Wednesday, March 13, 2013

innocuous movie quotes

Some of my favorite movie quotes seem like the most innocuous ones. I imagine that when they were first written into the script (or perhaps, they were improvised by the actor), they weren't meant to be the most memorable. As opposed to the moments in movies where you get the feeling that the creators just knew that they were filming the line that was going to be remembered by audiences forever: "No, I am your father!" - Darth Vader, and "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" - Rhett Butler, as examples.

The ones that come to mind first that I think are rather innocuous are: 

"But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career." - Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) in Taken 

"I mean, I'm not gonna be ignored, Dan." - Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) in Fatal Attraction  

"You're gonna need a bigger boat!" -  Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) in Jaws

Reading what I find on the Internet now, it appears that that last line by Roy Scheider was in fact improvised by the actor... what brilliance! One of the greatest lines ever! And like the others, now a part of our cultural lexicon.