Some cinematic experiences are etched in our memories. Take, for instance, Heath Ledger‘s legendary portrayal of Joker in The Dark Knight. The depth and the creative revelations are too much to forget. And then, some movie disasters refuse to leave our minds for the exact opposite reason. Here are the top 16 cringeworthy movie lines that we can’t forget, no matter how hard we try.
1. In Showgirls, when Cristal and Nomi bond over a strange confession about Doggy Chow:
The line “I used to love Doggy Chow too.” is the pivotal point in Cristal and Nomi’s ensuing relationship. The line could have been anything else – “I love tortilla chips” (which they bump together to celebrate the beginning of this relationship); “I love Las Vegas.” (which is where they are), or literally anything else. But no! They stuck with “I used to love Doggy Chow too.” And that gives it an easy entry into the top 16 cringeworthy movie lines.
2. In 50 Shades of Grey, when Christian tries to turn on the charm by saying the ‘F’ word:
While Ana is a little old-fashioned, calling it ‘making love,’ Christian’s proud use of offensive words just makes us cringe.
3. In Jerry Maguire, when Jerry gags us with the cheesiest line in the history of cheesy lines:
Sure, “You complete me.” seems romantic, but given the high standards this movie has set for itself, this line just implies lazy writing. The climax would be better off without it.
4. In Speed, when Jack Traven fails to impress with his comeback:
A line would have to be really bad if it fails to impress us even when Keanu Reeves says it. The villain is bragging about how he is smarter than Jack, leaving an opening for a witty comeback. And, Jack responding with “Yeah? Well, I am taller.” is nothing less than an eyesore.
5. In Kazaam, when Kazaam sings these strange lyrics like they mean something:
“Let’s green egg and ham it”? What?! What does that even mean?!!
6. In Twilight, when Edward makes this weird “flirtatious move” with Bella:
Even the fact that Robert Pattinson says this line doesn’t lessen our cringe. “You are like my own personal brand of heroin.” Well, we think a wise vampire who has lived so long can come up with a better line.
7. In The Wedding Planner, when Mary talks about her “inspiration” behind her business:
“Those who can’t wed, plan.” is lame at best and insulting at worse. And insulting to so many people, might we add – teachers, wedding planners, and people who wed! All the ladies out there slogging to make a business have a million different inspirations. And, we bet this isn’t one of them.
8. In Music & Lyrics, when Sophie gives us an insightful peek into the art of songwriting (NOT):
“A melody is like seeing someone for the first time. But then as you get to know the person, that’s the lyrics.” This non-sensical insight had us cringe pretty hard.
9. In The Nightmare Before Christmas, when the saxophone player pays an almost inappropriate compliment to Jack:
The manner in which a “Nice work, Bone Daddy” subtly slides into the conversation almost confuses us. But nope, it’s certainly not something that you would expect to hear after Jack does a show for the town, especially not in a stop-motion film for children.
10. In Jennifer’s Body, when Jennifer makes a strange connection between sex and Thai food:
Jennifer asks Needy and Chip, “It smells like Thai food in here. Have you guys been fucking?” And, we can’t help but think this line was written only to be included in this list of top 16 cringeworthy movie lines. Because if not, why would someone say that?!
11. In 17 Again, when Mike stands up to his bully with this not-so-cleverly articulated insult:
The scene builds towards a climax as Mike cleverly reveals Stan’s deep dark psychological secrets. And then comes the almost silly line, “Don’t hurt yourself, big boy!” which plops the scene like a water-filled balloon. The cringe-meter is wailing sirens on this one.
12. In Austin Powers in Goldmember, when Foxxy’s over-enthusiasm completely misses the mark:
We love Beyoncé. No, we worship Beyoncé. But when one goes, “The future better get ready for me because I am Foxxy Cleopatra and I am a whole lotta woman!” there’s no coming back from that! We don’t know about the future, but we certainly weren’t ready for that.
13. In Brothers Bloom, when Penelope throws a seriously juvenile insult at Stephen:
“I think you’re constipated, in your fucking soul… I think you might have a really big load of grumpy petrified poop up your soul’s ass.” Yes, that was an actual line in the movie.
14. In Once Upon A Time in Mexico, when Agent Sands’ pep-talk goes terribly wrong:
Agent Sands’ “Are you a Mexican or a Mexi-can’t?” has to be in the top 16 cringeworthy movie lines. And we wish this had never made the final cut.
15. In Cloud Atlas, when Meronym words a potentially impactful and pregnant line in the strangest manner:
Meronym asks Zachary, “Do you want the true true?” and this phrase is repeated multiple times with all seriousness. All we can say is that true-true sounds a little cray-cray and gives a lot of cringe.
16. And In Face-Off, when Castor hits on the flight attendant with this slime ball of a line:
The list of top 16 cringeworthy movie lines would be incomplete without this one. Sure, Castor’s character is supposed to be a sleazy, disgusting man. But, there is no universe in which “If I were to let you suck my tongue, would you be grateful?” could be acceptable.
Maybe it’s too much to ask but we hope we don’t hear more of these lines that make us want to pull out our hair!
