# Subtle jokes from movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 3, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372 "2018-06-03T21:03:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/21 "2018-06-04T14:12:56Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Help me out here. I never saw the movie. The clip you linked is labelled “Kitchen Scene.” I did see the _Lost In Space_ Robot make a cameo appearance although I didn’t laugh my butt off. Am I missing something, or was this just not the scene you meant to link? You haven’t seen _Gremlins_!!! Please rectify that. The Dad is an inventor whose machines never work properly. He’s at an inventor’s convention. While phoning his wife, many inventions can be seen, including the Time Machine from the movie of the same name based on HG Wells’s book, and in one shot it’s there being operated, and in the next shot it has vanished. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/22 "2018-06-04T14:19:20Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Ricky Jay is a magician, is the gag. > > In that vein: my dad never saw RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, but he took me and my kid brother to INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE. Anyhow, there comes a time when the [del]Bond girl[/del] love interest asks our hero about what she’s just spotted. > > “The Ark of the Covenant.” > “Are you sure?” > “Pretty sure.” > > The audience chuckled. My father didn’t get the joke. Last Crusade had another bit where Indy says “Ah Venice” three times, the first when he originally gets to the city, the second where he and Dr. Schneider climb out of the catacombs into a crowd of people, and the final time when he spends the night with Schneider. ---
**Author:** ![NotFromOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@NotFromOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotFromOne)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/23 "2018-06-04T14:42:52Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Looking for subtle jokes from Airplane? Surely you can’t be serious. I _am_ serious! And don’t call me Shirley! ---
**Author:** ![Marine\_One](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marine_one/32/3461_2.png) [@Marine\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marine_One)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/24 "2018-06-04T14:57:32Z")
In “A Million Ways To Die In The West”, Neil Patrick Harris accepts an invitation to a duel with Seth MacFarlane by saying “Challenge Accepted!” . His character Barney Stinson always said the same thing in “How I Met Your Mother”. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/25 "2018-06-04T15:00:14Z")
In “The Lion King,” Simba tells his uncle “You’re weird, Uncle Scar.” To which Scar says, “You’ve no idea.” Scar was voiced by Jeremy Irons, who said the exact same line as Claus von Bulow in “Reversal of Fortune” a few years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/26 "2018-06-04T15:25:22Z")
well, if you’re going that one, one UN-subtle joke was from the end of the Barbra Streisand- Ryan O’Neal comedy _What’s Up, Doc?"_, where , at the end she says “Being in love means never having to say you’re sorry,” then blinks rapidly several times. O’Neal’s character sits stunned for a few second (which gives the audience laughter time to die down), then responds “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.” (And, if you don’t know, that was the famous line – and tag line – from O’Neal’s recent tragic tear-jerker _Love Story_. (In a similar vein, I loved how Daniel Craig’s James Bond first responded to a bartender’s question about whether he wanted his martini stirred or shaken – “Do I look as if I care?”) ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/27 "2018-06-04T15:45:10Z")
In _Return of the Swamp Thing_ (yeah, yeah, I know!), Louis Jordan’s character has a parrot named Gigi. Jordan had starred in the 1958 musical _Gigi_. I may have been the only person in the (very small) audience who got that joke. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/28 "2018-06-04T16:13:02Z")
“Waiting for Guffman” - the Chinese restaurant scene is opened with a shot of the giant neon-lit “Chop Suey” sign [Waiting for Guffman- Chinese Restaurant Scene - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsqHBexWD1w) - and the first words of dialogue inside are “How did you find this place?” ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/29 "2018-06-04T16:17:12Z")
I’m not sure what movie this is from (maybe _Wallstreet_?). A group of people are siting around a very modern, “stylish,” impractical coffee table, which has a top made with irregular holes in it. One of the people puts his coffee down on the table, and it falls though one of the holes and crashes to the floor. Most of the people who I’ve talked to about this scene think are puzzled by it - they think he was being a jerk, and did it deliberately, or was clumsy. But, it’s really just a gag about rich pretentious assholes and non-functional furniture. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/30 "2018-06-04T16:19:03Z")
