While Quentin Tarantino's movies can often be filled with intense moments and graphic violence, most of his movies feel like they could be considered comedies. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is no exception as even its darker themes are balanced with some laugh-out-loud moments.
With Tarantino's unique talent for dialogue, there are many lines that stand out in the movie as hilarious. Sometimes they hit on that typical Tarantino dark humor that mixes comedy and death while other times it is just these colorful characters delivering some wonderfully funny quotes.
"And Away We Go."
As soon as Cliff Booth introduces his acid-dipped cigarette, the audience immediately starts wondering what memorable way it is going to be used in the story. Even better, by the time it gets to the climactic scene, most of the audience has forgotten about it.
Cliff finds the cigarette and decides tonight is the night. He takes his first puff of it on his way out the door to walk his beloved dog and says, "And away we go." This quote is funny because it plays on the audience's expectations that the Manson Family will somehow clash with Rick's drug trip. They are proven right, as Cliff encounters Lulu and Tex while still high from his cigarette.
"Rick, It's A Flamethrower."
There is a funny dynamic between Rick the actor and Cliff the stuntman. Cliff is the one who handles all the dangerous moments on set while Rick just acts like a tough guy. Likewise off-set, Cliff is a genuine tough guy while Rick tends to avoid confrontation whenever possible.
In a quick cutaway gag, Cliff is shown training with a flamethrower for his war movie. When Rick tries it out, he wonders if there is something that can be done about the heat. The weapon supervisor just looks at him and reminds him it's a flamethrower.
"About Fifteen Years, You'll Be Living It."
Trudi Fraser, the young thespian Rick meets on the Lancer set, is one of the most entertaining characters in the movie. The meeting between her and Rick is both heartwarming and hilarious, especially as Rick starts talking about the book he's reading.
As he explains the story of a rodeo rider past his prime, Rick starts to realize the parallels to his own life and breaks down. Trudi tries to comfort Rick by agreeing it's a sad story and patting him on the back. Rick insists she'll experience the same thing soon enough. It is a hilariously cynical thing to say to a little girl just starting in the industry.
"I’m Sorry. I Didn’t Realize The Two Of You Were So Close."
One of the most intense moments in the movie is when Cliff takes a trip to Spahn Ranch which is being occupied by the Manson Family. When he goes to see his old colleague George Spahn, he runs into Squeaky, who refuses to let Cliff in the house.
Despite Cliff's laidback but intimidating persona, Squeaky stands up to him quite well. When she asks him when the last time he saw George was, Cliff tells her it's been nearly a decade. Squeaky dryly responds, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize the two of you were so close."
"And Now You're Pretending That I Didn't Tell You I Was F***ing Blind!"
Despite Squeaky putting up a good fight against him, Cliff eventually manages to muscle his way into the home and pays George Spahn a visit. To Cliff's surprise, he finds George is alright and fully ive of having the hippies staying on his ranch.
George is not too happy to be woken up by this visitor who he doesn't even and is quite grumpy. He makes mention of Squeaky and Cliff asks if that was the redhead he met. George snaps at Cliff and reminds him that since he is blind, he couldn't possibly know what color her hair is.
"Rick F***Ing Dalton!"
Though Leonardo DiCaprio has played many intense and likable roles in the past, he has recently been showing how gifted he is in comedic roles. His performance as Rick Dalton is one of his best and likely his funniest, with his funniest moments happening on the set of his guest role on Lancer.
After having an epic meltdown in his trailer, Rick comes back and nails the scene. After getting a genuine compliment from young Trudi Fraser, Rick gets teary-eyed and takes a moment to praise himself. It is both a funny moment of self-centeredness and a moment of triumph for the aging actor as the audience is really cheering for Rick to succeed.
"Anybody Kills Anybody In A Fight They Go To Jail. It's Called Manslaughter."
One of the most controversial aspects of the movie is the now infamous showdown between Cliff and Bruce Lee on the set of The Green Hornet. But regardless of how one feels about the movie's portrayal of Lee, his interaction with Cliff is pretty funny.
After coming to a disagreement on the set, Lee insists he cannot fight Cliff because his hands are ed as lethal weapons and he would go to jail if he killed him in a fight. Cliff points out that anyone would wind up in jail under those circumstances. Even though both men work in movies and are skilled fighters, they aren't above the same laws that govern everyone else.
"So Rick, Who's Gonna Kick The S*** Out Of You Next Week?"
Though he only has a small part in the movie, Al Pacino has one of his best comedic roles as the knowledgeable yet blunt Hollywood agent Marvin Schwarz. Early on in the film, Marvin meets with Rick Dalton to give him some much-needed career advice.
Marvin explains to Rick his interesting point of view that the actor's current streak of playing bad guys on television will damage his image. He explains that if the audience sees him getting beaten up by every hero on television, they'll stop seeing Rick as a hero. He then teases Rick about who will beat him up next, even suggesting Batman and Robin by mimicking the campy show's classic "Bang!" and "Pow!" sound effects.
"Nah, It Was Dumber Than That."
While audiences knew the movie was leading up to the fateful night when of the Manson Family invaded the home of Sharon Tate, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood takes things in an unexpected direction when the would-be killers go to Rick's house instead.
They find Cliff stoned from his acid cigarette and not at all intimidated by the faux assassins. He recognizes real-life Manson murderer Tex from Spahn Ranch but can't his name. Tex sinisterly declares, "I'm the devil and I'm here to do the devil's business." But when Cliff insists his name is dumber than that, the stuntman hilariously diffuses Tex's murderous swagger and reduces him to a non-threatening joke.
"Well, The F***ing Hippies Aren't, That's For God**** Sure."
As can be expected, the Manson going into Rick's house and it does not end well for them. Tarantino once again rewrites history in a wild way as Cliff brutally kills two of the intruders while Rick torches the third with his flamethrower.
Tarantino delivers an unexpectedly happy ending to the Hollywood fairy tale as Rick meets Jay Sebring in the aftermath of the mayhem. Rick tells Jay about the break-in and Jay asks if everyone is okay. Rick assures him "the hippies" are not, which the viewers can attest to by having just witnessed their gory slaughter moments earlier. This quote is funny because Rick's simple and detached summarization directly conflicts with the carnage of his encounter with the Manson Family . No one else but Rick could be so nonchalant about avoiding certain death at the hands of a notorious hippie cult.
