What would a sitcom be without a good quotable line? The Office gave us “That’s what she said.” Friends had couples across the world joking that “We were on a break.” And The Big Bang Theory turned “Bazinga!” into one of the most annoying trends of the 2010s. NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine was no stranger to quotable lines, jokes, and recurring gags. Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) had several catchphrases, Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) loved everything to the point of it becoming his recurring joke, and even the stern-faced Captain Raymond Holt (the late Andre Braugher) delivered some iconic one-liners. But the best joke in Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s entire run is vastly underappreciated by fans.
Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) is the weird cousin of the Ninety-Ninth Precinct. The food-obsessed, double-entendre-spitting, die-hard best friend to Jake Perala was often the butt of the precinct’s jokes, or unintentionally made the audience laugh with his oddball ways. He occasionally delivered an intentionally great line, like when he came down with a “Diane Weist infection… like yeast!” But, in true Boyle fashion, his best joke (and the best joke in the entire series) was completely missed by viewers and those around him. And, of course, it was a completely casual and unintentionally hilarious line.
Charles Boyle Has the Best Joke in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’
Season 3, Episode 11, titled “Hostage Situation,” gave fans many notable moments. But its cold open is perhaps the most iconic in the show’s entire run. After having his coffee cup kicked out of his hand by a street dancer, Captain Holt “defuses the situation.” Instead of defusing the altercation like a cop, he instead goads the dancer by asking, “You call that dancing?” before busting out his own moves. The scene is filled with an endless number of great lines, like Jake saying, “Why is my phone always broken? I paid $12 for it!” But, as Boyle tries to get his phone out for Jake, it slips out of his hand, and he utters the most casually hilarious line in sitcom history:
“Oh, my hands are all covered in butter from making butter.”
It’s such a stupid line that isn’t funny in its own right. But a combination of factors make it the best joke in the show. Firstly, and most importantly, it’s incredibly on-brand for Charles. The man who has a food blog for the best pizzas in Brooklyn, ranked by “mouth feel,” absolutely makes his own butter. Second, which runs in opposition to the first point, is the simultaneous absurdity of the predicament. Captain Holt is breakdancing, Jake ordered a burrito with extra pepper cheese because he needed to eat more veggies and has a $12 phone, and, to top it all off, Boyle is covered in butter. Finally, and paradoxically, considering how absurd the entire situation is, is the straight-faced, casual line delivery that Lo Truglio delivers it with. He’s saying it as though it were completely normal for someone to walk around with buttery hands from their own butter churn.
‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Fans Understandably Missed the Joke
Despite being a casual moment of comedic genius, the line slipped right under the audience’s nose. When fans discuss the scene, which is commonly referred to as the show’s greatest cold open, Boyle’s line is never mentioned. But it’s understandable and (only slightly) forgivable that the genius line went unnoticed. After all, there’s a lot going on.
Raymond Holt’s breakdancing is the big twist of the scene because it’s so unexpected for the character. Then you have Jake’s dilemma of trying to record the moment. That already gives the audience a hat on a hat. The scene throws on a few smaller hats as well, like Jake’s cheap phone and Captain Holt’s surprisingly good moves. So, by the end of it all, Boyle’s butter line is the seventh or eighth tiny hat on a long consecutive line of hats (that’s certainly a lot of hats).
All episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine are currently streaming on Peacock.
- Release Date
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2013 – 2021-00-00
- Network
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FOX, NBC