# Favorite "little" jokes in movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 15, 2024, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688 "2024-12-15T22:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/61 "2024-12-17T20:01:09Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > In “Repo Man”, after Otto’s first repo with Bud, he leaves the office and is walking past Miller who is out in the yard cleaning out the car. He pulls the pine tree air freshener off of the rear view mirror, shows it to Otto and says “You’ll find one in every car. You’ll see.” And sure enough, just about every car in the rest of the movie has one hanging off the mirror. There are several of that sort of thing in the movie. Most obvious is the “Plate o Shrimp”: > [@](#): > > A lot o’ people don’t realize what’s really going on. They view life as a bunch o’ unconnected incidents ‘n things. They don’t realize that there’s this, like, lattice o’ coincidence that lays on top o’ everything. Give you an example; show you what I mean: suppose you’re thinkin’ about a plate o’ shrimp. Suddenly someone’ll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o’ shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin’ for one, either. It’s all part of a cosmic unconsciousness. Later on, they pass a restaurant with “Plate o’ Shrimp” shown on the sign as a special. There’s also the Repo Man’s code: > [@](#): > > [Bud](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001765/?ref_=ttqu_qu): [_doing speed with Otto_] Never broke into a car, never hotwired a car. Never broke into a truck. ‘I shall not cause harm to any vehicle nor the personal contents thereof, nor through inaction let the personal contents thereof come to harm’ It’s what I call the Repo Code, kid! The code is a paraphrase of Isaac Asimov’s First Law of Robotics. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/62 "2024-12-17T20:20:16Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > From Holy Grail > > Sir Bedevere: “What also floats in water?” > Peasant 1: “Bread” > Peasant 3: “Apples” > **Peasant 2 “Very small rocks”** That scene is hilarious! But then one day, my family was hiking in the mountains of California. We came across a lake and stopped to enjoy the scene. My son commented “there’s small rocks floating in the water”. I found it impossible to explain why I was laughing so hard. (Around certain volcanoes, pumice can be found floating in lakes.) ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/63 "2024-12-17T21:06:45Z")
Seeing as how TV shows have been brought into this…running gags can get tiresome, but I always appreciate when there’s a variant on it. On _Newhart_, there was “Hi. I’m Larry, this is my brother Daryl, and my other brother Daryl.” every show, more or less. Best one ever was when the brothers arrived in a hurry and Larry says “Hi. To be brief, it’s us.” Likewise, most of Norm’s one-liners as he walked into _Cheers_ were great, but the two best for me were: 1. Norm was in the hospital and called into the bar. Sam answered the phone, asked how he was doing, then broke out laughing. “Where does he come up with these?” 2. Sam ran off and opened a bar in Mexico. A rather large Mexican drinker ambles in, Sam asks him how it’s going and the guy responds in unsubtitled Spanish before settling onto his barstool. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/64 "2024-12-17T21:14:26Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > Which reminds me, another little joke was when Cap was assigning the Avengers their missions and said to the Hulk “And Hulk…Smash” which again is a reference to the old comic book character. ZORRO, THE GAY BLADE is probably\* my favorite superhero movie, and amidst all of the Bugs-Bunny-esque antics there’s a little joke that stuck with me: the Alcalde has decided, as bait for our hero, to have jewels on display at a costume ball; what Robin Hood type could resist? So the guards are getting instructed: “Remember: stay alert! He is cunning. He is crafty. He is not just going to walk in here and say, ‘Here I Am!’” This is, of course, right when Zorro walks in and says, “Here I Am!” And, of course, gets arrested on the spot; quoth the Alcalde, “I tell you something, I am almost disappointed.” As if genuinely puzzled, Diego de la Vega — now minus his Zorro mask — explains that he’s of course not Zorro: “I’m wearing this costume at your request!” He goes on to mention that a servant came to his house with a message that the Alcalde wished for him to come to the party dressed as Zorro: “I thought it was in slightly bad taste; but, after all: you are the Alcalde.” This is the setup for the big payoff: literally dozens of partygoers arrive — each (a) in full costume as Zorro, and (b) ready to _honestly_ repeat the lie the real Zorro just told — so no one will be looking in the right direction as the jewels get heisted by, like, the one guy there who _isn’t_ dressed up as Zorro. But along the way to that punchline, he only gets to slip the “after all, you are the Alcalde” bit in because it could be taken as deferential instead of being a quip at the guy’s expense; in a movie that otherwise goes so big and broad, it’s so small as to go unnoticed by the target. \*I was wrong to say “probably.” ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/65 "2024-12-17T21:25:49Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Also from The Hudsucker Proxy, in the montage about the development of the dingus (hula hoop), there’s a delightful throwaway - for just a moment the technical drawings appear on screen, The front elevation is a circle and the side elevations are simply a vertical and a horizontal line. And correct. That whole scene is funny and doesn’t fit with the few scenes from the movie that I have seen. Guess I’ll have to watch it someday. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/66 "2024-12-17T21:34:12Z")
This may have been from a movie, I’m not sure which one. Or maybe Bob Newhart. Guy dials the phone and a voice on the other end answers: “Smith, Smith and Smith. How can I help you?” Let me speak to Mr Smith. “He’s on vacation.” Let me speak to Mr Smith. “He’s in a meeting” OK, let me speak to Mr Smith. “Speaking.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/67 "2024-12-17T21:35:22Z")
‘You don’t say.’ ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/68 "2024-12-17T21:47:07Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > That would be WOMAN #1 No, “ROman”. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/69 "2024-12-17T22:08:02Z")
