Comedies that changed the way we talk
SOME movies have a way of infiltrating our everyday conversations. “Clueless,” for example, influenced the way an entire generation of kids talked. In the mid-1990s, suddenly every teen was dishing out a blase “whatever” when they weren’t totally buggin’ or Audi.
It’s not the only comedy with pithy, repeatable dialogue that weaseled its way into our vernacular so completely that we started to forget about the source. A lot of others had us mimicking characters without even thinking about it, to the point that it became second nature to not just say “great success,” but to say it in a faux-Kazakh accent, just the way Borat does.
Looking back at the past 40 years, we picked these movies that changed the way we talk, and selected some of the mostrepeated quotes. Some comedies, such as “Clueless,” have copious lines to choose from. Others grabbed our attention with a single snippet of dialogue.
You’ll notice there aren’t a lot of examples from recent years. For one thing, Hollywood doesn’t make many comedies anymore, and when it does, the movies don’t necessarily get an audience big enough to shift our collective habits. The most likely contender for a future list would be last year’s “Girls Trip,” but it’s still too soon to tell whether “grapefruit” will become a verb or not. - “Animal House” (1978) Food fight! Toga! Toga! Double-secret probation The cult classic invented neither the food fight nor the toga party, but it did supply the calls to action — best conveyed in John Belushi’s caveman yell — for frat boys the world over. - “Airplane!” (1980) I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.
Leslie Nielsen didn’t just create a viral phrase with his deadpan response to “Surely you can’t be serious,” but the previously dramatic actor also laid the groundwork for his future as a great comedic star, mainly in the “Naked Gun” franchise. - “A Christmas Story” (1983) You’ll shoot your eye out, kid. The holiday favourite gifted us with an excellent rebuttal for any child who wishes for a potentially hazardous present. - “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984) These go to 11. When Christopher Guest uttered this line in the mockumentary about a British rock band, he was referring to custom amps that don’t max out at a measly 10. Now, turning something up to 11 can mean any type of excessiveness, and references have popped up continuously since then, including in “Doctor Who” and the volume control on the Tesla Model S. - “Ghostbusters” (1984) Don’t cross the streams. Who you gonna call? Ray Parker Jr.’s theme song for the action comedy sounds more like an ad slogan than a typical soundtrack staple, which is probably why it’s become such a useful response for just about anyone in need of anything. Oh, you have a termite problem? Well, who you gonna call? - “The Breakfast Club” (1985) Did I stutter? Eat my shorts. Long before Bart Simpson used “Eat my shorts” as an insult and “Did I Stutter?” became an episode of “The Office,” Judd Nelson immortalised both phrases as the bad boy Bender in the John Hughes classic.
- “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off ” (1986)
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. Bueller ... Bueller ... Bueller Here’s another taste of John Hughes’ mastery of meme-able dialogue. With “life moves pretty fast,” he inspired countless high school seniors with the perfect yearbook quote. Meanwhile, Ferris’ last name has become increasingly useful in our phoneobsessed times; a quick succession of Buellers is a good way to telegraph that you’re tired of being ignored. - “The Princess Bride” (1987) Inconceivable! Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
Mawwiage is what bwings us togethah today. As you wish Rob Reiner’s delightful adventure has a useful phrase for just about every occasion, whether you’re attending a wedding, settling an old score or in a perpetual state of shock, the way Wallace Shawn’s Vizzini was every time he declared a situation “inconceivable!” - “Coming to America” (1988) That boy’s good. Sexual Chocolate What is that, velvet? The Eddie Murphy comedy makes narrowing down the best snippets an arduous task, but there’s no question that one line has an especially enduring legacy. “That boy good” memes and GIFs — inspired by an elderly man’s (Clint Smith) exaggerated compliments for Sexual Chocolate lead singer Randy Watson — continue to be an internet staple three decades after the movie came out. - “Heathers” (1988) What is your damage? How very. Before “Clueless” and “Mean Girls,” the Winona Ryder-starring dark comedy gave teenagers a blueprint for how to talk, though one of the most famous retorts, which involves a chain saw, can’t be printed in a family newspaper.
- “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure “(1989) Bogus Greetings, my excellent friends. Party on, dudes. Whoa! The slacker comedy that launched Keanu Reeves’ career gave us characters who felt like an extension of Sean Penn’s Spicoli from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” They made an impression as much for what they said as how they said it, with their imitationready Valley-speak-adjacent inflection.
