We all have them, those memorable lines of dialogue that stick in our heads, that capture a specific moment in a movie, make us sigh or laugh or cry every time we remember them, never forgetting exactly how we felt when we heard them for the first time.

I think about those lines while I’m writing. Not specific ones, mind you, but rather the idea of them, their existence, and, ultimately, their power. When I write, I visualize each scene as if it’s on screen. I love the movies, so picturing my own stories as if they are being played out on a big imaginary screen inside my head as always felt natural to me. It’s always interesting to me to hear from readers telling me “Oh, and when he said xyz, I melted!” And I think…hmm, that’s not “the line” for me. I might have had an entirely different moment that I thought was “the one.”

I know this happens in films all the time. Lines that become so memorable they become part of our daily lexicon. Like Ahnold’s “Hasta la vista, baby!” and “I’ll be back.” Many times, the writer and director will tell you that they were surprised by which line caught the attention and imagination of the collective audience. And just as often, when they try and create what would seemingly be a surefire catch phrase or killer line, no one picks up on it.

For me, sometimes the popular phrases stick with me, sometimes they go right past me. “Frankly, my dear…” never did much for me. Nor did, “You know how to whistle don’t you?” I know, I’m a heretic, but there you have it. There are the humorous lines, and we have a few that have long since become staples in our house. “Allll righty then!” from Ace Ventura and “You can do eet!” from The Waterboy.

But for me, the most powerful are the ones that made me sigh, made me swoon. Like “You had me at hello” from Jerry Maguire, and “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” from Dirty Dancing, or one my all time favorites, from The Last of the Mohicans, “I will be back for you.”

True, the first two have been diluted after becoming the punch line of too many jokes, but when I think about how I felt, sitting in that dark theater when they were first uttered…yeah, they still work for me.

So…what about you? What lines made you sigh, made you swoon, made you laugh or made you cry?

Tags: Writing //