I have heard critics and audiences say that titanic had "cheesy dialogue". I've seen the movie 8 times and not once have i thought that any line in the movie was close to being "cheesy". Can somebody please fill me in on which lines in particular they think are "cheesy"?

-- - (kwinsletjc@aol.com), February 26, 1998

Answers

"Where to, miss?" "To the STARS....." This line may be a leeeetle cheesy.....

-- Laura (lrc@usit.net), February 26, 1998.

I love that line! Especially how she whispers it in his ear.

-- Kerri (maynard.allens@worldnet.att.net), February 26, 1998.

My boyfriend (who really liked the movie), makes me laugh whenever he impersonates Jack saying this line, "They've got you trapped Rose! If you don't break free you're gonna die!" As much as I loooooved the movie, when he does this impression, I have to laugh because it is a little cheesy.

-- Jen Alexander (jmalexande@mofo.com), February 26, 1998.

"You have a gift, Jack. You see people." ... "I see you..."

That's just one example, but you guys listed others. The dialog is kind of cheesy, but not as annoying as hearing Scarlett yell "Rhett! Rhett! Rhett! Oh Rhett!" a hundred times in Gone With The Wind. Dost thou agree? What I want to know is why the critics seem surprised about it enough to even point it out. People know, it's not worth mentioning. James Cameron isn't Shakespear, he's just a great director. Sure someone could have cleaned up the script, but it wouldn't have the same feel. It's similar to Star Wars, in that the script reflects the director. Does anyone notice anything else about Star Wars that is similar to Titanic, besides a few cheesy lines here or there? The fact is, there's nothing the critics can talk bad about BUT the dialog. Not too shabby. =)

-- Dave Phillips (Sonitus@USA.net), February 27, 1998.

I think the biggest problem with the screenplay, besides some cheesy lines is that a lot of it looks good on paper, but just doesn't "sell" as dialogue. No offense to the actors, they did a great job with some really BAD lines. I loved the movie, but here is just a small sample of some lines I thought were cheesy, could have been much better, just "sounded wrong", or were just missed opportunities. It's been a while since I've seen the movie so some of these might be inaccurate:

"We're getting ready to launch. Do you see these submersilbles going into the water?" "..."Now Calvert is dead and from what I hear Cedar Rapids is dead..." "Are you ready to go back to Titanic?" "This is it boys, somebody's life's about to change." "Take her to sea, Mr. Murdoch, let's stretch her legs." "I can see the Statue of Liberty already, very small of course..." "I'm the king of the World!" "Freud? Who is he? Is he a passenger?" "They're like something out of a dream. There's truth but no logic." "Jack, this is exquisite work. You have a gift, Jack. You do. You see people." ,"I see you.","And?","You wouldn't have jumped."

"It's so unfair.","Of course it's unfair - we're women. Our choices are never easy."

"I saw my life as if I had already lived it..." "I'll just wait here." (WINNER - densest line in the movie.) "Did you see the look on those guys' faces? Did you see..." "Where to miss.", "To the stars." "Your trembling." "Don't worry. I'll be alright." "It is a little slut, isn't it? Look at me when I speak to you!" "Jack, this is where we first met." (2nd place - densest line) ALL of Molly Brown's dialogue, including : "Hey Astor" (no follow-up), "Now there's something you don't see every day.", "Well Jack, sounds like you're a good man to have around in a sticky spot.", "You shine up like a new penny.", "God Almighty"(In boat after long pause seemed to indicate that something profound might be uttered.

"A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets. But now you know there was a man named Jack Dawson and that he saved me, in every way a person can be saved. I don't even have a picture of him. He exists now only in my memory."

"I was saving this for when I found the diamond. I just didn't get it. I never let it in."

-- Dan Dalton (DDa2309070@aol.com), February 27, 1998.

I liked most of those lines, Dan.

