h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There are certain lines that keep appearing again and again in film dialogue. Usually they're lines that you only hear in movies, because real life conversation is always more endlessly inventive than the stuff a committee of twenty writers comes up with for a Hollywood screenplay. Here's some examples of things real people would never say to each other that we're supposed to swallow in a film:

"Try and get some rest." (This is in every film ever made)

"You'd better come in."

"I don't know - I just don't know anything any more!"

"That won't be necessary."

"Okay, here's the plan..."

"We gotta get out of here!"

"What's the meaning of this?!"

"Darling, I'm home!"

"Right, you cause a diversion while I...(insert heroic deed here)"

"AAAAARRRGGHHHH" - usually delivered straight to camera upon realising the awful thing about to happen. Distinguished from:

"WHOOOOOAAAAH" - as the victims career down the hill in a car with no brakes, fall out of the sky in a pilotless plane, etc.

The most boring films can be brought to life by spotting these cliches before your companions and awarding yourself appropriately huge numbers of points.

Anyone got any more?

How about: "Oh... My... Gohd!" in sudden awe.

"Cover me" - in every cop movie ever made

Yep

Keep 'em coming.

Westerns too!

An update is on the books (yeah, already) for this page, but obviously generic quotes can't be added to this entry. Keep them coming, though, and I'll edit it into a separate (referenced) article on cliche film quotes. Should be good.

'The commisioner's on my back - you've got 24 hours to solve the case'

'Look at this picture of my sweetheart - we're going to get married when the war's over'

'What's that noise out in the woods - I'd better go and take a look'

"..What noise? I didn't hear a noise. Go back to sleep"

"XX, is that you?" -whenever a young attractive girl is about to get killed by mass-murderer

Just to clarify XX would be the name of a boyfriend, girlfriend, dog...you know.

In any horror film, there will be a scene containing a revolting/cute (delete according to taste) little girl riding her bike. Then the baddie arrives and the next thing you see is said little girl's bike on it's side with one wheel spinning meaningfully.

Hey, Rob. That would sit nicely with the next section I was going to propose - "Cliche Film Situations". I'm just going to put some in there now.

"Don't you worry about anything. Everything's gonna be O-K."

A modified version of the above line, whenever sombody has been shot or hurt or generally dying:

"You're gonna be _fine_."

"Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

I think I've heard real people say "Try and get some rest" on occasion. But did anybody catch "Deep Blue Sea"? That was a great take on "Okay, here's the plan"....hee hee.....

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

(original homage for this goes, I think, to Harrison Ford in "Star Wars")

Different variations of, "He's only one man," or, "What can one man do?"

And then on and on with things like, "No one man can stop us," and all that.

And as a side note, I read in some trivia thing or other that, "Let's get out of here!" is the most-often spoken line in TV and movies. Dunno if it's true, but it *is* said very often.

'No - don't kill them yet, let's take them along as insurance'

'No, wait - there's a ventilation grille over there'

'It's crazy, but it just might work'

'It's quiet - too quiet'

'Quick, you take the wheel, and _I'll_ shoot'

You've really been soaking up those 'B'-movies, haven't you?