21 of the Best Single Words Ever Spoken in a Movie
A well-placed one-liner can not only spice up a script but ensure its legacy, especially if it’s a comedy. Think about it: Would Pirates of the Caribbean or Anchorman be nearly so beloved if they hadn’t given us the opportunity to insist “They’re more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules” or “That escalated quickly”? Entire friendships have been built around lobbing such quips back and forth like a ping-pong game of agile nostalgia.
Sometimes, though, a single word can be so iconic that it’s recognized all on its own. We’re not talking about an ordinary word performed interestingly; the word is employed so deftly in the script that anyone could say it with the same impact. It’s a subtle difference. “Mine is Hugo Weavin’s excellently executed, ‘Dammit! (twists leather harness)’, from the 1999 Wachowskis epic The Matrix,” user arkaeologic told r/AskReddit.
They then asked, “What is your favourite single word quote from a movie?” Here’s how their fellow Redditors responded…
The Mask
John Wick
Rocky
Up
Army of Darkness
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Cast Away
Léon: The Professional
Bruce Almighty
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
The Iron Giant
A Christmas Story
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
The Princess Bride
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Wayne’s World
Young Frankenstein
Pulp Fiction
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Hot Fuzz
Finding Nemo
