Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Common Household movie references

These conversations occurred a while ago, but they both prove the same point, which is that my husband has an ability to turn every conversation into a movie reference.  I don't watch a lot of movies, but he knows a lot about good movies.


* * * * *

After I got home from church on Sunday, the Common Household Husband asked, “How was church?” 

I said, “Today we had the congregational meeting where I was elected to be on Session.  Some people came up to me and said ‘Congratulations’ but one friend sidled up to me and said, ‘So, they got you!’  She really knows how it is.”

[In the Presbyterian Church (USA) the Session is the governing board of the local congregation, and the people serving on this board are called elders.]

Then I turned to my Son and said, “This may not surprise you, but I am an elder.” 

Son:  “An elder what?”

Me:  “A ruling elder.”

Husband:  “Oooh! Are you, like, Lord Sauron?”

Son:  “Or the Supreme Commander!”

Husband:  “One Elder to Rule Them All.”

Me:   “They still have three positions to fill.”

Husband: “Which positions are still vacant?”

Me:   “Ruling elder.”

Husband: “Why don’t some of the common elders just move up to the rank of ruling elder?”


Presbyterians may be elder, but they ain’t common.  And apparently in our family, everything can be referenced back to The Lord of the Rings.

* * * * *

At dinner one night we were talking about the election, the outcome of the Citizens United case, and such.   My husband said, “Anybody can make a campaign commercial that is full of lies about one of the candidates.  Do you think that the American people would be able to tell it was lies?”

Son: I don’t have much experience with the American people.

Me:  Tell Dad what you’ll be reading in English class.

Son:  Walden.

Husband: Walden who?

Son:  “Where’s Walden?!”... and Civil Disobedience.

Husband: You could just watch Lord of the Flies instead.

Son:  And something else by some guy... and the Declaration of Independence.

Husband:  We should get that movie ‘1776’!

Me:  And ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’!

Son: Isn’t it ‘Bill and Ted’s Very Excellent Adventure’?

Husband and I (looking at each other meaningfully):  Be excellent to each other!

* * * * *

I will also admit that, around the Common Household, one of the most frequently quoted lines from a movie is "The piano must go up!"  - most recently quoted just before the symphony orchestra concert of Rachmaninoff's piano concerto in d minor, but also used when any large or heavy object needs to be moved.

Does anybody in your household like to quote movies?  What's your favorite?  Do you know what movie "The piano must go up!" is from?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm pulling a blank on that movie quote, but I adore the conversation about Ruling Elders and the LOR references. What a clever bunch you have in your house!
We quote a LOT of random movies--"You're killing me, Smalls" and "S'more of what" and "My name is Inigo Montoyo. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Oh, and "The force is strong in that one" and "These aren't the droids you're looking for."

Cassi said...

We don't do a lot of movie references (although the "these are not the droids you're looking for" does come up). And while LOTR is a favorite of ours, it's still to scary for Emma, so we haven't shared that with her yet.

We do reference TV shows we're into at the moment --since we watch everything after it's been out for a while, on DVD, we tend to watch the same series several times a week for a couple of months, as we go through a season. Sometimes Emma gets so comfortable with the characters that she brings them up as if they were friends, and it throws me for a loop.

She has a school friend named Abby, and it took me a while to realize that lately, when she talks about Abby, she's talking about the forensic scientist on NCIS :-)

Mom on the Verge said...

I know "The piano..." from a VeggieTales skit. It's a silent film, and the peas are narrating a semi-three-stooges short. Close? Or are you all being cool and referring to a much better movie?

Oh, and our favorite? Young Frankenstein! "Great knockers!" "Szank you doctor!"

Common Household Mom said...

@Mom on the Verge, you are right! We quote Veggie Tales a lot around here. My movie tastes tend to languish in the kiddy-film scene. And I loved Young Frankenstein but it's been years since I've seen it.

@ Cassi, your daughter is into some serious crime TV, but I can't blame her for needing to stay away from LOTR. I can't watch it either - it's too dark, and if it's anything like the book, they are also too hungry and cold.

@Green Girl, I am unfamiliar with your first two references. "The Princess Bride" is one of the richest sources of movie quotes. "Inconceivable!"