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If you made me laugh in 2022, you deserve a medal, as far as I’m concerned. And nothing makes me laugh harder than a talented actor just absolutely nailing the delivery of a funny line of dialogue. Sometimes, if the delivery is strong enough, the dialogue doesn’t even need to be funny—just give me that perfect combination of timing, intonation, and facial expression. Bing, bang, boom: You’ve got yourself a killer joke.
This brings me to my list of favorite line deliveries of 2022. Now, if you’ll notice the headline of this piece: These are my favorite deliveries of 2022. These are not necessarily the best deliveries of 2022, objectively speaking. I didn’t go out of my way to include TV shows or movies I haven’t seen, or ones that I didn’t particularly like. This is my list, damn it! If you don’t like it, get your own!
That said, I did go out of my way to exclude obvious Oscar hopefuls from this list. My sincere apologies to Lydia Tár and Evelyn Wang, but prestige isn’t what this list is aiming for. This list isn’t about Oscar monologues, it’s about those little laugh-out-loud moments, like Evan Rachel Wood in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. It’s about the silly voices that you can’t help but repeat back, like Matt Berry in What We Do in the Shadows. It’s about the lines you’ll be quoting with friends for years to come, like Rachel Sennott in Bodies Bodies Bodies. Without further ado, here are my top-line deliveries of 2022.
"He's white?"
Tom Hanks in Elvis
Though I’m loath to give Tom Hanks credit for anything he did in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic, I feel obligated to include this objectively insane moment on this list, if only for the meme of it all. It’s not so much Hank’s delivery here as it is the bonkers editing around the idea that Elvis Presley is, in fact, white.
"Someone's gotta run the cartel. May as well be me!"
Evan Rachel Wood in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Every single acting choice Evan Rachel Wood made while playing Madonna in this Weird Al biopic parody was inspired, brilliant, talented, never-before-seen. But I especially loved it when she winningly tried to convince Daniel Radcliffe that she’s the right woman to take over for Pablo Escobar.
"These gays! They're trying to murder me!"
Jennifer Coolidge in The White Lotus
I don’t even watch this show and therefore have no context for this whatsoever, yet I was instantly obsessed with this clip of Jennifer Coolidge saying, “Please. These gays. They’re trying to murder me!” Honestly, Coolidge is and always has been a line-delivery queen. 2022 was no exception to that rule.
"OK, cool, Harper. We all know information about each other."
also Dylan O’Brien in Not Okay pic.twitter.com/JS6cEftCmd
— Anna Menta (@annalikestweets) December 28, 2022
Dylan O’Brien in Not Okay
Dylan O’Brien is hysterical as a bleach-blonde dirtbag in Quinn Shephard’s sharp satire. But his absolutely funniest moment comes when another character calls him out for his fake “blaccent.” He drops the voice instantly, affecting his normal, white boy nerd voice that Teen Wolf fans know and love. Just brilliant.
"Didn't I tell you this motherf*cker was gonna come up here with a non-electrical camera? Let's go boy!"
Keke Palmer in Nope
The pure sibling energy that Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya radiate in this scene is off the charts. Palmer delivers the exact right level of exuberance over the discovery of a “non-electrical camera,” and the way she and Kaluuya are in sync over their celebrations never fails to put a smile on my face.
"NO! It's just dumb!"
Daniel Craig in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Daniel Craig was in top form as a new-and-improved Benoit Blanc (read: gay) in Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion. But perhaps his finest moment was just how righteously angry he got when Kate Hudson’s character tried to give credit where credit was not due to the film’s not-so-smart villain. He’s so freakin’ mad! It’s adorable!
"I. am not. Graaaaaaace!”
@jasonzeffir So funny/ Debra Messing doing her own Curb Your Enthusiasm 😂 #debramessing #willandgrace #comedy #billyeichner #bros #brosmovie #graceadler #meganmullally #karenwalker #seanhayes #jackmcfarland #ericmccormack #willtruman #sarahjessicaparker #gay #viral #trending #lgtbq🏳️🌈
Debra Messing in Bros
Sorry to Hugh Grant in Glass Onion, but Debra Messing in Bros was my favorite cameo of 2022. When Billy Eichner’s character dumps all his boy problems squarely on Messing’s lap, she promptly loses her shit. “I. am not. Graaaaaaace!” she screams, completely unhinged in the best way. “It is a character! I won an Emmy for it! I even beat Sarah Jessica Parker! People forget! I’m shaving my head.” Give Messing another Emmy for this.
"What?! There's no book club?!"
Warren Kole in Yellowjackets
It’s not easy being the husband of a woman who may or may not have resorted to cannibalism when she was stranded in the wilderness as a teenager. But the straw that breaks poor Jeff’s back isn’t when his wife tells him she is having an affair—it’s when he finds out her book club was a lie. Actor Warren Kole delivers this line with the perfect inflection of genuine hurt, while still playing the moment up for laughs.
"NeeEEEeeew Yaaahhk Ci-TAY"
Matt Berry in What We Do In the Shadows
God, it’s so hard to choose a Matt Berry quote when every word he said in What We Do In the Shadows Season 4 was absolute gold. (It really hurts my hurt not to include “Trust me. Gay is in. Gay is hot.“) But the way Berry makes the phrase “New York City” the funniest joke of the episode is pure brilliance.
"Your parents are Upper. Middle. Class." and "It's. Public."
Rachel Sennott and Myha’la Herrold in Bodies Bodies Bodies
Tied for first—because you really can’t have one without the other—is Rachel Sennott’s delivery of “Upper. Middle. Class.” and Myha’la Herrold’s comeback of “It’s. Public.” (The “it” being the public university where her parents teach, meaning there’s no way she could be upper middle class.) It’s a perfect call and response delivered with the perfect amount of gravitas. This brilliant scene from Bodies Bodies Bodies is a masterclass in satire, so take notes. My friends and I will be quoting this one for years to come.
