The next film in the Judd Apatow family tree is here: Bros is directed by one of Apatow's protégés, Nicholas Stoller, who has worked with the director/producer before on Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him To The Greek, and much more. Bros is likely to have a number of Apatow trademarks, considering how much of an influence he has been on the 21st century comedy landscape.
One thing audiences can be sure to expect is some hilarious and cutting one-liners from the Bros cast. Apatow is able to use his singular comic sensibility to create meaningful monologues and fast, quippy one-liners that bowl over filmgoers with their unexpectedness and charm. Each film has plenty of one-liners, with some hitting harder than others.
"I Do Want To Kill You."
This Is 40 - Debbie
This is 40 continues Pete and Debbie's story from Knocked Up and offers a very unfiltered look into Judd Apatow's own relationship with Leslie Mann, his wife and the star of the film. The film is a comment on married life and how a relationship changes as the partners enter a new, more mature phase of their life.
Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann's married characters have a complicated relationship. One scene of pillow talk involves this one-liner as they go on to describe how they would kill each other. There is some truth in their frustration, but the reality of the scene is that they are comfortable enough to make these jokes and know how their openness actually indicates deep intimacy.
"I've Borked A Lot Of Women In My Day."
The 40-Year-Old Virgin - Andy Stitzer
Steve Carell plays the title character in his breakout role in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and he manages to make the difficult part at once hilarious and deeply relatable. Everyone has had an experience when they are out of their comfort zone and end up saying the wrong thing and looking foolish.
Andy's inability to talk about sex and love reveals to his friends that he's a virgin and the use of the awkward and outdated word, "borked," makes the whole scene absurd and funny while moving the film along.
"You Think That Just Because You Don't Yell, You're Not Mean? This Is Mean!"
Knocked Up - Debbie
Leslie Mann plays the same character in two different Judd Apatow films as the sometimes-right-sometimes-wrong wife in a relationship that could be a version of the real-life Apatow-Mann marriage. In this scene from Knocked Up, Debbie is definitely in the right and her cutting one-liner is very real.
When Debbie's finds Paul Rudd's character is playing fantasy baseball with his friends, her line is a pointed critique of those who think there is only one way to be mean in a relationship. The emotional cheating Rudd's character does in the film causes real pain and Debbie does not let it slide.
"F**k Facebook!"
Funny People - James Taylor
Sometimes a simple one-liner can get the biggest laugh and when James Taylor appears out of nowhere in Funny People, his line at a Myspace event is one of the best in the film. Apatow loves his celebrity cameos and this one is excellent just for its sheer absurdity.
Even Seth Rogen's character can't believe James Taylor is singing "Fire and Rain" at a corporate event for Myspace. And audiences were just as surprised when the usually gentle singer curses out the social media competitor. Seth Rogen being annoyed that the singer took his line is the cherry on top.
"Ooh, I Like Tom's Sweater. Does He Teach Computer In A Church Basement?"
Trainwreck - Amy Townsend
In 2015's Trainwreck, Apatow turns his usual film conventions on their head by centering the movie on a woman's story rather than the male characters seen in his previous films. Amy Townsend, played by Amy Schumer, is a relationship-hating party girl who does what she wants and is OK if people don't like it.
This carefree attitude lets her sling countless one-liners throughout the film, as she takes anyone and everyone down a peg whenever she can. In this scene, Amy and her sister, Kim, are talking about Kim's husband, and Amy's hilarious line is a good look into what it is exactly she fears in life: simple domestic tranquility.
"You Don’t Get To Act All Crazy Your Entire Life Because Dad Died."
The King Of Staten Island - Claire Carlin
Judd Apatow loves to make his movie characters be stand-ins for their real-life actors and this goes double for The King of Staten Island, where the whole story is almost a biography of Pete Davidson who plays the title character, Scott Carlin. Like Scott, Davidson also lost his firefighter father in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
Both characters have had documented struggles in their personal and professional lives, and the film works to unpack that history. Scott's sister, Claire, speaks to both the character and the real-life Davidson when she calls Scott out for using his father's death as an excuse not to do anything with his life.
"If I Have To Hear 'Yah Mo B There' One More Time, I'm Gonna 'Yah Mo' Burn This Place To The Ground."
The 40-Year-Old Virgin - David
The 40-Year-Old Virgin was one of the first times most audiences had heard the rapid-fire one-liners that Apatow is now famous for. Some of the best in the film come from the cast of side characters surrounding Steve Carell. Paul Rudd, who plays David, gets some of the best.
His frustration with the same song being played on a loop, "Yah Mo B There" by James Ingram and Michael McDonald, is incredibly relatable to anyone who has ever worked a job where the music is controlled by someone else and only a few songs are allowed to be played. His delivery of the clever one-liner is the perfect quote for a retail worker at the end of his rope.
"Attention Campers, Lunch Has Been Canceled Due To Lack Of Hustle. Deal With It.”
Heavyweights - Tony Perkis
Before Judd Apatow blew up in fame, one of his first Hollywood jobs was writing the Ben Stiller vehicle, Heavyweights, a forgotten film about a weight loss camp with Stiller as the Draconian lead counselor. Stiller does an early version of his fitness-obsessed gym owner from Dodgeball in the 1995 comedy.
One of his best one-liners comes early in the film as the evil counselor Tony Perkis exacts some cruel and unusual punishment on the poor campers. Perkis cancels the meal even after the campers have physically exhausted themselves by completing his workout regimen.
"I Do Believe In You ... I Just Know You're Gonna Fail."
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story - Darlene Cox
Another film that Apatow wrote but did not direct, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a parody biopic in the vein of films like A Star Is Born and Walk the Line. It stars John C. Reilly as Dewey Cox: a country singer with big dreams.
The film uses all the standard tropes of a musical biopic, including the wife who doesn't completely believe in the star's dreams. But in Walk Hard, the dialogue and tropes are not subtle. Darlene, played by Jenna Fischer, very plainly explains how bad of an idea this is for Dewey.
“Life Doesn't Care About Your Vision. You Just Gotta Roll With It.”
Knocked Up - Harris Stone
Many Judd Apatow films border on comedy-dramas, and while they are packed from start to finish, the stories themselves are often very real and so are the characters. When they aren't cracking jokes, the cast of Knocked Up are often dropping lines of dialogue that are actually quite deep.
Harold Ramis makes a cameo as Ben Stone's father to talk about the unexpected pregnancy at the heart of the film. While most of the conversation is laugh a minute, Ramis says this one line, which speaks to Ben while also being an important life lesson for any viewer.