Show me the catchphrases

Film, TV slogans give people a sense of shared culture

March 27, 1997
Web posted at: 8:30 a.m. EST

From Correspondent Jill Brooke

NEW YORK (CNN) -- "Show me the money!" (51K/2 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Admit it. You've said it yourself. And now you're sick of it.

That's what happens when a popular catchphrase comes along. We laugh at it, we borrow it, and we improvise on it until it takes on a life of its own.

Take the exuberant slogan shouted by Cuba Gooding Jr. in "Jerry Maguire." Clever -- and some not-so-clever -- variations have popped up in monologues, magazines and newspaper headlines across the country.

Cameron Crowe, writer and director of "Jerry Maguire," put the phrase in his movie after hearing a real-life football player use it. And it took off.

"It hit me when I was watching the Westminister Dog Show," said Crowe. "When they managed to work 'Show me the money!' in a dog show, I knew it was all over. We were in the mainstream and flying."

Catchphrases have been entering our everyday language for decades.

Remember "I'll make then an offer they can't refuse" from "The Godfather?" How about "Would you believe ..." and "Sorry about that, Chief" from the '60s TV show "Get Smart." And, of course, "Gone with the Wind's" "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

The usual suspects

You know a phrase has arrived when public figures latch onto it. Former President Ronald Reagan got plenty of mileage out of Clint Eastwood's "Go ahead, make my day," while 1984 presidential candidate Walter Mondale borrowed from a popular hamburger commercial when he asked rival Gary Hart, "Where's the beef?"

So why do we like certain slogans?

"It makes people feel with it and current to use a phrase that they recently heard," said linguist Deborah Tannen, author of "Talking from 9 to 5."

"For example, people are saying, 'Walk the talk.' And they're using it in a similar way to 'Practice what you preach.' But if you say, 'Practice what you preach,' it sounds old-fashioned."

So phrases like "I'll be back" from "The Terminator" and "Whatever" from "Clueless" and "Isn't that special?" from "Saturday Night Live" are likely to keep on coming.

"The audience pretty much picks up on the catchphrase," said Tim Meadows, a longtime "Saturday Night Live" cast member. "And its lifespan is also determined by the audience."

And when one sticks? Well, perhaps Humphrey Bogart said it best to Claude Raines in "Casablanca": "This is the start of a beautiful friendship."

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