There are those great movie lines that resonate over cinema history. They are quotes that are brilliantly written and brilliantly delivered at just the right time and they help immortalize their movie. Today we’re not talking about any of those. Today we’re looking at the stinkers. These are five movie lines that stand out but not for their greatness. Poorly conceived and sometimes unintentionally funny in their cheesiness or absurdity. So lets get to it. Now naturally there have been a plethora of craptastic lines so I wouldn’t call this the definitive list. But there’s no doubting that these five movie quotes are phenomenally awful.
#5 – “Ever play roulette? Let me give you a word of advice. Always bet on black!” – Wesley Snipes (Passenger 57)
During the action movie boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s Wesley Snipes was considered a second tier star. But with that being said he still gained a pretty decent following and “Passenger 57” was one of his bigger hits. Due to a series of dumb decisions and big mistakes a deadly terrorist takes over an airplane mid-flight. Little does he know that John Cutter (there’s an 80’s action name for ya) is also onboard. Cutter (Snipes) hides in the passenger plane taking out one terrorist after another before finally making contact with the head baddie via the air phone. One of the corniest tough guy lines followed. After asking the head terrorist if he plays roulette he offers a gambling tip. A ridiculous camera zoom leads to his big line – “Always bet on black”. The racial play on words may have looked good on paper but in the movie it was just goofy.
#4 – “They’re shooting at us!” – Copilot (“Delta Force”)
When just reading this movie line it may not sound awful. But when you see it and its use in the film you’ll perfectly understand why it’s on this list. I have a real soft spot for the 1986 action flick Delta Force. I love its cheese and its loose connection to real events. But it’s also a film riddled with some corny acting and goofy lines. None are goofier than this sweet little gem nestled in the film’s big finale. Chuck Norris, Lee Marvin, and their Delta Force team free hostages and take back over a hijacked plane. The pilots crank up the jet and prepare to leave Beirut airport but not before the terrorists have one final say. While preparing for takeoff the pilots notice terrorists in jeeps with mounted machine guns coming their way guns a blazing. Alone on the airstrip and with no one else around the copilot screams a truly profound statement – “They’re shooting at us”. The obvious nature of his comment aside, its one of the most absurd and poorly delivered lines ever. Yet I still get a kick out of it even in its goofiness.
#3 – “I hate to disappoint you, but rubber lips are immune to your charms” – Chris O’Donnell (“Batman and Robin”)
There are few movies that anger me more than “Batman and Robin”. Joel Schumacher’s bastardizing of one of my favorite properties came to an end with this 1997 debacle that was an insult to Batman fans and to fans of good movies in general. Featuring one of the stupidest and most poorly written scripts ever, “Batman and Robin” could fill my entire list of awful movie lines. Schwarzenegger spits out one after another but none are as terrible as Robin (O’Donnell) revealing to Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) that her toxic kiss didn’t accomplish its desired result. After a deep kiss that should have resulted in Robin’s hypnosis, the boy wonder peels off a pair of transparent fake lips and utters the eloquent and Shakespearean line “I hate to disappoint you, but rubber lips are immune to your charms”. Yes, he actually said that. How that line made it through the numerous takes and edits is beyond me. But then again as I think of that movie as a whole it makes perfect sense.
#2 – “Do you know what happens to a toad when it’s struck by lightning? The same thing that happens to everything else” – Halle Berry (“X-Men”)
For a while after first hearing this line I thought I was missing something. I thought there must be a deeper meaning or a specific jest that I was missing. At that time it didn’t occur to me that it was simply one of the worst movie lines ever written. I really like “X-Men” and I remember my excitement when it first hit theaters in 2000. But even then this goofy line stuck out like a sore thumb. It happens in the big showdown where the X-Men are battling Magneto and his henchmen. Storm (Berry) is squaring off with the slimy, prehensile tongued Toad (Ray Park). After backing her adversary into a corner, Storm begins to swirl up a thunder storm and utters the truly intimidating statement above. This attempt at tough girl lingo is followed by her zapping Toad with a bolt of lightning, something that should have been really cool. Unfortunately, the unintentional hilarity of her line completely destroys the coolness of her action. I still roll my eyes every time I see it.
#1 – “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” – Patrick Swayze (“Dirty Dancing”)
Did he really say that? I mean did he really say that? Hands down for me one of the worst movie lines in the history of film comes from the much beloved “Dirty Dancing”. To be honest, I don’t know how anyone can watch that scene and hear that line and not burst into laughter. After a summer of deception and debauchery with a minor, Johnny (Swayze) finds himself not only out of the good graces of his summer resort employer but also out of the good graces of an angry father. But all is not lost. After being filled with a new confidence and vigor, Johnny crashes the resort’s season ending show. He find’s Baby (Jennifer Grey) sitting in the back with her parents. Instead of begging to not be arrested for his antics with the underaged, true love drives him to say “Nobody puts Baby in a corner”. Then they do the only thing that could heal such a deep wound of distrust and disappointment – the do a dance number. The whole thing is pretty corny but the line itself just accentuates it. It just has to be my #1.
So there are 5 of the worst movie lines. I know there are some really bad lines not included and I can’t wait to hear yours. Just leave a comment and share your thoughts!
Keith & the Movies 
Hi, Keith. Let me just ask one question: how dare you to exclude that fantastically terrible line in Trolls 2?
“They’re…eating her. And then they’re going to eat me! Oh…my GAAAAWWWWWDDD!” So annoying. Lol. Great list, though.
Thanks man. A lot of those movies are just filled with them. I could honestly do a top 100 and still leave some out! LOL
Might want to consider expanding your Phenomenal 5 feature then. Ha!
