# Repeated lines in movies... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeated-lines-in-movies/216789 "2003-12-03T21:24:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gmork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@Gmork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gmork)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeated-lines-in-movies/216789/41 "2003-12-05T13:49:00Z")
Does ‘Die Hard’'s [alan rickman] ‘Yippie-kay-ai, mother-fucker’ [/alan rickman] count? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeated-lines-in-movies/216789/42 "2003-12-05T14:44:33Z")
E.T. Be good Ouch I’ll be right here. I think there are many other examples from Mr. S’s films. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeated-lines-in-movies/216789/43 "2003-12-05T15:54:35Z")
Ah… now we’re getting to it. “I’ll be right here” and the other E.T.isms, “greatest trick the devil ever pulled…” “I’ll kill you.” “Yippie-kay-yay,” all good examples. and **moriah** found the name I was trying to remember: call-back. But that doesn’t fully describe it because call-backs are _funny_ in comedy. I guess that’s the problem for me. For me they’re funny in drama, too. Even when they’re supposed to be dramatic. I will dub the phenomenon: the Overdramtic Call-Back. OCB for short. ---
**Author:** ![Innanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecd19e/32.png) [@Innanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Innanna)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeated-lines-in-movies/216789/44 "2003-12-05T17:43:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rabid\_Squirrel \* > \*\*Related to the repeated lines, but on a slightly different tact. > > Can’t name a specific example, but it _really_ annoys me when they say the same line twice in the same sentence, trying to sound dramatic. This is normally ecountered at the end of the film with an extreme close up shot. > > Note to scriptwriters, this is cheesy, cliched and boarding on self-parody. Stop it now. > > Example: Heroic character mourning the loss of his friend: “We saved them - we saved them all”. \*\* There is another version of this: “It was a rough day, Charlie. It was a rough day.” Ack! I hate that you can always tell when the Meaningful Line [sub]TM[/sub] is on the way. There is this certain pause that the actor does, and I must brace myself from giggling if in public. In private, I tend to yell, “Don’t do it! Not the Meaningful Line [sub]TM[/sub]! You were doing so well. Don’t… well there it is. Hope you’re happy now, director. Hope you are happy.” ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeated-lines-in-movies/216789/45 "2003-12-09T17:01:03Z")
Another groan inducing one last night in Vanilla Sky: I’ll tell you in another life, when we are both cats ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Bongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a9adbd/32.png) [@Winston\_Bongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Bongo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeated-lines-in-movies/216789/46 "2003-12-09T19:00:37Z")
We’ve gotten this far and no one’s mentioned **Gladiator**? “I will see you again . . . but not yet. Not yet . . .” This one doubly qualifies: not only is the line repeated by two different characters, but it contains an _internal_ repetition as well! ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeated-lines-in-movies/216789/47 "2003-12-09T20:49:22Z")
This device is used in most of the Dirty Harry films. _Dirty Harry_: the “Do I feel lucky?” speech. _Magnum Force_: “A man’s got to know his limitations.” _The Enforcer_: dunno _Sudden Impact_: “Go ahead, make my day.” Actually maybe that wasn’t repeated. I’m sure not going to watch it again to find out, though. _The Dead Pool_: “You’re shit out of luck.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeated-lines-in-movies/216789.md?page=2)