YMMV / Blue Velvet

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Frank is either a symbolic representation of evil, or at least Satan incarnate. Jeffrey's character is also open to interpretation. Sandy jokingly asks if he's "a detective or some kind of pervert" when he first suggests spying on Dorothy. However, after we see how Jeffrey reacts to the situations he finds himself in, we can start taking Sandy's question into serious consideration. Does Jeffrey genuinely want to do his share of good in the world, or is he becoming obsessed with the thrill this mystery gives him?
• Award Snub: The film earned a whopping one Academy Award nomination (for David Lynch's direction). Luckily, Dennis Hopper was able to earn a Best Supporting Actor nomination... for Hoosiers. While the latter film is a classic in its own right (and Hopper's performance was acclaimed), many now see Frank Booth as the role of Hopper's career (and perhaps one of the most memorable in film history). Hoosiers likely earned the nomination because it was a far less provocative film for voters to take. Hopper himself thought he was nominated for the wrong film.
• Catharsis Factor: Watching Frank receive a truly epic Boom, Headshot! courtesy of Jeffrey.
• Complete Monster: Frank Booth is a sadistic, violent crime lord keeping singer Dorothy Vallens as a Sex Slave by threatening to kill her husband. Keeping her son captive as well, Frank cuts off an ear from Dorothy's husband to keep her in line and later comes to her apartment to viciously beat and rape her. To expand his business, Frank also makes use of a crooked detective to have rival drug dealers murdered and their narcotics stolen from the evidence locker to sell through his own men. When noticing hero Jeffrey Beaumont at Dorothy's apartment, Frank kidnaps him to beat and abuse the teenager, threatening to kill Jeffrey if he ever crosses Frank again. After Dorothy escapes Frank beating her, he kills her husband and crudely lobotomizes his own henchman in a fit of rage, returning to her apartment where Jeffrey is hiding, gleeful to murder him as well.
• Love to Hate: Frank Booth is a despicable monster, but his iconic lines and Dennis Hopper's fantastic performance have made him easily the most popular character in the film.
• Narm: In an otherwise tragic moment, Sandy's heartbroken Indignant Slap to Jeffery after seeing Dorothy acting lovey dovey towards him looks amusingly weak and clunky, which may suck away the seriousness to some.
• One-Scene Wonder: Dean Stockwell as Ben.
• Signature Scene:
  • Jeffrey hiding from Frank in the closet near the end of the film, to the point where it gets referenced in other media like Silent Hill 2.
  • Ben lip-syncing "In Dreams" for Frank is also quite remembered due to Ben's haunting appearance and Frank's emotional reactions to it, until he interrupts it and decides to leave with the iconic "I will fuck anything that moves!" line and Evil Laugh followed by the unique Scene Transition of him and his posse jarringly disappearing from the room with car tires screeching before fading into the next scene.
• She Really Can Act: Before this film, Isabella Rossellini was famous for being a model. Her performance as Dorothy pretty much knocked that on the head; even Roger Ebert, one of the few critics who hated the film, praised her performance.
• Vindicated by History: When the film was originally released, it was met with a somewhat polarized critical response. While some critics loved it, there were also quite a few negative reviews, many of which attacked the film's approach to sexuality and violence, decrying it as vulgar, objectionable, and even pornographic. The film is nowadays widely regarded as one of Lynch's masterpieces and is considered one of the greatest films of the 1980s.
• The Woobie: Dorothy Vallens. Jeffrey in his weakest moments as well.

---