Movie quotes are beloved. Often, they are overused. All of us have encountered someone who is able to recite large swaths of dialogue from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, or Friday, or Caddyshack, or Pulp Fiction, or Napoleon Dynamite.
I can go on with that list… and that’s the point. Some movies are naturally quotable (or at least have quotable scenes) and we’ve all seen them, or heard of them, repeatedly. They’re cultural touchstones.
And then there are the ones that are just as quotable but… um… aren’t exactly cultural touchstones. Maybe “cult” touchstones, at best.
Welcome to Lesser-Known Movie Quotes (warning, there’s a little blue content here).
#1 : “That was our first encounter with disco mutants.” – Radioactive Dreams
This had to be #1 for two reasons. First, it’s one of my favorite bizarre films, period. There was a long stretch of time when I watched it at least once a year. It’s what happens when a screenwriter tries to bridge decades of culture into a post-apocalyptic movie at discount prices. It’s also the movie that convinced my wife that I might just be able to understand her when she started talking about movies.
#2: “Let it be said, they found us very close together, in the light.” They Might Be Giants
SPOILER ALERT: If you watch it, it’s the ending of the movie. And it makes NO SENSE. Unless you’ve seen the movie, at which point it makes perfect sense, and might even make you cry.
The movie is a beautiful paean to love in the face of a shifting reality. Oh, and it’s got George C. Scott as Sherlock Holmes. Or a man who thinks he’s Holmes. Or… oh, heck, there’s a reason it’s on this list. But it’s good.
#3 : “Yep. There it is. Looks like you’ve got some kind of alternate universe in there or something.” House 2, the Second Story
When you need someone to kick ass, some people call James Bond. Some people call Ash. Others call Bill Towner, Electrician. Because John Ratzenberger makes everything better.
#4 : “It was round and soft. Now go back to work.” – American Astronaut
The name of the character who says this is “The Boy Who Actually Saw A Woman’s Breast”. That’s how it’s billed in the credits, that’s what it was in the script, that’s how he’s addressed in the movie.
If that doesn’t warn you – or interest you – about this clip, I don’t know what will. But it should help give context to the quote.
If that’s a bit bizarre for you… congratulations, you’re sane.
#5 : “What’s there to smile about?” – O Lucky Man!
This one’s got an easy hook. If you say in the tone/inflection of Malcolm McDowell, you’re technically quoting him, so it’s an easy quote to remember. But there’s also a great story along with it. The movie ends on that line, followed by the person playing the director (who actually IS the director of the movie) smacking McDowell with a copy of the actual script of the movie.
And he did it over. And over. And over. About fifty times.
They used the third take.
And McDowell still loved the director and considered him one of his best friends. That’s one of the ways you know the movie is actually excellent (if long and a bit bizarre)… that the director wasn’t throttled by McDowell after finding out they used the third take.
So, there are five. There are many, many more out there…
Question of the night, what’s your favorite “Lesser-Known” movie quote?
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