's a "caoutchouc distributor" in the basement of his pub.
- Let Me at Him!: At the end of the third movie, Stan gets angry when he learns that Phil tried to make him go bankrupt in order to get his pub and have some condos built there. Stan tries to hurt him, but some of the Boys restrain him before he can do so.
- Love Makes You Dumb: After falling in love with Chantal, Ti-Guy briefly forgets his name when she asks him what's his name.
- Mad Libs Catchphrase: Stan has this habit of beginning his sentences with "Dans mon livre à moi..." ("In my own book...", which means "In my opinion...").
- The Mafia: Méo. The Quebec Hell's Angels showed up in one episode as well.
- Mistaken for Gay: While eating with his mother, Ti-Guy learns that both of his parents think he's gay because he's still single at his age. During the wedding of Ti-Guy's cousin (which he did not attend), Ti-Guy's father told everyone through a microphone that his son is gay, much to the latter's annoyance. Even after Ti-Guy denies that he's not gay, his mother still doesn't buy it.
- Mistaken Identity: The third movie begins with Popol going to the airport to reunite with Stan. However, upon seeing a mustached stranger who looks a bit like his father, Popol excitedly hugs him, only to realize his mistake a few seconds later. Stan himself is sitting nearby and reacts in annoyance over his son's mistake.
- Morton's Fork: In the third movie, this is what Fernand thinks is going to happen if the Boys agree to have a match against the Canadian women's national ice hockey team:Fernand: Don't you see we have everything to lose?! If we win, people will say that we're not classy. If we lose, people will say that we lack balls.
Ti-Guy: No, with you, people will just say that you lack talent!
- Musical Nod: During the match between the Boys and the Canadian women's national ice hockey team in the third movie, a song titled "Who Let the Girls Out" played in the background. In the fourth movie, said song is briefly played when it's revealed that the goalie who replaced Fernand is a woman.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Mario has a son named Saku, in reference to the hockey player Saku Koivu.
- Never Heard That One Before: During the final scene of the fourth movie, Bob asks Guy Lafleur "Has there ever been anyone who thought about making a movie about your life?" Lafleur bluntly tells him "You're the 100th person who talks to me about it."
- Not Listening to Me, Are You?: In the prequel, Bob is talking to his father Denis, but the latter isn't paying full attention to the conversation and is instead more focused on his train models. At one point, Bob says that his hockey team scored eight points against zero. He then adds that he scored ten points that night and that it adds up to 200 in total for him during that hockey season. It's only after Bob leaves that Denis has a confused look over his son saying he scored 200 points.
- Not What It Looks Like: Ti-Guy is flirting with Chantal when Phil arrives. Given the way they're hugging each other, Ti-Guy concludes that Chantal and Phil are a couple and tries to save face by telling the latter it's not what it looks like. However, Phil comments that he's not jealous and reveals that Chantal is his sister, much to Ti-Guy's relief.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: The fourth movie reveals that Mario still hasn't forgiven Julien for when he betrayed the Boys in the second movie.
- The Oner: The second movie begins with a continuous shot that goes on for four minutes, focusing on the Boys talking to each other during Labine's funeral.
- Operation: Jealousy: Bob ends up having sex with a woman named Corinne while in France. However, it turns out she had sex with him just to make her actual lover Laurent jealous.
- Orbital Shot: This type of shot is used when Ti-Guy and Chantal are dancing at Phil's pub.
- Overly Narrow Superlative: When Phil tells Ti-Guy to not hurt Chantal because she's his favorite sister, she points out that she's his only sister.
- Pac Man Fever: Martin plays a Fictional Video Game called Shark Hunter on his Game Boy Advance in the fourth movie. Even though it's a game about hitting sharks with a harpoon, all we can hear from it are the sound effects from Pac-Man.
- Passing the Torch: During Jean-Charles' wedding, Bob takes this opportunity to pass the torch to Martin with an improvised ceremony that looks he's knighting him with a flaming skewer.
- Pet the Dog: Méo goes to see some guy named Jean-Paul, who owes money to the former. At one point, Méo tries to drown Jean-Paul in the latter's pool. However, upon seeing Jean-Paul's wife and son, the mobster is less enthusiastic about the drowning and asks if the boy is eating enough. The mother says he could be eating more, but it would be expensive. Méo then stops drowning Jean-Paul and gives some money to the latter's wife so she could buy what's necessary for Christmas Eve, adding that it wouldn't hurt for the boy to eat some turkey:Méo: [to the mother] You will eat some, too. You need to.
- Platonic Kissing: Laurent gives one to Bob after the latter unintentionally helped him with his relationship with Corinne.
- Potty Emergency: At Phil's pub, Méo and Jean-Charles go there to confront some of the former Boys, namely Ti-Guy, Marcel, Mario, Bob, and Boisvert. Méo goes on a rant for what they're doing to Stan. Marcel has a strong urge to go to the men's room, but Ti-Guy forces him more than once to not leave while Méo and Jean-Charles are there. After the latter two leave the pub, Ti-Guy finally tells Marcel he can go to the men's room, only for Marcel to say "It's too late."
- Prequel: The fifth movie is set in the 60's and focuses on some of the Boys (namely Stan, Bob, Jean-Charles, Marcel, Fernand, and Méo) when they were kids.
- Rail Enthusiast: The prequel movie shows that Bob's father Denis was one. Back then, he spent a lot of time with his train models after he started to believe that Bob might not be his son.
- Retcon: In the third movie, Fernand makes a speech to celebrate Stan's return where he says they first met each other on February 6, 1981. However, the prequel movie indicates they've known each other since they were kids in the 1960s.
