So last week, I went to the Tribeca Film Festival’s Dirty Dancing screening (in honor of the movie’s 20th anniversary) and blogged about it. A couple of PopWatchers posted about how they still borrow Baby’s classic line "I carried a watermelon" after they’ve said or done something "socially inept/embarrassing enough be recalled years later" or are "feeling useless." (Me, too!) One said she and her friends use Johnny Castle’s line "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" — No. 98 on AFI’s list of the top 100 movie quotes — when they need "a self-esteem reminder." That got me wondering what other lines from films and TV we’ve each embedded in our personal lexicon. Let’s see how many of us speak the same language…
A few quotes that various friends and I have co-opted:
- Eric Cartman’s "Whatever, I do what I want!" from the season 6 episode of South Park where he goes on Maury and outdoes himself on a "Please Help My Out of Control Child" panel. I suppose its usage is self-explanatory.
- "I’m breezy" (followed by the explanation that saying you’re breezy negates the breezy) from the season 3 episode of Friends "The One Where No One’s Ready." My friend Eva uses the Monica line whenever we’re discussing what she’s about to say in a voicemail or e-mail. (Coming off "breezy" takes a lot of work, you know.)
- "Grr argh" from Joss Whedon’s Mutant Enemy production company’s title card, which played at the end of every Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode. My friend Lynn says "Grr argh," in the same tone as the hastily-drawn monster, whenever she’s frustrated.
- "Man, I don’t love her" from the scene in Never Been Kissed when Josie has annoyed the guys who gave her the pot brownies. Again, no explanation needed.
- The song "I Have Confidence" from The Sound of Music, which one of my EW colleagues has admitted she sings when she needs some.
Your turn.
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“Right on top of that, Rose!” and “It’s a rat race and it sucks.” Both from Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. Sadly, I use the right on top of that daily and the rat race when I am talking to those graduating from college and talking about what it’ll be like when they are working 40 hours a week…
We quote a lot of Point Break in our house (yes, that’s true)…references used a lot include “Utah, get me 2,” “not so far,” “little hand says its time to rock n roll,” “100 percent Utah,” and “I am an FBI agent.” I could probably quote the whole movie verbatim right now. I also use Faith’s five by five from BTVS, “I am just gonna hang with your daughter,” from Say Anything (with a splash of the buy-sell or process speech tossed in) and we regularly say “Question” in reference to Dwight from The Office. We sometimes still quote old-school Simpsons but we always have to make sure to have our UHF references ready for a trip to the in-laws- my FIL loves that movie (and one day we will find a Spatula City for a family road trip!). When we feel the need to mock those we know, we use the line “know how I know you are gay?” from the 40-year-old virgin. We watch too many movies and too much TV in my house.
This is probably too random for most people, but whenever my friends and I are about to make a snide comment or say something mean, we always say “baaad llama!” and then proceed to slap our own hand. Source? The Emperor’s New Groove. Yes, we’re that lame…
Sorry for commenting twice (bad habit). I also like to sing out, “I found it!” when I am looking for something. Where’s that from? The original “Land Before Time”. Cera sings it when she thinks she has found the Great Valley (she didn’t find the real one…).
“Fu#%%k me gently with a chainsaw Veronica” from Heathers is always a good laugh amongst me and my friends when we get in a joking mood
– “Oh no you di’int!” from the episode of Sex and the City where Samantha buys a fake Prada wallet in LA.
– “Oh, snap!” taken from Joy on My Name is Earl.
– “You’re right, you’re right, I know you’re right. He’s never gonna leave her” from When Harry Met Sally — used in any case, not just ones involving adultery.
Hard not to resist “Gimme some sugar, baby” or “Good … bad … I’m the guy with the gun” from “Army of Darkness”. (Or “All-right she-b*tch … let’s go.”)
“You’re out of your element, Donny” and “Dude, that’s not the preferred nomenclature” from The Big Lebowski.
The woo-hoo pheobe yells in the episode of friends where they all turn 30, “i’ve made a HUGE mistake” and “What a fun sexy time for you” from arrested development!
Say Anything – “I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen.”
Shawshank – “Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’”
Seinfeld – “These pretzels are making me thirsty.” or “Summer of George” or “Worlds are colliding, Jerry” or “Serenity Now!”
and of course -
“You motorboating son of a b-” from wedding crashers.
“Orange Mocha Frappacinos!” whenever we’re trying to decide what afternoon caffeine hit we want. (Zoolander).
I have been using “Not so much” lately from Borat…..
I’ve been watching a lot of Weeds recently, and whenever I’m looking for something, I keep saying to myself ‘Must find toes….’
