Plot hole


So the only reason that Alison is at detention is because she had " nothing better to do". So why doesn't the teacher say to her that she isn't supposed to be here and needs to go? Surely he must have done some kind of registration at the beginning of the day to check that all the people that were supposed to be at detention were? Otherwise if he didn't, which he seemingly mustn't have done, then none of them needed to turn up for detention anyway?

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She must have done SOMETHING to end up in there, that 'nothing better to do' bit makes no sense. Even at the absolute zenith of my boredom, it never even remotely crossed my mind that sitting in on detention might be a swell way to kill some time.

Vernon doesn't know her name because, well, no one does. That's Alison's 'thing': the fact she is so easily overlooked and ignored and as such does things to draw attention to herself.



Never defend crap with 'It's just a movie'
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One of parents drove her to school at 7 on a Saturday morning. Perhaps that miniscule bit of attention was reason enough for her to go.

The things that I wonder...

Seems like there would be more Bender-like people in detention.

Why didn't Bender lock his locker after taking out the weed?

Is unrefridgerated sushi safe?

Exactly what broke the glass during Andy's "primal scream"?

How did Vernon miss the smell of cigarette and weed smoke?

Why would faculty person al files be kept on site? Wouldn't they be kept at the school district office?

Since Bender was to spend the next 8 Saturdays in detention, would similar scenarios present every weekend? Of course, he and Carl would be better friends. Together they could run that school.

Did I miss anything?

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One of parents drove her to school at 7 on a Saturday morning. Perhaps that miniscule bit of attention was reason enough for her to go.
Good theory. I noticed they packed her a lunch as well. So you could be right, she wanted attention. They may have yelled at her as well for having detention, thus more attention.

The things that I wonder...

Seems like there would be more Bender-like people in detention.
True, but this was a small town in the '80s. Likely not many that got caught at any given time.

Why didn't Bender lock his locker after taking out the weed? Haha, true. But he was known for 'playing it fast & loose'. He probably thought his tough-guy rep & his'zooming blade' device would be enough to dissuade people from going in there.

Is unrefridgerated sushi safe?
For the amount of time it was unrefrigerated, I'd imagine it was OK.

Exactly what broke the glass during Andy's "primal scream"?
Nothing. I've since read that this was all in Andy's high-on-weed mind a hallucination. It was a stupid scene though, even back then.

How did Vernon miss the smell of cigarette and weed smoke?
Good question! For someone who supposedly had them under such close watch, he sure was away for a long time too.

Why would faculty person al files be kept on site? Wouldn't they be kept at the school district office?
Back in the '80s, personnel files were often kept in schools. Not much later, they tended to be either locked up or put on computers.

Since Bender was to spend the next 8 Saturdays in detention, would similar scenarios present every weekend? Of course, he and Carl would be better friends. Together they could run that school.
Haha, one wonders how Bender will indeed fare in future detentions. I guess we are to assume since he 'has Claire' in his life for the time being, he'll mellow out some. But I tend to doubt that either his mellowness nor their relationship will last long.




I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

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Very thoughtful responses! Didn't think about the "negative attention" Allison likely received from her parent(s). Explains how olive loaf ended up on her sandwich, and later on the statue.

Primal scream was my least favorite scream, too.

I also just noticed hanging in Vernon's office a "girly" calendar. Think that would happen?

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[deleted]

So if in real life someone told you they didn't do it - you would believe them?

You should watch a scene on tv where a man claims to have three buttocks. The interviewer is not necessarily sceptical but at least curious - and all the while the claimant refuses to show any proof, other than filmed testimony from his cycling partner.

The audience is left to decide for themselves, and yet there is no implication of a plot-hole.


Mr Frampton, vis-a-vis your rump

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Her parents knowingly drove her to school on a Saturday as you can see in the opening scene. Obviously she was supposed to be there and lied about why.

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Na, I was growing up and in school when this came out so not really sure how much things are different, but when I was a kid there was either a name call or a sign in form that was passed around. That was the extent of the "registration process".

If you didn't sign it or didn't say, "Here" you would get in more trouble the next day if you had a scheduled detention; possibly have another detention time added, but if you decided not to sign it or say, "here" and still hung around it was very possible no one would notice or care.

On the other hand, we did have sit in class quietly with a teacher watching from a desk grading papers though. So we didn't get to have fun, hang out, fight and/or make friends during detention time.


Still, I wouldn't be bold enough to say a situation like that has never, ever happened in any school anywhere in the US because It probably has.

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There is no plot hole. I was in middle school when this film came out. All through middle school and high school when you went to detention the teacher had a list. The teacher would read off names and you would say "here." At the end the teacher would always ask if there was anyone whose name she or he did not read. Those kids would raise their hands and then come forward and give the teacher their names.

If Alison's name was not on the list Vernon would not have challenged her and asked her what she is doing here. He would have assumed she did something wrong and he had simply not gotten the message yet. No teacher would ever assume a kid is crashing detention.

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