A very bizarre series of events – and conversations – led to us getting a tough movie quotes question right at the last second in our trivia game Wednesday at The Wurst Bar! The question was: “In what 1983 film does one of the characters say the following quote: ‘Me? I always tell the truth even when I lie.'” It’s not entirely uncommon for conversational topics to wind up getting asked about the same day in a trivia game – but none in as weird a way as this! It all started when we shared a meme with Satan holding some unicorns hours before the game.

Just before the game started, I showed this meme to my trivia teammate John, and it segued into a conversation between him, Mike and I about actors who have played Satan on film. Tim Curry in “Legend,” Al Pacino in “The Devil’s Advocate,” and Robert de Niro in “Angel Heart.”

De Niro as Luis Cyphre in the 1987 film Angel Heart. Get it? Luis Cyphre? Lucifer?

We also talked about Viggo Mortensen playing Satan in “The Prophecy,” and Peter Stormare playing him in “Constantine.” I also mentioned Elizabeth Hurley in the comedy film “Bedazzled,” but this didn’t lead to any real interesting conversations!

Elizabeth Hurley as the Devil in Bedazzled

It culminated in a debate between who played the Devil better – de Niro – or Pacino. De Niro wound up being the winner in our debate, mainly because of his ability to lose himself in the roles he plays via the “method” acting approach. Though Pacino is also a great actor, I argued that he ultimately winds up playing himself in many of his roles, more so than “The Bob,” which is my nickname for de Niro. 

While Devil’s Advocate was enjoyable and Pacino’s take on Satan was entertaining, it was hard getting past Keanu Reeves’ inability to do an accent in that movie… Charlize Theron’s performance was pretty riveting!

So when we had this question, we went through the normal rigor morale with movie release years questions – with my teammates suggesting different movies it could be, and me eliminating the guesses based on them being the incorrect release years. Eventually as if by some weird magicks, I wound up suggesting the right film, though with not much time to spare. In a way, I guess you could say our trivia game is dedicated to Satan, lol! And since we didn’t get the final question right, you could argue that we used up our magicks – and brainpower – getting this tough question right, though we were very, very happy to get it right! 

And here are the rest of the questions – we finished in first with a $30 prize.

Round One
1. Organizations – Formed in 1995, what organization regulates free trade?
2. Glassware – What is the name of the special type of glass featuring a wide bottom and narrow top used to serve brandy and cognac? Brad said he recently inherited his late father’s collection of pipes, so we said he had to take up pipe smoking so he could have an excuse to brandish a glass of fancy cognac…(come on…you can totally picture this, can’t you? He would have to wear one of those fancy pants blazers with suede pads on the elbows).
3. Insects – The dung beetle was known as what kind of beetle in ancient Egypt?
Round Two
1. Complexes – What complex is described as a woman’s fear of independence – and was also described by writer Colette Dowling?
2. Deaths – Where are the ashes of Gene Roddenberry located?
3. Food – In the brunch item eggs benedict, how are the eggs prepared? For an extra three-point bonus, what condiment comes in grades including extra standard and fancy? got the bonus plus the points.
Round Three
1. Fictional Dogs – What was the name of Indiana Jones’ childhood dog?
2. Fruit – Eldorado, Mirabel and Cassenbaum are all varieties of what fruit? First miss of the night…
3. Historic Figures – What ist he last name of the Frenchman who was friends with George Washington and a key figure in the French Revolution?
Halftime – Name the cities where each of the following sports teams previously played. I challenged Brad to get all of these correct or be fired from the team (JK of course…).
Texas Rangers, Baltimore Ravens, Utah Jazz, and Carolina Hurricanes
He missed #1. And no we didn’t fire him!
Scores at the half: Twelve teams, scores 11 to 36 with Pants in first. We were right behind them with 35. Onward next half!
Round Four
1. Music – Fado is a popular music style in what country? Newsletter answer.
2. TV – What 2000s TV show features a character with 312 fears, including ladybugs, harmonicas and food touching on his plate?
3. History – What was the original name for the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918?
Round Five
1. Scientists – What medical researcher developed the polio vaccine?
2. Presidents – Who was the only president to refuse Secret Service protection after his presidency, saying it was a “waste of money?” Miss.
3. Movie Quotes – From what 1983 movie does a character utter this quote? “Me? I always tell the truth – even when I lie?” Lots of debate and eliminated guesses, eventually we came up with one that was “just right.” Our question brainstorming is not unlike Goldilocks going into the Three Bears’ house and trying out all of the beds and bowls of porridge before finding one that was “just right!” Lots and lots of possible movies were discussed, but only at the last second did we get one that was “just right.” And the punchline? One of the guys we talked about earlier who played Satan on film was the star of this movie! The ’80s was kind of a dead period for movies for both de Niro and Pacino, both of whom had comebacks in the ’90s.
Round Six
1. Cars – On what car brand would you find a hood ornament depicting a character called the “Spirit of Ecstasy?” Mike all over this one.
2. Money – The Central Bank of Ireland issued 10 pound bank notes from 1993 to 2002 with what author’s image on them?
3. Birds – While most birds of prey have side-facing eyes, what bird has front-facing eyes to aid them in low light hunting?
Scores: Twelve teams, scores 13 to 69 with us in first. Pants was right behind us with 66, Team Tongue Twister was in fifth with 58 points.
Final Category – Music
What female artist has the best selling album by a female artist in the United States?
Came up with what we thought was a good guess, but she was just a few million sales shy of the correct woman (#3 female on list). No teams in the bar got this correct. We wagered low, so still stayed in first, with Do These Protons Make My Mass Look Big taking second, and Team Pigeon taking third. Until next time, which will be next Wednesday. A Sporcle Live game MIGHT be in the plans next week, depending upon weather! What am I saying? Our next trivia to-do is the Sporcle Live league championship Saturday in East Lansing. Our players this time will be myself, Mike, John (who has not played in a trivia tournament since June, 2015), Evan (a loaner from Sticks team Trump 2020, joining us for his second finals) and Sparty On captain Kimberly, who will also be joining us in a finals for the second time! Wish us luck, we will not have our “elder statesman” Brad this time! He is more concerned with his dog Tambourine getting some street cred in a dog show than he is with trivia glory! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, James Joyce!