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Bullets over Broadway

 Bullets over Broadway
type
TVTItem
 Bullets over Broadway
label
Bullets over Broadway
 Bullets over Broadway
page
BulletsOverBroadway
 Bullets over Broadway
comment
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })This 1994 film is one of Woody Allen's dramedies on the creative process.In the 1920s, idealist playwright David Shayne (John Cusack) moves to New York City to produce a play. He and his girlfriend Ellen (Mary-Louise Parker) fit in well enough in the show business world and David finds a mentor in Sheldon Flender (Rob Reiner), a bohemian artist who says that artists can get away with things normal people can't because artists live in their own moral universe.With the help of his associate Julian Marx, David gets a play produced even though his last two endeavors were flops. Unfortunately there's a catch: the play is backed by Nick Valenti, the head of a violent Mafia gang. Despite worries that he's selling out, David agrees to direct the play according to Valenti's conditions. The main condition being that Valenti's girlfriend Olive (Jennifer Tilly, who earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance) receive a starring role in the play despite her terrible acting skills. Olive's hostile bodyguard Cheech (Chazz Palminteri) is required to sit in on rehearsals and guarantee that everyone treats her right.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })The rest of the cast is David's dream cast. He manages to persuade one-time legendary actress Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest in her second Academy Award under Woody Allen) to play the lead role, but her overbearing personality and constant demand for script changes proves problematic. David also hires Warner Purcell (Jim Broadbent), an excellent performer with a serious eating addiction.But the biggest problem is with the play itself. It is pretentious and badly written, so much so that Cheech starts making suggestions on how to improve it. David begrudgingly takes Cheech's writing advice and ends up having to decide whether art or life is more important.
 Bullets over Broadway
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2022-12-16T16:12:24Z
 Bullets over Broadway
parsed
2022-12-16T16:12:24Z
 Bullets over Broadway
processingComment
Dropped link to TheMafia: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Bullets over Broadway
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Bullets over Broadway / int_18d15922
type
Title Drop
 Bullets over Broadway / int_18d15922
comment
Title Drop: In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, the character of Sylvia cries out "Oh, God of our fathers, save me!" The Show Within a Show's title is God of Our Fathers.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_18d15922
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 Bullets over Broadway / int_18d15922
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Bullets over Broadway / int_18d15922
 Bullets over Broadway / int_237404cc
type
Ironic Echo
 Bullets over Broadway / int_237404cc
comment
Cheech's dying line, an Ironic Echo of Helen's, "Don't speak", was ad-libbed by Chazz Palminteri.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_237404cc
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_237404cc
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 Bullets over Broadway
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Bullets over Broadway / int_237404cc
 Bullets over Broadway / int_26ac510e
type
Mythology Gag
 Bullets over Broadway / int_26ac510e
comment
Mythology Gag: A dying Cheech tells David to have the Sylvia Poston character, played by Diane Wiest, reveal she's miraculously pregnant. That's basically how Hannah and Her Sisters ended, with Wiest's character making that revelation.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_26ac510e
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1.0
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Bullets over Broadway / int_26ac510e
 Bullets over Broadway / int_2dc0d2bf
type
Hidden Depths
 Bullets over Broadway / int_2dc0d2bf
comment
Hidden Depths: Cheech. A mob goon turns out to be a brilliant playwright.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_2dc0d2bf
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1.0
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Bullets over Broadway / int_2dc0d2bf
 Bullets over Broadway / int_2f05cb60
type
Sapient Pet
 Bullets over Broadway / int_2f05cb60
comment
Sapient Pet: Eden seems to think her chihuahua is this.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_2f05cb60
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_2f05cb60
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Bullets over Broadway / int_2f05cb60
 Bullets over Broadway / int_319e4a2f
type
Even Evil Has Standards
 Bullets over Broadway / int_319e4a2f
comment
Even Evil Has Standards: Despite being a Professional Killer, Cheech flatly stated he never killed anyone who didn't deserve it.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_319e4a2f
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1.0
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Bullets over Broadway / int_319e4a2f
 Bullets over Broadway / int_3ed17fe0
type
Wide-Eyed Idealist
 Bullets over Broadway / int_3ed17fe0
comment
Wide-Eyed Idealist: David Shayne is painfully naive at times when it comes to producing a play.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_3ed17fe0
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_3ed17fe0
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Bullets over Broadway / int_3ed17fe0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_40cc0c7e
type
Bittersweet Ending
 Bullets over Broadway / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending / Downer Ending: David's play is a hit but all the best parts of it were written by the now dead Cheech. David discovers that he is not really an artist and plans to move back to Pittsburgh and marry Ellen.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_40cc0c7e
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Bullets over Broadway / int_40cc0c7e
 Bullets over Broadway / int_44f5d199
type
Pretty in Mink
 Bullets over Broadway / int_44f5d199
comment
Pretty in Mink: Olive, Eden and especially Helen Sinclair have some very nice looking furs.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_44f5d199
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_44f5d199
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Bullets over Broadway / int_44f5d199
 Bullets over Broadway / int_4abd0b32
type
I'll Take Two Beers Too
 Bullets over Broadway / int_4abd0b32
comment
I'll Take Two Beers Too:
 Bullets over Broadway / int_4abd0b32
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_4abd0b32
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1.0
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Bullets over Broadway / int_4abd0b32
 Bullets over Broadway / int_4d422f71
type
Throw It In!
