Thursday, May 08, 2008

Fletch Moment

The greatest movie of my teenage and young adult years was Fletch, starring Chevy Chase. My friends and I watched it every weekend. We knew the movie forward and backwards. We uttered every line of dialogue while watching and often quoted the film whenever we could.

We challenged each other to use lines from the movie in our normal conversations at work or at school or just anywhere really. The challenge was that the line had to fit into the conversation. You could not just throw a quote out haphazardly. Some of the lines are more difficult to include in everyday conversation than others. For instance, it is very difficult to include "What kind of name is Poon?" into a normal talk.

However, I use, all the time, whenever I see my wife wrapped in a towel after the shower, "May I borrow your towel. My car just hit a water buffalo." It works. This is an easy one.

The more random the quote and the more degree of difficulty the better the accolades we received from each other.

Every now and then I will get a phone call from my friends Tobes or Rob or someone else just for the sole purpose of telling me they used a "difficult" or random Fletch quote.

Yesterday I was on the phone making an appoinment with an eye doctor. The receptionist asked me for the normal information such as name, address, DOB etc. She then asked me who my regular physician was.

I had a Fletch moment.

"Dr. Rosenpenis."

She paused. "Dr. who?" She asked again

"Dr. Rosen rosen."

"Who?"

"Dr. Rosen." I then silently congratulated myself and told her my real doctor.


What Movies do you quote on a regular basis?

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Get Busy Livin... Or get busy dyin'

Anonymous said...

There's two kinds of people in this world. THose with loaded guns.. and those who dig.

April said...

Bill, seriously. You and Lauren, my husband and I, we need to hang. We thought we were the only freaks who did this. The most common line quoted in our house is from Christmas Vacation. Anytime one of us asks a question like where do you want this, where should I put this, what do you want me to do with this - the obvious answer is "Bend over and I'll show you."

mr. big dubya said...

Fletch has always been one of my favorites to quote - and you're right, the line has to fit or it loses everything. I also find Princess Bride, Ferris Bueller and Better Off Dead (among others) to provide ample material.

Oh - btw - What kind of name is Poon?

Comanche Indian

deb said...

shake and bake

Bogart said...

Three Amigos "Would you say I have a plethora"

The Jerk "I was born a poor black boy"

Search for the Holy Grail...pretty much the entire movie...DAILY.

Raising Arizona..."Does the pope wear a funny hat?"

And can I throw in the TV shows?...okay, good...

Scrubs and Simpsons are frequent..."Play-a"...

GERBEN said...

Grandma’s boy.

Nice name guyblow.

Yeah, it is far from being a classic like Fletch. My husband and his family can all play the name that movie game & I’m afraid that I am not that good at it.

Idaho Dad said...

My wife and I frequently quote a line from another Chevy Chase movie, Funny Farm. Whenever we see some spectacular scenery, one of us will say, "Cue the deer."

I also quote lines from Gregory's Girl: "It's a well known fact!" and from Local Hero: "Did you cook my rabbit?"

My kids are always saying lines from Night At The Museum, especially, "Give me gum-gum dumb-dumb." And, "There's a storm coming."

Like Mr. Big Dubya said, Princess Bride is chock full of great lines. Our most-quoted include:

"I do not think it means what you think it means."

"As you wish."

"No more rhyming now, I mean it!"

"Inconceivable!"

Anonymous said...

Squeeze me? Baking powder? Um, I was there, and me thinks the level of sophistication you and your friends, the so-called Tobes and Rob, attribute to this 'challenge' is a bit inflated, or your definition of 'working it into the conversation' is perhaps a bit loose. Unless by 'working it into the conversation' you mean incessantly quoting Fletch to the exclusion of having any actual conversation.

Undercover Mutha said...

That is so wrong. That poor woman. My husband and his college buddies were constantly using a line from that movie to the point it drove me insane. I suppose it's only for the better that I appear to have shut it out of my mind completely for I cannot remember what it was.

