Pre-Rushmore Bill Murray movies They're filled with everyday movie-line nuggets: Meatballs ("It just doesn't matter!"), Caddyshack (my fave is actually Chevy Chase's "This isn't Russia. Is this Russia? This isn't Russia."), Stripes ("It's a little cute."), Ghost Busters ("Whoa, whoa, whoa. Nice shootin', Tex!"), and Groundhog Day ("I'm a god. I'm not the god.").

"It's Only Wafer-Thin"
Like this famous line from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life - always said when you're stuffed and offered dessert - there are some lines for which you need little reason to bust out. It's just a matter of finding your favorites, the ones you put in your mental Palm Pilot and retrieve when needed. Here are some of my go-to lines, and the sorts of occasions that call for them.

"Well, Boys, I Reckon This Is It"
When Major T.J. "King" Kong said this to his crew in Dr. Strangelove, he was telling them what they already knew: Get ready for the end. So go forth and experience for yourselves the joys of movie-lining. The next time you're making a presentation to your co-workers, throw out this reference from The Princess Bride: "Lemme 'splain. No, there is too much. Lemme sum up." When you've clearly overstayed your welcome at a dinner party, announce, as Jeff Goldblum does at the end of The Big Chill, "We took a secret vote. We're not leaving. We're never leaving." Or if a book publisher turns to you on a plane and says, "Hey, you think this movie-line story, expanded, would make a good book?" simply give him the Heathers response: "I like it. It's got that it's-a-cruel-world-let's-throw-ourselves-in-the-abyss type ambience."

Trust me. He'll take that as a yes.