In _A Christmas Story_, the Chinese restaurant is in a former bowling Alley. They kept the sign and made the name of the restaurant “Bo ling." ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/31 "2018-06-04T16:21:55Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > In _A Christmas Story_, the Chinese restaurant is in a former bowling Alley. They kept the sign and made the name of the restaurant “Bo ling." I’ve watched this movie at least 15 times every Christmas, and never noticed this. My life has been a complete joke ☹ ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/32 "2018-06-04T18:28:01Z")
In the movie _Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure_ George Carlin shows up in a phone booth, which is a reference to Doctor Who where the main character travels around in a British Police phone box. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/33 "2018-06-04T20:00:21Z")
> [@NotFromOne](#): > > I _am_ serious! And don’t call me Shirley! People who have never heard of the movie crack up when they say any sentence with “surely” in it, and you respond “Don’t call me Shirley.” ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/34 "2018-06-04T20:23:38Z")
In Police Academy, the hooker hiding in the lectern is played by Georgina Spelvin. Very famous porn actress, arguably one of the bigger names in the movie, but you would do remarkably well to figure it out. j ---
**Author:** ![pdhenry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pdhenry/32/5561_2.png) [@pdhenry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdhenry)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/35 "2018-06-04T21:21:50Z")
Wizard of Oz: Scarecrow: [about the Flying Monkeys] They tore my legs off and they threw them over there. Then they took my chest out and they threw it over there. Tin Man: Well, that’s you all over. ---
**Author:** ![Trisha\_Gaurav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Trisha\_Gaurav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trisha_Gaurav)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/36 "2018-06-04T23:09:08Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > In “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” Wonka announces “It’s a musical lock,” and then plays a little tune on it to open the door. > > Mrs. Teavee pretentiously announces, “Rachmaninoff.” > > Nobody corrects her. Took me years to realize it was actually Beethoven. Actually it was Mozart. > [@Gatopescado](#): > > And the classic, _“I know a worse one”_ line. That movie was full of subtle shit, now that I think about it. Lots of them just looks from Gene. I think another subtle joke is that the kids died. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Classic Superman would famously change into his superhero outfit in a phone booth. In the 1978\* Superman\* movie there’s a [scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfjTfaeXbp4) where he looks for someplace to change, and his gaze falls on a modern-for-the-time public phone - which was basically an open-sided box on a metal pole, no booth. On the topic of subtle jokes in Superman, there was another one in the second movie. When Superman had saved the kid from falling, if you listen closely you can hear a lady say “What a nice man. Of course he’s Jewish.” And I just thought of some more. The Shrek movies have a lot of subtle jokes. In the first movie when the Magic Mirror is showing Fiona to Farquaad on repeat, if you watch closely you can see him get a boner. In the potion factory in the second movie, one of the bottles is labeled Viagra. In the fourth one when Shrek says “My donkey fell in your waffle hole” Fiona thinks he means… yeah. In The Cask of Amontillado when Montresor says “Yes, for the love of God, Fortunato!”, Fortunato probably thinks he means he’s doing it for his love of God. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/37 "2018-06-04T23:25:26Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > …and a few more years for anyone to point out to you that it was Mozart… D’oh! Was it? I was thinking it was Beethoven because the same riff appeared in the Trans-Siberian Orchestra “Beethoven’s Last Night” soundtrack. Classical music isn’t my strong point… (clearly!) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/38 "2018-06-04T23:38:13Z")
In _Iron Man 2,_ when Tony Stark asks Natalie Rushman if she actually speaks Latin, she says “_Fallaces sunt rerum species._ It means you can either drive yourself home or I can have you collected.” However, what the phrase really means is “The appearances of things are deceptive”. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/39 "2018-06-04T23:38:54Z")
_Batman Returns_: Bruce meets up with Selina, and apologizes over the hasty interruption to their previous date. As Bruce and Selina start slow-dancing together, Selina lets out a little contented sigh. Bruce: “So, no hard feelings, I hope?” Selina: “Actually… semi-hard, I’d say.” ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372/40 "2018-06-05T00:27:52Z")
Errol Flynn in the 1943 movie “Northern Pursuit” at the end assures his fiancée that she is the only woman he has ever loved and turns to the camera saying “what am I saying?”, a reference to his recent acquittal in a rape trial. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-jokes-from-movies/815372.md?page=3)