Am I Right?

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"It's getting so bad now that if you kill a punk, you might as well dump the body somewhere, the DA will crucify you. A punk can kill a cop, but if a cop kills a punk... Am I right, or am I right?" —Charlie McCoy, Magnum Force

A Stock Phrase used by the group comedian, usually after some kind of wry observation. This is also commonly used in fiction by a bad stand-up comedian, who can't resist highlighting his terrible jokes. The dialogue equivalent of facing the camera and waggling your eyebrows. Usually used after an intentionally lame line. A longer version is "Am I right, or am I right?" A version commonly used on the internet is "amirite" or "mirite". A similar line is "I know, right?" used to react to someone else's observation.

The Japanese Language has the word "ne", which pretty much means the same thing. Using it at the end of an English sentence still counts as Gratuitous Japanese, ne? The fact that this is a natural and frequently occurring feature of the language doesn't mean, however, that it can't be overdone, as you can simply expand it to, "Ne ne? So desu nee?" Ad nauseam.

French has a similar equivalent, n'est-ce pas?

Contrast Don't Explain the Joke.

Examples of Am I Right? include:

Comic Books

• Used by The Joker in The Killing Joke

"You had a bad day once, am I right?"

Film

• In the Will Farrel film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, the character Wes Mantooth pulls it out in a battle of wits.

"Nice clothes, gentlemen! I didn't know that the Salvation Army was having a sale. Am I right? Am I right?"

• Used by Diane in Trainspotting:

"Do you find that this approach usually works, or, let me guess, you've never tried it before. In fact, you don't normally approach girls, am I right?"

• In the film Waiting Monty uses it:

"I know what you're thinking now. You think we're all gay, don't you? Think we're all just a bunch of deviant lifestyle-living same-sex having motherfuckers, am I right?"

• In National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation, Rusty uses it:

"Who would have thought my sister had the legs of a thoroughbred. Am I right?"

• Done to perfection in Groundhog Day by Hey, It's That Guy! extraordinaire, Stephen Tobolowsky

"Am I right or am I right? Or am I right? Am I right?"

• Pink Flamingos - Crackers says, "They think they're filthy? We'll just see what the furniture thinks! Am I right, momma? Am I right?"
• Inverted and subverted in The Big Lebowski, when Walter tries to justify pulling a gun on a possibly-cheating bowler:

Walter: Am I wrong, dude? Am I wrong? The Dude: No Walter, you're not wrong, you're just an ASSHOLE! Walter: *shrugs* Okay, then.

• • Also, in the "World of Pain" scene:

Walter: Dude, this is a league game, this determines who enters the next round robin. Am I wrong? Am I wrong?

• "Am I right, or am I right?" is used frequently by Wimpy in Popeye.

Live-Action TV

• Said by Cordelia Chase in the episode of Angel called "The Trial":

"I mean, not only is she putting his life at stake, but ours. I'm sorry, but after four hundred years of death and destruction, It seems to me you get voted off the island. Am I right?"

• Brother Cavil in the Battlestar Galactica episode "The Eye of Jupiter":

"I suspect the Admiral and Madam President would enjoy some nice, quiet private time with the former leader. Am I right?"

• Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer pretty frequently.
• Frank Barone in the Everybody Loves Raymond episode "Driving Frank":

"I don't care if I killed a guy! You're my son, you have to look the other way! Am I right, Ray?"

• In the Gilmore Girls episode "Nag Hammadi Is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospel", Zach says:

"The bottom line here is that breathing should not be louder than a rock band. Am I right or am I right?"

• In the episode "Whatever It Takes", House says:

"My housekeeper, she has it coming. Cleaning the windows means cleaning both sides. Am I right or am I right?"

• Stephen Colbert played with the phrase in the following manner:

"Am I right?" [applause] "Evidently I'm right."

• In Burn Notice, Sam and Mike are watching out for Fi, with the code that if she has two buttons undone on her blouse, something's wrong. Sam says "That's a first. Too many buttons down on a woman's blouse is a bad thing. Come on, am I right?" Doesn't quite break the tension like he'd hoped.
  • Also, Season 2, Episode "Sins of Omission": Victor says, "Nothing like a near-death experience to get the juices flowing, am I right or am I right?"
• Square Pegs: Marshall, the Class Clown, says this several times in the episode "Open 24 Hours."

Stand-Up Comedy

• Ellen DeGeneres has been known to use the formulation "Am I right, ladies?"

Video Games

• Halo: Sgt. Johnson gives a Rousing Speech to a squad of marines then asks, "Am I right, Marines?"

Marines: Sir, yes, sir! Johnson: Mmm-hmm. Damn right, I am!

Web Animation

• Bubs from Homestar Runner used this during a Halloween episode while performing standup comedy, followed by the immortal line "Am I left?" (which Strong Mad found hilarious).
• The eponymous character from the Waterman flash animations has said "Am I right or am I right?" at least once.

Web Original

• The Best Page in The Universe: Maddox says it at the start of his page: "Am I right or what?"

Western Animation

• Sokka from Avatar: The Last Airbender has been known to say this.
• From an episode of The Simpsons called The Homer They Fall:

Indian: "Thank you. I just wish Ben and Hoss and Little Joe and Hop Sing and Sheriff Roy and all your favorites could be alive today to see this wonderful turnout. You know, on the series, we were always trying to kill the Cartwrights. But it looks like Father Time took care of that for us, right? Am I right, folks?"

• In the episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force "Carl", Meatwad is attempting to write a stand-up comedy routine. Unfortunately, it consists entirely of The Deal With Airplane Food and this trope.

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No Real Life Examples, Please - we'd be here all day if we started listing those! Am I right?