Movies in the 80s graced us with some totally righteous and memorable
quotes. Many thanks to Like Totally 80s for your most bitchin'
suggestions on Facebook! They were totally helpful as I
compiled the following list.
So, how to judge if a movie quote is awesome? If you can remember exactly
how the character sounded as he spoke the words AND if you can’t stop
yourself from trying to impersonate him, then that quote’s a winner in
my book.
So let’s kick things off with some Star Wars Episode V and your best
heavy-breathing Darth Vader voice...
1980: The Empire Strikes Back
“I am your father.” – Darth Vader.
You can’t blame
Luke (Mark Hamill) for being reluctant to face the awful truth. The
galaxy’s biggest proponent of the dark side (James Earl Jones) is really
his father? NOOOOOO!!!!
1982: Poltergeist
“They’re hee-eere!” – Carol Anne
Freeling
Sweet little Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O’Rourke) was the first in her
family to sense the deranged poltergeist lurking about. Her innocently
creepy observation is one we 80s kids will never forget:
Stranded alien E.T. communicates with siblings Elliot (Henry Thomas) and
Gertie (Drew Barrymore) in Steven Spielburg’s mega-hit movie:
1983: Risky Business
“Sometimes you gotta say, ‘What the
f*ck.’” - Joel Goodson
High school senior Joel adopts this line from his friend Miles (Curtis
Armstrong, better known as Booger from “Revenge of the Nerds”). It’s an
idea that he first questions, but then embraces with gusto. Here’s Joel
(Tom Cruise) during his Princeton entrance interview, when he’s given
the perfect opportunity to rattle off his new motto:
1983: National Lampoon’s Vacation
“Ohh God the dog wet on the picnic
basket.” – Ellen Griswold
Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) boogies with Christie Brinkley and a
sandwich. He learns from Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) that Aunt Edna’s Dinky
was a very bad doggie indeed:
1984: The Karate Kid
“Wax on, wax off.” – Mr. Miyagi
Daniel-san (Ralph Macchio) ended up a karate hero, of course, but his very
first lesson from Mr. Miyagi (Pat Norita) involved washing and waxing
his car:
1984: 16 Candles
“No more yanky my wanky. The donger
need food.” – Long Duk Dong
Exchange student Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe) delivers his classic line
to Samantha’s wedding-going family after a night of drinking:
1984: The Terminator
“I’ll be back.” – The Terminator
The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is determined to pay a visit to
Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) in the police station. He’s denied
entrance, but comes up with his own way in:
1985: Back to the Future
“If my calculations are correct,
when this baby hits eighty-eight miles an hour, you're going to see some
serious shit.” – Doc Brown
Doc Brown (Christopher Llyod) describes the time-traveling flux-capacitor
fueled DeLorean’s capabilities to Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox):
“Alright, alright, Mickey's a
mouse, Donald's a duck, Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?” – Gordie
While on a journey to find Ray Brower’s dead body, friends ponder the
meaning of life. In addition to deep thoughts like “What is friendship?”
and “What will our lives hold?” the boys wonder just what in the world
Goofy is. Gordie (Will Wheaton) poses the question that baffles them
all:
1986: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
“Life moves pretty fast. You don’t
stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris
Bueller
Ferris (Matthew Broderick) was everybody’s favorite school-skipping
smarty-pants philosopher in this John Hughes film. He delivers his
signature line twice, once at the beginning of the movie and once at the
end, just to make sure it hits home:
1987: The Lost Boys
“Death by Stereo” - Sam
Sam (Corey Haim) offs one of the vampires who’s after his half-vamp (and
totally hot) brother Michael (Jason Patric).
“Four score and seven minutes ago,
we, your forefathers were brought forth upon a most excellent adventure,
conceived by our new friends, Bill and Ted. These two great gentlemen
are dedicated to a proposition which was true in my time, just as it's
true today. Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes!” – Abraham
Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln gamely assists time traveling slackers Bill (Alex Winter)
and Ted (Keanu Reeves) with their history presentation:
1989: Say Anything
“I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a
career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy
anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or
processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a
career, I don't want to do that.” – Lloyd Dobler
When pressed for his career goals by his girlfriend’s dad, Lloyd Dobler
(John Cusack) is clear on what he DOESN’T want to do. Looks like it’s
down to kick-boxing for Lloyd:
