We Got This Covered put out a list called “Ladies And Gentlemen: 20 Great Movie Speeches,” and compiler Sarah Myles ranked the speech by Cher-as-Alexandra in the 1987 film The Witches of Eastwick #5 on the list.

“There is a vast amount of great dialogue in the script for this horror-comedy—which is Michael Cristofer’s adaptation of the John Updike source novel. Three very different, single female friends unwitting summon a mysterious man to their small Rhode Island town, and all manner of mayhem ensues. Alexandra—played by Oscar winner Cher—is perhaps the more rational of the three women and, when Darryl Van Horne (the ridiculously good Jack Nicholson) begins to cause pain and injury, she goes to confront him in an effort to save her friends—prompting a blistering argument.

“‘Well, you know, I have to admit that I appreciate your directness, Darryl, and I will try to be as direct and honest with you as I possibly can be. I think—no, I am positive—that you are the most unattractive man I have ever met in my entire life. You know in the short time we’ve been together you have demonstrated every loathsome characteristic of the male personality and even discovered a few new ones. You are physically repulsive, intellectually retarded, you’re morally reprehensible, vulgar, insensitive, selfish, stupid, you have no taste, a lousy sense of humor, and you smell. You’re not even interesting enough to make me sick.’

“It is—quite simply—one of the most fabulous responses to a ‘bad guy’ in all of modern cinema. Who hasn’t wanted to dismiss an unpleasant soul using this combination of accurately observed insults? This speech is made all the more delicious by Cher’s almost nonchalant delivery—it’s as if she is attempting to swat an annoying fly which is proving itself to be nothing more than a fleeting distraction. The fact that she failed to consider the otherworldly powers at his disposal is almost irrelevant. For that one shining moment, Alexandra Medford is the master of of her own, beautifully articulated universe.”

Here’s the scene on YouTube.

Of course for fans of the novel, it’s Van Horne’s sermon that’s the rhetorical show-stopper.