 Bullets over Broadway / int_4d422f71
comment
Throw It In: invoked Olive thinks you can do this in a play. She claims it's ad-libbing, but it's completely inappropriate. Cheech's dying line, an Ironic Echo of Helen's, "Don't speak", was ad-libbed by Chazz Palminteri.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_4d422f71
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_4d422f71
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway
hasFeature
Bullets over Broadway / int_4d422f71
 Bullets over Broadway / int_508d91a2
type
Pre-Mortem One-Liner
 Bullets over Broadway / int_508d91a2
comment
Pre-Mortem One-Liner: " Olive, I just want you to know one thing: you're a horrible actress." Doubles as a Brick Joke.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_508d91a2
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_508d91a2
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Bullets over Broadway / int_508d91a2
 Bullets over Broadway / int_510e5a9
type
Sassy Black Woman
 Bullets over Broadway / int_510e5a9
comment
Sassy Black Woman: Venus, who is Olive's maid, making her a Servile Snarker, too.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_510e5a9
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_510e5a9
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Bullets over Broadway / int_510e5a9
 Bullets over Broadway / int_5ce7dbb9
type
Central Theme
 Bullets over Broadway / int_5ce7dbb9
comment
Central Theme: Great artists have their own moral code, and the greater the artist, the more amoral they get.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_5ce7dbb9
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_5ce7dbb9
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Bullets over Broadway / int_5ce7dbb9
 Bullets over Broadway / int_5fcedca
type
Big Eater
 Bullets over Broadway / int_5fcedca
comment
Big Eater: Warner Purcell is a compulsive eater. Olive even invokes the trope verbatim.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_5fcedca
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_5fcedca
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Bullets over Broadway / int_5fcedca
 Bullets over Broadway / int_66755d29
type
Author Avatar
 Bullets over Broadway / int_66755d29
comment
Author Avatar: David Shayne for Woody Allen. Mark Kermode has said that people are wrong when they say that Allen's not in the film - he is, he's just played by John Cusack.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_66755d29
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_66755d29
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hasFeature
Bullets over Broadway / int_66755d29
 Bullets over Broadway / int_67edaf78
type
Gargle Blaster
 Bullets over Broadway / int_67edaf78
comment
Gargle Blaster: Helen at one point drinks what she calls "paint remover" from a flask. From David's reaction, it's incredibly alcoholic.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_67edaf78
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_67edaf78
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Bullets over Broadway / int_67edaf78
 Bullets over Broadway / int_74d10a21
type
Jerkass Has a Point
 Bullets over Broadway / int_74d10a21
comment
Jerk Ass Has A Point: Olive is dense about most things, but she's right about David's stilted dialogue.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_74d10a21
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_74d10a21
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1.0
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Bullets over Broadway / int_74d10a21
 Bullets over Broadway / int_75d6bf40
type
Belligerent Sexual Tension
 Bullets over Broadway / int_75d6bf40
comment
Belligerent Sexual Tension: What Nick and his goons ultimately think is going on between Cheech and Olive. (No, they legitimately despise each other.)
