We’ve all been there- in the midst of a fun, animated conversation with friends when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, someone (and not to be accusatory, but 99.99 percent of the time it’s a guy) throws out a movie quote totally unrelated to the subject at hand. In that one moment, the conversation is turned upside down and essentially, ruined. Yes, ruined; inserting a movie quote is like dropping a bomb on any pleasant dialogue.

Now I don’t just say this just because repeating the exact words someone spoke in a movie is obnoxious, although it is. Quotations are aggravating because usually at least half of the people present have absolutely no idea what the heck the quoter is talking about, even if they’ve seen the movie. This forces the aforementioned who don’t know the how the quote relates (on the off chance that it actually does) contextually to the conversation to stop and say, “huh?” And come on, we all hate to be that person. Having to halt the discussion to insert the embarrassing, “what are we talking about,” makes even the coolest among us feel like an idiot.

So why even go there? Why do guys so enjoy proving to the world they know exactly what some actor said in some movie (which is most likely “Wedding Crashers,” “Heavyweights,” “The Departed,” “Dumb and Dumber,” “The Sandlot,” “Old School,” “Zoolander” or “Anchorman,” you know – pretty much anything with Will Ferrell or one of his cronies in it). Do they like to make the rest of us feel like we’re on the outside of a lame inside joke and inhibit us from participation in lively banter?

Seriously, there are certain people who I can guarantee a conversation with will include “[insert quote here]” every other sentence. I simply do not understand the logic behind this; it’s not humorous, I’m not impressed (with what, your fabulous recitation skills?) and not to mention it makes you appear dull and predictable. Seriously, be your own person instead of trying to imitate a movie character in a pathetic attempt to be funny.

That said, I appreciate the increasingly rare well-placed quotation or movie allusion just as much as the next person, but don’t go through conversations waiting for a moment to plop in a random quote that involves overly-intense analysis and grasps to relate back to the current topic of discussion. If you feel you must quote movies to prove your manhood or something, save it exclusively for other people who like to do the same thing. You should probably do this as many times as you can in a short time period instead of rudely interjecting and ruining other’s attempts at actual idiosyncratic conversation or intelligent thought.

Come on guys, let’s get creative. Quoting movie lines all the time makes it seem like you don’t have anything original say, and I hope that’s not true. Don’t be a “stage five clinger” (“Wedding Crashers”) to quoting; save your film citations for pertinent moments and leave us wanting more instead of smothering us with irrelevant, extraneous references that consistently ruin the mood of any good conversation.

-Kelsey Adams

Associate Entertainment Editor