It's hard for a film to make a real breakthrough at the box office these days when not attached to a franchise or a big name studio. Thankfully, the 2019 instant hit Knives Out, hailing from Rian Johnson, is a film that managed to buck that trend and find success all over the moviegoing globe.
The murder mystery whodunnit tells the story of gentleman sleuth Benoit Blanc's (Daniel Craig) investigation into the sudden, suspicious passing of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), an elderly, famous mystery novelist. Boasting an incredible cast with the likes of Ana De Armas, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more, the film is equal parts mystery and comedy. And when it's leaning into the comedic aspects of its premise, the film doesn't hold back, providing some of the best laughs in movies in recent memory.
"You have a regurgitative reaction to mistruthing."
Knives Out is an ingenious take on the familiar tropes of murder mysteries in many ways. But by far one of its most ridiculous and ridiculously inventive is the inclusion of Marta's reflex of vomiting whenever she attempts to lie.
It makes for some of the film's most uncomfortable moments, and also eventually plays a key role in the solving of the film's central crimes. But beyond that, it allows gentleman sleuth Benoit Blanc to have some truly incredible elocution when he comments on her "regurgative reaction to mistruthing."
"Oh, God. That Hallmark movie she told me about, with Danica McKellar."
Knives Out is filled with plenty of topical references, political and pop culture and otherwise. Among its wide-ranging and surprising reach? The incredibly different world of the Hallmark Channel, and in particular its leading lady, Danica McKellar.
The ill-fated Fran tries to convince Marta of what has really happened to lead to Harlan's demise by discussing a (non-existent) Hallmark murder mystery starring McKellar. Marta doesn't understand at first, but in the end, this throwaway line proves to be more important than we ever could have imagined. (Also, McKellar, a fan of the film, absolutely loved the shoutout.)
"Alan, God bless you, you’re useless."
After Harlan's untimely demise, his family proves their truly selfish and vicious nature time and again when it comes to their inheritance, or lack thereof. This is perhaps most apparent at the reading of Harlan's will, where it is revealed that he has left absolutely nothing to his family, and instead entrusted all his estate to Marta.
The will is read by his estate manager, Alan (portrayed by Hollywood legend Frank Oz), and it's poor Alan who finds himself at the center of the Thrombey clan's ire - even though it does lead to hilarious moments like this one.
"Maybe Harlan left you a cold glass of milk in his will, asshole."
The black sheep of the family (which is really saying something, given the rest of the family), Ransom Drysdale certainly has a way of causing trouble wherever he goes. As chaos unfolds during the reading of Harlan's will, Ransom is uncharacteristically at ease, even as he finds himself attacked on all fronts.
In one particularly hilarious moment, which was apparently adlibbed by actor Michael Shannon, Walt perfectly lashes out at the selfish Ransom, who has been biding his time eating Biscoff cookies during the reading.
"Look around. I mean, the guy practically lives in a Clue board."
Knives Out has been frequently compared to the cult classic murder mystery Clue, but the film takes this to its own meta level with references to the original board game Clue itself. As Benoit Blanc, Detective Lieutenant Elliot, and Trooper Wagner roam around the immense mansion that the Thrombey family resides in, they find themselves taken aback by the sheer size and peculiarity of the estate.
Given all of the mansion's many nooks and crannies, as well as eccentric odds and ends that Harlan decorated the home with, it's not hard to draw the comparison between the Thrombey estate and the "Clue board" that Elliot compares it to.
"What is this, CSI: KFC?"
Benoit Blanc's unique Southern drawl has been the topic of much discussion, both within the world of the film and within the ever-expanding audience of moviegoers all over the world. It would even go on to become the subject of a Saturday Night Live skit when Daniel Craig hosted the series in March 2020.
But one thing is for sure. Few characters are more irked by his leisurely drawl than Ransom Drysdale, who takes every opportunity he gets to take a dig at the gentleman sleuth, who is, in Ransom's mind, apparently the lead character of "CSI: KFC."
"Up your ass. Matter of fact, eat shit. How's that? Eat shit, eat shit, eat shit. Definitely eat shit."
Even without revealing the details of Ransom's ultimate storyline in the film, it's clear that Ransom is a character that lives to disturb and offend others. Few moments show this more clearly than the immensely quotable, highly popular in memes, and entirely NSFW moment in which Ransom finally lashes out at his likewise entitled family members.
Ransom is never one to mince words, and although his remarks may not exactly be the most eloquent there ever were, it's hard to deny their effectiveness in offending their intended targets.
"I will not eat one iota of shit!"
On that note, arguably the most offended of them all is fellow quasi black sheep and all around sad sack, Walt. In yet another brilliant moment of adlibbing from Michael Shannon, Walt manages to get in one of the film's best and most over the top lines of them all.
It's a line that is almost blink and you miss it, given all the commotion going on in the scene at the time. But Walt's passionate delivery, and bizarrely elevated diction, truly take this one-liner to an entirely new level.
"Shut up with that Kentucky-fried, Foghorn Leghorn drawl!"
We've already established Ransom's real disdain for everything about the genteel Southern sleuth Benoit Blanc. But that irritation and intense dislike truly comes to the forefront in one of the film's closing scenes, when an incredibly irritated and angry Ransom reaches his breaking point and lashes out at Benoit.
In addition to once again hammering home the snarky Kentucky Fried Chicken connection, Ransom makes a cheeky reference to classic Looney Tunes character Foghorn Leghorn, a stammering, drawling Southern rooster whose accent does actually resemble Benoit's in many ways.
The donut speech
It should be clear by now that Benoit Blanc is one of the most unique and fascinating characters in recent film history. His understanding of human behaviors and motivations is incredible, and his accent is truly a work of art. But it's his grasp of language, and the hilarious ways in which he uses it, that make him a truly remarkable protagonist.
And in the case of this last quote, the now famous donut speech, we really do need to let it speak for itself:
I spoke in the car about the hole at the center of this donut. And yes, what you and Harlan did that fateful night seems at first glance to fill that hole perfectly. A donut hole in the donut's hole. But we must look a little closer. And when we do, we see that the donut hole has a hole in its center. It is not a donut hole at all, but a smaller donut with its own hole. And our donut is not whole at all!