# Best scenery chewings in cinematic history **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418 "2008-06-18T23:51:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/21 "2008-06-19T12:20:09Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] [Jeremy Irons in Dungeons & Dragons](http://youtube.com/watch?v=OFTqvcQJtzQ) was pretty entertaining to watch. It was pretty much the only positive thing in the movie, though. [/QUOTE] Bruce Payne beat him, though. “Give me the ROD!” ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/22 "2008-06-19T12:31:30Z")
We’ve gotta mention Ed Harris. He started major mastication with his second movie role, in George Romero’s underseen _Knightriders_. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/23 "2008-06-19T12:58:16Z")
**Jack Black** in _High Fidelity_. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/24 "2008-06-19T13:04:57Z")
> [@](#): > > The ultimate prop-mastication film…Mommy Dearest. Faye Dunaway in a FEAST of epic proportions. Tina!!! Get out of that bed!!! NO WIRE HANGERS!! E-V-E-R !!! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/25 "2008-06-19T13:05:41Z")
[QUOTE=Icerigger] Tina!!! Get out of the bed!!! NO WIRE HANGERS!! E-V-E-R !!! [/QUOTE] Tina! Bring me the AXE! ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/26 "2008-06-19T13:22:44Z")
[QUOTE=friedo] While Pacino is a true master of scene mastication, my true favorite is Alec Baldwin’s famous monologue in _Malice_. [Do I have a God complex?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqeC3BPYTmE) [/QUOTE] Such a great scene. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/27 "2008-06-19T19:56:48Z")
Jon Voight, specifically [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXyPhVn6wf0). Do I win anything? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/28 "2008-06-19T20:07:05Z")
You guys all forgot about the MASTER! William Shatner, _Star Trek II_! **KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!** ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/29 "2008-06-19T20:32:39Z")
I don’t think anyone could chaw the pasteboard like dear old Charles Laughton. “SAAANCTUARY!” He didn’t even have to go over the top to steal every scene he was ever in, IMO, whether he was Captain Bligh or Sir Wilfred or Horatio Hobson or King Henry VIII. He was just splendid, and splendidly flambuoyant. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/30 "2008-06-19T20:43:17Z")
[QUOTE=TripleTee] “YOU MANIACS!!! YOU BLEW IT UP!!! DAMN YOU!!! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!!” I love that movie. And he leaves no scenery unchewed. It is all thoroughly chewed, then swallowed, partially digested, regurgitated, and then chewed again, like a cow chewing his cud. [/QUOTE] I was going to say that scene in the beginning when he’s the only one alive on the spaceship. “I FEEL LONELY!” Of course, Charlton Heston parodied his own scenophagic tendencies quite nicely in Wayne’s World II. [Clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI6IlXfUdPE) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/31 "2008-06-19T20:53:11Z")
Damn, I can’t remember the name. What was the movie which ends with someone ranting and raving as an oil refinery blows up around him? ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/32 "2008-06-19T20:56:38Z")
[QUOTE=Lumpy] Damn, I can’t remember the name. What was the movie which ends with someone ranting and raving as an oil refinery blows up around him? [/QUOTE] **White Heat** , with Jimmy Cagney? “Made it, Ma! Top of the world!” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/33 "2008-06-19T21:13:26Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] For me, “chewing up the scenery” means “over the top.” Unfortunately, “over the top” often is a result of bad acting, but when it’s not, it’s wonderful! [/QUOTE] Example of **good** scenery-chewing: Stanley Tucci, in his meltdown scene in _The Core._ It’s a knowingly dopey movie, and a lot of people can’t tolerate its wholesale embrace of its pulpy origins, but in the scene where Tucci totally and completely loses it, for those 60 or 90 seconds, the movie is transcendantly entertaining to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/34 "2008-06-19T21:23:49Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Tina! Bring me the AXE! [/QUOTE] I had this as part of my answering machine message for about a year. A few seconds from earlier in the scene, then “Hi this is Otto, I can’t come to the phone right now as I’m doing a little light gardening. Please leave a message.” “TINA! BRING ME THE AXE!” \ Another great scene-chewing moment from that film, of so many, are the continuation of the wire hanger scene when Joan goes nuts with the Bon-Ami (or was that Little Dutch Boy) and you can hear little bits of semi-mangled dialogue about Joan’s growing up in the slums of Oklahoma. The little girl who played the daughter held her own, though, with one of the best over-the-top readings of the line “Jesus Christ…Jesus Christ…” outside of a De Mille epic. Diana Scarwid, who played the older Christine, also gets honorable mention for “Because I am not…one of your _FANS!_” Can you tell I’ve seen that movie far too many times? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/35 "2008-06-19T21:25:50Z")
John Turturro in every scene he’s in in _Transformers_. > [@](#): > > Agent Simmons: She’s a criminal. And criminals are HOT! > [@](#): > > Agent Simmons: Ooh, Nokia’s are reeeeal nasty. You gotta respect the Japanese. They know the way… of the Samurai. > Maggie Madsen: Nokia’s from Finland. > Keller: [sotto] Yes, but he’s… You know, a little strange. He’s a little strange. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/36 "2008-06-19T21:41:41Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] [Jeremy Irons in Dungeons & Dragons](http://youtube.com/watch?v=OFTqvcQJtzQ) was pretty entertaining to watch. It was pretty much the only positive thing in the movie, though. [/QUOTE] God, that’s so funny, when I first read this I thought you said Jeremy Irons was in _Dungeons & Dragons_. You crack me up. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/37 "2008-06-19T21:46:31Z")
Do you count good over-the-top in a good movie? Because “STELLLLLAAA!!!” comes to mind, if you do. ---
**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/38 "2008-06-19T22:01:03Z")
David Caruso in everything he ever did. I can’t decide whether I find him cringe-worthy or entertainingly laughable. When he stands at an angle with his sunglasses of justice in CSI Miami, and delivers a cheesy line with his ridiculous pauses and emphasis, I am compelled to watch at least for a moment. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/39 "2008-06-19T22:29:20Z")
As long as we have so many from Mommie Dearest the adolescent Tina was pretty good as well. “Because I am not one of your F-A-N-S!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418/40 "2008-06-19T22:45:42Z")
[QUOTE=Icerigger] As long as we have so many from Mommie Dearest the adolescent Tina was pretty good as well. “Because I am not one of your F-A-N-S!!!” [/QUOTE] [Ahem](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9921853&postcount=34). You think I would let a Mommie Dearest post go by without mentioning it? Although I did let one get by without mentioning “DON’T FUCK WITH ME FELLAS! This ain’t my first time at the rodeo.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-scenery-chewings-in-cinematic-history/453418.md?page=3)