- Right Behind Me: Marcel is teaching to two recruits as parking officers about putting fines on cars. After Marcel puts a fine on a nearby car, the two recruits notice the car's driver arriving and being angry about the fine. One of the recruits nervously asks Marcel what happens when one puts a fine on the car and that the criminal is arriving at the same time. Marcel replies that one needs to take a deep breath and to "get the hell away from there." It's only after the driver put his hand on the back of Marcel's neck that he finally notices him and gasps before the driver shoves the fine in Marcel's mouth.
- Rousing Speech:
- In the first movie, when many of the Boys are unwilling to continue playing after learning about Stan's debt, Bob does a speech about what Stan has done for all of them and about mental toughness that manages to motivate most of the team.
- In the prequel, the future Boys aren't exactly in the happiest of moods during the final game as a result of their friend Ben dying earlier in the film. Bob takes this opportunity to make a speech to motivate them, telling them that Ben is (spiritually speaking) present and helping them during the game.
- Samus Is a Girl: Fernand needs to be replaced as the goalie for a match. It's only after the match is over that the replacement goalie is revealed to be a woman when she removes her mask. Having no idea it was a woman, Marcel is shocked by that as he remembered that he showed a painful bump on his penis to her in the players' room earlier on and asked her if she ever had that, thinking she was a man. The rest of the Boys end up being amused at Marcel's reaction, while the woman winks at him.
- Scream Discretion Shot: In the prequel, when Fernand learns from his mother that his hockey equipment is gone, he rushes to his bedroom to confirm what she said. This is followed by a shot of his house, with the light in his bedroom being turned on and immediately followed by the sound of Fernand screaming. Said scream causes lights in the neighbor's house to be turned on.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
- In the first movie, Bob does this to a woman named Karine who wanted to have sex with him, preferring to avoid being late to his hockey game.
- Also in the first movie, Fernand makes a long speech where he announces his retirement in the players room. Gradually, as the speech continues on, most of the other players leave the room. Labine is the only one to listen to the entire speech, which continues even after Popol turns off the lights.
- At the end of the third movie, Phil runs away when his plan to make Stan go bankrupt is revealed and the Boys try to hurt him by launching pucks at him.
- Security Cling: Jean-Charles and Martin hold onto each other when the two of them and Stan are inside the plane that Willie is driving and it looks like they're about to have a plane crash.
- Sequel Goes Foreign: The second movie is set in a hockey tournament in France.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Upon meeting Chantal while playing against her and her team, Ti-Guy doesn't seem to be all that attracted to her. However, upon seeing her wearing a dress at Phil's pub, he has a rather pleased reaction that is accompanied by the sound effect of fireworks.
- Shout-Out:
- So Proud of You: Stan says this to Popol after their victory at the end of the first movie.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome:
- Fernand, between Seasons 1 and 2 of the TV show, by way of falling down a manhole while going to cash a check.
- Less notably, Labine in the second film, which opens with his funeral. Apart from Fernand, nobody in the team seems to care, let alone pretend to; Stan openly bemoans the property damage Labine caused when he died over the death itself. Given Labine's lack of presence/character in the first film, probably nobody watching cared either.
- "Take That!" Kiss: Jean-Charles does this to Méo after they worked together to score a point against the Russian team in the second movie.
- Time-Shifted Actor: The fifth movie is a prequel set in the 60's and focuses on the childhood of some of the Boys. As such, those same Boys are played by children as opposed to their actors from the previous movies and the TV series.
- Title Theme Tune: The titular song "Les Boys", written and performed by the rock singer Éric Lapointe.
- Token Evil Teammate: Even after his Heel–Face Turn, Méo is still a mobster, thus making him this for the Boys.
- Too Dumb to Live: Labine died because he turned on his barbecue in his basement rather than outside.
- Training Montage: The fourth movie has one when the Boys go to some remote place. Among other things, they have to run backwards while carrying logs.
- True Companions: Even though they may squabble amongst themselves, the Boys have got each other's backs to the end.
- Wacky Waterbed: Boisvert has a waterbed in his bedroom. When Mario, his wife Brigitte, and their son Saku are invited to stay at his home after their house had been burned down, Boisvert gives them his bedroom. However, one scene has Brigitte complaining about Mario making the waterbed move too much while she's reading her magazine, saying she's going to throw up if he doesn't stop. This is followed by Boisvert entering the room and trying to get his socks from the other side of the bed, resulting in the bed moving a lot, much to Mario and Brigitte's annoyance.
- Wasn't That Fun?: After surviving a plane crash, Martin tells Willie (who was driving the plane) that he thought it was super cool and that he'd do it again.
- Wham Line: In France, the Boys' personal belongings are stolen by two criminals while on their way to some hotel. Later in the movie, Méo reveals that one of the criminals, named Gérard, made a deal with one of the Boys that resulted in the theft. He then says "And that guy betrayed his friends... for a small bag... of dope!" This makes all the Boys realize that the one who betrayed them was Julien, who is also known for being The Stoner.
- What the Hell, Hero?: In the third movie, some of the Boys end up leaving the team to join Phil's team. Méo and Jean-Charles confront them at Phil's pub, with Méo making a rant where, among other things, he calls them a "bunch of Judases".
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: After Julien is kicked out of the team for betraying them, he's depressed over it. Later on, Bob decides to cheer him up by making a speech about how there are two Juliens: the bad one and the good one. Regarding the good one, Bob says he's like a treasure that needs a vacuum, but only Julien can take care of that.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: At the end of the fourth movie, when the Boys are playing against the Legends (a team made up of iconic real life hockey players), Marcel decides, on Fernand's behalf, to ask Martin Brodeur in the middle of the game to give him an autograph. Brodeur replies with "You're kidding me." before agreeing to sign an autograph for Fern.
