Basic Trope: In-laws who drive an otherwise Happily Married couple crazy.
- Straight:
- Alice and Bob have their family over for Thanksgiving. Alice's mother tells Alice, "You could have married Remington Winston III, but no, you had to marry this buffoon..." and keeps complaining vociferously about Bob the whole weekend.
- On Bob's side of the family, both of his parents are a perfect example of the "Walking Disaster Area" trope and every time they visit they drive Alice crazy with their destruction of everything she has worked for - sometimes oblivious, blamed on someone else once in a while, more often the result of trying to be helpful, but an inescapable consequence of their bumbling all the same.
- Exaggerated:
- Mrs. Troper does incredibly Jerkass things, such as pulling the Flushing Toilet, Screaming Shower routine on Bob.
- Alice's parents, siblings, cousins, and other relatives all have nasty things to say to Bob.
- Mrs. Troper (and maybe the rest of the family) detests Bob so much that she wishes him to drop dead every day, certainly will not conceal her glee if something nasty befalls him... and may even take matters in her own hands on the whole "'til death do us part" issue...
- It seems like the Troper family's entire existence has devolved into waging a relentless campaign to make Bob's life hell.
- Bob's in-laws are constantly trying to kill him behind Alice's back.
- Bob hates the entire Troper family, even Alice (because in his eyes (which are not the most reliable, mind) she keeps enabling them).
- Downplayed:
- Mrs. Troper actually almost likes Bob, she just thinks there's room for improvement. She asks him why he buys chocolate ice cream when Alice always preferred strawberry, corrects his dishwasher-loading method, and drops hints that he could do with joining a gym.
- Mrs. Troper isn't exactly malicious... just way too grandchild crazy.
- Mrs. Troper gets along perfectly well with Bob, it's his mother who she frequently competes with over who can be the best grandmother.
- Justified:
- Mrs. Troper is a Rich Bitch.
- Bob really is a moronic lout, and Alice fails to see this.
- Mrs. Troper is disappointed that Alice chose to be herself instead of doing what her mother wanted her to do.
- Alice has an Awful Wedded Life — it's just good enough that she hasn't gone for a divorce yet, but Mrs. Troper is not in the wrong when she says the longer she stays with Bob, the worse things will get.
- Inverted:
- Bob spends the whole weekend complaining about Mrs. Troper.
- Mrs. Troper gets along great with Bob but can't stand Alice.
- Bob has never cared for his own mother, and is far closer to Mrs. Troper.
- Subverted:
- Bob is worried about meeting Mrs. Troper, but she is civil towards Bob.
- The Troper family only pretend to be a bunch of annoying, overly-persnickety busybodies that hate Bob as a prank meant to highlight how much of a cliche this is.
- Double Subverted:
- But complains about him when she gets a moment alone with her daughter, and it's obvious that between Mrs. Troper and her son-in-law, there's a chill in the air.
- They did the prank too well.
- Parodied:
- One of Mrs. Troper's first gifts to the couple was a tombstone that says "Here Lies Bob. We Are Much Happier For Having Lost Him", which she says it's "just in case".
- Literally every time Alice turns, the Tropers and Bob try to kill each other, pausing and pretending everything is all right when Alice looks at them.
- Zig Zagged: Mrs. Troper can't stand Bob, but Mr. Troper couldn't be happier to have Bob as a son-in-law. Alice's siblings are similarly split: brother Charlie and sister Diane like Bob, but brother Eddie and sister Flora hate him.
- Averted: Mrs. Troper adores her son-in-law as much as her daughter, and treats him accordingly.
- Enforced: Using Rule of Funny in an Awful Wedded Life Dom Com
- Lampshaded: "Alice, do we have to invite your mom to Thanksgiving dinner?" *beat* "What?"
- Invoked:
- Alice (who comes from a very wealthy background) marries Bob (who is very poor). Her mother is not pleased.
- Mrs. Troper wants to test Bob's spine and thus puts on the obnoxious act.
- Implied:
- Bob takes the kids and leaves for the amusement park the day Alice's parents are bound to arrive.
- Mrs Troper is The Ghost, but Bob groans when Alice suggests inviting her over.
- Bob and Mrs. Troper are never seen together, and neither of them minds it.
- Exploited: Cathrine,
- Defied: Mrs. Troper decides that she may not love (or even like) her daughter's choice of a mate, but she will respect her choice, if only for Alice's sake.
- Discussed: "I know you don't get along with Mama, but please try..."
- Conversed: "Why are all these mother-in-laws such bitches?"
- Deconstructed:
- Alice finally has enough of Mrs. Troper treating her husband so badly, and in a Calling The Old Lady Out moment tells Mrs. Troper to stop treating her like a little girl and start respecting her decisions.
- Alternately, Alice herself remains silent, but Alice and Bob's children are the ones who take exception to the way Grandma Troper treats their father and give her a taste of her own medicine by subjecting her to the same kind of bile that she throws at their dad.
- Bob divorces Alice after Mrs. Troper's treatment became unbearable, leaving Alice heartbroken and furious at her mother, who has an My God, What Have I Done? reaction.
- Alice cuts Mrs. Troper out of her life and refuses to ever contact her again.
- Mrs. Troper does awfully stupid decisions that ruin her life purely because of her hatred of Bob.
- Alice divorces Bob, due to realising that Mrs. Troper was right and Bob truly isn't a good husband.
- Alice divorces Bob due to buying what her mother said, despite Bob being a good person.
- Reconstructed: After getting called out by her own family, who make it quite clear that if she continues like this she is going to be the one frozen out of the family, Mrs. Troper makes an effort to get along better with Bob.
- Played For Laughs: It's an Escalating War to see who will annoy the other into submission.
- Played For Drama:
- See Parental Marriage Veto and/or Honor-Related Abuse.
- Mrs. Troper tries to kill Bob. Bob manages to kill her instead. Cue courtroom drama.
- Played For Horror: Bob's in-laws are not adverse to killing the poor man... and that is if he's lucky. They may be annoyed enough about him to decide to "play" first...
- Untwisted: Mrs. Troper's "she will always be my little girl" statements at the wedding turn out to be far more serious than she pretended them to be.
Dear, I know my mother hates the very ground you walk on, but can't you try to act civilly around the Obnoxious In-Laws?
