You can quote me on that

On Tuesday, the American Film Institute came out with their list of the top 100 movie quotes of all time. I read through them, and while there were a few smiles and nods and “Yah, I loved that movie” warm fuzzies, for the most part their choices left me kind of flat.

Where are the Monty Python quotes? (“Help! Help! I’m being repressed!”) Not a single John Hughes film? I think I could fill a top 50 list with just The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. (“The world’s an imperfect place, sir. Screws fall out all the time.” Or, “It’s a little childish and stupid, but then, so is high school.”)

And nothing from A Christmas Story? I could go on for days on that one! (“Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian.” Or, “My father worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium, a master.” Or, “He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny.”)

And while AFI did give the nod to Field of Dreams’s “If you build it, they will come”, they completely ignored the best baseball movie of all time: Bull Durham. Just a sampling:

“Yeah? From what I hear, you couldn’t hit water if you fell out of a fucking boat.”

“Don’t think; it can only hurt the ball club.”

“Well, he fucks like he pitches – sorta all over the place.”

“Man that ball got outta here in a hurry. I mean anything travels that far oughta have a damn stewardess on it, don’t you think?”

and of course:

“Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman’s back, the hanging curve ball, high fibre, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.”

And what of The Princess Bride, truly one of the most quotable films ever? Don’t remember the dialogue? It’s time to watch this classic again! At least check out the quotes page on IMDB.

I could go on for a while here. I think the problem is that what AFI calls a memorable quote I simply see as a tag line that everybody and his brother mimics and paraphrases. Anyone can get lucky and crank out a tag line – it takes talent to write a movie that people memorize verbatim.

Ever erudite and often ahead of the curve, Troy of Lowly Scribe came out with a great list of movie quotes a couple of days ago. He wondered what insights into a person’s psychological makeup you could glean from their list of favourite movie quotes. Frankly, I like his list better than AFI’s.

What say ye, citizens of blogdom? What’s your favourite movie quote? What makes it memorable?

No related posts found.

Author: DaniGirl

Canadian. storyteller, photographer, mom to 3. Professional dilettante.

11 thoughts on “You can quote me on that”

  1. My most-often quoted lines come from Steel Magnolias:
    An ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure.
    Looks like two pigs fighting under a blanket.
    Etc. 🙂

  3. i LOVE the princess bride. LOVE it. have it memorized. i drive people nuts when we watch it because i’m reciting it along with the movie. and then when they tell me to stop, i still mouth the lines.
    “Inconceivable!”
    “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
    “No more rhymes now, i mean it!”
    “Anybody want a peanut?”
    “Liar, liar. LIIIIIAAAARRRRR. He said true love max.”
    “never go up against a sicilian when death is on the line. Hahahahahahaha. *thud*”.
    I’ll stop now…
    i know what i’m watching tonight….

  4. Funny I don’t seem to Cotton to movie quotes excpet for a few…And Princess Bride Can’t remember a single line from it. I guess I’m not a movie buff. Although My daughter will smite me for that. She is a Movie buff!

  5. A Christmas Story is my absolute favorite guilty pleasure. I’m quite partial to, “Show mommy how the piggies eat,” “Daddy’s gonna kill Ralphie!” and the final icicle induced, “Oh my God, I shot my eye out.” Of course, “Randy laid there like a slug. It was his only defense, ” and “I can’t put my arms down!” are in there, too. Really, too many to list.
    I must also admit that there’s a huge part of me that would like to put the leg lamp in my bay window. 🙂 (redriderleglamps.com)
    The John Hughes films, The Princess Bride, Mommie Dearest and (God help me) Spaceballs are the ones I seem to watch over and over again when I come across them.

  6. I agree that there were some really classic lines that were missed. One of my favourites was from Casablanca (although the movie already has a number of quotes on the list). The line start when a young lady asked Rick what kind of a man is Captain Renaud. He’s a man like any other, only more so. If you watch the movie with a view that everything Rick says is said with a sarcastic tone, the movie takes on an whole new light.
    I’m also a fan of Rocketman, with Harland Williams. Overbeck: Have fun kid. Randall: Fun is my Chinese neighbour’s middle name.
    Repo Man is also a fantastic movie.

  7. I looked over the AFI list the other day and, like you, wasn’t really all that too keen on most of them.
    One mark of a good movie quote they overlooked is their ease of use in everyday conversation. Imagine the blank stare you’d get if you ever said “Here’s looking at you, kid,” to a friend or coworker. Try it with a line like “Help! Help! I’m being opressed!” or “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means,” and we’re talking comedy central.
    I’d hate to be pressured into narrowing one down as my all time favorite…there are just too many great ones out there.
    PS: The “ever erudite”? If I ever get a tattoo, I now know exactly what it should say.

  9. OK I’ve thought about it and Although I hardly ever remember the movie I do use a few movie quotes….
    MY Fav which I use with my kids is
    “Go Ahead! make my day!”
    “Shaken NOT stirred”
    Play it again…Sam (WEll I use Miranda) but it comes from that movie. Yeah know the one casablanca.)
    Yeah BABY!
    Damn You Dani your Blog made me think about something totally usless. BUT with Mommy brain it’s about all I can handle at the moment. 😉

  10. Batman – Repo Man! Haven’t seen – scratch that, haven’t even thought about that one in years. Funny movie!
    Troy, I am so going to work “You keep using that word. I don’ think it means what you think it means” into a work conversation today, complete with Spanish accent. They will be so convinced they did right by offering me that promotion.
    Kate, I’m intrigued. Why exactly are movie quotes for boys??
    SCM, if I’ve made you think about something useless then I’m quite proud of myself!
    xo Danigirl

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *