73 
2 
Download MP3 
The line comes from American Psycho, the 2000 film directed by Mary Harron and based on Bret Easton Ellis's 1991 novel, where Christian Bale plays Manhattan banker and serial killer Patrick Bateman. When colleagues press him, Bateman calmly claims he has to return some videotapes, a mundane errand that clashes with his dark double life. The quote took off online as the perfect deadpan exit excuse, quoted in forums, memes and video captions whenever someone wants to leave without explaining themselves. Its polite absurdity keeps it endlessly reusable.
Over dit geluid
Patrick Bateman's deadpan American Psycho excuse, voiced by Christian Bale: he has to return some videotapes. Dropped as a bail-out line in memes and skits.
The clip is a two-second line of dry dialogue from American Psycho, spoken by Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman with flat, clipped delivery: 'I have to return some videotapes.' The voice is calm and matter-of-fact, almost bored, which makes the obvious lie funnier, because nothing about Bateman suggests errands matter to him. Dropping it into a video instantly reads as a slick, unbothered exit, turning an awkward cutoff into a punchline. Listeners recognise the reference even without the film, since the phrase became internet shorthand for ducking out of anything.