How was your meetup last night? Care to rub it in?

Anonymous said...

The Wizard Of OZ

Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?

You had the answer in you all along.

Just click your heels 3 times...

I'll get you, my pretty... and your little dog too!

and on, and on....... I know the whole movie buy heart... even the munchkin song.

Suzy-Q said...

Wizard of Oz
Joe vs the Volcano
Elf
Batman
Napolean Dynomite
Nacho Libre

~moe~ said...

I tend to quote My Blue Heaven a lot, which no one ever seems to know. It was a disappointing Christmas on many levels.

Mindie said...

The only thing I can think of at this moment is Fred Flintstones curse words. Real curse words aren't in my vocabulary, so I use Fred's instead, "Ratchet fratchet..." My kids think its funny when I get frustrated on a video game and yell out, "RATCHET FRATCHET!"

Unknown said...

We usually end up quoting whatever movie has been in the externally flameless Mommyvan that week. This morning, it was Pokemon.

I've been known to quote Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and a lot of Disney Movies.

Eric Berg said...

In my high school D&D game, extra experience points were awarded for well-used Ghostbusters quotes but, as you say, they had to fit the situation.

Anonymous said...

"There's your Chinaman Jim."

"What we have here is a failure to communicate."

"Jack Robinson"

"Drunk, fat and stupid is no way to go through life."

"There was one."

Anonymous said...

"We got cow" from the movie Twister.

I know. That makes no sense. But highly entertaining to us.

Anonymous said...

It's all ball bearings

And I asked him, I said, Whatchu doin up there, some stunt flyin or somethin?

Anonymous said...

Anything from movies Office Space various Adam Sandler movies and from TV we say a lot of lines from The Office and How I ("wait for it") Met Your Mother.

Anonymous said...

Oh and how could I forget Old School "Earmuffs!"

Anonymous said...

When I was a student nurse in my obstetrics rotation my favourite was...
'I don't know nuthin' bout birthing babies , Miss Scarlett!'...from Gone with the Wind.
It has now evolved to be anything that was assumed I knew something about but have made a serious error of judgment. Such as driving with the oil light on red. (Yes, I can hear your groaning from here)
The line is 'I don't nothin' about birthing cars, Miss Scarlett!'
My husband didn't think it was funny either.

Anonymous said...

One time...at band camp...

Anonymous said...

French Kiss has some great lines...

"Not the cows.... I just ate that cow! SPASM!"

I realize this probably isn't funny to anyone else, but I'm so laughing right now. Oh and, "Zip... boom.... Bonjour! I am back in business".

I think I'm gonna go watch it now.

Charity Donovan said...

I have to give you props...that was hysterical...the receptionist probably thought you were a nut!

Pulp Fiction: "Mmm-mmmm. That is a tasty burger." "You mind if I have some of your tasty beverage to wash this down?" "Check out the big brain on Brett!" "That's thirty minutes away. I'll be there in ten." "Mmmm! Goddamn, Jimmie! This is some serious gourmet sh*t! Usually, me and Vince would be happy with some freeze-dried Taster's Choice right, but he springs this serious GOURMET sh*t on us! What flavor is this?" "Nobody's gonna hurt anybody. We're gonna be like three little Fonzies here. And what's Fonzie like? Come on Yolanda what's Fonzie like?"

Best In Show: "I know, and I remember I thought that was really sexy. I was drinking capuccinos... then I switched over to lattes... now it's double espresso macchiato." "And Hubert used to be able to make the sound, he couldn't talk, but he'd go "rrrawr rrawr" and that sounded like Macadamia nut. Pine nut, which is a nut, but it's also the name of a town. Pistachio nut. Red pistachio nut. Natural, all natural white pistachio nut."


Roxanne: (terrible movie but I love this line) "I thought you said earn more sessions by sleeving!"

Pretty In Pink & Breakfast Club come in pretty handy as well, but now I'm showing my age!!!