I have been a big “grr argh” user for many years, my 6 year old even does it when she is frustrated!
“Sing out Louise” from Gypsy. I have a shy friend that I have to admonish with this quote at least once a week
“Yo f@#% yo mama” from National Lampoon’s Vacation. My sister and I find this quote particulary hilarious to this day!
i entertain my son (and myself) in the bathtub almost daily with this classic from billy madison: “shampoo is bett-uh. i go on first and clean the hair. con-dith-nuh ith bett-uh. i leave the hair silky and shmooth….stop looking at me, shwan!”
So many sources. Princess Bride, Seinfeld, Scrubs (Cox’s elongated “NOOOOOT” works well for me), Holy Grail, and many others. And NONE of them are Dirty Dancing.
“Because you’re an idiot” from Heathers whenever a friend asks why s/he did something. They usually don’t realize that it’s a movie reference though. I think they just think I’m calling them idiots.
I quote every line from Glen Gary Glen Ross (none of which can be printed here) and a lot from Pumping Iron.
I also quote liberally from things I’ve seen on youtube, like tuff fish and Yacht Rock.
I quote every line from Glen Gary Glen Ross (none of which can be printed here) and a lot from Pumping Iron.
I also quote liberally from things I’ve seen on youtube, like tuff fish and Yacht Rock.
i get pretty good use of the phrase, “Nobody f—s with the Jesus” from The Big Lebowski.
I dare you to interrupt any conversation with “Maybe a dingo ate your baby!” and not laugh.
We’ve co-opted Monica’s comment regarding her drawing of a ladybug “She has a top hat.. she’s fancy!”
The Cartman quote is dead on.
We use more AbFab quotes than you could imagine. “No, you do it. YOU do it… no, YOU.” “Is it a bee?” “Accident.”
My sister and I send so much time using Simpsons’ quotes that most people who know us have no idea what we are talking about but automatically say “That must be from the Simpsons.” We are particularly found of Ralph Wiggum and Milhouse quotes. Not a direct quote from the show but my theory on life is “it’s not a life lesson worth knowing if it you can’t learn it from the Simpsons”.
this is probably too random, but my husband and i frequently refer to the line from BARBER SHOP — “sit down checker fred, and play yourself some checkers” on a regular basis.
and also, “CARTWRIGHT! CARTWRIGHT” from Seinfeld’s Chinese restaurant episode.
Not so much a quote exactly, but I frequently use the fist-pounding gesture from “Friends” that Ross & Monica used instead of the middle finger…and I delight in the poor souls who have NO idea what the heck I’m doing.
Ashamed to admit that I’ve resorted to “ExSqueeze Me, A Baking Powder” from Austin Powers more than once.
“The dishes are done, man” from Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. it’s heard on a daily basis in my kitchen.
“If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck-”
“Go to hell, Brenda” from Beverly Hills 90210
My friends and I say this to each other when we want to poke fun at each other
Just today someone was talking about how their dad just got back from Japan and how it’s tomorrow there already. I quickly said “Don’t tell me what happens.” They all thought i was clever and witty, but I knew that I stole the line from Chandler on Friends when Ross comes back from China.
I have a few:
1.”Details of your incompetence do not interest me.” – Miranda Priestly
2. “Tact is just NOT saying true stuff.” – Cordelia Chase
3. “Seize the moment! Because tomorrow you might be dead.” – Buffy Summers
4. “If they ask you to take your top off, get the money first.” – Annette Atkins
5. “You guys, I’m so sorry, I ate Karla.” – Margret Cho
6. “Oh my god, shoes!” – Kelly
7. “Somebody put in that book that I’m lying about being a virgin, because I use super jumbo tampons. but I can’t help it if I heavy flow and a wideset v@gina.” (Mean Girls)
8. “I was so lucky getting Mono, that was like the best diet ever.” – Romy White
9. “You are evil and you must be destroyed.” – Ouiser Boudreaux
10. “Oh look. I think I’m hallucinating. I see little balls of sunshine in a bag.” -Blanche Devereaux
11. “I am trah-yin to quit smokin’!!!” – Sissy Hickey
12. “Oh I don’t know, you just described a needle in a gaystack!” – Karen Walker
I’ll think of some more…
I, too, use “Llaaama Faaaace” from The Emperor’s New Groove when my friends and I feel sad, so don’t feel badly! I’m also a big fan of “You gotta treat cake like a LADY!” (Wedding Crashers) and “Milk was a bad choice,” (Anchorman). Both can be used in almost any situaion..