- “When Harry Met Sally” (1989) I’ll have what she’s having. When you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
Director Rob Reiner’s mom delivered the immortal quip “I’ll have what she’s having,” which was the cherry on top of the infamous scene in Katz’s Deli where Meg Ryan simulates an orgasm. People have latched onto the line — and it’s shown up in “Muppets Tonight,” shampoo commercials and much more — though they’re less likely to copy what Ryan did, at least in public. - “Home Alone” (1990) Keep the change, ya filthy animal. I made my family disappear. Ahhhhhh! (preferably with hands on cheeks)
The most-copied moment from this holiday staple is actually a scream, after Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister slaps aftershave on his face. The image is still parodied today, recently in an ad featuring soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.
- “A League of Their Own” (1992) There’s no crying in baseball. Tom Hanks administered this remarkably versatile reprimand, which has been endlessly repurposed to suit just about every profession. - “Dumb and Dumber” (1994) So you’re telling me there’s a chance.
While Carrey’s “Ace Ventura” sayings captured the zeitgeist at the time, this line from “Dumb and Dumber” turned out to be more enduring, still cropping up in modern conversations. It is, after all, a superb response for any Hail Mary situation. - “Tommy Boy” (1995) That was awesome! What’d you do?! Fat guy in a little cooooooat. Chris Farley’s lines weren’t inherently funny without his lovable delivery and inappropriate timing. Suddenly “That was awesome!” was the ideal response for any mildly horrifying incident and “What’d you do?!” was a tremendous way to deflect blame by piling it on someone else.
- “Clueless” (1995) it, Bob. Whaaaaat’s happening? Sounds like somebody’s got a case of the Mondays. I have people skills! Mike Judge’s nightmarish workplace comedy struck a chord with 9-to-5ers who immediately recognised the horrors of faulty printers and TPS reports. It didn’t hurt that the dialogue was so spoton, especially the sayings from the more insufferable cubicle dwellers, such as world’s worst boss — Bill “Whaaaaat’s happening?” Lumbergh. - “American Pie” (1999) MILF This one time, at band camp ... The coming-of-age comedy didn’t invent the acronym MILF — which translates roughly to mom I’d like to, um, bed — but it did push both the phrase and the phenomenon mainstream, leading to a pop-culture moment for cougars. - “Zoolander” (2001) They’re in the computer!? Really, really ridiculously goodlooking. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. So hot right now. So begins the Will Ferrell era. Although Ben Stiller was the star of this movie, it was Ferrell who stole the show as the crazyhaired Mugatu, dishing out such unforgettable lines as “I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.” - “Elf ” (2003) You sit on a throne of lies. You smell like beef and cheese. As Buddy the earnest, oversize elf, Ferrell gave the kind of sweet performance that ensured this comedy would get heavy rotation during the holiday season. But he wasn’t always sugary sweet, especially when he stumbled upon a Santa impersonator.
- “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (2004) I’m kind of a big deal. I’m very important. I have many leather-bound books, and my apartment smells of rich mahogany. That escalated quickly. It’s so damn hot! Milk was a bad choice. I love lamp. And that’s it for the Ferrell streak, but he had a good run, especially considering how many people still say “I’m kind of a big deal” in Ron Burgundy’s vaguely Canadian accent. - “Mean Girls” (2004) Stop trying to make fetch happen. You can’t sit with us. I’m not like a regular mom, I’m a cool mom. I know, right? Tina Fey wrote some impeccable dialogue for this dark comedy about high school life. The gift — or curse — that keeps on giving is the inescapable “I know, right?” which existed before the comedy came out but really caught on after Rachel McAdams’ queen bee Regina says it with just the right amount of upspeak. - “Borat” (2006) Great success! My wife Very niiice! Sacha Baron Cohen’s performance as a Kazakh journalist with a Pamela Anderson obsession didn’t exactly delight the people of Kazakhstan, but the movie’s fans were all too happy to repeat lines like “Very niiice!” in his inauthentic, sing-songy accent. - “Bridesmaids” (2011) Help me, I’m poor. Look away! It’s happening. It’s happening. It happened. I’m ready to partyyyyyyy! Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo earned an Oscar nomination for this snappy screenplay that left a lasting impression, especially the dialogue from the infamous food poisoning debacle and the airplane fiasco. During the latter scene, Wiig’s drugged and drunk character tried to infiltrate the first-class cabin. She wasn’t successful, but she did finally give us — so many decades later — the female rejoinder to “Animal House’s” “toga, toga”: “I’m ready to partyyyyyyy!”
The Washington Post’s Helena Andrews-Dyer, Amy Argetsinger, Ann Hornaday, Elahe Izadi, David Malitz, Caitlin Moore, Sonia Rao, Mitch Rubin, Tanya Sichynsky and Zachary Pincus-Roth contributed. — WP-Bloomberg