Jessica Walter’s best one-liners as Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development
'I don't understand the question, and I won't respond to it'
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Your support makes all the difference.Jessica Walter, who died in her sleep on Wednesday, had a huge number of roles on the stage, in television, and in film.
But most pop culture fans will probably know her best as the hysterically supercilious Lucille Bluth on the short-lived sitcom Arrested Development, which earned a cult following after it went off the air in 2006.
Netflix even revived the series, with a fourth and fifth season, which ran in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
As Lucille, the pampered, constantly sauced wife of family patriarch George Bluth Sr (Jeffrey Tambor), Walter got some of the best one-liners on the entire show. Hardly a scene went by where she wasn't rolling her eyes (or attempting to wink), verbally shutting down her kids, or swanning around her luxury apartment with a martini in hand (probably at 10 AM).
She wasn't a character to root for, exactly, but Walter brought such a dry, oblivious comedy to every line, you couldn't help but want the best for Lucille at the end of every episode.
READ MORE: Jessica Walter death: Emmy-winning Arrested Development and Archer actor dies aged 80
Below, The Independent has compiled the greatest one-liners from Jessica Walter as Lucille Bluth.
“I don’t understand the question, and I won’t respond to it.”
While ordering the “Ike and Tina Tuna” at Klimpy’s, Lucille is asked by the waitress, “Plate or platter?” Lucille, who couldn’t get a spot at the new, hip restaurant, “Rud”, draws a blank, and haughtily replies, “I don’t understand the question, and I won’t respond to it.”
“Here’s some money. Go see a Star War.”
When Lucille's adopted Korean son Annyong (Justin Lee) informs her that he saw an Army-bound Buster (Tony Hale) hop into the trunk of a car headed to Mexico, the family matriarch breathes a sigh of relief and instructs Annyong (which just means “hello”) to “go see a Star War”.
“I mean, it’s one banana, Michael. What could it cost? $10?”
While admonishing her son Michael (Jason Bateman) for denying his brother Gob (Will Arnett) a free frozen banana in the famous “Charity Drive” Season 1 episode, Lucille reveals how out of touch she is with how much things cost in this instant classic line.
“Rich people being out-of-touch was central to Arrested Development from the start,” co-executive producer John Levenstein told MEL Magazinelast year.
“Lucille had the air of, ‘This is how the world works,’ and Jessica Walter’s delivery was so incredible, so dependable,” added supervising producer Barbie Adler, who wrote the episode.
“I don’t care for Gob.”
In the Arrested Development pilot episode, Lucille scolds Michael for suggesting that she plays favourites with her children. “I love all of my children equally!” she says, before the camera cuts away to her saying – earlier that day, mind you – “I don’t care for Gob.”
“If that’s a veiled criticism about me, I won’t hear it, and I won’t respond to it.”
In the Season 1 episode “Key Decisions”, Lucille presses Michael to explain why he hasn’t been on more dates recently. “When’s the last time you went on a date?” she asks. “I just haven’t met anybody who’s not completely self-absorbed and impossible to have a conversation with,” Michael responds. “If that’s a veiled criticism about me, I won’t hear it, and I won’t respond to it,” Lucille flatly replies.
“Oh honey, I wanna cry so bad, but I don’t think I can spare the moisture.”
In a rare touching moment, Michael confides in Lucille in “Prison Break-In” that he actually does need her emotional support. “Oh honey,” she replies. “I wanna cry so bad, but I don’t think I can spare the moisture.” (Of course, it doesn’t help that Lucille makes that admission while she waits in a “conjugal visit” trailer.)
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