Whaddaya Say?

So many lines from film and television have found their way into our everyday speech that it’s harder and harder to choose lines from film that haven’t been used in that way.  My son and I usually greet each other with “’Allo?”, in the manner of John Cleese’s brilliant portrayal of the French soldier in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  In fact, many lines from that film are a regular part of my conversation, including:

• “He says they’ve already GOT one!” “Are you sure?” “Yaaas, it’s very nice-uh”.
• “What do you burn aside from witches?” “MORE WITCHES!”
• “Well, we did do the nose….and the hat.  But she IS a witch!”
• “Build a bridge out of her!”
• “I shoot arrows through the tops of your heads and make castanets out of your testicles already!”

And so on.  And there are so many great lines, so many great phrases, so many different ways to use them –

• “Someone’s got to take the responsibility if the job’s going to get done.  Do you think that’s easy?” (Gregory Peck inThe Guns of Navarone)
• “Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to perform a service for me.  And you must not refuse” (Marlon Brando in The Godfather)
• “No, I just think I’m gonna barf.” (Frances McDormand in Fargo)
• “Sometimes, it just means….fuggedaboudit.” (Johnny Depp in Donnie Brasco)
• “Can you count, suckers?” (Roger Hill in The Warriors)

These are lines that I actually DO say, or probably better said paraphrase, on a regular basis.  Almost all of them are incredibly useful in the working world.  Try the one from The Godfather in a meeting sometime.  Or the one from The Warriors the next time you meet with your accounting department. I guarantee it’ll make an impression.

And, although I’m not really a relativist, context in this area is everything.  I mean, I wish I’d said my favorite line from Conan the Barbarian  (the question is asked “Conan!  What is best in life?”, and Schwarzenegger responds “Do khrash youah enemeeess, do see dem driven before you, and do heah de lamendashun uffde vimn” [say it out aloud and with a somewhat heavy Austrian accent – if you ask nicely, I’ll send you the wav file]), but really, in what context can you possibly say that?  I very rarely, in my waking life, have the opportunity to crush my enemies.  There are a lot of drivers in the city where I live, so it’s possible I’ve actually seen them driving before me, but it’s kind-of hard to tell a lot of times from the back.  And – well, I don’t know too many women who don’t issue forth very long and specific lamentations, mainly involving dirty socks, unwashed dishes, and the state and height of grass in the yard.

So to me, while I believe wholeheartedly with Costner’s line about what’s worth believing in, how do you use it?  How often, realistically, are we asked what we believe, outside of job interviews?  And when we’re asked it, I don’t know about you, but I usually respond with “Uh, ah, well, er, you know, ah…” rather than reaching back and telling them about the novels of Susan Sontag and the DH.

I do wish I’d said that, though.  And perhaps, if nothing else, this line can serve to remind us that there are lots of things worth saying, and that the lock on saying them doesn’t belong solely to Hollywood scriptwriters.  If you really listen to the people around you – not just the radio personalities, the songwriters, the comedians, the actors, but the everyday people around you in your life – you’d be amazed at how rich, how funny, and how beautiful the things they say can be.  My late grandmother was from Sicily, and there was an amazing assortment of things she said, all memorable, all things I still say from time to time.  It keeps my memory of her alive. 

Besides – when you keep an ear open, you can steal the best lines and work ‘em into your songs.

FC

Poll Topic: Line from a movie you most wish you had said
Well I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hangin' curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent overrated crap. I believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe that there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astro-Turf 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. - Kevin Costner in Bull Durham	14.8% - (93 Votes)
Go ahead, make my day. - Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact	11.2% - (70 Votes)
Any son of a bitch takes a shot at me, I'm gonna kill him, his family, all his friends and his dog. And burn his damn house down. - Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven.	10% - (63 Votes)
We need a bigger boat - Dreyfus in Jaws	9.6% - (60 Votes)
I love the smell of napalm in the morning - Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now	8.4% - (53 Votes)
Here come two words for you... shut the fuck up. - DeNiro in Midnight Run	7.8% - (49 Votes)
You can't handle the truth. - Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men	4.4% - (28 Votes)
Just because the guys got a library card, it don't make him fuckin' Yoda. (Brad Pitt in SE7EN)	4.4% - (28 Votes)
It ain't the years, its the miles. - Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark	4% - (25 Votes)
Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite? - Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs	3.3% - (21 Votes)
No more yankee my wankie, the Dong needs food. - Kid in Sixteen Candles	3% - (19 Votes)
I guess we're gonna need some more FBI guys. - Cop in Die Hard	2.8% - (18 Votes)
Here's looking at you, kid. - Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca	2.5% - (16 Votes)
There's no crying in baseball! - Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own	2.4% - (15 Votes)
The only thing I want from a banker is a calendar and the only thing I want from a lawyer is for them to be back in their coffin before the sun comes up. - James Garner in Barbarians in the Gate	2% - (13 Votes)
A relationship is like a shark, it has to constantly move forward or it dies. What we have is a dead shark. - Woody Allen in Annie Hall	1.9% - (12 Votes)
Leave the gun, take the cannolis. - Richard Castellano in The Godfather	1.7% - (11 Votes)
I been in prison for two years. If the wind blows, my dick get hard. - Eddie Murphy in 48 Hours	1.4% - (9 Votes)
You're damn right I killed them! And I'd do it again! - Samuel L. Jackson in A Time to Kill	1.2% - (8 Votes)
You said all it takes is bullshit and experience. Come experience some of my bullshit. - Eddie Murphy in 48 Hours	1.1% - (7 Votes)
Senator, we are all part of the same hypocrisy - Al Pacino in The Godfather, Part II	0.6% - (4 Votes)
Just shit and shove it under the door. - Burt Reynolds in Semi-Tough	0.3% - (2 Votes)
He's dead as Julius Caesar. - Sean Connery in The Untouchables	0.1% - (1 Votes)
Total Votes: 625