Some movies are so great that they overcome some awful lines.
Here are the best/worst examples.
Theres no crying in baseball!
I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Film isnt really a writers medium, but that doesnt mean that writing doesnt matter.
The perfect line, delivered by the right actor, can elevate even a bad shot into something powerful.
That said, the opposite isnt always true.
The best movies can survive some clunky writing, if the acting and cinematography are good enough.
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It was an abortion.
An abortion, Michael.
But she stretches the abortion metaphor much farther than it can sustain, losing her point in the process.
Is it still raining?
Amidst a cast of affable Brits, MacDowells wooden line readings distract every time.
But MacDowell doesnt do it any favors.
Everybody needs money.
Thats why they call it money.
Heist (2001)
As a playwright turned screenwriter, David Mamet has a particular voice.
Most ofHeistfollows in that same model, as tough crooks played by Gene Hackman and Delroy Lindo trade one-liners.
Again, this list allows for a lot of leeway when it comes to stylized dialogue.
After all, Mamet gave us Third prize is youre fired inGlengarry.
But whenDanny DeVitoscharacter fromHeistsneers Everybody needs money.
Thats why they call it money, it feels more like a parody of Mamet than the genuine article.
I mean, what in the world does that even mean?
Is DeVitos character an expert of etymology all of a sudden?
Is there some slang that equates the word money with desire?
Instead it just feels like somebody trying too hard to sound cool.
Tolkientook more seriously than language.
That aint no Etch-a-Sketch.
This is one doodle that cant be undid, Homeskillet.
Characters in fictional works do not need to sound like actual people if realism doesnt serve the film.
So you wont be seeing anything fromM.
Night Shyamalan,David Lynch, or the Wachowskis here.
That said, we have to draw the line at Rainn Wilsons lines fromJuno.
Okay, thats not good!
The Dark Knight (2008)
Behold, the irony ofChristopher Nolan.
On the one hand, people complain that they cant understand the dialogue in his movies.
On the other, his dialogue is occasionally bad enoug hthat youre not missing anything anyway.
Case in point:The Dark Knight.
However, the movie succeeds in spite of, and not because of, some goofy moments.
Thats particularly clear in an amazing chase sequence through the streets of Chicago.
Its not about what they deserve.
Its about what you believe.
And I believe in love.
Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Womanshould not work.
Its another entry in the beleaguered DCEU with the limitedGal Gadotin the lead.
And Jenkins almost pulled it off.
And, of course, Diana has to respond, Its about what you believe.
And I believe in love.
That line overtakes Jenkins direction.
Instead Gadot turns back into a terrible actor who feels like shes never heard a human talk before.
