20 Standout One-Liners in Film

In the spirit of the dead-on one-liner, let's cut right to the chase.



(1)  "Plastics"  --  The Graduate

In Yoda-like fashion, a member of the older generation shares with Benjamin the secret to success.


(2)  "Those aren't pillows!"  --  Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Nothing good ever comes of two straight men sharing a bed.


(3)  "I won't be ignored, Dan." -- Fatal Attraction

Little did we know at this point in the movie how much she meant that.


(4)  "What's a yoot?"  --  My Cousin Vinnie

New Yorker Vinnie Gambini and rural Southern judge experience a failure to communicate.


(5)  "I'm walking here!" -- Midnight Cowboy

Ratso Rizzo and his crippled leg stand up to 3,000 pounds of steel.


(6)  "Wyoming." --  Dog Day Afternoon

Al Pacino got to do the "Attica" thing, but John Cazales got to ad-lib this line when Sonny asks him what country he wants to move to after they make their getaway.


(7)  "What are you going to do, charge me with smoking?"  --  Basic Instinct

Sharon Stone's response to the detective who orders her not to smoke during interrogation.  She knows she's the one with the power here.  Just to drive that point home, she recrosses her legs.


(8)  "Merrin!!!"  --  The Exorcist

Here we were thinking Father Karras was the exorcist, but Satan was just using Karras to warm up.  Merrin is the one he's been waiting for.


(9)  "What's in the box?"  --  Seven

We know, and he knows.  We don't want him to open it, but we kind of do.


(10)  "Fra-gee-lee."  --  A Christmas Story

The Old Man wants so badly to believe his leg lamp is of exotic origins.


(11)  "We are three young career girls."  --  To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar

Vida Boheme, one of three drag queens on the road to trouble, provides a cop with a surprisingly accurate description of themselves.

(12)  "And to think that in some countries, these dogs are eaten."  --  Best in Show

Buck Laughlin, the under-qualified commentator at the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show, making what he thinks is another insightful and informative comment.


(13)  "Anything so innocent and built like that just gotta be named Lucille."  --  Cool Hand Luke

Dragline describing the legendary soaped up, car-washing blonde while he and his fellow prisoners dig rocks.


(14)  "I like to watch." --  Being There

A man who enjoys watching tv sets up the funniest self-gratification scene in non-porn cinema.


(15)  "He got a real pretty mouth, ain't he?"  --  Deliverance

Even horny mountain men understand the importance of sweet-talking your partner.


(16)  "Snap out of it!" -- Moonstruck

What every man wants to hear when he decides to tell a woman he loves her.


(17)  "Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?" -- Star Wars

The imperious Princess Leia shows no respect for the most beloved Wookie in the galaxy.


(18)  "He says the Sheriff is near."  --  Blazing Saddles

The townspeople await the arrival of their new Sherriff.  The church bells drown out a detail about his ethnicity that will be particularly salient to this crowd.

(19)  "You talking to me?"  --  Taxi Driver

Any guy who says he never tried out this line in front of a mirror is lying.


(20)  "Leave the gun.  Take the cannoli."  --  The Godfather

OK, so it's two lines, but let's assume a semi-colon and not a period was used in the script.  It was a line that told you where Pauly, the offed rat, rated on Clemenza's list of concerns.