 Bullets over Broadway / int_75d6bf40
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_75d6bf40
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Bullets over Broadway / int_75d6bf40
 Bullets over Broadway / int_814356cb
type
White-Dwarf Starlet
 Bullets over Broadway / int_814356cb
comment
White-Dwarf Starlet: Helen.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_814356cb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_814356cb
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Bullets over Broadway / int_814356cb
 Bullets over Broadway / int_823c6e3e
type
Large Ham
 Bullets over Broadway / int_823c6e3e
comment
Large Ham: Helen, both on stage and in real life.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_823c6e3e
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_823c6e3e
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Bullets over Broadway / int_823c6e3e
 Bullets over Broadway / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 Bullets over Broadway / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: Flender asks early in the film if you could choose a great play over someone's life. Cheech murders someone over making sure a play is great. Cheech uncharacteristically spares Warner's life for dallying around with his boss' girlfriend, because Warner is a great actor and the play would suffer. He kills his boss' girlfriend for being a bad actress wrecking the play.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_9d12bbc1
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_9d12bbc1
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Bullets over Broadway / int_9d12bbc1
 Bullets over Broadway / int_a672255e
type
Doing It for the Art
 Bullets over Broadway / int_a672255e
comment
Doing It for the Art: In-Universe, David and eventually Cheech as they write the play.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_a672255e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_a672255e
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 Bullets over Broadway
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Bullets over Broadway / int_a672255e
 Bullets over Broadway / int_aa245ded
type
Mob War
 Bullets over Broadway / int_aa245ded
comment
Mob War: Nick Valenti is engaged in a turf war with Leo Kustabeck. We even see some of Valenti's mooks getting gunned down in a drive-by.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_aa245ded
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_aa245ded
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Bullets over Broadway / int_aa245ded
 Bullets over Broadway / int_abad35b4
type
Soundtrack Dissonance
 Bullets over Broadway / int_abad35b4
comment
Soundtrack Dissonance: Cheech's assassinations are accompanied by the 1930 standard "Up a Lazy River". It's signals a Brick Joke when Cheech is driving Olive to his "favorite spot".
 Bullets over Broadway / int_abad35b4
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_abad35b4
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Bullets over Broadway / int_abad35b4
 Bullets over Broadway / int_b2f26025
type
Genki Girl
 Bullets over Broadway / int_b2f26025
comment
Genki Girl: Eden Brent is a giggly flapper.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_b2f26025
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_b2f26025
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Bullets over Broadway / int_b2f26025
 Bullets over Broadway / int_b53077b3
type
Take That!
 Bullets over Broadway / int_b53077b3
comment
Take That!: Nick Valenti, a mob boss so culturally barren he has no idea who or what Hamlet is, is named after the head of AMPAS at the time, Jack Valenti.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_b53077b3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_b53077b3
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Bullets over Broadway / int_b53077b3
 Bullets over Broadway / int_bbc17998
type
Enforced Method Acting
 Bullets over Broadway / int_bbc17998
comment
Enforced Method Acting: invoked Near the end.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_bbc17998
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_bbc17998
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 Bullets over Broadway
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Bullets over Broadway / int_bbc17998
 Bullets over Broadway / int_bc74ef27
type
Berserk Button
 Bullets over Broadway / int_bc74ef27
comment
Berserk Button: Olive's bad acting finally pushes Cheech over the edge. Helen despises dogs. When hearing Eden's Chihuahua barking, she snarls, "Is that a mutt I hear?!"
 Bullets over Broadway / int_bc74ef27
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_bc74ef27
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 Bullets over Broadway
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Bullets over Broadway / int_bc74ef27
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c2393191
type
Show Within a Show
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c2393191
comment
Show Within a Show: We get to see a lot of the play in various states of development.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c2393191
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c2393191
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Bullets over Broadway / int_c2393191
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: A rather subtle one, but the Show Within a Show is named God Of Our Fathers, rather appropriate for a movie revolving around gangsters who get into show biz.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c75df49a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c75df49a
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Bullets over Broadway / int_c75df49a
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c867e57
type
TheRoaringTwenties
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c867e57
comment
The Roaring '20s: Complete with flappers, bathtub gin, Prohibition gangsters fighting over territory with Tommy guns, and proto-beatniks in Greenwich Village.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c867e57
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_c867e57
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 Bullets over Broadway
hasFeature
Bullets over Broadway / int_c867e57
 Bullets over Broadway / int_cbe3d017
type
Damned by Faint Praise
 Bullets over Broadway / int_cbe3d017
comment
