http://ken-jennings.com/blog/?p=648Do you ever talk in movie quotes? Sometimes I wonder if a quarter of what I say isn’t lifted from movies, consciously or not. Mindy and I first met (sorta) over a movie quote–the story is on page 245 of Brainiac.
Novices might imagine that people who quote movies are zany/annoying “office character†types always rattling off punchlines and taglines. “Houston, we have a problem!†“Are you talking to me?†“You can’t handle the truth!†In my experience, movie-quoters are a lot more idiosyncratic. The dialogue they repeat isn’t famous. But for some reason (repetition? coincidence?) it’s been particularly memorable to them. And it’s useful in a broad array of social situations. Thankfully, my daily routine doesn’t require me to say “I love the smell of napalm in the morning†or “I’m gonna make you squeal like a pig!†very often. But here, off the top of my head, are ten movie quotes I use all the time.
-“Marines! We are lea-ving!†Michael Biehn, at the top of his lungs in Aliens. Useful when: trying to get all the kids in the car.
-“This is no good. We’re on top of the monument!†Cary Grant atop Mount Rushmore in North by Northwest. Useful when: sightseeing. Anywhere. Last used atop the Vittoriano in Rome. My Cary Grant redefines “terrible.â€
-“I’m not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work there, Lou.†Frances McDormand, one step ahead of her partner in Fargo. Useful when: politely disagreeing with someone. “Caitlin’s been quiet in there for an hour–she must be asleep.†“I’m not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work there, Lou.â€
-“Stay on target!†“Almost there.†“Stay…on…target…†I don’t even know who says this. Two pilots strafing the Death Star in Star Wars. Useful when: performing almost any precision-demanding manual task. Parallel parking. Whipping a souffle. Tightening a hard-to-reach screw on a piece of Ikea furniture. “Stay…on…target…â€
-“I was born on the side of a hill. I was born on the side of a hill.†Katharine Hepburn, in the Connecticut woods, with one high heel broken off her shoes. Bringing Up Baby. Useful when: wearing only one shoe. Also: standing on the side of a hill.
-“Dey ain’t got no feelings. Dey’re made of rubber!†Paraphrased, a clown in Dumbo. (He’s talking about elephants.) Useful when: you’re tormenting in some way, or have just dropped, the children. Or dog.
-(In a posh accent.) “All the poor people would come rushing in!†One of the most appalling children in 21 Up, Michael Apted’s documentary series revisiting the lives of a randomly chosen group of Britons every seven years. For a documentary, the Up series is surprisingly quotable, mostly because each successive installment reprises all the juicy lines from the last ones. Useful when: tweaking upper-class twits. Scenes from the class struggle in Seattle.
-“He’s laughing, having a good time.†A bottled-up Adam Sandler, about to attack a mini-golf clown in Happy Gilmore. Useful when: conveying disgruntled annoyance that someone else is having a little too much fun at your expense. “You had to walk all the way back up here in the rain?!†“Sure, you’re laughing, having a good time…â€
-“459 Durillo Street.†Barbra Streisand, pretending to be a secretary, sends Madeline Kahn to a rundown address in Peter Bogdanovich’s salute to screwball comedy, What’s Up, Doc? Useful when: looking for a street address from a car, especially when Google Maps sends you through some seedy neighborhood en route. “That’s foah. Fah-eev. Nah-een. Durillo Street.†Also: when “punking†Madeline Kahn (pre-1999 usage).
-“Send me all the blueprints. Send me all the blueprints. Send me all the blueprints.†Leo flips out, as Howard Hughes in The Aviator. Useful when: someone nearby is evincing OCD symptoms. Not when it’s your son though. Turns out your wife gets mad. Replaces: “Sammelweiss. Sammelweiss. Sammelweiss.†Brad Pitt wigging out in Twelve Monkeys.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten dozens of others, so maybe I’ll run a sequel some time. Readers: what are your favorite non-famous movie quotes that seem to come up in conversation more than the famous ones?
