A 2011
dramedy about a man named Ronny (
Vince Vaughn) who sees the wife (
Winona Ryder) of his best friend Nick (
Kevin James) cheating with another man. Ronny then goes through great pains to collect proof, while hiding the information until the right time. Directed by
Ron Howard.
Tropes associated with this movie:
- Author Appeal: Muscle cars, as one subplot revolves around designing an electric car that looks like a muscle car so that it doesn't look... ermmm "gay".
- Blackmail: Geneva does this to Ronny.
- Celebrity Paradox: The characters reference Kurt Russell's speech in Miracle. The Dilemma was directed by Ron Howard, who also directed Kurt Russell in Backdraft.
- The Coconut Effect: In-universe, Ronny's and Nick's job is to work Coconut Effects into products. During the movie, they're making silent electric cars "roar" as if they had loud combustion engines.
- Felony Misdemeanor: One "big secret" that Ronny has kept from Nick for years is that he dated Geneva... during college... before Nick and Geneva ever even met. In the crucial scene, the anger is directed toward Ronny, not Geneva, whom Nick is married to.
- Mood Whiplash
- Never Trust a Trailer: This film was advertised as a laugh-out-loud comedy. It does have some hilarious moments, but for the most part, the film is quite dark.
- Poor Communication Kills: Things would have been a lot easier for Ronny had he let his own girlfriend in on what was going on between Nick and his wife, or in fact, tell Nick when he gave him the chance. Ronny's behavior would have made more sense.
- Relative Error: Ronny mistakes a man talking to his girlfriend as trying to feel her up but when he confronts them Ronny's girlfriend says that the man is her cousin. And gay.
- Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: Another case of 'Sir Not Appearing On This Poster'. One would not even know that it is an ensemble film with Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Queen Latifah and Channing Tatum in the cast (instead, the poster just shows Vince Vaughn and Kevin James grinning).
- Took a Level in Badass: Ronny creates a flamethrower using a candle and cleaning solution to scare off the man Geneva's seeing.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Vince Vaughn and Kevin James are average-looking at best, and both are quite overweight (the latter more so) — but snagged women who look like Jennifer Connelly and Winona Ryder.
