Consolation Backfire
When a character has suffered some humiliating setback, and tries to console himself by saying that at least he has something or someone still likes him, this is often a cue for that someone to leave them or that something to be destroyed.
A variation has the character reporting a sob story to a friend, who tries to cheer him up by saying what happened wasn't so awful, only for the story to progress from the merely disappointing on to the truly horrific.
A subtrope of Tempting Fate.
Film
- In UHF, the protagonist George discovers at one point that he is broke, can't pay the rent, and has just run his uncle's business into the ground, with no hope of being employed by anyone in the city (as he's already been fired from every business and his uncle will certainly not offer him another job after he's ruined his TV station). He recalls his girlfriend, saying, "Well, at least I have Terri..." Cue phone call from Terri calling to tell him that he is an insensitive creep and she never wants to see him again.
- In The World Is Not Enough, a caviar factory owned by James Bond's former enemy turned ally Valentin Zukovsky is the sight of a lengthy battle between Bond and several Mooks. While surveying the damage done to the factory after the battle ends, Zukovsky comments to his assistant that, "we may not have a roof, but at least, we still have four good walls." Seconds later, all four walls simultaneously collapse.
Valentin Zukovsky: The insurance company is NOT going to believe this!
- At the climax of Mousehunt, the Smuntz's last attempts to drive the mouse away result in the house getting flooded and several walls being destroyed. And this happens in the middle of the auction to sell the house. All the would-be buyers start to leave...
Ernie Smuntz: Hey! Don't go! [waves an arm at the flooded house] A demonstration of how durable a LaRue really is! Now you know this house will last forever!
[As if on cue, the house collapses.]
Literature
- One Dave Barry column offered this Parody Commercial for a soft drink:
(The scene opens up with a boy in a Little League uniform, looking very sad. His father walks up.)
Father: What's the matter, Son?
Son (bursting into tears): Oh Dad, I struck out and lost the big game. (Sobs.)
Father (putting his arm around the boy's shoulders): Forget it! Let's have a nice cold can of Bite the Wax Tadpole!
Son: And then I murdered a policeman.
Theatre
- In Once in a Lifetime, when George's movie appears to be a fiasco, May tells him that "we've got a gold dinner set, anyway. A hundred and six pieces, and every piece with your initials in diamonds. That's not bad for two months' work." This is the cue for two pages to appear, carrying said dinner set out.
Web Comics
- In Men in Hats, Jeriah tells Gamal a story about finding a quarter and losing his book of poems that only gets worse despite Gamal's attempts to reassure him:
Jeriah: Actually, the quarter turned out to be a worthless iron shard.
Gamal: Oh, well... At least you still have your health.
Jeriah: The shard gave me tetanus.
Web Original
- In episode 13 of Naruto the Abridged Series, after being ignored by all the other characters, Kabuto consoles himself with, "At least Orochimaru still loves me." Cut to Orochimaru saying, "You're creepy, go away."
Western Animation
- In a Halloween episode of The Simpsons, after an army of Homer clones destroys Old Gil's farm, Old Gil sighs and says "At least I still have my health." Cue the Homers eating him alive. His skeleton is left behind to saw "Awwww..."