The scene in Gremlins where the father calls from the inventors convention. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/i8LIffvjnb8/hqdefault.jpg "Gremlins and the Time Machine") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8LIffvjnb8) Saw it in the theater, laughed my rear off. Nobody, I mean nobody else got it. And the fuhrer searches for trinkets in the desert. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/70 "2024-12-17T22:26:19Z")
In Zero Dark Thirty when they are riding the helicopter in and Chris Pratt’s character is like “I got plans for after this! Big time! I want to talk to all of you about it!” > [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > In the original **Avengers** movie, there is one a lot of folks may have missed the first time they see it. Just after the Hulk has finished pounding Loki into the floor of the Start Penthouse (and there is a nice bit during that, after about 3 smashes, Hulk just holds Loki still for a second or two, as if determining if he is done, then deciding a few more smashes are necessary). As he is walking away (while the crowd in the theater is going wild) Hulk mutters his first words of the movie (IIRC) “Puny God”. This is a play on the old Marvel comic books, where Hulk would also use the word ‘puny’ to describe things he was smashing. > > Which reminds me, another little joke was when Cap was assigning the Avengers their missions and said to the Hulk “And Hulk…Smash” which again is a reference to the old comic book character. Deadpool & Wolverine obviously has a lot, but there is one scene that’s a callback to Hulk and Loki - “I am Marvel Jesus you dull creature! And I will not be”'-- HULK SMASH! ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/71 "2024-12-17T22:43:52Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Guy dials the phone and a voice on the other end answers: > > “Smith, Smith and Smith. How can I help you?” > > Let me speak to Mr Smith. > > “He’s on vacation.” > > Let me speak to Mr Smith. > > “He’s in a meeting” > > OK, let me speak to Mr Smith. > > “Speaking.” If it was from a _Bob Newhart_, it was stolen from (or a tribute to) this 1930 _Animal Crackers_ bit: > [@](#): > > Capt. Spaulding: Now read me the letter, Jamison. > Horatio Jamison: [reading] “Honorable Charles H. Hungadunga…” > Capt. Spaulding: [correcting his pronunciation] Hungadunga. > [they say the “hung” syllable in unison] > Capt. Spaulding: Hoong. > Horatio Jamison: Hungadunga. > Capt. Spaulding: That’s it, Hungadunga. > Horatio Jamison: [continues reading] “… care of Hungadunga, Hungadunga, Hungadunga, and McCormick.” > Capt. Spaulding: You’ve left out a Hungadunga. **You left out the main one, too**. (My bolding.) In re “little” jokes, I’ll cite another Marx Bros. favorite: In Monkey Business a typical ‘pompous business man’ foil is trying to introduce his debutante daughter to partygoers: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/d8uzdB2Q4f0/hqdefault.jpg "Harpo is Sweet") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8uzdB2Q4f0) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/72 "2024-12-17T22:48:06Z")
Another variation of Larry, Daryl and Daryl happened when one of the Daryls had an argument with the other two and left home. The two remaining brothers walked into the inn and Larry said, “Hi, I’m Larry and this is my other brother Daryl.” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/73 "2024-12-17T22:54:21Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > The scene in Gremlins where the father calls from the inventors convention. Is the little joke you reference the zany inventions walking around? I do like that they said, “Hey, if he is at an inventors convention, what the heck would be there?” I did see the Lost In Space robot. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/74 "2024-12-17T22:56:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘You don’t say.’ From? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/75 "2024-12-17T23:06:40Z")
Another from that movie: Carol: You get that tape of Sam Stone finishing off his wife, and that man will give us anything we want for the rest of his life! Earl Mott: Yeah! Then we’re off to Haiti. Carol: Not Haiti, Tahiti! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/76 "2024-12-17T23:10:23Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Is the little joke you reference the zany inventions walking around? I do like that they said, “Hey, if he is at an inventors convention, what the heck would be there?” The time machine — excuse me, [The Time Machine](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0054387/) — is there. And then it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/77 "2024-12-17T23:17:36Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > If it was from a _Bob Newhart_, it was stolen from (or a tribute to) this 1930 _Animal Crackers_ bit: I’ve seen the “Smith, Smith, and Smith” joke reprinted in Jewish humor compilations, with the law firm’s name as “Cohen, Cohen, and Cohen.” It probably goes back to the vaudeville era. (Recall as well the law firm in the title of the Marx Brothers’ radio program: “Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel.”) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/78 "2024-12-17T23:18:55Z")
My son still laughs at the law firm from Car Talk: Dewey, Cheatem, & How. Do we cheat 'em? And how! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/79 "2024-12-17T23:21:41Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > > ‘You don’t say.’ > > From? I don’t remember. The phone rings, and a guy (Husband?) picks it up. **Guy/Husband:** Hello? … You don’t say… You don’t say! … You _don’t_ say! … OK, goodbye. **Other person/Wife:** Who was it? **Guy/Husband:** I don’t know. He didn’t say. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688/80 "2024-12-17T23:21:54Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > From the original Batman TV series: A female villain captures Batgirl and explains to the sidekick that the deathtrap will transform her into a flat cardboard cutout. The male sidekick gives Batgirl the eye and says “What a shame.” In the Saturday morning series _Monster Squad_ one of the villains had a weapon that would do the same thing. It was called the Ronald Ray-Gun. The series aired in 1976, one year after Reagan’s term as governor of California had ended. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-little-jokes-in-movies/1011688.md?page=5)