There’s nothing quite like an awesome one-liner to be the cherry on top of an already great movie moment; whether it’s a humourous remark or a kick-ass quip, it can help to enhance what we’re watching and make it lodge in our minds forever more. This list is all about how lines that started out in cinema as original have become so over-used in their popularity or sheer familiarity that they’ve rendered themselves redundant, even annoying and cliched.
It’s easy to imagine that a lot of screenwriters throw these zingers into their scripts subconsciously, because they’re a part of the fabric of writing nowadays; that said, if the below montages prove anything, it’s that we’ve more than had our fill of the lot of them. These are 10 quotes that if I ever hear them in a film, I laugh sarcastically and instantly like the film that little bit less.
Here are the 10 most overused lines in movie history…
10. “We’re Not So Different, You And I”
If writers want to avoid viewers arriving at the conclusion that the protagonist and antagonist aren’t all that different by means of subtext, they can always just flat-out have one of them say it, eschewing any and all subtlety in order to make an overstated point.
“We’re not so different, you and I” and countless variations of it have appeared in numerous films throughout the ages – Raiders of the Lost Ark, Falling Down, Transformers, Red Dawn, X-Men: First Class to name but a few - such that it’s been spoofed in films like Austin Powers (see the video above) and Small Soldiers.
It’s overused in both its titular form and its variant form because the notion that the villain and the hero are at once the antithesis and thesis of one another is itself overused; the yin-yang that binds them together was dramatically involving for, oh, the first few decades it was used. By now it’s just trite and boring, something writers fall back on when they can’t think of a more interesting way to bind the opposing forces.
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24 Comments
One line that drives me crazy every time I hear it in a movie is “What are you talking about?” because its only existence in a film is to introduce exposition dialogue. Most times it is stuck in the middle of a scene and it always seems to be spoken by a character that has no real motivation to ask the question let alone care what the answer would be.
Absolutely can’t stand the use of the expression “make it” as in “I don’t think we’re going to make it”. I get the meaning and context, almost certainly sheer panic communicating in an articulate manner is probably out-of-the-question.
However I have no idea where “it” is, some kind of mystical portal? That would be odd since to die in spiritual terms implies going somewhere else like another realm or ‘the other side’, whereas surviving just means “to stay put”. If we’re being pedantic, we should really script our actors to say “I don’t think we’re going to stay here!!!!!!” as their 747 plummets towards an Airport Terminal after both of its engines fall off.
6. “If I’m Not Back In X Minutes…”
One exception, “If I’m not back in 5 minutes, just wait longer” Ace Ventura :D
One of the most underrated lines in that whole movie.
The clip you chose for #1 may be the coolest line delivery I’ve ever seen though. It makes me want to go back and re-watch all of the Connery Bond films now
To gain the trust of another character or assure them they’re safe:
“If I was gonna hurt you, I would have done it already.” or “If they knew we were here, they would have killed us already.”
More and more, I am beginning to suspect that Shaun hates movies and would much prefer to be talking about Arthouse Films.
You forgot the line, “It’s/You’re our last hope.” I’ve heard that one so many times, I could scream. Or what about, “You’re/He’s/She’s the chosen one”?
I noticed that many movies have the line: “A storm is coming” when something is about to happen. They say it in Harry Potter, Skyfall, and Dark Knight Rises
To be fair, the lost cell signal trope is not so much a cliche as a necessary evil. One of the requirements of a horror film is that the protagonist be cut off from help. With the advent of cell phones and internet, that makes it tough. It’s especially difficult knowing that if you have 6 teenagers together, they’re going to have at least 10 devices on them that have online functionality. Any modern horror film has limited options: a) set it in the past, b) no signal/dead battery/left the phone behind, etc. Just one of those things we have to deal with. Makes you wonder what horror movies are going to be like 20 years in the future when everyone has sub-dermal trackers implanted at birth.
“Storm’s coming.”
Always used to indicate an actual weather event which has fortuitously timed itself to coincide with a darkening of the plot/tension. Amazing how that always happens in every movie ever made.
Drives me crazy.
I’m sick of hearing ”We’ve got company!” any time anyone gets chased, and especially ”Well, well, well…look what we’ve got here/ if it isn’t ….”.
I’m surprised you guys didn’t mention “A storm is coming”. I think every blockbuster or semi large scale movie uses that freaking line. Wow, we get you want to foreshadow, but that’s just getting too old.
Half of those can be necessary given the context… You know what one annoys me that noone talks about…. “what would you have me do?” noone…. I repeat…. NOONE in the real world says that! “What should I do?” What do you want me to do?” “What am I supposed to do?” those are all acceptable… The only people who say “what would you have me do” are trying to pass a f!@king poetry class!!!
‘You talkin’ to me ?’, ‘you gotta be kiddin’ me’ , ‘f*** you’ etc . . . . . . .
Perhaps a little warning next time the videos have swear words in them? Thanks. Besides that interesting article, I agree with most execpt, to me ‘Lets get outta here’ and ‘You just don’t get it’ They just seem like a more normal thing to say like ‘How’s it going?’. Probably just me. :)
Why has no one brought up the line “it’s a little early for Halloween.” Every fricking time a costumed hero comes unto the scene for the first time someone, usually a thug, says this. I’m sorry, but if a guy dressed like a six foot bat walked towards me, I’d crap my pants, not mock him.
That’s awesome man. I would crap myself as well, even if he’s not a hero a giant man in a bat costume is obviously insane and not to be trifled with.
“It’s quiet…too quiet”
Um since when do you hear a dial tone on a cell phone when someone hangs up?
“i wouldn’t do that if i were you”
“What’s that supposed to mean/what does that even mean?”.
EVERY. TIME.
Good article, by the way.
In the vein of no signal, how about whenever anyone runs from trouble they fall down. This seems to happen in all genres of film. Really?? Something bad is about to happen and you fall down? Or how about when people run from trouble and the bad guy is just walking and somehow catches them? Ridiculous.
I can’t stand the lines:
you like him/her, don’t you?
wer’re going to die, aren’t we?