The Patrick Swayzee line as the first thing that popped into my head and then I scrolled down and you have it number one. Good call. I have to think about some others. I’ll be back (not the line, I just mean I will return with more opinions.)
LOL!!! Bring so good bad lines with you when you return. This should be a fun post!
“He’ll is the impossibility of reason,” that’s what what this place feels like, hell.” –Platoon
Pretentious to the nth degree.
Josh cut off his penis because something came out of my vagina.–Piranha 3 DD
Perfection of the ridiculous
LOL, great list, especially number 3 and 2, pure pieces of crap. I really like the X-Men, but that line was always out of place and just god-awful.
Wasn’t it? I mean so poorly written and just laughably bad. Thanks for checking it out!
haha this is great!! #3 certainly is bad, but #2 just is painfully funny.
One of my favorite “terrible” lines, which actually — now that i’ve put some thought into this, is a two-sided coin and might be considered a ‘great’ line — comes from An American Werewolf in London. Some advice to the recently-stricken David whose just been bitten by a rabid wolf sounds like this: “You have to kill yourself, David. It’s the only way.”
Me and my roommate watched this one night in college and we both burst out laughing when we heard this. It is utterly fantastic, and might be great just in the sense of how awfully terrible it is. Context aside, why would anyone ever say this?
Thanks! There are just so many. When I was putting this list together I was constantly coming up with another worth consideration. I’m really anxious to see the terrible lines shared through the comments! 🙂
“From my point of view, the Jedi are evil” Anakin Skywalker episode 3, oh dear!
LOLOL! Oh yes! And Haydon doesn’t help that line out at all with his delivery, does he?
Haha, this is great Keith! One of my favourites! I love that Wesley Snipes line.
John Barrowman had a particularly memorable line in Shark Attack 3: Megalodon. I suggest you look it up on YouTube. Words cannot do it justice.
Thanks dude. I’ll certainly look that one up. Tons of those type movies had these kind of lines. So many come to mind! LOL
LOL, but people love “Nobody puts Baby in a corner”!
Berry is at fault for that Toad line though… I can see that line being ok if it was delivered with a small bit of wit. She just clanked it off the rim. 😀
My wife rolled her eyes when I told her #1. She obviously disagreed!!! 😉
Nope. Gotta disagree, Fogs. I’ve heard people defend that line saying it was Berry’s delivery (and looked in the comments knowing somebody would 😉 ), but… no. I don’t think there’s a good way to deliver it. That’s just a really stupid line.
I think it’s pretty lame as well.
Nice list. I can’t disagree with #3. I’d add “Today we celebrate our Independence Day” from Independence Day.
You know I never thought that was a bad line. It’s cheesy no doubt though.
Oh man this is great!!!
All horrible lines and scenes. Chris O’Donnell was brutal as Robin.
Very, very brutal indeed. 🙂
Great list, Keith. What a far cry from “You had me at hello” or “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
Thanks! So many lines to choose from. Unfortunately we don’t get very many of those great Bogie-like lines any more.
I loved #2 so funny
It’s so funny in its ineptness! Every time I see it I shake my head.
hahahaha. some great choices here. LOL. I laughed at some of these myself. Super glad that Halle Berry ended up on this list!
nice work, Keith.
Thanks buddy! Berry solidified her place. While the line itself is horrid, her delivery doesn’t help matters at all!
great list. you could probably make this a continuos feature because there are so many more you could relay 🙂
LOL, good idea. 5 MORE Phenomenally Awful Movie Lines!
Excellent list! Everything in Batman & Robin is just awful!
One of my favourites is from Gone in 60 Seconds, “A brother’s love… is a brother’s love.” No shit! LOL! Still love that film.
“A brother’s love”… LOLOL!!!
Ahah, fun list Keith! Halle Berry is awful as Storm and her lines are even more horrible. Definitely worth including here.
Thanks Ruth! For a little while I honestly thought there must’ve been some deeper meaning that I had originally missed. I couldn’t imagine the line being as bad as it is. Well, it is that bad and I cringe every time I hear it.
Bwahahaha I love the list! Great inclusions, and I am with you on the Batman and Robin front – what an abomination! Ah, Halle Berry is NOT rocking that Storm role, and her lines are even worse.
Thanks! It was reeeeally fun to put together. Been waiting to post it for a while! 🙂
Respect for liking Delta Force. One of my guilty pleasures from my childhood. Best. Synth. Score. Ever.
Oh I still remember that score. Of course they play it or variations of it through the whole movie but I still think its great!
Glad to finally read that someone else is familiar with the movie and that corny line!!!
I think your going to get a bit of grief for your #1 pick.
You could also do a list just from the Star Wars films:
1. “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything is…soft and smooth”
2. “But I was going into Toshe Station to pick-up some power converters.”
The sand one is corny for sure. The whole romance was built on one big kettle of corn!!!
Haha, this is great! I’ve gotta agree with one of the earlier comments though — Troll 2 is a must!
Oh thanks for the link. As soon as I get to a place where I can laugh out loud I will check it out!
That Wesly Snipes one is great I really would not consider it awful. It is a line people who have seen the movie will remember 🙂
Yesssss I definitely remember it. 😉
Going through your older posts. I like these lists.
How about Blade (more Wesley Snipes!)?
“Some motherfuckers always trying to ice skate uphill.”
Yep, that’s pretty terrible!
Thanks for the comments. I try to do a wide range of lists from serious to silly. Hopefully people are still enjoying them.
I think there’s something in human nature that makes it so people will always like lists. So, keep it up.
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