8 Heads in a Duffel Bag
Get ready for cut-throat comedy!
Mob courier Tommy Spinelli (Joe Pesci) has been ordered by his superior to bring back eight decapitated victims' heads. At the airport he crosses paths with a young med-school graduate who's about to join his girlfriend and her parents at a hotel in Mexico. When Spinelli reaches his destination, he finds that he and the med student have inadvertently swapped luggage. Hilarity Ensues.
Also features Kristy Swanson, David Spade, Dyan Cannon, and George Hamilton.
Tropes used in 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag include:
- Bilingual Bonus: Some of the dialogue spoken by the Mexican characters is untranslated from the original Spanish (which doesn't hurt the film too much, because their comments tend to be popular Spanish phrases that most English speakers know or at least have heard of).
- Black Comedy
- Butt Monkey: George Hamilton's character. All he wanted was to do some fishing in Mexico, and he ends up getting wrongfully arrested for murder, tortured during interrogation, and is implied to get raped while temporarily in jail.
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: Spinelli is pretty good at this.
- Deadpan Snarker: Whenever David Spade shows up in a film, you can count on it.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Don't sass-talk Spinelli, or he just might throw you out of a speeding minivan.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Tommy. Naturally.
- Hey, It's That Guy!: Movie!Buffy is on vacation in Mexico with her dad George Hamilton? And since when did Harry join the Mafia?
- Hurricane of Puns: "Heads up! Stop ahead. Anybody need to use the head?", etc.
- Hypocritical Humor: "Didn't I tell you to watch your fucking language?"
- I Lied: When Laurie finds one of the heads, she screams loud enough for the entire hotel staff to hear. Charlie quickly grabs Laurie and muffles her mouth with his hand just as one of the employees opens the door. Charlie reassures him that everything is fine, prompting the employee to leave. Then Charlie tells Laurie that he will let her go if she promises not to scream again. Laurie gives her word - and then, once she is free, immediately resumes screaming!
- Lady Drunk: Annette.
- Maximum Fun Chamber: Dick Bennett's treatment in the Mexican prison.
- Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Quite a few characters, but most notably Pesci's and Spade's.
- The Pirate Who Doesn't Do Anything: Laurie is supposedly a race-car driver, but we never see her race.
- Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: Annete's mother. She's so unbearable that Tommy ends up throwing her out of a moving car and down a ditch. Annette is very happy.