Why do corny one liners only sound cool when heroes in movies/tv shows/ etc say them?

[Naruzeldamaster]

From Clint eastwoods 'do you feel lucky?' to terminator's 'I'll be back' there have been thousands of these lines in all genres and all medias.
I love most of them but whenever we imitate them ourselves it doesn't sound as epic.
It has to be more than 'movie magic' that makes the line itself cool, even one liners from Villains give chills. But when we say them they always sound goofy. (or are purposefully goofy to make fun of the villain, like Movie Bane in batman)

 

[Devor]

The simple answer is that it wasn't corny until after they said it. Everyone else is just repeating them, without the dramatic context of whatever's happening in the movie.

Have you ever pulled off a badass one liner of your own?

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

The simple answer is that it wasn't corny until after they said it. Everyone else is just repeating them, without the dramatic context of whatever's happening in the movie.

Have you ever pulled off a badass one liner of your own?

Nope, never been in a type of situation to say a badass one liner.

 

[pmmg]

Personally, I was not gifted with a brain that says clever things right on the spot. The coolest I've ever sounded was like, 'hey, who took the last mountain dew?'

I think these lines work well in staged settings, cause we get to set the stage and control both the speaker and the recipient. You watch that scene were Clint says, "You feeling lucky punk?" and you might notice that the robbers of the diner are all quaking in fear. That is not real life. Mostly likely outcome is Clint gets shot, some of them get shot, some of the innocents in the shop get shot.

Not, five dead, and a sixth wondering how many shots were fired from the gun of the hero.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Yeah, it all becomes like Jim Carrey ripping off Dirty Harry in The Mask when we say it, because we aren't pointing a gun at someone's head and the intent is more comedic. Now, if you were actually pointing a 44 magnum at someone's head, they'd probably take that pretty seriously, heh heh.

I'd never get to say the line 'cause I'd just pull the trigger and end the movie, heh heh.

 

[pmmg]

I'd never get to say the line 'cause I'd just pull the trigger and end the movie, heh heh.

Ill second that. I've never liked the Mexican standoff scenes, cause first one to shoot wins. No point waiting to see if its them.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Yeah, it all becomes like Jim Carrey ripping off Dirty Harry in The Mask when we say it, because we aren't pointing a gun at someone's head and the intent is more comedic. Now, if you were actually pointing a 44 magnum at someone's head, they'd probably take that pretty seriously, heh heh.

I'd never get to say the line 'cause I'd just pull the trigger and end the movie, heh heh.

Honestly most villains let the good guys live too long because of the plot demanding it, otherwise there'd be no movie/show
Vader for example, he strikes me as the sort of villain who'd end a rebellion on the spot, but because we need a trilogy he sandbags this rebelion.

Same thing with one liners, what we lack in real life is the context and situation to say them in. Never mind an audience to be 'wowed' by it.

If I was being beaten up by bullies at school but still standing up and not giving in, the last thing on my mind would be waiting for the perfect moment to say 'I didn't hear no bell' when they question why I'm not giving up lol

 

[Ban]

Ill second that. I've never liked the Mexican standoff scenes, cause first one to shoot wins. No point waiting to see if its them.

I'm standing up for the standoff. You're assuming that the folks involved in such a meeting want to shoot each other, which usually isn't the case in these scenes. They typically have their guns raised because the other(s) also have them raised, but neither party actually wants the other to be killed, that's where the tension comes from. I do agree that if either party does want to kill the other in that moment, than it makes no sense. Otherwise it is simply a little contrived, which fiction should have room for.

 

[pmmg]

Clint: You feeling lucky punk?

Me: Er... you're the punk, jerk.

Clint: Go ahead, make my day.

Me: Um...Bang!


Bystander: Dude, you shot him? He was posturing, and doing better than you. WTF?

Me: Seemed like I should shoot first. I mean...I couldn't miss his head...

Bystander: UGH! You never shoot first when you are losing the posturing.

Me: Oh...um...okay...

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Was it in Desperado where Antonio Banderas and the bad guy keep grabbing guns and pulling triggers, but they're all empty? That was a nice scene for a Mexican standoff sort of thing.

In Dirty Harry's case, the bad guy isn't holding the gun in either case, as I recall. In one scene, Harry is out of ammo, and in the second, well... boom. Harry really just wanted to taunt the kid into going for the gun anyhow, in case someone was watching heh heh.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I'm standing up for the standoff. You're assuming that the folks involved in such a meeting want to shoot each other, which usually isn't the case in these scenes. They typically have their guns raised because the other(s) also have them raised, but neither party actually wants the other to be killed, that's where the tension comes from. I do agree that if either party does want to kill the other in that moment, than it makes no sense. Otherwise it is simply a little contrived, which fiction should have room for.

I think there's a place for every kind of scene, just because a lot of spaghetti westerns use the 'stand off' improperly doesn't mean it can't be done well.
I think the main issue with these scenes is the brief pause before both gunners attempt to fire. In movies, it makes perfect sense, in real life, there wouldn't be nearly as much build up between the 'ten paces' part and the actual shooting part. Whenever this kind of scene happens I just have to imagine we're viewing the scene in slow motion and that's why the actual gunfire takes so long.

