Swann's Take

      Ah, My Favorite Year was on the tube today. The movie is a constant delight, and I couldn't help but wonder if Johnny Depp, in playing Captain Jack in Pirates of the Caribbean, was borrowing more than a bit from Peter O'Toole's brilliant performance as Allan Swann, the glorious bon vivant star of old pirate movies. Some of the movie's lines are terrific (see below), and rewatching it today was like running into an old friend. If you've not seen it, do.

[Alan Swann pours himself a drink.]
Benjy Stone: Mr. Swann, I was supposed to watch you, remember?
Swann: Good. Watch this.
[Drinks.]
Swann: [Pouring another drink.] Want to see it again?
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[An obviously drunken Swann meets the writing staff.]
Sy: He's plastered!
Alan Swann: So are some of the finest erections in Europe.
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[Handing Benjy a glass.]
Alan Swann: Stone, you can watch me or you can join me. One of them is more fun.
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Alan Swann: Are you still in the fight game?
Rookie Carroca: In a way. I married Benjy's mother.
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Benjy Stone: I think I'm going to be unwell.
Alan Swann: Ladies are unwell, Stone. Gentlemen vomit.
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[Alan Swann has blundered into the wrong restroom]
Lil: This is for ladies only!
Alan Swann: [unzipping fly] So is *this*, ma'am, but every now and then I have to run a little water through it.
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Benjy Stone: Catherine, Jews know two things: suffering, and where to find great Chinese food.
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K.C.: I mean, what do you want from me?
Benjy Stone: Sex!
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Alan Swann: Damn you! I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!
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[Benjy Stone and a very drunken Alan Swann are up on a roof as Swann attempts to shimmy down the side of the building]
Benjy Stone: Let's *not* do this - it's too dangerous!
Alan Swann: Nonsense! It worked perfectly well in "A Slight Case of Divorce"!
Benjy Stone: That was a movie! This is real life!
Alan Swann: What is the difference?
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Sy: California? You can't write comedy in California! It's not depressing enough!
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Swann: What's in a name? A rose by any other name would wither and die.

If more people sported even an ounce of Swann's panache, the world would be a much more fun place to live. :-)