The 10 Greatest Mother*#@$ing Cursers in Movie History

Posted by Danny Gallagher (danny@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 23, 2007

Some parents with small children might not like it, but cursing can actually make a movie better. Movies are about bringing fantastical, unreal moments and making them seem just for a few moments as if they are really happening. That’s hard to accomplish when a censor dictates that a character who gets shot in the neck has to utter a loud “Gosh darn it to heck and back!” because of some kids in the audience.

But just like any performance art, cursing takes talent. Anyone can utter a string of obscenities that could make Kevin Smith ask them to stick a quarter in the cuss jar, but it takes talent and the right touch to make a curse word funny, scary or dramatic. So get your soap and cover your kids’ ears because here are 10 of the finest filthy-mouthed film stars.

10. Billy Bob Thornton in “Primary Colors”
Thornton may know his way around a stage. But with a lot of attitude and a little Southern charm, Thornton can cuss up a storm just like the good ol’ boys back home. “Primary Colors” may have been a giant dirty bomb, but his %#*$ing in the Woods” allegory made his character the most fun.

9. Jason Statham in “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”
Take a fast talking Cockney British guy, the voice of a man who smokes four packs of cigarettes a day, throw in some salty language and you’ve got Statham. Just listening to his curse slinging can you help understand how so many soccer riots start in Britain.

8. Jay Mewes AKA Jay in “Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back”
Kevin Smith wouldn’t have much of a career to speak of without the foul mouth of Silent Bob’s hetero-lifemate, but his cursing makes his performances as the drug dealer Jay something worthy to speak of. His smoky voice and confident swagger make his cursing sound like the cries of a wise old blues singer who speaks his mind and doesn’t care who he offends.

7. Jack Lemmon in “Glengarry Glen Ross”
His earlier movies (my personal favorites are “Mister Roberts” and “The Great Race”) may make him seem to younger generations like the kind old man who lives down the block and hands out hard candy to all the kids in the neighborhood. But underneath that gray hair and checkered golf shirt lies the soul of a very profane man who’s ready to flip off the world and tell them where to stick it. He even the only “mother#*$er” in this group that has a favorite curse word, according to his interview “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” It’s “#*(#sucking mother(#$*#er.”

6. Nick Frost in “Shaun of the Dead”
The “Costello” to Simon Pegg’s “Abbott” may not utter a stream of obscenities like bullets from an AK47. But when he does, he squeezes every last drop of comedy out of it. He can use the “F” word, the “MF” word and even the treacherous, career killing “N” word to punch the audience in the face with the strength of a doped up prizefighter and the audience counters in return a huge roaring laugh.

5. Eric Cartman in “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut”
We all knew Cartman would have the best and baudiest cursing moments when it came to bringing the TV show to the big screen. But no one ever could have predicted that the fat ass’s dirty, dirty mouth, which up until the movie was only good for destroying Cheesy Poofs and Snacky Cakes, could actually be used as a weapon. There’s not a silencer big enough for this kid.

4. Jeff Bridges in “The Big Lebowski”
Bridges doesn’t get many chances to drop the “F-bomb” in between his various movie roles and voice overs for Duracell commercials. But we would be remiss if we didn’t mention his brilliant performance in one of the Coen Brothers’ brightest and best movies to date. His cursing not only makes the performance funny and real because such a stream of angry curse words would be the last thing you’d expect from a peace loving, “Creedance” listening, weed smoking hippie.

3. Samuel L. Jackson in “Pulp Fiction”
He’s had some better performances earlier in his day, but even a bad movie can be made better by his potty mouth. “Pulp Fiction” and “Snakes on a Plane” might be his most popular performances to date, but they’ve also got some of the most quotable cursing scenes. It’s the only time in history that the word “mother##*$er” could be acceptable in public as long as it was in the phrase by “I’m sick of these mother#%$*ing snakes on this mother*#%$ing plane!”

2. Al Pacino of “Scarface”
If you’re going to curse, you’d better have a strong voice to back it up and no one can make the spittle fly like the Godfather himself. Pacino is to cursing what Picasso is to painting. He throws them around the room from all sides and at all angles and when the dust clears, you have a masterpiece of profanity staring you in the face. If you could capture just one of Pacino’s cursings and put it in a frame, you’d get a check from Sotheby’s auction house that would put you on easy street for the rest of your life.

1. Joe Pesci in “Goodfellas”
But when it comes to big time, no holds barred, balls to the #*($ing wall cursing, there’s only one face to turn to my friend. And even though you may have to look down when you turn to it, expect to be brought down to your knees. Almost every performance Pesci has done were about guys who spoke from their heart and didn’t bother to filter it by the time it came flying out of their mouths. Imagine how much better “Gone Fishin’” would have been if the director let him sling a few “#*#$s” around the room.

Read more articles by Danny Gallagher