 

[pmmg]

I think those spaghetti westerns have some of the best standoff's in movies. Clint and Bronson have two of the most iconic. Its not that they cant be done well, cause we already know they can.

Looks like were shy one horse.

No, you brought two too many...

One of the best lines ever

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I think those spaghetti westerns have some of the best standoff's in movies. Clint and Bronson have two of the most iconic. Its not that they cant be done well, cause we already know they can.

Looks like were shy one horse.

No, you brought two too many...

One of the best lines ever

Eeyes, Bronson. One the greatest lines and openings to a movie ever. I need to watch that again.

I will never be as cool as Bronson and Eastwood, they could deliver on those lines like very few others.

 

[Finchbearer]

One does not simply walk into Mordor…

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

One does not simply walk into Mordor…

But one can simply walk into wall mart...

I think those spaghetti westerns have some of the best standoff's in movies. Clint and Bronson have two of the most iconic. Its not that they cant be done well, cause we already know they can.

Looks like were shy one horse.

No, you brought two too many...

One of the best lines ever

I mean ye, a lot of them are good but I feel like some of them hang on the 'preparing to shoot' phase a bit too long, is what I'm saying, it kinda takes me out of the moment unless I imagine I'm an innocent bystander and adrenaline is having that 'time slowing down' effect on me lol

 

[pmmg]

Ah well...if you think that opening is too slow, I am not sure I can address your concern. For those that can appreciate.

 

[Finchbearer]

But one can simply walk into wall mart...

Not me!

Essentially I don’t think screen writers are thinking that far ahead. It’s how these things manifest in pop culture, and maybe a film becomes a cult film and there’s a particular line that everyone just wants to say, or it gets used in comedic circumstances across various applications. As writers in general we just can’t predict how popular or unpopular our published works will be, and so it’s highly unlikely that we can write a line intended to have this cult-like status down the line.

On a slightly separate subject, but something I always see you try to grasp at, when we try to inject humour into our works, I think we have to think very carefully about our point of references. Humour is particularly hard to pull off in my opinion because true comedians and satirists are usually highly intelligent, highly observant people. Our own niche sense of humour may just fail to translate.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Not me!

But you must! We need a mighty champion to defeat the evil Karen tormenting customer support! XD (sorry I'm done with the joke now, figured I'd get one last one in. lol)

Essentially I don’t think screen writers are thinking that far ahead. It’s how these things manifest in pop culture, and maybe a film becomes a cult film and there’s a particular line that everyone just wants to say, or it gets used in comedic circumstances across various applications. As writers in general we just can’t predict how popular or unpopular our published works will be, and so it’s highly unlikely that we can write a line intended to have this cult-like status down the line.

Yeah, the protagonists and villains alike, they get the opportunity to say their one liners because the situations they're thrown into give them both an ample excuse and ample time + an audience to do so. In real life, we don't have time (like if I was being mugged, the mugger isn't going to give me a chance to say a cheesy one liner to intimidate them, especially if they intend to shoot) nor the presence of mind for that matter. (again, last thing on my mind if I'm being mugged lol) For super heroes and villains, we as the audience just know that that particular part of their brain doesn't have an 'off' switch so they're always ready to pop off with one of them.

On a slightly separate subject, but something I always see you try to grasp at, when we try to inject humour into our works, I think we have to think very carefully about our point of references. Humour is particularly hard to pull off in my opinion because true comedians and satirists are usually highly intelligent, highly observant people. Our own niche sense of humour may just fail to translate.

Yeah, my sense of humor is very dry and/or literal (half of my jokes could be written into Amelia Bedilia books...and the other half, dad jokes laugh at them lol) so if you don't know the characters that well some of the humor gets lost in translation. For some of my characters it's really hard to pull off because they're just naturally cheesy with their comments anyway. What I find odd though, is my more serious characters don't joke at all, so when they do bother to make a joke, everyone in the group is shocked.

I have a running joke with my female lead for my side project, where she overreacts (and by overreact, I mean bolting behind a tree fifteen feet away from the person who said the thing) to anything that might be construed as sexual or innuendo. At first, her behavior doesn't make a lot of sense. Seems like classic anime nonsense character trope writing. Then a bit later in the story we find out why she's terrified of intercourse and any matters related to it. (Her species can mate for weeks without getting tired if they really wanted to, so she thinks all humanoid species are like that, if not worse. lol)

I've been trying to curb the impulse to put silly comments and whatnot with my characters, unless it feels 'right' for that character. Though I won't deny that I simply can't resist sometimes. Meiji is a fun one to write because that cheezy one liner part of her brain doesn't have an 'off' switch, but she can 'read the room' and tell her partner to take things seriously.

 

[skip.knox]

There are lots of outstanding one-liners in literature as well. As someone on this thread pointed out, though, they don't get repeated so widely, mainly because fewer people read a specific book than have watched this or that movie. Moreover, movie and TV lines get wider distribution because they get repeated in other video (which likewise has broader reach than books). It's simply on a bigger stage.

The original post question is a good one, but I would remove a single word: only. Why do corny one-liners sound cool? Not why do they *only* sound cool. There have been some good answers, above.

 

[Karlin]

"When you have to shoot, shoot..."