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Plot-Sensitive Latch

97 statements
18 feature instances
12 referencing feature instances

Plot-Sensitive Latch	type	FeatureClass
Plot-Sensitive Latch	label	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch	page	PlotSensitiveLatch
Plot-Sensitive Latch	comment	Locks usually function just fine, but sometimes they burst open without any obvious immediate cause. In media of course this happens because the plot demands it, though it is occasionally deliberately used by a Con Man. This is typically at an inconvenient or embarrassing time (they grabbed a suitcase identical to theirs but filled with sex toys, which bursts open as they run 15 minutes late to a flight). Sometimes handwaved by having the container stuffed with something (say, money) that presses from inside, but that doesn't account for the timing. Subtrope of Plot-Sensitive Items and sister trope of Plot-Driven Breakdown; this can be reclosed immediately, though the contents may take some work. Not related to Plot Lock, which is about being forced to progress through the plot in a desired order.
Plot-Sensitive Latch	fetched	2024-03-12T07:31:12Z
Plot-Sensitive Latch	parsed	2024-03-12T07:31:12Z
Plot-Sensitive Latch	isPartOf	DBTropes
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_2fee4ed	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_2fee4ed	comment	The Meaning of Liff: Played for Laughs with the definition of the quick-release Adlestrop, a suitcase feature that enables the case to pop open on airport conveyor belts and fling one's underwear into the gearing mechanism.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_2fee4ed	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_2fee4ed	featureConfidence	1.0
The Meaning of Liff	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_2fee4ed
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_327f503	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_327f503	comment	At the beginning of the first Eden of the East movie, Saki's suitcase bursts open as the cabbie manhandles it, spilling guns and ammo and grenades onto the ground — not hers, but a setup by another character. How they got the suitcase to open at exactly the right time, though...
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_327f503	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_327f503	featureConfidence	1.0
Eden of the East	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_327f503
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_405294e3	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_405294e3	comment	The F.B.I.: In "Image in a Cracked Mirror", an embezzler attempting to escape from Erskine throws the briefcase containing the stolen money off a train, planning to jump after it. But he is grabbed by Erskine before he can jump, and the briefcase bursts open when it hits the ground and the money blows away in the wind.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_405294e3	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_405294e3	featureConfidence	1.0
The F.B.I.	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_405294e3
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_49e95a32	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_49e95a32	comment	In My Little Pony: Equestria Girls â€“ Forgotten Friendship, the door to the yearbook office somehow closes behind Trixie and locks itself, just so the joke of her botching her Smoke Out exit can be done.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_49e95a32	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_49e95a32	featureConfidence	1.0
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Forgotten Friendship	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_49e95a32
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_5063e4bf	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_5063e4bf	comment	At the end of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the suit case carrying the money pops open, dumping the cash into a crowd of people.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_5063e4bf	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_5063e4bf	featureConfidence	1.0
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_5063e4bf
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_7b5f914a	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_7b5f914a	comment	The plot of Dumb and Dumber revolves around a briefcase full of money that is accidentally intercepted by one of the duo. It's locked "really well", but nonetheless opens when the two get into a fight.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_7b5f914a	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_7b5f914a	featureConfidence	1.0
Dumb and Dumber	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_7b5f914a
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_84237ed	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_84237ed	comment	The Wolf of Wall Street: During a cash exchange, Donnie and Brad get into an argument; as Brad lunges at Donnie he trips over the briefcase full of cash, which pops open and reveals the contents just as a police car happens to turn the corner.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_84237ed	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_84237ed	featureConfidence	1.0
The Wolf of Wall Street	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_84237ed
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_84377fd8	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_84377fd8	comment	Inverted in GI Joe The Rise Of Cobra (a latch doesn't open when it should because plot). The Joes are tasked with protecting a briefcase containing high-tech warheads. The man who created them turns out to be Destro, and he designed the briefcase so that the code to unlock it also sends a signal with the case's location so that he's able to have Cobra steal it back, keeping his hands clean. Near the climax, Duke has been abducted by Cobra and gets his hands on the briefcase long enough to enter the code so that the other Joes can find him. This by all rights should have been accompanied by the briefcase popping open and spilling out the warheads, but it remains closed so that neither Cobra nor the audience knows the Joes are coming.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_84377fd8	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_84377fd8	featureConfidence	1.0
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_84377fd8
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_8d817ccb	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_8d817ccb	comment	Lost: Sawyer of uses it repeatedly as a con man, to the point of lampshading when we encounter an alternate universe where he's a cop. Hurley falls victim when his suitcase springs open, causing him to miss his flight out of Australia. So he rebooks on the next flight, flight 815.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_8d817ccb	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_8d817ccb	featureConfidence	1.0
Lost	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_8d817ccb