Anonymous said...

I must have had a sheltered childhood. I don't do this - but I wish I had. I have never seen Fletch but I have to now!

Where can I use the towel line???

The Maid said...

I would fit wonderfully into your real world...April, you too. My hubby and I constantly speak in movie lines.

Our favorite for a long time was from Rocketman...

"It wasn't me, it was the hairy one!"

There are many great lines from Tommy Boy...I am often heard saying
"That's gonna leave a mark." or
"Are you talking? Shut up Richard!"

Oh the sickness...

Flutterby said...

Anything from any Monty Python movie ('it's just a flesh wound" is a favorite) and Jaws... "We're going to need a bigger boat." when anything starts looking like a more difficult job than we thought. And there are many from Star Wars that come in handy with my kids: "Your feeble Jedi mind tricks do not work on ME." found you through Jans blog. The title "poop` and boogers" was intriguing.

Anonymous said...

Anything from any Monty Python, and some from To kill a Mockingbird - If Atticus Finch wants to beat his head against a stone wall- it's his head.

Jody said...

The Princesws Bride- always. And assorted Disney movies- constantly. And assorted lines involving the word "wanker" from High Heels Low Lives.

sari said...

Around here we'll pretty much steal from any movie, mostly 80's movies.

It is highly amusing to hear your nine year old yell something like "Son of a Nutcracker!"

Nilbo said...

I quote incessantly from The Princess Bride. The other day, when we hosted a little BBQ for my daughter and her friends who had just graduated from University, someone proposed a toast: "To the Grads!" Then someone else said "To the parents!" Then people looked at me.

I raised my glass and said "To the pain!"

I was the only one over 30 who understood.

There are online friends of mine who I can talk to and we can rattle the movie back and forth to one another. Props are given for context - but the best is when you dig out a quote from the movie that the other person had forgotten they knew.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go do some grocery shopping, make dinner, and blame Guilder for it.

Anonymous said...

Office Space.

joanna said...

NO YOU DIDN'T!! That's HILARIOUS! I wouldn't have the guts.

sari said...

oh I forgot, we quote a lot from Austin Powers Goldmember, which is sad and sorry and yet funny to hear.

Anonymous said...

An eye doctor? What do I do for a living? Just who is this eye doctor? momo9

sari said...

Ok I came back yet *again* to say two things:

1. French Kiss is a great movie. When I was pregnant with my oldest son (9) I must've watched that movie for nine months straight.

2. Even though Austin Powers' Goldmember is FUNNY, I still don't think my husband should've let the nine year old watch it, because it's *not* funny to hear your nine year old say "thanks, a-hole" to your six year old. Because then you have to go in the other room so you can laugh and then come back being stern, and that takes some of the stern out of it. And you worry that they'll say it at school or something, which just doesn't reflect well on you as a parent.

Ok, done.

Unsinkable Kristen said...

Sweet! I quote French Kiss all the time!

"Beautiful, Gorgeous, Wish you were here"

"You people make my ass twitch"

"Fester, fester, fester. Rot, rot, rot."

And of course, all Adam Sandler movies, every episode of Friends (and now The Office), Tombstone, et c. Love this post.

Fetcher said...

My family has three movies we're always tossing quotes back and forth:

Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels - Too many to list, but among them:

"May I take your Triton, Sir?"

"Rupret, do you want the genital cuff?"

Multiplicity -

"Hey, Lenny - go shave yourself"

"I'm gonna buy you a present." "A chainsaw?" "Or a book, but something really nice."

"Did you bring me a monkey?"

Ghostbusters -

"Everything was fine until the grid was shut off by dinkless here." "Is this true?" "Yes, this man has no Dink." (edited for content)

Anonymous said...

NOTHING is as quotable as Planes, Trains and Automobiles!

anonymous quoted, "There was one?" and my husband and I are debating which movie that came from ... can anyone help? Thanks