Is there a name for the TV trope when a character is stupid/silly but they become the straight man in episodes alongside a stupider character?

Submitted by 3kool5you t3_zy7tio in television

SpongeBob is the first that made me think of this. Typically SpongeBob is the dumb/silly character in the show, but in episodes where it’s mainly SpongeBob and Patrick, he is the more the straight man to Patrick’s idiot.

The office does this to an extent sometimes with Michael Scott. Usually the goof but sometimes the straight man when among just Dwight or Kevin.

Always Sunny to an extent is trickier because they’re all kind of idiots but I notice some episodes where Charlie who is typically the biggest “idiot” finds himself as the normal person (when dealing with the mcpoyles for example)

Is there a name for this trope or other examples?

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benhereforawhile t1_j24hu7g wrote

The episode of Charlie Work in its always sunny Charlie is essentially the straight man for the entire episode

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WhenRobLoweRobsLowes t1_j247ftx wrote

"Sanity Ball," a cousin to "Idiot Ball" and "Smart Ball."

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catlaxative t1_j247q56 wrote

Like they’re passing around the ball of sanity/idiocy, “now it’s your turn to be the dummy” kind of thing? I like it!

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WhenRobLoweRobsLowes t1_j247xsc wrote

Right. It started with "idiot ball," coined by Hank Azaria, and the other tropes have grown out of that name.

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Latter_Feeling2656 t1_j24c735 wrote

Daffy Duck is the king: loose cannon with Bugs Bunny, straight man with Porky Pig.

Barney Fife of Andy Griffith Show is the same dynamic: loose cannon with Andy, straight man with Gomer.

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Scoongili t1_j24rzgf wrote

Boomhauer talking normal.

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MontgomeryKhan t1_j257h6m wrote

An adjacent interesting trope is "Replacement Flat Character" where a character winds up hanging onto the already mentioned Sanity Ball for an extended period as another character assumes the Idiot Ball.

Frasier in Cheers was a pompous effete who got more likable as Cheers went on, but once he got a spin off he recieved a brother with that original characterisation who underwent a similar arc.

Mac in IASIP got more developed and well rounded in later series, so Dennis got more deranged and prone to snapping to balance out their duo.

Bashir in Deep Space Nine started off as a naive yet lecherous pseudo-comic relief. Once they started deconstructing his idealistic yet arrogant characterisation they had Nog join Starfleet with that same wide eyed optimisation... >!then traumatised him too and had Ezri come along.!<

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res30stupid t1_j25st2e wrote

Also, one of my favourite tropes is "Dumbass Has A Point" where a normally-stupid character makes a logical or convincing argument to the astonishment of his smarter friends.

A prime example of this is the Breaking Bad episode where the police get a laptop that would prove their guilt, with Walter and Mike debating on how to handle it, debating about whether to skip town or attack the police station with a bomb. Whose plan do they go with? Jessie's, who points out that they can fry the computer with an electromagnet.

Also, in the Golden Girls, Rose is the resident ditz of the household and is frequently played off as a moron since she didn't graduate high school. However, she turns out to have read the scientific journal used by professional psychologists to diagnose mental disorders back-to-back and can accurately diagnose mental disorders (calling someone out for being detached from reality and calling Blanche a hypersexual bitch, but the last one was an insult) and when Dorothy has a gambling problem, manipulates her int feeling guilty as a means of treating the problem.

Edit: Also, look at Danganronpa. When trying to figure out who the killer is and at an impasse, the dumber characters spouting shit off randomly will often be correct.

For example, Akane in the second game is frustrated when they realise there's no way for them to figure out how the killer could've moved around during a blackout without any kind of hints or clues, so she frustratingly shouted out, "What if the killer >!used a light?!!<.

To her surprise, main character Hajime outright confirms that yes, this is indeed what the killer did. >!The killer was never in the room in the first place and by using a smaller light, was able to sneak around outside the room the murder took place in.!<

Also, Yasuhiro in the first game, who is so utterly stupid that he was held back in school multiple times (I think it's mentioned he's two-to-three years older than the others who are all part of the same class in high school) and his stupidity is repeatedly highlighted. But he also points out one of the biggest flaws in the third case, which he's the main suspect in and needs to prove his innocence.

