Terrific Taglines Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

"Ferris Bueller's Day Off" concerns the title character (played by Matthew Broderick), his girlfriend and his best friend Cameron skipping school so as to have one final great day before they all head off to different universities. They see a Cubs game, eat at a fancy restaurant, go to the Sears Tower and avoid the Javert-like investigations of the Dean of Students.

"Leisure Rules" was another tag from this movie. The actors who play Ferris's mom and dad in the film (Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward) ended up getting married in real life.

Answer: A Fish Called Wanda

"A Fish Called Wanda" is the story of a team of crooks trying to find out where their leader stashed the loot from a heist before he got caught and imprisoned. Jamie Lee Curtis's character (Wanda--she and a pet fish share the name) attempts to seduce the barrister (John Cleese) in charge of her boss's defense, but her lover (Kevin Kline) makes this plan difficult due to his jealousy and propensity to show up at the worst possible time, romantically.

The movie was released in July of '88, but it took two full months for it to hit #1 at the box office. The four main actors (Cleese, Palin, Kline and Curtis) reunited for 1997's "Fierce Creatures", though it was not a sequel to "Wanda", nor did the actors play the same roles in the two movies.

Answer: Chicken Run

"Chicken Run" takes the same theme as "The Great Escape", but with animated poultry instead of World War II POWs. The chicken farmer (Willard Tweedy, voiced by Tony Haygarth) is converting his operation from egg production to chicken pie making, and it's up to American rooster Rocky Rhodes and English hen Ginger to get the threatened pullets to freedom before they end up wrapped in pastry and swimming in carrots and potatoes.

Mel Gibson recorded all his lines (as Rocky) in the United States, while all the British actors and actresses got together to record their parts. Aardman Animations, who made the film, is also the producer of all the Wallace and Gromit stop-motion movies and "Flushed Away".

Answer: Wayne's World

'Hurl' is, of course, one of Wayne and Garth's favorite phrases in "Wayne's World" (along with 'Not!' and 'Babe-raham Lincoln'). The plot of the movie is the duo's attempts to keep their cable-access program pure and untainted in the face of corporate sponsorship and the growing love between Wayne and rock goddess Cassandra Wong (Tia Carrere).

"Wayne's World" was one of the more successful movies based on characters from Saturday Night Live. In 2008, the stars Mike Myers and Dana Carvey put on their wigs and outfits for the first time in fourteen years, to do a sketch at the MTV Movie Awards.

Answer: The Graduate

Benjamin Braddock, when "The Graduate" begins, has finished college and has no idea what to do with his life (in spite of advice like "Plastics" from a family friend). Choosing inertia, he spends his days floating in his parents' pool and he drifts into an affair with the much older Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). It's only when he falls in love with Mrs. Robinson's daughter (Katherine Ross) that he takes charge of his life and future--when the movie ends, Benjamin and Elaine are riding a bus into the unknown, but they're doing it together.

The American Film Institute ranked "The Graduate" #7 on its list of greatest films of all time. Mike Nichols won Best Director for the picture, and stars Dustin Hoffman, Bancroft and Ross were all nominated for Academy Awards as well.

Answer: Halloween

In "Halloween", it's Michael Myers coming home--from the mental hospital he's spent fifteen years in, after murdering his sister. This time, he's after Jamie Lee Curtis' character and her friends in rural Haddonfield, Illinois. Director John Carpenter hit it big with this movie.

"Halloween" cost just over $300,000 to make, and ended up making Curtis' career as well. HE came home a few more times. There have been at least seven sequels, a remake, and a sequel to the remake. One of those sequels, though ("Halloween 3: The Season of the Witch") doesn't include Michael in its plot.

Answer: Flash Gordon

The question in "Flash Gordon"s tagline is asked by Ming, who is slowly destroying the Earth for amusement. It's up to Dr. Hans Zarkoff (Topol) and star quarterback Flash (Sam J. Jones) to fly an experimental rocket ship to Mongo and save the day.

The movie features a young Timothy Dalton (pre-James Bond) as Prince Barin, and Max von Sydow as the scenery-chomping Ming the Merciless. It's a fun film, even though now it's mostly remembered for its soundtrack (by Queen).

Answer: Swingers

"Swingers" tells the story of Mike Peters (Jon Favreau), an unemployed actor who can't get over a break-up, and his friends, who try to coach him in the swinging, lady-killing lifestyle. Ranging from Hollywood and Los Feliz to Las Vegas, in cocktail lounges and nightclubs, the movie captures the swing music revival and the show business nightlife.

"Swingers" was Vince Vaughn's big break. Steven Spielberg saw the movie, liked the actor, and cast him in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park", paving the way for all the Vaughn romantic comedies of the early 21st century.

Answer: House of Wax

"House of Wax" is a horror movie about a group of teenagers (of course) taking a wrong turn and ending up battling a set of psychopathic twins who like to embalm people in wax and display them in their dead parents' museum.

'Paris' is, of course, Paris Hilton, and her death scene is everything they advertised it to be.

Answer: Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

"Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" is about the Crandell family and their struggles to have a fun summer after the woman hired to take care of them (the monstrous Mrs. Sturak, played by Eda Reiss Merin) drops dead. Christina Applegate, the oldest sibling, takes charge--finding a job, falling in love, and designing upscale fashions for General Apparel West, all while taking care of her siblings.

The unwieldy title was chosen because "The Real World" (its original name) might have caused confusion with MTV's new show. A good thing, too--star Applegate won "Most Desirable Female" at the next year's MTV Movie Awards.