With recent TV series such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and more Star Wars franchise spinoffs such as Ahsoka on the docket, the saga's current creators occasionally pay homage to the original trilogy's penchant for cheesy dialogue. With that in mind: Which lines from Return of the Jedi are the cheesiest, i.e., the corniest, the kitschiest, the most cliché and the most fun?.
As a melodramatic space opera blessed with lovable characters and cutting-edge (for the time) special effects, the masterful Return of the Jedi matched the attitude and Saturday-afternoon matinee chutzpah of its predecessors with a dash of self-referencing payoffs tossed in. For all its drama, colorful characters and sweeping space-battle sequences, audiences also loved the original trilogy for its warm heart and its moments of playful, potentially groan-inducing humor that wonderfully reflected the personalities of its characters.
Standard Imperial Officer Insult
"You rebel scum." — Imperial officer.
Already an established line often uttered by a nondescript Imperial officer upon capturing one of the heroes, "You rebel scum" will go down in cinematic history as one of the cheesiest, wimpy insults on the books.
The fun thing about "You rebel scum" and its repetition in the original Star Wars trilogy is the bland nastiness of it, spit venomously but with little effect by unimaginative Imperial officers. The audience knows these foot soldiers of the Empire have no chance against the likes of Han, Luke and Leia, so their petty insults bounce harmlessly away like mice squeaking at lions.
C-3PO Talks Big
"If I tell you half the things I know about Jabba the Hutt, you'd probably short circuit." — C-3PO
Stranded in the Tatooine desert at the outset of Return of the Jedi, C-3PO tells R2-D2, "If I tell you half the things I know about Jabba the Hutt, you'd probably short circuit."
Though possessing something of a cowardly heart inside his gold metal body, C-3PO likes to talk the talk but gets cold feet when he has to walk the walk. Yes, the protocol droid always comes through for his friends in the end, but the diminutive R2-D2 is the braver of the pair.
Jabba The Hutt Loves Scum
"This bounty hunter is my kind of scum: fearless and inventive." — Jabba the Hutt.
When Leia, disguised as a Boushh, hauls the manacled Chewbacca into Jabba's palace and demands a higher bounty payment, the request back up by a thermal detonator, Jabba laughs and says, "This bounty hunter is my kind of scum: fearless and inventive."
It's humorous that Jabba the Hutt, leader of one of the most powerful crime syndicates in Star Wars, would think of his minions (and thus himself, by extension) as literal "scum." Yet his self-effacing labeling is very much in the tradition of older Hollywood gangster films.
Leia Plays It Lovey-Dovey
"Somebody who loves you." — Princess Leia (as Boushh).
When Leia frees Han from his carbonite block, the temporarily sightless Han asks, "Who are you?" Leia responds with the cheesy line "Somebody who loves you." The on-the-nose honesty of the dialogue riffs on the established wordplay between Han and Leia concerning the word "love."
In a moment typical of melodramas, Leia takes the time to wax romantic when she's rescuing Han Solo from one of his worst Star Wars pickles ever, where silence and speed would be of the utmost priority. It doesn't matter anyway because the wily Jabba's already set the trap for them, so bring on the cheesy.
Han Wisecracks In Jabba's Dungeon
"A Jedi knight? I'm out of it for a little while, and everybody gets delusions of grandeur." — Han Solo.
When the still woozy Han finds himself locked in a cell with Chewbacca, he asks his furry buddy about Luke, and the Wookie responds, informing him that Luke is now a Jedi.
"A Jedi knight?" Han responds, amazed. "I'm out of it for a little while, and everybody gets delusions of grandeur." This line got some of the biggest laughs in the theater, and rightly so. As if Han Solo would have held anybody back from anything. It's this brand of jaunty humor that makes Han one of the most frequently appearing characters in the Star Wars live-action universe.
Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fire
Han Solo: "How are we doing?"Luke Skywalker: "Same as always."Han Solo: "That bad, huh?"
Condemned prisoners Han, Chewbacca and Luke ride to the Great Pit Of Carkoon aboard one of Jabba the Hutt's landspeeders. With his sight still compromised by carbonite poisoning, Han asks Luke to fill him in on their current situation, to which Luke responds, "Same as always." With an exasperated grimace, Han replies, "That bad, huh?"
Han's line constitutes what TV comedy sitcom writers like to call a "free joke," where the humor is not derived from the line itself but rather from the audience's familiarity with the character. A good example would be Kramer's entrances on Seinfeld, where the writers knew the humor would pay off with audiences already tuned into his character and situation. Han's line is plenty cheesy, but its effectiveness is grounded in the heroes' constant peril in the trilogy.
Han And Chewbacca Never Met A Plan They Couldn't Mess Up
"Great, Chewie, always thinking with your stomach." — Han Solo.
While on the planet Endor, Chewbacca discovers a dead animal impaled on a stick. Luke realizes it may be bait for a trap, but Chewie grabs the meat before he can stop him. The entire group is swept up in a net. "Great, Chewie," Han moans. "Always thinking with your stomach."
What's fun about cheesy lines is they're usually delivered deadpan when normal people would be reacting differently to the same situation. Soldiers in a war zone entangled in a net would be instantly on the problem, fighting panic and attempting to maintain silence. Han and company do try to rescue themselves, but the banter reassures the audience that there's no real danger.
Leia Turns The Tables
Han Solo: "I love you."Princess Leia: "I know."
When Han tells Leia, "I love you," she responds with, "I know," a callback to the reversed situation where she dramatically told Han she loved him just before he was turned into a carbonite Popsicle in The Empire Strikes Back.
With a film series so popular that George Lucas could write knowing the audience had already seen the previous installments, he could pay off jokes multiple times. Again, the power of the lines arise from how well they fit the characters speaking them, and the spirited Leia handing this confident response back to Han makes the whole cheesy enchilada work again, and brilliantly.
Han Asks For The Impossible
"Fly casual." — Han Solo.
Han, Chewbacca, Luke and Leia attempt to sneak a hijacked Imperial shuttle past the Empire's sentinels guarding the deflection shield based on the forest moon of Endor, a location that die-hard Star Wars fans love. Han becomes wary of a command ship, telling Chewbacca, "Keep your distance, Chewie, but don't look like you're trying to keep your distance." When Chewbacca complains about the ambiguous command, Han groans "I don't know. Fly casual."
The usually glib Han is having a hard time articulating what he wants, but what's funny about the line is he actually does think this should be possible. Poor Chewbacca is expected to figure out how to do it, however, and that is mission impossible. The Last Jedi excels at breaking moments of tension with silly little character beats like this, and it's all part of the Star Wars magic.
Han Delivers A Big Cliche For The Win
"I have a really bad feeling about this." — Han Solo.
After being captured by the Ewoks and carried back to their encampment, Han realizes he's being put on a barbeque spit and comments, "I have a really bad feeling about this."
By adding a line that's already a huge movie cliché, Lucas (who already used the line in the previous films) proves just how confident he is in the quality of Star Wars cheesiness. The audience is primed to chuckle at Han Solo's old chestnuts rather than groan because they're in on the joke. That said, pulling off a cliché this overdone is quite an achievement.