Friday, February 19, 2010

Corniest Romantic Lines

Last year, a reader of my first manuscript said that my line, "It just makes me... love you more," was over-used and corny.

And she was right.

Now I try to make romantic lines sound more original.

It got me thinking that it's the same for script lines in movies.

The top five corniest romantic lines I can think of are:

1. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." From Dirty Dancing
2. "You had me at hello." and...
3."YOU… COMPLETE… ME." Both from Jerry McGuire.

4.“I love you.” “Ditto.” From Ghost.

5. and "Swoon. I'll catch you." From The English Patient.

HAVE YOU WRITTEN A CORNY LINE OR, CAN YOU ADD ANYTHING TO MY LIST?

(starpulse.com, cyber-cinema.com, thecarconnection.com,reneezelwegger-tribute.com)

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Stopping by ffrom SITS...Love your list. Can't think of anything to add , but it will be on my mind today...Good start.

gina said...

well mine isn't romantic but it's my favorite line from dirty dancing... "you just put your pickle on everybody's plate college boy, and leave the hard stuff to me." as he knocks over the folded napkin. *swoon*

LisaDay said...

I think the entire Dirty Dancing movie can be considered cheese, but great, romantic cheese nonetheless.

I am sure i have written many a corny line, romantic or not, but none came to mind.

Good luck with your manuscript.

LisaDay

Pam said...

Love it...to funny. But there were a couple of those movies you mentioned that I really liked....corny, that would be me! Stopping in from SITS

for a different kind of girl said...

Gah! The Jerry McGuire ones always make me make a face (sort of like Renee's perpetually scrunchy face, I think)!

I think my favorite quasi-corny line is John Bender's "Wouldn't I be oustanding in that capacity?" line from Breakfast Club. It's corny/cool!

WhiteSockGirl aka The Fabulous Bitch said...

I agree with Lisa, romance is cheesy... that is why we love it.

I am sure I am equally guilty, using whole lot of cheesy liners, but really, who cares?

I think I used one just last week in a post, something like, 'You could become a sensual addiction'

Best of luck with that manuscript!

Maddy said...

How about this gem : "I’ll never let go, Jack. I’ll never let go."

Amy said...

Not romantic, but my fav. line from Dirty Dancing is "I carried a watermelon." I say dumb crap like that all the time.

Sidenote: I saw Dirty Dancing the musical and it was EVEN CHEESIER. Clearly I like Dirty Dancing a lil' too much.

Writing Without Periods! said...

I too agree that Dirty Dancing is on the shelf with the Velveeta. Corny lines...anything Hubby says to get out of doghouse. Love this post.
Clever.
Mary

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

You complete me...ICK! Ah ha ha

Lourie said...

Corny. Cheesey. It doesn't matter when you get to watch that man dance! I would have to think about corny lines. haha. Love your list.

Jayde said...

Great post. My boyfriend would say a lot of cheesy lines (although they were mostly original) when we first started seeing each other. I saved a few texts that he sent cause they were cheesy but awesome. One of my favorites "I luv you like bakun and bizcuts" The misspelling was intentional and you'd have to understand my love of bacon to really appreciate it.

Christina Lee said...

Maddy--is that from Titanic? or... where?

Jayde--aww how sweet is that?

Sharlene T. said...

Well, okay, here it is; but, if you tell anyone, I'll deny it!!!! I signed a note to someone as, "Yours, Elec Trified!"

Debbie said...

It is funny how those lines have become so overused and clichéd! Great list.

Unknown said...

Corny? Me? Never! Haha! Okay, it's probably riddled with corny, but you see I speak corny so fluently, I often don't recognize it. Thank heaven for crit partners. I haven't gotten to the revisions of the romantic scenes yet. I'll see how bad they are soon though. :)

Christina Lee said...

Sahrlene-- LOL!! don't worry I won't tell anyone ;)

Maddy said...

Titanic, of course!! One of the greatest Leo movies of all time!! ;o)

The Blonde Duck said...

Everything I write is corny.

Angela said...

I think "you complete me" sounds romantic but I don't think I want to be with someone who is not complete to begin with... : )

lisa and laura said...

Can I nominate all the dialogue from Twilight?

Janet said...

I actually really love, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." I say that a lot. lol

And it's not romantic, but I also love, "Tell me about it...Stud." From Grease of course.

Jenners said...

I agree with your Number 1 --- that is just so bad. A lot of it depends on the delivery though. I always kind of liked the Jerry Maguire ones!

All Women Stalker said...

You complete me is totally corny. Can't think of anything more corny (cornier?). Haha

Alicia said...

lol...good list! even though i love dirty dancing...it is a totally cheesy line!

FranticMommy said...

My personal fav (and one I use often) is : "Adventures make me gassy." (Kermit The Frog-The Swamp Years)
Thanks for stopping by my blog on my SITS Day. And what a great day it was! I don't do giveaways often (they make me nuts) but I do have a good one running until tomorrow if you have kids who like to be read to. Hope to see you soon!

Suzette Saxton said...

Hmmmm... having the urge to see Ghost again. LOL.

This one has always bothered me:
"I love you."
"I know."

or

"I love you."
"Thanks."

Great post!

Christina Lee said...

Lisa Day, yep I agree--they definitely stick with you!

Lisa and Laura--what?!? You mean you're not fond of "you're my own brand of heroine." LOL!!!!

Libby said...

My all time favorite movie:
"As you wish" -Princess Bride.
And along the lines of ghost:
"I love you" "I know" -Star Wars
Also:
"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to begin as soon as possible." -Harry Met Sally

I love this list idea! I think I might do it for my next top ten Tuesday!

Small Burst said...

Ok. My friend on FB just posted this so I thought I'd share it. Warning: Extremely corny! Someone actually used this on my friend!?

"You remind me of a parking ticket....'cause you got FINE written all over you! LOL