Anyway, while I don't think that dialogue writing was the movie's strongest suit, I have gotten a little tired of critics attacking it. Most of the writing is at least sufficient, and at times rises to a genuinely moving level. I don't think that the film could move us as it does without some pretty fair writing.

By doing the writing himself, Cameron maintained a certain purity of vision in the film, which is a virtue that should not be underestimated. I'd rather have Cameron's screenplay, with whatever minor flaws it may have, than a screenplay by six different writers, each with his own agenda, as is so often the case in Hollywood these days.

-- Thomas Shoebotham (cathytom@ix.netcom.com), February 27, 1998.

I thought some of those lines, such as "I'll just wait right here." added a nice touch of humor to the heavily dramatic moments in the movie. Remember "I'm gonna write a strongly-worded letter to the White Star Line...." I believe lines like these were just another way for Cameron to show how Jack could see hope in even the worst situations.

-- Julie (joiner@stsplus.msstate.edu), February 27, 1998.

Wow, Dan. Are you sure you liked the movie?

-- Jen Alexander (jmalexande@mofo.com), February 27, 1998.

Yes, but please remember the year was 1912. Slang was less common then.

-- Rose (rose364@earthlink.net), February 27, 1998.

I'm sure you guys would probably use similar lines if this happened to you in real life. You wouldn't analyze what you were saying. You just say stuff don't you? The same goes for Titanic. The story is supposed to be based on something that happened to Rose, so why not use real lines with real people? Those lines you guys said were cheesy added romanticism and humor to the film. It wouldn't be the same without them. Did you expect them to use spiffy old-fashioned English?

-- Jennifer (foo@bar.com), February 27, 1998.

Actually, slang was just as common then as now. It was just *different* slang. Heck, many teens today probably wouldn't understand slang phrases from the 1940s and 1950s! Folks didn't speak pure King's English back in 1912, just as they don't today.

ml

-- Mary Lynne Nielsen (m.nielsen@ieee.org), February 28, 1998.

I agree about a few cheesy lines, but I really feel some folks have gone overboard with this criticism. Dan, I'm glad you liked the movie, but I disagree with the many lines you call cheesy. Some of them were SO appropropriate, like "I'll just wait here." There were very few moments when one could laugh in this film, and that was one (apparently many people in my viewings agreed).

-- Bob Gregorio (rgregori@pacbell.net), March 15, 1998.

I have to go with the majority on this one. I really didn't think very many of the lines were cheesey. I think critics have to pick on something, and when there isn't much wrong with a movie, you have to look really hard to find something to complain about.

Dan, I was surprised to see your list of cheesey lines. I usually agree with a lot of your thoughts, but this time, sorry!

-- Becky Gordon (becky.gordon@pfs.sprint.com), March 16, 1998.

Thank Goodness, the cheesiest line in the script, from the worst scene in the movie, was left on the cutting room floor. They filmed a scene where Jack and Lovejoy get in a fight in the flooded dining room. After Jack punches Lovejoy in the gut, the script calls for him to say "Compliments of the Chippewa Falls Dawsons!" Now that's cheese!

Dan, a lot of those lines are cheesy, but remember that this is a romance, and romance is cheesy. Also, the story is told in the 90's by a woman who's spent 84 years romanticizing the story. It's only natural for her to throw in some more current dialogue during her recollection of events. Remember, Rose is a very hip old lady!

-- Jen (mjmwalk@worldnet.att.net), March 16, 1998.

Jen, what a good point about it being told in the 90's, therefore having 90's slang. I really never thought of it that way!

-- Becky Gordon (becky.gordon@pfs.sprint.com), March 19, 1998.

I adored Titanic, but I had to cringe when the ship hit the iceberg and Jack said, "This is bad." That's gotta be the worst line from the movie.

-- Nonie Maus (foo@bar.com), March 26, 1998.

