I am watching this movie Spread, and four minutes in it floored me.
Narrator: By the way, there’s only one pick-up line, everything else is cheese.
To a girl: Hi, what’s your name?
This really does beat everything. It skips even the direct daygame compliment, so it’s as low-investment as it gets. Still direct, but you’re not complimenting her beyond the compliment of the approach itself. No beating about the bush, you both know what it’s about. Smile lightly and “Hi, what’s your name?” You can give her the compliment if she insists on asking why you opened her. “You look nice and I thought I’d say hi and introduce myself. How’s your day going?” If she’s not being pushy, avoid the compliment and just ask how she’s doing and segue into random stuff: whatever you’re doing today, or the weather or whatever the fuck. If you’re confident enough to use the ultimate pick-up line you should be able to chat forever about whatever with no issues at all. Obviously beginners will need some canned lines and routines until they hopefully get the hang of things, but for me, this will be my default line from now on.
That’s not to say other lines are useless. Yes they are cheesy, but cheese has its place in the grand scheme of things. I remember one time in Barcelona I saw a girl obviously waiting for someone, so I went up to her and said, “Sorry I am late”. Her friends arrived a bit later and they were throwing a birthday event. It didn’t get anywhere with her, but it was a fun encounter. So we can use this thread to share and analyze lines, especially opening lines, but the ultimate one has been settled, I think.
Gonna get back to the movie now. Seems promising so far. It’s with Ashton Kutcher about a playboy/gigolo in LA.