Baby Driver / YMMV

Adorkable: Between his film references, dorky dancing, and crush on Debora, Baby does come off as cute.
Alternative Character Interpretation:
- Did Doc genuinely intend to hurt Joseph and Debora if Baby refused to drive for him again or was he making empty threats because he knew Baby would give in and really wanted him on the crew? Perhaps he thought he was doing it for Baby's own good as he'd never make as much money delivering pizzas as opposed to crime.
- Did the guard's death really outrage Baby into refusing to drive, or was he just in a stage of shock at the violent death? If Bats was slightly gentler with him in the car, would Baby have finally driven away?
- Did Baby intend to kill Buddy by shooting him at the diner, or did he just want to wound him so he would be arrested?
Award Snub: Despite being one of the best-reviewed films of 2017, the film was passed over at the 2018 Academy Awards in everything but the Film Editing, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing categories. When it came time for the actual awards, it lost in all three categories to Dunkirk, leading to much teeth-gnashing.
Catharsis Factor:
- Watching Bats get his neck impaled thanks to Baby after spending the whole film being a ruthless Jerkass murderer is fucking glorious.
- Applies to Buddy's death too, given how ruthless and determined he'd proven himself while attempting to kill Baby and Deborah.
Complete Monster: Bats, real name Leon Jefferson III, is a member of Doc's robbery crew and an aggressive thug with a firm belief that Murder Is the Best Solution. Bats guns down or tries to gun down anyone who does—or doesn't—get in the way of his heists, from security guards to normal people who try to fight back, and in one case triggers a massacre against a friendly Arms Dealer and all of his men. When it's revealed the arms dealer and his men were undercover cops on Bats's own side, Bats lies and claims they shot first. Even willing to extend his murderous actions against people outside his job, Bats is heavily indicated to have murdered a gas store attendant because he didn't want to pay for the stuff he ordered, even nearly killing Baby's girlfriend, Debora, for the same reason at the diner she works at had Baby not stopped him; and even beats up Baby's handicapped foster father just to mock the kid.
Designated Hero: For some people, Baby comes off as this. Make no mistake, Baby was clearly the least evil of Doc's henchmen, but he did steal cars and lead police on reckless chases several times in the film, not to mention he was involved in a criminal conspiracy that resulted in the murder of multiple US Government employees, state level felony murder charges (though mainly out of desperation and even then tried keep the people caught in the crossfire to a minimum), and at least one count of murder directly (though the guy that he killed definitely deserved it). It's very questionable if he really deserved to get parole after only five years served. The end result in the real world would not have been a happy ending with his girlfriend, but the State of Georgia and the United States Department Of Justice fighting over which of them would get to send him to the electric chair. However, this has been millgated by director Edgar Wright saying the ending could be the dream of an about-to-be-executed Baby.
Diagnosed by the Audience: Baby's intense focus, sensory issues, and tendency to repeat film dialogue in conversations have led to it being near-unanimously accepted by viewers that he's autistic, despite it not being explicitly stated in the movie.
Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Jamie Foxx basically steals the entire movie as Bats, and was highly praised by critics and casual audiences alike for his charismatic but completely unhinged performance.
- "Soldier Boy," the random gun-packing veteran who just happened to be on the scene of the bank robbery but chases and shoots at Eddie, JD, Baby, and Bats in his truck. He's far more dangerous to them than any of the cops, and is arguably the biggest threat anyone poses to Baby's driving in the whole movie next to Buddy. Best of all, he survives.
Evil Is Cool:
- Bats is still simply too funny and over the top to hate, and Jamie Foxx is clearly enjoying himself.
- Buddy is fairly understandable since...well, he's played by Jon Hamm who is, again, clearly having a blast.
Fandom Rivalry: A small one began with Dunkirk over who deserved Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing at the 90th Oscars. Baby Driver fans argue it deserves it because it has the most stylish sound, while Dunkirk fans argue the sound in Dunkirk made the film much tenser. A third faction argues either film was a good choice.
Harsher in Hindsight: Doc's whole relationship with Baby grew a rather uncomfortable subtext after allegations of Kevin Spacey sexually assaulting and exploiting young men came out only a few weeks after the home media release, which makes certain lines particularly wince-inducing, such as Baby growling "Not after what you did to me!" to Doc, Doc saying "That's my baby," and Doc's opening line explaining Baby's driving ability by saying that he didn't stop him from stealing his Mercedes because he "was just blinded by the balls on that kid". Lampooned on Real Time with Bill Maher and on CinemaSins, and made all the worse by similar allegations leveled at Ansel Elgort and Jamie Foxx.
He Really Can Act: Bats is your annual reminder that "oh yeah, this guy won an Oscar".
Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: The villains include Doc, Griff, Buddy, Darling, Eddie No-Nose, JD, and Bats, all part of a criminal organization. Bats is a mass-murdering psychopath who commits severe crimes. Baby is forced to be the wheelman for their crimes to pay off a debt. Despite their villainous nature, the characters are charismatic and entertaining to watch, with Doc, Buddy, and Darling being the nicest to Baby. The same cannot be said for Baby's abusive, alcoholic birth father, who gives Baby tinnitus and causes a car crash.
Love to Hate: Bats is without a doubt the worst person in the film, being an Ax-Crazy career criminal who loves to indulge in crimes both major and minor just for the hell of it. But damn if he isn't an entertaining bad guy, with his hilarious and highly dangerous nature combined with Jamie Foxx's excellent portrayal causing many to agree that he stole the show.
Magnificent Bastard: Doc is a criminal mastermind who formed an enterprise on the basis of intricate and precise robberies. He demonstrates impressive planning—from what to wear, who to contact, and how to escape—and takes into account every eventuality. One of Doc's main strategies to avoid being caught is to use a different crew for every bank robbery he stages, though he does mix and match members of those various crews along the way. Having zero tolerance for stupidity, Doc sees the titular Baby as his lucky charm to the point he's willing to gaslight the kid even after he's paid off his debt. In the climax after his criminal enterprise has been uprooted in one reckless night, Doc packs up his base of operations to leave, but seeing the couple Baby and Debora, he decides to help them escape all because he was in love once like them, even giving up his life.
Memetic Mutation:
- Doc's "blinded by the balls on that kid" line has become pretty popular when discussing Kevin Spacey.
- On Independence Day, shortly after the film's release, Anthony Bourdain mysteriously made a Twitter post that simply said "Fuck Baby Driver," and did not give any further explanation of what he meant by it. The sheer weirdness of the situation (especially since the film would seem to be right up his alley) quickly got people talking.
- The opening car chase, with its wild drifting, has been repeatedly re-synced to Eurobeat from Initial D.
Moral Event Horizon:
- Bats definitely crossed it when he murders the gas station attendant instead of just buying some cheap gum. Bats eventually crossed the line with Baby after threatening to shoot him after the Post Office robbery, at which point Baby drives the car, with Bats in the front passenger seat, into some helpfully placed steel rebar in front of their vehicle, killing Bats instantly.
- Doc crosses it when he forces Baby to keep driving for him after the debt is paid off.
- Buddy and Darling are the nicest to Baby in the whole film except Deborah and his actual (foster) dad. Then while Bats murders a guy over gum, they discuss killing Bats, like that one guy who looked at Darling funny.
One-Scene Wonder:
- Jon Bernthal's Griff is really memorable and cool even if he appears in just one scene.
- Paul Williams as The Butcher, an arms dealer naming all his weapons after pork products. Naturally, he's also a Large Ham.
- Doc's nephew Sam, who may well be on his way to becoming a criminal himself.
- The random military veteran, nicknamed "Soldier Boy" by Bats, who not only shoots at them but chases them in his own truck when he realizes they're robbing the bank.
Romantic Plot Tumor: The romance between Debora and Baby is generally considered the weakest part of the film, with Debora being a fairly Flat Character in comparison to the rest of the fleshed-out and interesting supporting cast; she's basically just a Satellite Love Interest with little agency or development of her own.
Signature Scene:
- The opening chase/first heist, which is one hell of a Establishing Character Moment for Baby, as well as the absolutely stunning chase scene perfectly timed to Bellbottoms.
- And the "Tequila" scene, where the Mickey Mousing is cranked up on high so that the gunfire of the shootout is timed perfectly with the song.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: In this movie where music plays a major role, celebrated singer-songwriter Paul Williams shows up... as an Arms Dealer who dies in less than one scene and doesn't sing a note.
Unintentionally Sympathetic: A rarity for Bats: while he definitely wouldn't have cared either way, the guard he killed was clearly armed and about to shoot him. And while insulting, beating and threatening Baby was callous (when Buddy and Darling simply pleaded with Baby to move), they did urgently need to leave the cops and Baby was having his Heroic BSoD at the worst time possible.
- Additionally, while Bats certainly deserved to be kebabed by a rebar for all his other deeds, Buddy and Darling, who were friendly to Baby throughout the film, were deservedly less so. Baby's betrayal of Bats not only led to Bats' dying, but left him, Buddy and Darling without a car as the police close in. Worse, Baby shows little to no remorse over leaving them out to dry.
Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?: Some viewers may find Debora's unwavering devotion to Baby hard to believe, especially when he reveals himself to be involved with dangerous criminals and even shoots someone right in front of her (notably, she has no strong reaction to this while her co-worker freaks the hell out). She's beautiful and intelligent; there's every reason to believe she can find a guy without subjecting herself to that level of danger. And she's only known Baby for what seems like a few days; there's no reason for her to be invested in him enough to risk her own life.
The Woobie: Baby himself — he's actually a good guy, he just got into a bad situation and his Dark and Troubled Past only gives him more points.

YMMV / Baby Driver

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