20 famous last lines from your favorite ’90s movies
By Sundi Rose
Groundhog Day
The very phrase “Groundhog Day” has worked its way into our cultural vocabulary, not to indicate the weather-adjacent holiday, but to reference the plot of the popular Bill Murray movie. Phil, the character, not the groundhog, is doomed to repeat the same day over and over. So when he finally wakes up to a brand new day, it’s pretty exciting. He looks out the window, notices it’s a new day, and responds to his girlfriend’s request to stay there forever. He replies incredulously:
“We’ll rent to start.”
The Matrix
Much like Groundhog Day, the title (and plot) of the movie has become a stand-in for our existential woes about our existence. Lots of goings on about choice and awareness, and whether or not we’re all really “woke” or not. The very last line encapsulates this perfectly. Neo warns listeners:
“Where we go from here is a choice I leave you.”
The Truman Show
Although the premise of this show doesn’t seem so far-flung from our current reality-TV landscape, 20 years ago, the constant surveillance felt invasive and nightmarish. Jim Carey’s Truman finally found his way out the constructed system that was his life, leaving viewers in the film without their favorite TV character. The final lines are uttered by two such audience members, realizing the “transmission” has been “ceased.” The very last line of the film is such:
“Where’s the TV Guide?”
You’ve Got Mail
This classic rom-com has a few technology-related issues that haven’t aged too well, but the basic premise of online dating remains the same. Long before we had Catfish, we had Kathleen and Joe falling in love behind their keyboards while becoming professional enemies IRL. We all knew they would get together, and the very last line of the movie just sort of summarizes how we felt all along. Kathleen tells Joe:
“I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly.”
The Silence of the Lambs
Hannibal Lecter has worked his way into the nightmares of an entire culture. Prequels, sequels, and a TV series have been spawned from this character with a refined taste for human flesh. Almost every word he utters in this film will chill you to the bone, but his final words made me sleep with the lights on for weeks. He quips cooly:
“I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner. Bye.”