The description of a new film recently caught our attention. The movie is called High on the Hog, and the Los Angeles Times’ logline was: “A hog farmer and his cadre of attractive young women defend their marijuana-growing operation against federal agents.” Do you get it? “High on the Hog”? They raise hogs and they grow pot? It practically writes itself!
It occurred to us that this particular combination of professions — farmer of pigs and grower of pot — is so random that the title probably came first. Someone heard the familiar expression “high on the hog,” thought it sounded like a film title, and went from there.
Inspired, we asked Twitter for suggestions of more common phrases that we could turn into lucrative Hollywood pitches without having to think very hard about it. Here’s what we came up with.
That’s What She Said
A frustrated career woman (Amy Schumer) wakes up one day to discover that no one can hear anything she says unless her male rival at the office (Jon Hamm) repeats it.
The Early Bird Gets the Worm
Animated comedy about a young slacker bird (Seth Rogen) who finally gets up early enough to eat a worm, only to discover that the worm in question (Anna Faris) is the girl he’s been chatting with on Tinder.
Bless His Heart
A murderer on death row (William Fichtner) wants to donate his organs after he dies, but only if his estranged brother (Liam Neeson), now a priest, blesses them.
Bird in the Hand
A misbegotten plan to kidnap NBA legend Larry Bird (Edward Norton) goes awry.
Beat Around the Bush
An inspiring drama about a poor young DJ (John Boyega) trying to make it big in the Australian wilderness.
Well, I’ll Be Damned
Hilarity ensues when a park’s wishing well turns out to be inhabited by the devil.
Dollars to Donuts
From a lesser known New Testament source comes this drama based on one of the early miracles of Jesus.
A Modest Proposal
Christian movie about a pious young man (Ansel Elgort) who won’t ask his girlfriend (Imogen Poots) to marry him unless she covers her shoulders.
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service
Civilization devolves into chaos when the wi-fi goes down at a nudist colony.
Elephant in the Room
A detective (Jim Broadbent) shocks a group of strangers assembled at a remote mansion on a dark and stormy night when he reveals that one of them is a Republican.
Curiosity Killed the Cat
NASA scientists are thrilled to learn that the Mars rover Curiosity has encountered life on the red planet, then devastated to learn that Curiosity ran it over.
The Straight and Narrow
A portly heterosexual cop (Kevin James) is partnered with a thin gay one (Bill Hader) in this buddy comedy.
If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
Animated sci-fi dystopian drama about a society of dogs in a post-apocalyptic, post-human world, in which the dogs’ leader (voiced by Willem Dafoe) decrees that only dogs who are bankrupt can be neutered.
Put That in Your Pipe and Smoke It
A crack dealer’s (Jared Leto) new promotional slogan raises eyebrows at the DEA, but an advertising executive (Alec Baldwin) wants to hire him as his new creative director.
No I in Team
A down-and-out basketball coach (Charlie Day) gets a shot at redemption with the most ragtag group he’s ever coached: a team of students from a school for the blind.
Down for the Count
A single woman (Brie Larson) who has sworn off men after a series of disastrous dates finds herself attracted to a new suitor: Dracula (Rami Malek).
