Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Can't Get You Outta My Head

Like that song you accidentally listened to this morning, and now are stuck repeating the same line over and over again in your head, movie quotes can be a parasitical creature. You casually carry on your conversations, going through the motions, and falling back on your favored sayings, when it suddenly occurs to you: "you know, I use this quote a lot, and I haven't the faintest idea why." No? Well I do, so indulge me.

My unnecessary quoting spree spawned many years ago when it occurred to me that I could do a respectable Jar Jar Binks impersonation. To the woe of many, I took this to be a positive and enacted it in any situation I deemed fitting. Even by Binks standards, I was a bit excessive. Luckily enough these days I've found other quotes to buy my time, and none of them require over the top voices from well established annoying characters. OK, maybe the over the top voices part is a lie.

Still, the below are the five lines I use ad nausea, but still enjoy them anyways:

"Bad Form" - Dustin Hoffman as Hook in Hook

Many people love to bash Hook left, right, up, and down, but I for one find it a perfectly enjoyable time, and love to use this quote. It's great for so many occasions, and if you're trapped with someone who despises Hook, a great conversation starter. Yes, ladies and gentlemen I do revenge quote.

"Do you concur?" - Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale in Catch Me If You Can

Anytime someone says the word concur, my mind immediately transports to the scene in the hospital, and I find myself strolling along memory lane a whistling and giggling. Something about it makes it so memorable that I can't help but want to use the word solely for that nostalgia factor.

"Nobody Tells Me Nuttin'" - Bill Bailey as Sergeant Turner in Hot Fuzz

You might be surprised at just how often I can be totally oblivious to the world going on around me. When the moment comes and someone calls me on my opinion of something I know nothing about, this is my go to quote. Why? Because Bill Bailey is awesome - that is all.

"Mhmmmmmmm" - Billy Bob Thorton as Karl in Sling Blade

Don't lie, if you've seen this movie even once, you've tried your Karl impersonation. More awesome than Borat on a gallon of Red Bull, Karl is the somber, solemn friend your heart has been longing for. So it should stand to reason that Thorton's Rain Main second-cousin should be reiterated throughout all possible social contexts... especially if you plan on spending the evening with Dwight Yoakam.

"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to Die" - Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride

Seriously, if you've seen this movie and NOT inappropriately used this quote in at least five entirely random situations, then something must be wrong with you. Even if you hate the movie, social law dictates a minimum of five uses in unrelated situations just out of pure necessity. Since this movie's release, 50% of the world's power is derived from that usage, so by not doing it you're furthering our dependency on foreign oil and causing global war. Try and sleep with that on your conscious.

Well, there you have it. Five random quotes that have found their way into my every day vocabulary without me even paying the slightest notice to them. Some to a greater extent than others. Do you have any quotes you like to whip out mid-conversation, relativity be damned?

14 better thoughts:

DEZMOND said...

well, truth be told, you would look kinda dashing with a Inigo Montoya hairdo :)))

SugaryCynic said...

BAD FORM!

I'm glad to learn I'm not the only one who tries to wedge that into regular conversation. Funny stuff.

Nikhat said...

Inigo Montaya is legend.
I have also used "I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery forever."
And "HUMPERDINCK!"

Red said...

I have to quote Lord of the Rings about 10 or 20 times a day. I may not do it out loud, but I always have a quote from those movies randomly popping into my head.

Two comedies that I typically quote in everyday conversation are Austin Powers and Ace Ventura. Combine those two movies together, and you literally have a reply for anything someone might say to you, whether it's "Nonesense poopy-pants!" or even a "Why must I be surrounded by frickin' idiots?"

Oh, and "Why so serious?"

Castor said...

You crazy people! I don't usually quote movies, ever :)

Univarn said...

@Dezmond No doubt.

@Sugary Of course not. Hook ought to be referenced more often than people realize.

@Nikhat We should name all authority figures, Humperdincks.

@Red Austin Powers is always a good go-to quote area, but you gotta be careful about when and where. You never know who might be watching.

@Castor That's because your movies didn't hug you enough while you were growing up.

Rich said...

One of the highlights of my ten - yes, ten - years in video retail was actually being able to say to a customer who pissed me off, "You're not allowed to rent here anymore!"

It felt good.

Rachel [f.g.i.] said...

BAD FORM - That is awesome!

I love to say "Gold jacket, green jacket, who gives a shit?" (Happy Gilmore)

It's fun to bust out a really loud "PO-TA-TOES" courtesy of Samwise Gamgee.

I enjoy referring to "Cornflower blue" whenever I get a chance too (thanks, Fight Club!)**

**On another Brad Pitt-related note, I also enjoy emphatically asking, "What's in tha bahx??"

Anonymous said...

I study a lot of things at university at the moment, but for some reason most of them have mentioned dreaming in past few weeks (psychology, philosophy) and every time dreaming is discussed in an illusory sense (which has been like 15 times in the past two weeks) my head goes straight to "It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange. " And it's in DiCaprio's voice. It creeps me out a bit.

Univarn said...

@Rich Were the lights working in the bathroom?

@Rachel Oh, if I ate potatoes that would have to be a go to line - good call.

@5plitreel See, every time I think of dreams I think of Paprika - a far more creepy experience.

Brian said...

There are approximately a dozen words or phrases that send "Anchorman" quotes racing through my brain. I try to keep them internal but it's not always possible.

Rich said...

The lights were probably working that day, but we used to have the porn section right outside the bathroom, so I imagine stranger things than screwing dead guys have happened there...

Fletch said...

Ha, I too love the inclusion of "bad form." He says it with such conviction.

Much as I love Princess Bride, though, that one sure sticks out like a sore thumb on this list, if only because it can't be so easily wedged into conversations.

Univarn said...

@Brian I've worked long and hard to make sure no Anchorman word or phrase comes to mind during any point in conversation.

@Rich You know, that's not a route I'd want to go down imagining if 'screwing a dead person' is the base level of measurement.

@Fletch In fairness, had I gone with 'you seem a decent fellow' I would be running the risk of meta-referencing you. I went with it because you'd be surprised how many conversations I can sneak this into. Though it gets a bit awkward if you try to use it at a funeral... :o

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