Daily Dialogue — May 4, 2013

Up front, Osgood is blithely steering the boat, keeping his eyes straight ahead. Jerry is looking over his shoulder at the activities in the back seat.

OSGOOD: I called Mama — she was so happy she cried — she wants you to have her wedding gown — it’s white lace.
JERRY: (steeling himself) Osgood — I can’t get married in your mother’s dress. She and I — we’ not built the same way.
OSGOOD: We can have it altered.
JERRY: (firmly) Oh, no you don’t! Look, Osgood — I’m going to level with you. We can’t get married at all.
OSGOOD: Why not?
JERRY: Well, to begin with, I’m not a natural blonde.
OSGOOD: (tolerantly) It doesn’t matter.
JERRY: And I smoke. I smoke all the time.
OSGOOD: I don’t care.
JERRY: And I have a terrible past. For three years now, I’ve been living with a saxophone player.
OSGOOD: I forgive you.
JERRY: (with growing desperation) And I can never have children.
OSGOOD: We’ll adopt some.
JERRY: But you don’t understand! (he rips off his wig;in a male voice) I’m a MAN!
OSGOOD: (oblivious) Well — nobody’s perfect.

Jerry looks at Osgood, who is grinning from ear to ear, claps his hand to his forehead. How is he going to get himself out of this?

But that’s another story — and we’re not quite sure the public is ready for it.

FADE OUT:
THE END

— Some Like It Hot (1959), screenplay by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is: I’m not who you think I am, suggested by Mark Twain. Today’s suggestion by Erica R Maier.

Trivia: The movie’s line “Well, nobody’s perfect.” was voted as the #48 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Erica: “Of course, this film is a true classic, and closes out with one of the best lines ever. Osgood’s indifferent, “non-reaction” to finding out Jerry is a man is priceless, perfect and turns expectation on its head.”

As I remember the story, neither Wilder or Diamond was happy with the line, “Nobody’s perfect,” but they kept it in the script figuring they would come up with a better line during production. They didn’t and the line stuck… thanks goodness!