What're You Gonna Do...

Shoot me? How many of us have heard that phrase at least twenty times in the past year? Movies are filled with cliches that I am more than willing to overlook. The use of the phrase "What're you gonna do, shoot me?" is not one of them. Do Hollywood writers think that's actually some sort of witty retort to having a gun shoved in your face? It's not. It was never funny, and it's never going to be. It probably happened in the late 70's or early 80's when some screenwriter decided do come back to one point in the script where he could think of a good line. He just put in "What're you gonna do..." as a space-filler, planning on coming up with an actual quip that was clever and funny and not stupid, but he forgot about it, and sent it in to the moron head of a studio without replacing the line. It's all his fault. I hate that guy. If I ever find out who he is, I'm gonna shoot him.