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_9c6174f9	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_9c6174f9	comment	In Meet the Parents, Ben Stiller's suitcase gets lost in-flight. A suitcase is found matching the description and delivered to him (at the parents of his girlfriend). He attempts to open it but can't and leaves for the day, leaving his prospective father-in-law alone at the house. Being former CIA he opens it easily and finds it full of fetish and bondage gear and sex toys.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_9c6174f9	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_9c6174f9	featureConfidence	1.0
Meet the Parents	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_9c6174f9
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_a660fd96	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_a660fd96	comment	In Avengers: Endgame the Hulk causes Tony to drop the briefcase containing the Tesseract. Despite being designed to hold an infinity stone it pops open and drops the Tesseract at Loki's feet, who immediately uses it to escape.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_a660fd96	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_a660fd96	featureConfidence	1.0
Avengers: Endgame	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_a660fd96
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_b5e05a50	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_b5e05a50	comment	Cloud Atlas: While being locked up tight, Adam's chest full of gold springs open when used to knock out Dr. Henry Goose.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_b5e05a50	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_b5e05a50	featureConfidence	1.0
Cloud Atlas	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_b5e05a50
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_bc848d30	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_bc848d30	comment	The SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Krabs Vs. Plankton". Mr. Krabs is sued by Plankton for slipping in the Krusty Krab, and his lawyer is indisposed, giving SpongeBob his briefcase, which he claims contains everything necessary to win the case. Unfortunately, the lawyer neglects to tell SpongeBob the combination to the lock, so he spends most of the trial struggling to open it. At the last possible moment, the briefcase opens, revealing a Krabby Patty, which is used to lure Plankton out of his ruse and lose the trial.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_bc848d30	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_bc848d30	featureConfidence	1.0
SpongeBob SquarePants	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_bc848d30
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_c43df4d8	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_c43df4d8	comment	The Classic Doctor Who story "Image of the Fendahl" has a part where the Doctor gets locked in a storeroom by skeptical victims of The Siege (in order to prevent him solving the plot too early). He tries the Sonic Screwdriver on it and it doesn't work. The scene cuts to the other characters (some of them die), then to a scene with Leela assuring another character of the Doctor's "great gentleness" and back to him tantruming at his screwdriver and kicking things in rage. Then, there's a sudden click at the door and the Doctor emerges to rejoin the plot, no explanation for who opened the door given. Word of God says that it was a delayed reaction to the Doctor's screwdriver, but the only onscreen implication of this is a short scene of the Doctor kissing the screwdriver, although this could have been a simple apology from him for mistreating it earlier. Word of Dante from Terrance Dicks says that it was a delayed reaction to the Doctor kicking the lock (something that doesn't seem to happen on television).
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_c43df4d8	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_c43df4d8	featureConfidence	1.0
Doctor Who	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_c43df4d8
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_d78241e7	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_d78241e7	comment	In Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, during the opening Chase Scene, Bacon's suitcase flies open in slow motion and all the money and valuable inside are scattered about.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_d78241e7	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_d78241e7	featureConfidence	1.0
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_d78241e7
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_ec00290d	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_ec00290d	comment	At the end of The Killing, the suitcase containing the money bursts open when it falls off the baggage cart when the cart swerves to avoid a dog.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_ec00290d	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_ec00290d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Killing	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_ec00290d
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_ed0795d4	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_ed0795d4	comment	Near the beginning of The Silver Chair, Eustace and Jill are escaping from some bullies towards a door that is always locked, and of course it turns to be unlocked. Justified in that Aslan has magically caused this to happen, but they don't know it at the time.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_ed0795d4	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_ed0795d4	featureConfidence	1.0
The Silver Chair	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_ed0795d4
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_f037be0c	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_f037be0c	comment	Lampshaded in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when Father Christmas tells Mrs Beaver that he will drop a new sewing machine at her house for her. When Mrs Beaver tells him that it's all locked up, Father Christmas says that locks and bolts make no difference to him.
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_f037be0c	featureApplicability	1.0
Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_f037be0c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe	hasFeature	Plot-Sensitive Latch / int_f037be0c

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

Plot-Sensitive Latch	processingCategory2	Narrative Devices
Eden of the East / int_c464ef34	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
American Beauty / int_c464ef34	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Cloud Atlas / int_c464ef34	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Dumb and Dumber / int_c464ef34	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World / int_c464ef34	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels / int_c464ef34	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Matchstick Men / int_c464ef34	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
Meet the Parents / int_c464ef34	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe / int_c464ef34	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
The Silver Chair / int_c464ef34	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Forgotten Friendship / int_c464ef34	type	Plot-Sensitive Latch

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