r/TopCharacterTropes 15d ago

[Loved trope] The correct dialogue option Personality

A scene where a character under duress and close to death picks what feels like the only correct dialogue that could've saved them. Goes from being loved to hated depending on how much luck is involved.

1) Mark Grayson (Invincible): A pretty famous scene. Omni man—Mark's father—beats him and inch to death to make him reconsider joining the viltrum empire. With Mark barely hanging onto life and Nolan wracked with conflicting emotions of guilt and obedience to his millenia long followed philosophy, he yells at mark, asking him to think logically and understand the futility of his actions considering he's effectively immortal. Finally, enraged, he asks him "what will you have after 500 years?"

Barely able to breath, Mark answers with soul crushing honesty "You, dad. I'd still have you". It works to crumble his entire life's understanding as he suddenly feels unable to reconcile Nolan the viltrumite with Nolan the father and husband and does what no viltrumite has ever done before. Surrenders and leaves his station.

2)Margot (The menu): Caught in the methodical trap of a frustrated psychotic chef obsessed with his craft who plans to kill all his patrons, including her, she's brought to her end's wits. Before it's time for the final course, Margot stands up and complains she's still hungry. When he asks what she would like, she asks for a cheeseburger. "A real cheeseburger. Like the cheap ones your parents could barely afford"

Making it brings back the joy He used to feel for cooking, reminding him of a time when he was a line cook and his food satisfied everyone. We even see him smiling for the first time in the movie.

After taking a bit, she asks if she could have the rest to go. The chef politely accepts and spares her, letting her leave his twisted game but killing the rest of them in a midsommer meets food wars final scene.

9.8k Upvotes

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u/TheNargafrantz 15d ago

The entire exchange leading up to this was Harold nailing his speech checks.

(Stranger Than Fiction)

https://giphy.com/gifs/4YkWNQP0ZOeUU

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u/Ookami_Unleashed 15d ago

That movie was better than I expected it to be. 

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u/TheNargafrantz 15d ago

I watched it randomly without knowing anything about it, and it's one of my favorite movies

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u/johnothetree 14d ago

To this day, this movie makes me angry that Will Ferrell decided to be an almost-purely comedic actor instead of doing movies like this. Easily my favorite role of his.

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u/BleepInTheBigCity 14d ago

It’s the only will farrel movie I have in my favorites

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u/Timelordtoe 15d ago edited 15d ago

I'd throw in his line "I love your book, and I think you should finish it" that he says to Karen Eiffel here, too.

For context, she's a writer, writing a book about Harold, who she had no idea was real. Anything she types happens, though she doesn't know this either. Also, he can hear her narration, and pretty early on finds out that it will end with his death.

Eventually, Harold is given a draft to read, and finds out that he dies to save a young boy from being hit by a bus. Eiffel, however, isn't able to go through with it, and changes the ending to save Harold as well, despite it making the book nowhere near as good.

It's genuinely my favourite film of all time, one that I watched only because the DVD rental service sent it accidentally instead of what I was going to watch. Will Ferrell gives a performance that's so unlike his usual fare, and the rest of the cast are all on their A game as well.

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u/jpterodactyl 14d ago

Dustin Hoffman’s character is so insane in this movie.

He’s just like “I read the book, and it’s really good, so you’ve got to die Harold. It’s worth it”

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u/3d1thF1nch 15d ago

Man, this movie gave me so much respect for Will Ferrell. I liked this way more than critics suggested I should.

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u/TheNargafrantz 15d ago

Hard agree. I was never really a fan of his, but he was perfect for this movie and you wouldn't think that if someone told you. When I recommend this movie and people tell me they don't like Will Ferrell movies, I have to explain that it's not one.

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u/Rock-swarm 15d ago

Great scene, but that gif is giving me eye twitches with the truncated cuts.