Shawn Levy's hit action-comedy Free Guy features hilarious lines of dialogue, uproarious zingers, improvised quips, and hysterical in-jokes that have surely helped the film remain atop the domestic box office for two weeks running.
Ryan Reynolds gives a stellar performance as Guy, an NPC video game character suddenly thrust into heroic action. Most of the humor derives from Guy's silly vocal observations, oblivious nature, and lack of self-awareness as he lives a blissfully ignorant existence inside the GTA-like video game of Free City. But what are the best lines in the entire film?
It's like losing my virginity but in my mouth.
One of the funniest running gags in the film is Guy's elevated palate for delectable food and drink. At one point in the film, Guy imbibes his first sip of coffee and utters "it's like losing my virginity but in my mouth."
Whether the line was scripted or improvised by Reynolds on the spot, it's easily one of the funniest lines on its own and made even funnier by Guy's deadpan delivery. Guy is such a sweet, anodyne character and a hopeless romantic that him suddenly making a crass sexual joke induces a genuine laugh-out-loud moment.
Ooooh cappuccino. I enjoy saying that. It's like a waterfall with letters.
As one of Ryan Reynolds' best roles, Guy's most endearing quality is his childlike innocence and lack of contextual references to the outside world. At one point, he can't help but express his love for a certain type of coffee, declaring "Ooooh Cappuccino. I enjoy saying that. It's like a waterfall with letters."
In addition to the vivid imagery the quote conures, it's the way in which Reynolds delivers the line with serious, non-ironic candor that makes it so funny. The infantile wonderment Guy exudes while saying the line underscores his innocent nature but also hints at what a strange imagination he has, indicating that there's far more intelligence below the surface of the character.
It's like if Jesus washed my tongue and right before, he told my dad he's good enough.
In relation to the pleasures of coffee, Guy also makes several hysterical references to his tongue in the movie. After sipping a cup of enjoyable java, Guy states "it's like if Jesus washed my tongue and right before he told my dad, 'he's good enough.'"
Another wildly imagistic quote, the line is both irreverent and nonsensical to the point that it induces involuntary laughter among theatergoers. There's a naughtiness to the quote that suggests that Reynolds may have ad-libbed the line on set, which, as Deadpool has proven, is where the actor is at his absolute best.
I have naturally dewy skin.
In addition to his taste buds, a major concern in the movie is Guy's glistening skin tone and the disadvantage it gives him in Free City. Before one of the smartest characters, Mo (Utkarsh Ambudkar) implores Guy to lose his skin or else be killed, he sarcastically compliments Guy's radiant glow. Guy responds earnestly by saying "well, uh, mostly genetics, I think. I'm pretty lucky, I have naturally dewy skin."
The well-timed delivery of the line comes at the worst time possible, as Guy is about to be shot at, which only increases the humor. Moreover, that Guy even knows what "dewy skin" means when he's so blithely oblivious to almost everything else in the world makes the line even funnier.
I may not be real. But for a second there, I felt pretty alive.
Amid all of the hilarious zingers and droll one-liners, Guy makes a few meaningful quotes that underscore the film's larger themes. One quote anyone can find inspiration from in the film comes when Guy proudly declares "I may not be real. But for a second there, I felt pretty alive."
The quote comes after Guy has an exhilarating brush with danger and begins inching his way toward heroism. In addition to emphasizing the themes of authenticity versus artificiality, Guy delivers the inspiring line with the same straight-faced earnestness of his silliest quips, which somehow give it more weight and makes it resonate even longer.
It's like my tongue had a baby with a sunrise.
Guy cannot refrain from boasting about the eruptions of flavor in his mouth after sipping his morning coffee and other delicious delicacies in the film. In perhaps the most outlandish zinger in the whole movie, Guy waxes poetic by saying the outrageous "it's like my tongue had a baby with a sunrise."
The hilarity of the line is tailor-made for Reynolds' snarky brand of humor and sardonic quips, even if it doesn't really align with Guy's dimwitted nature. Regardless of the context, it's one of the funniest and most memorable quotes in the movie.
He's just resting.
For as breezy and lighthearted as the movie is, there is one hysterically morbid exchange between Guy and one of the best characters in the film, Buddy (Lil Rel Howery), as they happen upon a recently killed person in Free City. Ever the optimist, Guy declares "He's just resting," to which Buddy responds by saying "in pieces! That man is dead!" Guy disregards the news by stating "he's so sleepy."
The comedic timing between Reynolds and Howry is pitch-perfect in the scene, with Guy's naive dialogue underscoring his immense gullibility. The glaring mistake that Guy makes when the person is clearly dead increases the absurdity of the situation.
You've met God...and he's a d*ck?
Guy's gullibility is demonstrated when he meets his dream girl, Molotovgirl (Millie), and she declares that she has met Antwan (Taika Waititi), the creator of Free City. When Molotov Girl has unflattering things to say about her creator, Guy hilariously retorts with "You've met God...and he's a d*ck?"
The blasphemous joke is funny enough on its face, but the fact that Antwan is neither God nor the sole creator of the game gives the line an added contextual layer that pays off later in the film.
It's two Glocks.
For a PG-13 movie, there are many edgy sexual innuendos in the film that add to the humor. One of the tamer ones includes a hilarious exchange when Millie (breakout star Jodie Comer) lands in front of Guy on his bike and asks "is that a Glock in your pocket." When Guys says "No," Millie asks "What?" Guy simply says "it's two Glocks."
The stupidity of the line never fails to induce a hearty chuckle if not an amused eye-roll, with the timing of Reynolds' deadpan delivery being a major reason why. Guy is presented as an asexual romantic, so any jokes regarding his sexual prowess are genuinely funny.
Life doesn't happen to be something that just happens to us.
Piggybacking on his "I feel pretty alive" quote from earlier in the film, Guy reiterates the underlying theme with a very simple but well-written, intentioned, and delivered quotation. Guy evolves to realize that "Life doesn't happen to be something that just happens to us."
As sappy as it may sound, it's a worthwhile message to be a more active participant in life and not be a ive observer who doesn't have much say in their existence. Because of Guy's earnestness throughout the film, the line comes off as genuine and germane to the character, and calls to mind the immortal of Ferris Bueller who once said, "life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it."
