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It has been over 15 years since The Sopranos' finale aired, but fans still remember the crime drama fondly because of its imaginative cinematography and immersive character development. Often referred to as one of the best television shows, The Sopranos turned James Gandolfini into a household name and rightly so, as the actor brought a certain depth and relatability to his character, Tony Soprano.
While it is true that fans wouldn't necessarily connect The Sopranos with comedy, the writers did incorporate plenty of witty lines to cut through the tension when things got intense. Given the somber premise of the show, it was important to get the timing just right so that it didn't feel forced. Thankfully, The Sopranos' capable cast never missed the mark.
Across six seasons and 86 episodes, The Sopranos featured several clever quotes, but the ones mentioned on this list had a significant impact on viewers.
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Disclaimer: This list contains the opinions of the writer, and individual opinions may vary.
10 well-written, humorous quotes from The Sopranos that made viewers smile
10) "Whatever happened to Gary Cooper? The strong, silent type?" - Tony Soprano
Gandolfini's Tony has many memorable lines in The Sopranos, and this is certainly one of them. During a session with Lorraine Bracco's Dr Jennifer Melfi, she tries to make him face the fact that he has been struggling and needs help. But for Tony, who does the things he does daily, it isn't easy to connect with his emotional side.
And then Tony makes this comparison to Gary Cooper, known for his strong and silent on-screen persona. While completely random, Gandolfini delivered the line with so much conviction that he earned a well-deserved chuckle from the audience.
Interestingly enough, this isn't the last time that fans of The Sopranos hear of Gary Cooper, as Tony tends to bring him up in conversation several times in the following seasons.
9) "Who's speaking here? Is somebody speaking?" - Corrado Soprano
Corrado Soprano, also known as "Junior", is played by Dominic Chianese in The Sopranos. Fans of the show appreciated the evolution of his character because Junior's sarcastic side blossomed with the season's progression. Due to his age and experience, his humor differs from younger characters on The Sopranos.
When he delivers this particular quote, David Proval's Richie Aprile and his nephew, Jackie (Jason Cerbone), are in the room with him. Richie had been telling Junior about his grievances with Tony when Jackie ignorantly chimes in.
Junior's response to Jackie makes it evident that he has no time for immature mobsters who haven't seen the dark side of the business. He not only put Jackie in his place with this witty line but also establishes the power of his authority.
8) "Cunnalingus and psychiatry brought us to this." - Tony Soprano
Viewers who have followed The Sopranos from start to finish have seen friends turn into foes at the drop of a hat. Gandolfini's Tony is no stranger to the fact that in a life of crime, it is hard to find loyal allies, but he is still deeply disturbed when he finds out that his own mother tried to take him out of the game for good.
He says this iconic line while confiding to his wife, Carmela, portrayed by Edie Falco. Tony concludes that the situation wouldn't have escalated as such if he hadn't started his therapy sessions and brought up Uncle Junior's intimate activities.
Tony's choice of words hints at his attempt to sound intellectual, a trait that is rare in his line of business, and simultaneously provides relief from the intensity of the events leading up to the scene.
7) "He killed 16 Czechoslovakians. The guy was an interior decorator." - Paulie Gualtieri
The characters of The Sopranos handle dangerous situations, and things don't always go their way. In one particular instance, Tony Sirico's Paulie Gualtieri and Michael Imperioli's Christopher Moltisanti believed that Valery, portrayed by Vitali Baganov, was dead. And so, they take a trip to the Pine Barrens to bury the dead body.
However, it turned out that he was alive and managed to run from the duo. As they search for him, Paulie gets a call from Tony, who tells him that Valery used to be in the Russian Interior Ministry and had killed 16 Chechen rebels. Because the signal was bad, Paulie misheard the information and believed that Valery was an interior decorator who killed 16 Czechoslovakians.
Paulie relayed the same information to Christopher, never once doubting the fact that what he was saying made little sense. His stoic expression and confident manner of speaking made viewers laugh, who knew what Tony had actually said on his end.
6) "I'm like King Midas in reverse, everything I touch turns to sh*t." - Tony Soprano
It is common knowledge that some of the best scenes in The Sopranos are the therapy sessions with Dr Melfi. Bracco's character had an uncanny ability to get under Tony's skin. As part of her job, she made Tony ask himself the more difficult questions, and he always responded with wise remarks.
