Recap / Film Reroll: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Delmar dreams of a life he never had.^note Picture by Quirderph

We play O Brother, Where Art Thou! Andy is in a tight spot! Joz eats some blueberries! Paulo punches a dog!

Episode 23 of Film Reroll. Based on the 2000 movie.

Having escaped from jail, the unlikely trio of Ulysses Everett McGill, Pete Hogwallop and Delmar O’Donnell are brought together in a search for freedom and riches, but do they have what it takes to take on an untrustworthy Bible salesman, a sheriff who may or may not be the Devil, and Everett's own dirty past?

Starring Andy Hoover as Ulysses Everett McGill, Paulo Quiros as Pete Hogwallop, Jocelyn Vammer as Delmar O’Donnell and Jon Miller as the Dungeon Master.

Followed by E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.

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Tropes:

• Anachronism Stew: Everett claims that it will probably take a while until they see Jeff in Fortune 500. When Delmar asks what that is, Everett admits that it hasn't been created yet.
• Bad Liar: Everett can't convince anyone of anything when he's telling the truth, and his lies are even worse. For instance, he claims that Pete and Delmar are experimental supersoldiers sent out by the goverment to hunt him down.
• Breaking the Fellowship: Everett and Delmar manage to board the train, but Pete can't keep up with them and is left in the little town. They reunite when Everett and Pete are both captured by the police and end up in the same prison they escaped from earlier.
• Bus Crash: It's implied that Pete ate Elisa the pig off-screen.
• Call-Back:
  • When the runaways encounter a strange and possibly magical lad living in a hut in the forest, they ask him if he knows Tip. On learning that his name is Jeff, they also call back to Jeff the Policeman.
  • The players call out "Jumanji!" when they reach the destination of their quest.
  Listeners, those were references to past episodes. Thank you for tuning in this far in the Film Reroll season.
• Captain Obvious:
  Jon/Guard: Where you goin', boy?
  Andy/Everett: Everything's on fire! I don't know! I don't know what to do, man!
  Joz: And the sky's blue, and these are blueberries, and you're a guard...
• Car Chase: Boy Hogwollop saves the trio (and a pig) from the burning barn by driving into it with his father's car. They then use said car to flee from the police. (Sure, they end up driving off a cliff, crashing the car and breaking Boy's leg. But hey, they did get away...)
• Chained to a Railway: The gang does this to the pig Elisa as part of a Batman Gambit. The idea is that the train will stop in order to not hit the animal, giving them a chance to board it. (Unfortunately for them, the train simply changes tracks instead, forcing the trio to run after it.)
• Comically Missing the Point:
  • When the police pour gasoline on the barn door, Delmar's only reaction is...
    Delmar O'Donnell: That smells like a car!
  • He doesn't grasp the seriousness of the situation when they bring out the torches, either.
    Delmar: Oh, that smells like a campfire!
  • It happens again when the old Confederate captain starts staring at Delmar and talk directly to him.
    Everett: Don't you get seduced by any honey words, Delmar.
    Delmar: He hasn't eaten honey.
  • And again, when Everett tries getting his attention from within the stone-cutting prison...
    Everett: Delmar! Delmar!
    Delmar: I think this fence is talking to me.
    Everett: Delmar. It's Everett! Everett McGill!
    Delmar: How do you know my friend's name?
• Crosscast Role: Delmar O'Donnell is played by Jocelyn Vammer.
• Do Not Do This Cool Thing: Everett tells Boy Hogwollop that yes, being a criminal is fun, but he shouldn't do it.
• Esoteric Happy Ending: Pretty much an Invoked Trope by Everett, who shows up at his ex-wife's wedding to beat up her new husband. He pretends to have won her heart after "defeating" his romantic rival, but it's obvious that Cally and Vernon are still married and now hate him even more. Also, Pete and Delmar have realised that Everett tricked them all along. And as if that wasn't enough, he is still being pursued by the Devil, who seems to be catching up...
• Good Angel, Bad Angel: Delmar claims to have a pair of these.
  Everett: I mean, really, Delmar. Just trust your best judgement, you know.
  Delmar: I will!
  Everett: Your best judgment.
  Delmar: Oh, yeah.
  Everett: Right.
  Delmar: I've got a bad judgment too.
  Everett: I've put a lot of faith in you.
  Delmar: I don't know which one to listen to sometimes.
  Everett: Well, that's alright.
  Delmar: They both talk a lot.
• Guest Host: Jon Miller replaces regular Dungeon Master Paulo Quiros for this episode.
• Talking Bird: Everett's ex-wife Cally owns an exotic bird shop. Delmar fantasises about buying twelve parrots and starting a band with them.
• The Klutz: Delmar O'Donnell constantly falls over, either because he keeps forgetting that he's chained together with his friends, or because he can't keep up with them.
• Let Me Tell You a Story: The old Confederate captain has a tendency for this, which annoys Everett a great deal.
• Lovable Rogue: Everett is arguably an unintentional deconstruction. During the post-game discussion, the players point out that such characters might stop being lovable if they have bad luck and start resorting to tricking their friends in order for their schemes to go though.
• Magic Realism: The original movie was already an example, but it's a bit more jarring here. The story is a realistic Period Piece... until the Devil himself shows up as an antagonist with no warning! Granted, we do eventually find out that he might not really be the Devil, but at that point he's already appeared in several scenes.
• Medium Awareness:
  Andy/Everett: [in character] I'd like to use some luck, sir.
  Jon/Guard: Well, all right, I'll wait for you to roll again.
• Never Learned to Read: Delmar claims to be illiterate.
• Running Gag:
  • Everett saying "We're in a tight spot" on every single suitable occasion (and sometimes other players saying it for him if Andy misses an opportunity).
  • Delmar's excellent knees, which he loves to show off.
• Sequel Hook: The campaign ends with the Devil approaching the town where Everett is hiding. Whether or not there will actually be a sequel is unclear.
• Shout-Out:
  • As Everett is being prepared for an interrogation by the sheriff's men:
    Andy/Everett: I had a dream that I was in a film called Syriana.
  • When Jon asks Andy how Everett kept the sheriff's men from confiscating the gold watch he was carrying when he was recaptured, he says he did it the same way Christopher Walken did in Pulp Fiction. Though unlike Walken's character, Everett has a hard time getting it out again...
  • The players feel that one of the Devil's henchmen sound like Chris Rock.
• Twisted Ankle: In a rare male example, Delmar O'Donnell ends up with one.
• We Need a Distraction: Everett and Delmar plan to use the disruption created by Mike and the blueberry pickers strike to steal a car. Unfortunately, Delmar can't quite get it to start...
• With Catlike Tread: No matter how much he tries, Everett just can't sneak away from the guard at the blueberry farm.
• Worthless Treasure Twist: Pete and Delmar eventually realise that Everett lied to them and that there is no treasure. Though we never get see to see what consequences this has, as the story ends right afterwards.

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