Ben and Arthur/YMMV

• Clueless Aesop: Good message. Absolutely no idea how to deliver it well.
• Designated Hero: Arthur. You can sorta sympathise with him in spite of his bitchy, narcissistic behavior... at least until he torches a priest alive. Ben to a lesser extent; he comes across as a fairly decent guy overall, but his admission of having affairs with other men behind his then-wife's back really doesn't help.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Most comparisons between this film and The Room (which was written and apparently shot before this film, but released afterwards) tend to refer to their mutual incompetence and anviliciousness, but the two films have a surprising amount in common:
  • Both films take place in one of the two largest cities of California (Los Angeles in this film, San Francisco in The Room).
  • Both films have terrible leading actor-writer-directors, who are fond of showing off their bodies much moreso than most audience members are fond of seeing them.
  • Both films depict everyone bar the leading guy and one other male character (Ben in this film, and Peter in The Room) as being evil bastards.
  • A wedding is an important plot point in both films; in The Room the wedding never actually happens, while in this film the wedding does technically happen, but isn't recognised by the state of California.
  • Each film features a main character obtaining a pistol during a Non Sequitur Scene, and the pistol in question is used to take someone's life at the end of the film.
  • Both films have a Downer Ending, with the saintly protagonist meeting his untimely demise at the hands of a gun.
• Moral Event Horizon: Victor and Arthur both have one, namely their killings of the lawyer and the priest respectively.
• Mr. Fanservice: Ben; despite never actually appearing shirtless as the DVD cover implies, his outfits show off actor Jamie Brett Gabel's body pretty well. Arthur also wears some very revealing outfits and has a rear-nude scene, though whether you'd actually want to see Sam Mraovich naked is a different matter entirely.
• Paranoia Fuel: It's kinda impossible to not be paranoid with so many psychotically homophobic fucks.
• Squick: Arthur's bathtub baptism, mostly because Victor thinks they should be performed with the recipient "naked in Jesus's eyes."
• Unfortunate Implications: Where to begin?
  • All Christians are apparently violent homophobes who either actively seek to kill homosexuals, or at least are happy to condone it.
  • Furthermore, it's seemingly acceptable to kill such people, and even burn them alive. Contrast this with the way that the death of the lawyer is depicted as a horrible thing, even if it doesn't get followed up on very well.
  • There are only three female characters in the film; Mildred, who comes across as rather unpleasant, Tammy, who is a complete whackjob, and Ben and Arthur's attorney, who gets Stuffed Into the Fridge and then is never mentioned again.