I agree with Dan. A lot of lines were incredibly cheesy. I especially didn't like the Freud and Picasso jokes. As far as the "this is bad" line of Jack's, I think it's appropriate because it was not obvious to anyone that it WAS bad. People assumed the ship would be fine (until they could see that it was sinking.) I didn't really notice the cheese the first time, but after you see it a few times (5 for me) you just kind of wish they weren't there. i forget who said it, but whoever's boyfriend does the Jack impersonation :he must be hilarious!

-- Mariana Silva (msilva@igs.net), April 13, 1998.

well altough i have seen the movie 17 times (I know that sound pathetic)but I have to admite there was ONE and ONLY ONE cheesy line and it was................... PUT YOUR HANDS ON ME JACK! now i am sorry but NO we do not say that even if we are in love!

-- Bargandy Yougng (ilt29@hotmail.com), April 13, 1998.

"Take me to the stars" - what a cool line. Believe it was Dan Draghici who pointed out (to me, anyway) that later, when the stern is rising, Jack indeed takes her to the stars (the highest point on the ship). "Put your hands on me" - another great line. As we've discussed many a time, hands were very symbolic in this movie. Would you have preferred "Make love to me" or "Do me" or perhaps no words at all? And I'm not through commenting on all the lines some of you call cheesy. Dalton, get ready. I know you're shaking with fear.

-- Bob Gregorio (rgregorio@ibm.net), April 13, 1998.

Bargandy and Bob: Yes, "Put your hands on me, Jack" is a cheesy line. But I know why Cameron felt he had to include it, or something like it. He felt it was important to show that Rose was initiating the coition, that she was in complete control. Of course, Rose literally pulling Jack by the shoulders into the back seat of the car was our first clue. Both to Rose's intention and the hierarchy.

Every negative review of "Titanic" I've read focussed almost exclusively on the poor dialogue. Many of the good reviews also mentioned weak dialogue. Is it a fatal flaw? Obviously not.

One of the most clever one-line negative reviews I read was: "Titanic is a gold-plated production about an "unsinkable" steel-hulled ship, written by a tin-eared director." Whatever you think of this critique, you can't argue with the critic's excellent grasp of metalurgy...

-- Dan Dalton (DDalton2@prodigy.net), April 19, 1998.

I guess some of us feel the need to cite critics in order to support a viewpoint. That's fine, as long as one sees other films that critics consider to have superior dialogue, like Boogie Nights, which got an Oscar screenplay nomination. As long as we're using critics to back us up, recall that Titanic got a screenplay nomination at the Golden Globes, and (unless I'm mistaken), unlike at the Oscars where there are 10 possible nominations (over 2 categories), there are only 5.

-- Bob Gregorio (rgregorio@ibm.net), April 19, 1998.

P.S. I don't know how many people nominate a screenplay at the Globes (~80 vote for the winner though) or at the Oscars. I do know that at the Oscars, the writers branch (not the 4-5000 members) nominates screenplays.

-- BobG (rgregorio@ibm.net), April 19, 1998.

There was one very, very cheesy line. Waiter: "Caviar, sir?" Jack: "No, thanks, never did like it much. If you have any more provolone, though, I'd like some for my crackers."

-- Xiao-Xia (Xiaoxia@chinacorp.com.ch), April 20, 1998.

I have to admit it; Titanic is my all-time favorite movie. In my opinion, the Titanic was very sweet and romantic. To me, the movie is just perfect. The only thing cheesy about it is the scene where Jack teaches Rose how to "spit like a man." I think they should have made it a deleted scene. Talk about cheesy!

-- Melissa Johnson (queengurl123@msn.com), January 24, 2003.

I LOVED THE MOVIE!!

-- Taylor HAHAHA (stkshoe@yahoo.com), April 09, 2003.

"hush them butter laced gums chior boy or im gonna clout you in the chops and open up them front teeth like they were saloon doors". "Whytanic 2 - raise and sink" ... starring: andrew dice clay as "mr pockets".

-- THE ANCHOR MAN! (FUNKIFRESH@AOL.COM), October 08, 2003.