He rightfully points out that the killer was attacking everyone outside of the presumed order by citing the fact that the murder weapons were taken from a fictitious fighting robot anime, which required attacking people in turn with an escalating sequence of hammers (Justice Hammer 1, Justice Hammer 2, etc.) Yasuhiro points out that the killer could've just attacked with the hammers out of order, citing the fact that they already found the third hammer; the killer would've had to have stolen it from the other survivors, attacked someone with it then put it back where they found it, which was too risky.

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awyastark t1_j26ecfc wrote

Jason figuring out the reality of the situation in Good Place season one lol

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sofewcharacters t1_j25u0i0 wrote

Huh. Some FB groups I'm part of frequently cite Golden Girls as a show to watch for smart thinking women (I can't really think of any other turn of phrase, but I hope you get what I mean) but because it was way before my time, I'm unsure if I'll be able to watch it.

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lampfiles t1_j28tbzd wrote

>Also, in the Golden Girls, Rose is the resident ditz of the household and is frequently played off as a moron since she didn't graduate high school. However, she turns out to have read the scientific journal used by professional psychologists to diagnose mental disorders back-to-back and can accurately diagnose mental disorders (calling someone out for being detached from reality and calling Blanche a hypersexual bitch, but the last one was an insult) and when Dorothy has a gambling problem, manipulates her int feeling guilty as a means of treating the problem.

One of my favorite examples (I believe this is the same thing) is actually in the first episode of The Golden Palace spinoff. A robber comes into the hotel while Rose is at the front desk. He is asking for her to open the safe and she asks why, the robber tells Rose he has a gun, and she is oblivious to the danger and says she will call the manager so that the robber can put the gun in the safe. The robber gets so frustrated and leaves and Rose calls 911 to report the man. Rose reveals that she knew what was happening the whole time. She was stalling and that some people think she is an idiot.

However it's a double joke, because then it is revealed that Rose called 411 and not 911.

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8NAL_LOVER t1_j24gtkj wrote

I too watched that episode of the Sunny podcast.

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3kool5you OP t1_j24tbsf wrote

Haha I actually did not see this. Do they talk about it there? I don’t watch the podcast but have heard of it

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Mandalore108 t1_j28o17k wrote

Which episode? I haven't seen them all but would love to watch this one.

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The_Lone_Apple t1_j24af38 wrote

I find the perfect idiot straight man the character who is utterly earnest about themselves. They're just being who they are 24/7 without a hint of humor.

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MGD109 t1_j2504ax wrote

Probably Only Sane By Comparison (when the smartest, most rational and reasonable person is also undeniably crazy themselves) or Normal Fish in a Tiny Pound (when they look smarter, cause everyone else is utterly stupid).

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JimboFett87 t1_j279vn4 wrote

I'd argue Jamie Farr's Max Klinger from MASH is a great example of this.

Started out as a guy trying to be crazy to get out of the Army, ended up being the company clerk and getting a promotion to Sergeant by the end of the show.

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scoonbug t1_j25ii5t wrote

Charlie Work is another It’s Always Sunny episode where Charlie is the straight man

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Theoriginalamature t1_j28oxfj wrote

The Seinfeld episode with Kenny Rogers roasters where Jerry & Kramer trade apartments.

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madame_mayhem t1_j28grl4 wrote

Dumb and dumber is sounds like a good name for this phenomena.

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wanttobedone t1_j292ph4 wrote

Teen Titans Go had an episode where beast boy uses ravens spell book. But instead of making himself smarter, he makes the others dumber.

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Lady_Dont_Tek_No t1_j2557u2 wrote

Paul Rudd and Steve Carrell in Dinner for Schmucks is a good example (and a great movie).

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sofewcharacters t1_j25v8jh wrote

This is a remake of the French film. I recommend watching the original.

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Delicious-Tachyons t1_j29i8yl wrote

i tried but didn't understand what they were saying. it was like it was a different language or something

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