Damned by Faint Praise: When David asks Helen if there was ANYTHING good about the "first draft" script (the one he actually wrote, before it was rewritten by Cheech in secret), Helen says that the stage directions were good and the color of the folder was appropriate.note It's largely unintentional on her part, since she doesn't realize the much-improved second version that she's praised generously wasn't also written by him.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_cbe3d017
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_cbe3d017
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 Bullets over Broadway
hasFeature
Bullets over Broadway / int_cbe3d017
 Bullets over Broadway / int_cf511248
type
All Part of the Show
 Bullets over Broadway / int_cf511248
comment
All Part of the Show: During the show's opening night on Broadway, a pair of mobsters shoot and kill Cheech backstage. The audience thinks the gunshots were all part of the show. In fact, the show gets rave reviews because of the "symbolic" gunshots in the ending.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_cf511248
featureApplicability
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 Bullets over Broadway / int_cf511248
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 Bullets over Broadway
hasFeature
Bullets over Broadway / int_cf511248
 Bullets over Broadway / int_e28f88b8
type
Last-Name Basis
 Bullets over Broadway / int_e28f88b8
comment
Last-Name Basis: No one calls Flender by his first name, Sheldon.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_e28f88b8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_e28f88b8
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway
hasFeature
Bullets over Broadway / int_e28f88b8
 Bullets over Broadway / int_e42fbc
type
The Gift
 Bullets over Broadway / int_e42fbc
comment
The Gift: Examined in the film. Chazz has a gift for writing; where David went to dozens of writing classes, Chazz had no use for "those blue-haired bitches". David struggles to do what Chazz does effortlessly. However, Chazz just thinks David is needlessly pretentious. David counters that as a kid he was taught to play the accordion, and while he was passable, a friend could just press two keys and make magic.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_e42fbc
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_e42fbc
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1.0
 Bullets over Broadway
hasFeature
Bullets over Broadway / int_e42fbc
 Bullets over Broadway / int_eb8ec7c8
type
Jerkass
 Bullets over Broadway / int_eb8ec7c8
comment
Jerkass: Flender. Unlike Chazz, Flender is not an amoral artist. He's just amoral.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_eb8ec7c8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_eb8ec7c8
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 Bullets over Broadway
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Bullets over Broadway / int_eb8ec7c8
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f19e8a55
type
Bad "Bad Acting"
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f19e8a55
comment
Bad "Bad Acting": Olive, and it's not an Informed Flaw. We get to see how bad she is - HA!note Ironically, the role earned Jennifer Tilly an Oscar nomination, and she might have won but her castmate (Weist) won instead.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f19e8a55
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f19e8a55
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 Bullets over Broadway
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Bullets over Broadway / int_f19e8a55
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f8b3d078
type
True Art Is Angsty
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f8b3d078
comment
True Art Is Angsty: invoked Flender firmly believes this ("My plays are written specifically to go unproduced!"). David initially believes this. Cheech thinks it's pure bullshit (and he turns out to be the best writer of them all.)
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f8b3d078
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f8b3d078
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 Bullets over Broadway
hasFeature
Bullets over Broadway / int_f8b3d078
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f9f2c33
type
Running Gag
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f9f2c33
comment
Running Gag: Cheech's favorite spot to execute rival gang members. Olive becomes the last one. Warner Purcell keeps eating... and eating... and eating...
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f9f2c33
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_f9f2c33
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hasFeature
Bullets over Broadway / int_f9f2c33
 Bullets over Broadway / int_fdb3b2b5
type
Lady Drunk
 Bullets over Broadway / int_fdb3b2b5
comment
Lady Drunk: Helen Sinclair. When she orders two strong drinks, David asks how she knew what his favorite drink was. She reacts by saying, "You want one, too?" and orders a third.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_fdb3b2b5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bullets over Broadway / int_fdb3b2b5
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hasFeature
Bullets over Broadway / int_fdb3b2b5
 Bullets over Broadway / int_fe0330fb
type
Brick Joke
 Bullets over Broadway / int_fe0330fb
comment
Doubles as a Brick Joke.
 Bullets over Broadway / int_fe0330fb
featureApplicability
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Bullets over Broadway / int_fe0330fb
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ItemName
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Bullets over Broadway

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 BulletsoverBroadway
sameAs
Bullets over Broadway
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All Part of the Show / int_d0542eb8
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Bodyguard Betrayal / int_d0542eb8
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Fat Suit / int_d0542eb8
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Films of 1990–1994 / int_d0542eb8
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Finger Muzzle / int_d0542eb8
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I'll Take Two Beers Too / int_d0542eb8
 Bullets over Broadway
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Spared by the Cut / int_d0542eb8
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The Gift / int_d0542eb8
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The Musical Musical / int_d0542eb8
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The Roaring '20s / int_d0542eb8