What with Nora Ephron's untimely passing, one of her most noted films' famous quotes, the one that follows Meg Ryan's (very) fake orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally, has been played on every major news channel over the last 24 hours. And with that, we here at SFist, along with help from friend Beth Spotswood, came up with our own list of favorite food lines in cinema history. Look, we'll warn you that the the top 7 is somewhat biased, very gay-minded, and resoundingly accurate. You won't see any "favas beans with a nice chianti," that line you recall from that time you sat through Duck Soup in your Intro to American Cinema class, or — God forbid — anything foreign. These are only the most critical and soul-piercing food lines ever uttered in motion picture history. (Feel free to add your own or argue about them in the comments.)
They are:
7. "Fey, I see salt and pepper. Is there a salt substitute?" (What About Bob?)
Bill Murray, the Linda Evangelista of male comedic actors, works wonders in this scene here from What About Bob? that starts out with a some freshly shucked corn. The entire thing is worth repeated viewing. Which is probably why it's always on cable.
6. "Lt. Dan, I got you some ice cream. Lt. Dan, Ice cream!" (Forrest Gump)
We could dress this up for you, but, like every memorable line in this Boomerific flick riddled with SGI, the ice cream line is funny because, well, Forrest is mentally disabled. Tom Hanks' portrayal is the head-scratching gift that keeps on giving.
5. "Shelby...drink the juice!" (Steel Magnolias)
Look at Shelby. Not drinking her juice. M'Lynn and Truvy aren't having any of it. Stupid Shelby. Drink your juice. (Side note: We dare to see Queen Latifa and Jill Scott come anywhere near close to the stern yet maternal forced imbibing as executed here by Sally Field and Dolly Parton.)
4. "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." (The Godfather)
Clemenza might as well have said, "Leave the gun. Take the spicy meat-a-ball" while tossing pizza dough in the air. The line is that Eye-talian. But this moment is still popular, still an indefatigable moment in cinema, and still has us pining for a box of cannoli upon each viewing.
3. "Eggs! Eggs! Eggs!" (Pink Flamingos) Edie sits in a crib sporting a bouffant like no one can. Won't someone give her some eggs? You know how she likes them.
2. "I'll have what she's having" (When Harry Met Sally)
RIP, Nora.
1. "You took worst, because you have best-quality heart." (The Joy Luck Club)
Surprise! We're giving the greatest food line in cinematic history to the greatest Chinese American movie based in San Francisco featuring a cast of multi-ethnic actors playing Chinese/Chinese-Americans! And what a film it is. In this scene, casually played over a sink of dirty dishes, June finally reaches the emotional connection with her mother that she has wanted her entire life...and it comes in the form of bad-quality crab. (It gets going around the 5:45 mark.)
