An idiot plot is one of the more hated plot types in the world. A plot that only works because one or more characters is a total idiot. They usually revolve around a dumbass being taken far too seriously, often to comedic extremes, though not always intentionally comedic extremes. They tend to make for stories so bad that whoever wrote it probably cringes before bed every night thinking about the monstrosity they put into the world. Like all things in the writing world, they can be done right though. Some of the best comedies out there are idiot plots, or at least plots where many of the turns are dictated by idiots. Let’s talk about some of the best idiot plots, and how they turn an insulting descriptor into a stroke of genius.

First of all, what’s the big deal with having the plot run by idiots? It might seem like an obvious question, but without a specific answer it’s difficult to say how a writer can overcome the faults of an idiot plot. I think the main issue is that it puts a big strain on the reader. We all have to suspend our disbelief for a while in order to enjoy our favorite stories, but if a reader is forced to do this over and over and over again it uses up all the energy they would rather spend on imagining the story. And that’s the heart of the issue. If the plot only happens because a character is really stupid, it doesn’t make any sense when then resolve the plot by being extremely effective. Then, the best way around this problem is to create a plot where the character’s ineffectiveness is actually a strength. I find that old comedies do this in spectacular fashion.

Leslie Nielsen was one of the greatest straight men of all time, and he was a pretty good comedy actor too. Ok but jokes aside, I don’t understand how he was able to deliver a single Frank Drebin line without cracking up. There’s no doubt that this character is a huge idiot (and more importantly, that the plot is often driven by his bad decisions), but he’s funny, so that’s what makes it ok, right? Maybe that’s true, but I think it’s a little deeper than that. The reason he’s funny is because despite him bungling most everything he attempts to do, the audience knows he has the potential to do amazing things. We see this in the very first scene where Drebin stops a terrorist plot by all of America’s greatest enemies to humiliate the US. Obviously if someone is capable of dunking on Gaddafi, Castro, Gorbachev, and co. all at the same time, he must be a really effective police officer. Then the rest of the plot tries its best to convince us otherwise. He has plenty of leads to stop the attempt on the queen’s life throughout the story, but bungles almost all of them, so badly he even ends up getting fired from Police Squad. Like any good hero though he doesn’t let this stop him from doing the right thing. In the end, he saves the day by missing his target with a tranq dart only to hit a large woman in the stands above and crush the would-be assassin Reggie Jackson with her body. Right up to the end, we’re on the edge of our seats waiting to see how Drebin’s idiocy will miraculously turn to good favor this time. The viewer’s suspension of disbelief isn’t strained too hard because we know two things: One, that Frank Drebin is actually capable of saving the day as an effective officer despite his bumbling ways, and two, that Drebin’s failures save the day as often as they cause problems. The plot faithfully addresses the double-edged sword that is the idiot by resolving the conflict in a humorous near-miss, and the viewer is never left wondering how Drebin could have possibly done it.

Most comedies go the same route ‘Police Squad’ did if they want to have an idiot plot. ‘Johnny English,’ most of the National Lampoon movies, some episodes of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation,’ and ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ to name a few. Weirdly enough, I was about to list Adam Sandler’s movies in the idiot plots, but then I realized I couldn’t actually think of any that are true idiot plots. The main character isn’t always the brightest, but he’s usually just a regular person, not really a complete fool. In fact, Sandler’s characters typically exhibit savant behaviors that make them almost superhuman in some regards. The comedy tends to result from social gaffes and physical gags rather than someone being really stupid. They certainly have the same vibe as those other movies though. I wonder how that can be.

‘Forrest Gump’ is the last case I want to talk about with a similar plot. Like the other stories, Forrest often makes decisions based on a lack of intellect, but ends up succeeding anyway. The difference between him and someone like Frank Drebin is twofold. For one thing, when he screws up it’s not really played off for comedy. The story is only half comedy, the other half is a drama and a love story with a lot of fraught tensions and difficult moments. For two, when he does something nobody else would because of his unique personality, he ends up being braver than others, more driven, and more faithful. Unlike Drebin, Forrest doesn’t fail upwards. Instead he succeeds where others would be held back by common sense or higher intelligence. He’s a strong soldier, an effective businessman, a faithful friend, and ultimately a wise person because he doesn’t think too hard about the things that aren’t important. The plot isn’t really an idiot plot at all, even if many of the key plot points stem from Forrest’s disability. It essentially calls everybody else’s plot an idiot plot by showing how much pain and ill fortune can come from being a more typical thinker. The best part about Forrest is that he’s totally self aware too. He knows he’s not as smart as other people, and accepts that part of himself to be better. This completely defeats the problems inherent to an idiot plot, where so-called smart people do stupid things. Forrest is an otherwise stupid person who plays his cards so well he comes out looking like a genius. Like he always says:

‘Stupid is as stupid does.’

And yet, he always seems to be doing something right.

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley