when did the sass happen?

[Werewolf]

100% noticed this phenomenon since the late 90's I call it Chandlerisation as Chandler from Friends seems to be the big influence for sassy, smart talking action heroes and other characters.
.

I think you need to go back at least 10 years before Friends, possibly 20 or 30, maybe a lot more...
Chandler might have influenced the look, but the base character is old.

The likes of Die hard* were doing the quips in "more serious" action films long before Friends, the likes of Batman were doing them in the 60's, and likes of the original Flash Gorden and other "serials" were doing them back in the 30's when you might have watched it before a film at the cinema.
It's been a character type practically since the birth of cinema, about all that has changed is you're probably more aware of them since Friends because that may have been when you were growing up/started paying attention, about all that changes is the language used and look gets updated to stay current.
Although a funny thing if you ever pay attention to a lot of film/TV set around certain times is that they'll often use modern hair styles especially for women (or ones that haven't ever really gone out of fashion), as they don't want someone to come of "frumpy" or "like your dad" because they've got a hairstyle you associate with your parents/grandparents/School teacher when the character is meant to be young, despite the fact that at that time it might have been a young persons/new/rebellious style.

I've watched quite a few films/tv series where I've thought "that character is based on X" only to fined that X might have been made 5+ years earlier.

[edit]
*Thinking about it, I'd possibly say that Chandler was based more on Bruce Willis in Hudson Hawk (4 years before Friends) in terms of the quips etc, but it's been probably 25 years since I last watched that in full.

 

[Hawk Tuah]

I was going to say, around the time Adobe ditched CS6 for Creative Cloud - and everyone else seemed to follow suit, but clearly I read the title a bit wrong.

 

[Greebo]

100% noticed this phenomenon since the late 90's I call it Chandlerisation as Chandler from Friends seems to be the big influence for sassy, smart talking action heroes and other characters.

I don't WTF happened to the Chuck Norris, Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson style of quiet heroes, but I much prefer that style to everyone in Marvel movies being laden with sarcastic one liners and cracking jokes while fighting.

Noticed this in video games too, almost any game with Nolan North as the hero is a wise cracking, dude bro with frat boy style inflection, annoying as ****.

Arnie would makes jokes in action movies but they were so bad and clumsy sounding that they had their own charm and became a tradition, one second in a movie, not the whole character being a stand up comic.

Some actors like Robert Downey Jr can pull off that style through personal charm, but most can't at all and it just comes off as so lame and hackneyed now.

Arnies films were full of one liners, usually as many jokes as people killed.

 

[PC777]

I think you need to go back at least 10 years before Friends, possibly 20 or 30, maybe a lot more...
Chandler might have influenced the look, but the base character is old.

The likes of Die hard were doing the quips in "more serious" action films long before Friends, the likes of Batman were doing them in the 60's, and likes of the original Flash Gorden and other "serials" were doing them back in the 30's when you might have watched it before a film at the cinema.
It's been a character type practically since the birth of cinema, about all that has changes is you're probably more aware of them since Friends because that may have been when you were growing up/started paying attention, about all that changes is the language used and look gets updated to stay current.
Although a funny thing if you ever pay attention to a lot of film/TV set around certain times is that they'll often use modern hair styles especially for women (or ones that haven't ever really gone out of fashion), as they don't want someone to come of "frumpy" or "like your dad" because they've got a hairstyle you associate with your parents/grandparents/School teacher when the character is meant to be young, despite the fact that at that time it might have been a young persons/new/rebellious style..

That's true to an extent but it's much more prevalent now, I also grew up with Die Hard. etc which was still a serious action movie for the time for all his quips, mostly everyone else took it seriously which is what made it work so well.

Also Batman from the 60's is a unique example, nothing really like it since in terms of using sound effect overlays, it was intentionally that style and worked really well for it, the word most often associated with that series is camp rather than sassy. No issue with the 60's Batman or Die Hard for me, both classics of a particular type.

A big modern proponent of a sassy style in action TV and movies is Joss Wheddon of Buffy the Vampire slayer and many movie scripts and re-writes. That sassy and sarcastic dialogue style became way more common for many character since 2000 or so.

Arnies films were full of one liners, usually as many jokes as people killed.

You're remembering more than there are, it's down to a few seconds of actual jokes in his actual 'serious' action movies, not any comedy hybrids like Like Action Hero. Most of the time it's action.

 

[Greebo]

You're remembering more than there are, it's down to a few seconds of actual jokes in his actual 'serious' action movies, not any comedy hybrids like Like Action Hero. Most of the time it's action.

Commando, Red Heat, Running Man etc All big action films but stuffed with one liners.

 

[PC777]

Commando, Red Heat, Running Man etc All big action films but stuffed with one liners.

Quote me some, I remember actual very out and out jokes like:

Knock Knock, I let him go.

These are also out and out jokes, not sarcastic, usually blatantly obvious statements.

The movies are funny in other ways but not for sarcastic or sassy dialogue.

 

[Greebo]

Quote me some, I remember actual very out and out jokes like:

Knock Knock, I let him go.

These are also out and out jokes, not sarcastic, usually blatantly obvious statements.

The movies are funny in other ways but not for sarcastic or sassy dialogue.

“give you a lift?" Running Man
“here is Subzero; now plain zero!”
“What a hothead!”
“What a pain in the neck.”
“He had to split.”
“You should clone yourself… so you can go **** yourself!” 6th Day
“Remember when I said I’d kill you last? I LIED!” Commando
“Let off some steam, Bennett”
“I eat Green Berets for breakfast. And right now, I’m very hungry!”
“You’re a funny guy Sully, I like you. That’s why I’m going to kill you last.”

 

[PC777]

“give you a lift?" Running Man
“here is Subzero; now plain zero!”
“What a hothead!”
“What a pain in the neck.”
“He had to split.”
“You should clone yourself… so you can go **** yourself!” 6th Day
“Remember when I said I’d kill you last? I LIED!” Commando
“Let off some steam, Bennett”
“I eat Green Berets for breakfast. And right now, I’m very hungry!”
“You’re a funny guy Sully, I like you. That’s why I’m going to kill you last.”

Some good ones, some questionable, but in most instances they are just plain statements said deadpan in an accent which makes them funny and memorable but they're not sarcasm.

That's about 4 lines each in two 90 minute action movies, so a few seconds per movie like I said in a traditional style that became his trademark. Plenty more funny things in Arnie's movies than any kind of sassy dialogue which is the point of the topic.

 

[chroniclard]

Ok boomers

 

[Greebo]

Some good ones, some questionable, but in most instances they are just plain statements said deadpan in an accent which makes them funny and memorable but they're not sarcasm.

That's about 4 lines each in two 90 minute action movies, so a few seconds per movie like I said in a traditional style that became his trademark. Plenty more funny things in Arnie's movies than any kind of sassy dialogue which is the point of the topic.

That was a mere small selection of some of the best ones. You may say they arent "sassy" but its definitely the start of it all and why we dont get any action movies without humour anymore.

 

[Em3bbs]

I remember a time when people knew how to use capital letters at start of sentences. Despair for the youth of today.

Do you mean you remember a time when people knew how to use capital letters at the start of sentences?

I despair of some of the elder grammar nazis here.

 

[PC777]

That was a mere small selection of some of the best ones. You may say they arent "sassy" but its definitely the start of it all and why we dont get any action movies without humour anymore.

Ok then post all the better ones, you've posted all the best known ones they're a fraction of each movie at best.

It's not the start either, Roger Moore's Bond had a ton of humour it as action movies in the 70's, but they were more jokes than sarcasm, like Arnie's were more in jokes based on his accent than any deliberate sarcasm.