In this particular scene, he complains to Dr Melfi about how every decision he makes somehow ends up being wrong. He says that he is the opposite of King Midas, a prominent figure from Greek mythology who could turn any object he touched into gold.
Even though Tony critiqued his leadership, fans of The Sopranos found it funny that even in the middle of a severe bout of depression, the protagonist's witty sense of humor was unchanged.
5) "Why not? Last year, you believed a flying saucer was over East Rutherford." - Ralph Cifaretto
While the lack of intelligence isn't a deal breaker in the mafioso world, it is evident that characters in The Sopranos who make smart decisions receive better payouts. Sirico's Paulie wasn't thinking clearly when he allowed Joe Pantoliano's Ralph to carry out the $100,000 heist all by himself. So, when the time came to divide the money, Tony ruled that Paulie's share would only come to around $12,000.
When Paulie stated that he couldn't believe Tony's decision, Ralph was quick to mock his intelligence by saying that he should ideally believe it, as he had previously believed in stranger things like the existence of extra-terrestrials.
While Paulie seems capable in many ways, it is obvious that he didn't always see the bigger picture, because if he had, he would have never assumed that Ralph would do the honorable thing and split the money equally.
4) "You know who had an arc? Noah." - Salvatore Bonpensiero
The cast of The Sopranos was indeed equally charismatic, but some stood out every time they appeared on screen, and Vincent Pastore was certainly one of them. Salvatore Bonpensiero delivered many iconic lines, including this one.
Before Salvatore said these exact words, Christopher had lamented to Paulie about feeling unwanted. Even though Christopher was trying his very best to leave behind a legacy as a memorable gangster, things didn't pan out the way he had expected, which left him feeling dejected. He even asked Paulie about when his character arc will finally blossom.
It was Salvatore who answered that question later in The Sopranos, but the fact that it had a very different meaning to the original question made fans laugh out loud.
3) "Take it easy. We’re not making a Western here." - Corrado Soprano
Chianese's character in The Sopranos had been in the business for a long time, which meant that he had heard and witnessed almost every imaginable situation. His witty dialogues, steeped in experience, couldn't be replicated by any other character on the show.
When Junior started butting heads with Tony in The Sopranos, things expectedly escalated. However, he still favored making wise decisions that would offer long-term benefits. So, when Al Sapienza's Mickey Palmice suggested they kill Tony, he was quick to shoot down the suggestion.
Junior understood that Mickey wanted to prove himself, but he had seen enough of the underworld to know that there was a difference between being ruthless when the job calls for it and pulling the trigger just for an adrenaline kick like an outlaw.
2) "You know Quasimodo predicted all of this." - Bobby Baccalieri
Although Gandolfini's Tony didn't have too much faith in his own abilities to lead, he looked out for many of the gang members in The Sopranos, including Steve Schirripa's Bobby Baccalieri. After Bobby gets promoted, the two meet up for a meal, and Tony tries to talk to him about his preparedness for the new responsibilities, his family, and more.
Bobby then goes on to discuss the World Trade Center incident and the events in the Middle East, saying that "Quasimodo" had predicted them. Tony was clearly puzzled about what Bobby was trying to say. He eventually clarifies that Quasimodo was the bell-ringer from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and that it was Nostradamus who had made the predictions.
The fact that Bobby shrugged off the mistake like it was no big thing to confuse Notre Dame and Nostradamus made The Sopranos line even funnier.
1) "Louis Brasi sleeps with the fishes." - Christopher Moltisanti
From the get-go, Imperioli's Christopher in The Sopranos had an idealistic vision of what the life of a mobster would look like. This is why he made impulsive decisions that did more harm than good. When Christopher learns that a member of a rival gang is bidding against Tony for a contract, he decides to eliminate the problem. Eventually, Salvatore has to step in to dispose of the body.
As expected, Salvatore thinks that Christopher made a bad call and gives him a piece of his mind. This is when Christopher recites the famous line from The Godfather (1972) starring Marlon Brando. But the gritty dialogue turned comical when Christopher said "Louis" instead of "Luca".
As many fans of The Sopranos had seen Francis Ford Coppola's epic gangster film, the connection was instant, and Christopher's slip-up resulted in plenty of laughter.
Although The Sopranos was not a comedy, the writers deserve credit for infusing a dark sense of humor that made the viewing experience even more enjoyable.
