In 2004, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg released what’s often considered one of the funniest horror movie spoofs ever, Shaun of the Dead. One decade and several accolades later, they’ve sought to end their “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy following the action-comedy Hot Fuzz, with the sci-fi-tinged laugher known as The World’s End. Like their previous hits, this ’13 film has tons of laugh-out-loud moments, clever zingers, and silly one-liners. There’s much of that familiar Wright and Pegg goofiness and thrilling action, and – like their ’04 zombie romp – ample drinking. The film is both a wacky popcorn comedy and astute social commentary, wrapped in a fun science fiction premise.
It follows a gang of old friends seeking to complete the “Golden Mile” by downing beers at a dozen pubs. This endeavor is led by a man who hasn’t quite grown up decades after their first go at it. But the group soon finds itself at odds with a robotic threat, and naturally – chaos and hijinks ensue. As one might imagine, such a premise sets the stage for plenty of hilarious and otherwise memorable quotes. Let’s take a look at ten of the most yuk-inducing.
“The Old Brake Lights! So-Called Because They’re Always Breaking.”
In what seems to be a subtle Hot Fuzz callback, Gary and his crew get pulled over by a motorcycle cop, on account of a broken left brake light. In typical witty Wright and Pegg fashion, our wacky lead responds with this clever quip.
It’s an amusing way to help establish the film’s formula of zany one-liners before the gang even arrives at the first pub and things go haywire. It would seem that Gary’s old junker, known as “The Beast,” is still rather hairy despite its many tune-ups.
“Let’s Boo-Boo!”
Another Wright and Pegg tradition is to include reoccurring bits of dialogue and one-liners; usually of a humorous bent. One such example is this silly, seemingly out-of-left-field remark from Gary, who uses this as an indicator to take off.
In a callback to their glory days of ’90, Gary reminds his pals of a cheeky sign of one of his teachers, which read “exit, pursued by a bear.” This was an obscure reference to a Shakespeare play, from which Gary, being Gary, decided to put his own twist on it. In his version, the universal indicator of seeking a quick getaway, he’d proclaim “exit, pursued by Yogi Bear,” which devolved over time to “Let’s Yogi and Boo-Boo,” and finally, just – “Let’s Boo-Boo.” The rest, as they say, is history…
“Every Year Is the Aniversary Of A Year.”
In a desperate attempt to validate Gary’s nostalgic journey through The Golden Mile, he implores Andy to remain with him rather than return to London via bus. The reason? Well, it’s apparently the anniversary of the group’s (failed) attempt to finish off this endeavor as teenagers.
Oliver informs him that technically isn’t the case, since the current date is misaligned from their initial event by months. Gary shrugs it off by arguing that “it’s the anniversary of the year,” which coaxes this hilarious – and true – response from Oliver.
“To Err Is Human, So… Err.”
It’s true that humanity has its share of imperfections, as the robotic “blanks” establish to their flesh-and-blood counterparts.
At the end of the film, the gang stumbles upon a prominent figure of the human-replacing droids, known ambiguously as “The Light.” This ethereal entity launches into a sermon explaining that Earth has no place in “The Network” with the flawed species roaming the planet. In an amusingly ironic response, Gary fails to recall the famous phrase, “to err is human,” forcing Andy to jump in and remind him. But the comedic “oomph” is taken one step further by this line, which manages to be both clever and goofy.
“A Man Of Your Legendary Prowess Drinking F****** Rain.”
During one of those characteristically “Edgar Wright” series of close-ups and frantic editing, each of the crew’s glasses is shown being filled with frothy ale multiple times. But in a humorous juxtaposition, Andy’s glass is shown with equally-dramatic framing – being softly filled by tap water.
This imagery manages to be funny enough, but Gary takes it to the next level by calling out his friend for his dedication to abstaining from alcohol. Using colorful terminology, he knocks him for drinking what amounts to precipitation rather than beer. But the laughs only continue as he likens this to “A lion eating some hummus.” Gary sure has a way with words.
“It’s Difficult To Put Into Words, But If I Had To Choose Three, I’d Say ‘Really, REALLY Sad.'”
Well – sometimes Gary has a way with words… When the somber topic of Mrs. King’s funeral is brought up, the feelings he expresses about the event aren’t exactly, well, “poetic.”
Not only is his description rather basic, but it’s not even contextually correct, as two of the words he chooses to describe his feelings – end up being the same word. He does manage to change up one of the words, by replacing “really” with “very,” despite still being a synonym. But hey, Gary’s a drinker, not an orator.
“What The F*** Does ‘WTF’ Mean?”
There have been more than a few lines throughout the Cornetto Trilogy that play with clever ironies and amusing puns, and The World’s End is no different. A reoccurring utterance in the film is “WTF,” an online phrase that’s seemingly transcended the internet realm in popularity, even as far back as 2013.
And despite its short length, this line shouted by an oblivious Gary – following a brawl with the blanks – has a particularly hilarious irony.
“I Just Punched My Wedding Ring Out Of A Robot’s Tummy.”
Things start to escalate during the chaotic final act, which sees Gary and the gang staving off an increasing number of hostile blanks. It’s at this point where the typically subdued Andy starts going off, no-doubt spurred by his return to beer and growing aggravation with the bots.
After getting his wedding ring consumed by a robotic version of an old crush, he plunges his fist into her stomach and, with a hand doused in blue robot blood, reclaims the item. The audience is then reminded just how silly this entire scenario is with this hilariously-delivered line by Nick Frost.
“We’re Going To See This Through To The Bitter End – Or Lager End.”
With this quote, the protagonist seeks to rally the troops so that they may begin The Golden Mile and finally complete it. Those at least mildly well-versed in beer terminology are likely to get a kick out of this pun from “The King.”
The fact that, from a contextual standpoint, this casually-uttered quip actually sort of makes sense, just adds to its humor. Gary’s crew does, at least loosely speaking, see their journey to both the bitter and lager end.
“Though We May Return With A Twinkle In Our Eyes, We Will In Truth Be Blind – Drunk.”
Speaking of pep talks, this “rah-rah” sermon from King serves to provide some laughs – and a descriptive summary of the gang’s beer-laden adventure through The Golden Mile.
After rattling off the names of all twelve pubs they’ll be tackling in order, he ends his speech on a high note with this prophetic quip.
