Hey Babe. It is babe, isn't it?

I don't remember it being a catchphrase whatsoever. If it appeared in "My Chauffeur," I wonder if there's some kind of shared bond between the two films? I'm not familiar with that film and don't know offhand. Sometimes things like that are in-jokes between actors or filmmakers.

My impression from the context of the movie, however, was that it a pick-up line that the two girls had encountered and found funny. So, it could just be that it was their in-joke. Things like that add a little dimension to the characters.

I assume it was some sort of pop culture reference from the time.

Nope, just sh*tty writing.

Interestingly, I was watching Chopping Mall the other day and noticed this line and wondered why it was in both movies. Since they were both released within a couple months of each other, I figured that there had to be a connection, but doubted that Chopping Mall was referencing My Chauffeur.

Anyway, I asked Kelli Maroney about it via twitter (unfortunately Deborah Forman is no longer on Twitter), and she responded with the following interesting answer:

"Legendary 1st AD, Gordon Boos, used to say it on set. Claimed he couldn't remember anyone's name, so he called everyone "babe." Then he'd say, "It IS babe, isn't it?" He was our 1st AD on NOTC, which is where I got it and added it as a line in CM. Deborah must've done that, too."

Maroney must have picked it up while shooting "Night of the Comet" and Foreman likely during filming of "Valley Girl". Pretty interesting 80s movie trivia.