Matthew Modine Quotes

Little Fish, Strange Pond

Conversation About Nationality and Identity

Sweet Stephan Hey, you're not from England you know.

Mr. Jack No, I'm not.

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Little Fish, Strange Pond

Unexpected Purchases at the Store

Bucky $9.95.

Customer And a jar of vaseline.

Bucky Big night planned, do ya?

Customer I guess so.

Bucky The vaseline's on the house.

Sweet Stephen You ever notice there's three types of porn?

Mr. Jack Strangely enough, I've never given it a thought.

Sweet Stephen You've got your old-school smut- ], ], ]. This was before ] and ], so they really had to know how to fuck.

Customer Thank you, Bucky.

Sweet Stephen Then you've got your next wave of porn, okay? ], ]- ]. Oh, I have yet to mention... ah! ]. The plotlines got weaker but ] go bigger.

Mr. Jack Fascinating.

Sweet Stephen Which leads me to our third kind: a montage- no plotline at all.

Mr. Jack What a wonderful dissertation.

Sweet Stephen But through it all, I've seen one common denominator.

Mr. Jack Cheesy music?

Sweet Stephen No, one consistent factor.

Mr. Jack Is this your conclusion?

Sweet Stephen ].

[[w:Ron Jeremy|Ron Jeremy]

Mr. Jack Excuse me?

Sweet Stephen Ron fucking Jeremy, the ] of ].

[[w:Cary Grant|Cary Grant; [w:Human penis|penises]

Mr. Jack A poet, that's what you are.

Sweet Stephen Why, thank you. Of course, now with the internet, the girls are-

Mr. Jack Oy! Aren't you a little young to be in here?!

Customer I'm a midget.

Mr. Jack Midgets! We were just talking about you people! Stephen heel. Come her. Ha, nice lad. Have fun. Ah, youth.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Pacific Heights

Conflict Escalates in a Tense Confrontation

Patty Palmer Drake! Stop it, you're killing him! Stop it! Drake! GODDAMN IT!

[as Drake and Carter fight]

Patty Palmer Stop it!

Patty Palmer You all right?

Drake Goodman You're arresting the wrong FUCKING man! YOU'RE ARRESTING THE WRONG MAN!

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Little Fish, Strange Pond

Conscience and Guilt in Everyday Life

Song lyrics In this life, you just need something to go right...

Sweet Stephen Maybe it's conscience-driven.

Mr. Jack Are you guilty?

Sweet Stephen Yeah, I fucking am.

Mr. Jack What do you feel guilty about?

Sweet Stephen I'm not sure. Evil begat evil, so... Where the fuck do I come from?

Mr. Jack What?! You- I asked you why Philly was sent to the porn store. You said you hadn't thought that far in advance. Any fucking ideas?!

Sweet Stephen Doesn't much matter.

Mr. Jack Yes, it does. Well, millions of people pray to God up above to protect them.

Sweet Stephen From who?

Mr. Jack I- I don't- If there's a God above, there must be something else for balance. It's obvious that there's two choices. Some choose one, some choose the other. Some choose both. Those that choose both are probably smarter.

Sweet Stephen What if it seems like somebody has made a choice. Can he change his mind?

Mr. Jack That would depende on how far down the path he's gone. Could be too late. Or it could be fate. It's the endless possibilities of fate, not the idea itself, that scares the shit out of everyone.

Sweet Stephen Ah! I told you I don't believe in fucking fate.

Mr. Jack You said you believe in God. What makes you think he doesn't have reason, purpose? That's what fate does- in ensures that everything that's supposed to happen, happens. And everyone does what they're supposed to do.

[''Voices echoes'']

Sweet Stephen Fuck. Sorry.

[''Exhales deeply'']

Mr. Jack Hey mate, it's alright. Pretend you're on one of those roller coasters. Sit back, relax, try not to throw up, and if you feel like screaming, feel free.

Sweet Stephen Shut the fuck up. Get away from me.

Song lyrics Open up our eyes...

Mr. Jack Nobody can control death.

[''Sweet Stephen grunts and gags'']

Song lyrics So we can see more...

Sweet Stephen Fucker!

[''Screams'']

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And the Band Played On

Epidemic Without Official Deaths

Dr. Don Francis This may be the first epidemic in history of which no one officially died.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Gross Anatomy

The Struggles of Aspiring Doctors

Joe Slovak He's human. Not superhuman, just human. He did what he thought he had to do because he wanted to be a doctor more than anything else in the world and you ruined this for him.

[confronting Dr. Woodruff after his roommate was asked to leave medical school]

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Vision Quest

A Year to Make My Mark

Louden Swain My name's Louden, Louden Swain. Last week I turned 18. I wasn't ready for it. I haven't done anything yet. So I made this deal with myself. This is the year I make my mark.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Little Fish, Strange Pond

Reflections on a Memorable Day

Mr. Jack You know what? Today was a great day.

Sweet Stephan It was a day.

Mr. Jack The perfect mix of intrigue, danger, tragedy, love, sex, violence and plain old American fun.

Sweet Stephan You're not from England, you know.

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And the Band Played On

The Conflict of Profit and Public Health

Eddie Papasano Let me tell you people something, no matter what happens here today, if you try to close my joint, I ll sue the ass off you.

Dr. Don Francis Doesn't it bother you knowing that the people who have sex in your bath-house are playing Russian roulette?

Eddie Papasano Please just cut out this bullshit. We're all in this for one thing: money. I make'em when the guys come in. You doctors, you make'em when they go out.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Pacific Heights

Confrontation Over Boundaries and Legalities

Carter Hayes What are you doing, Drake? You can't come in here.

Drake Goodman Listen, Carter. It's no big deal. I just want to go upstairs and see Patty, okay?

Carter Hayes But you're breaking the law, Drake.

Drake Goodman W... wait a minute.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Little Fish, Strange Pond

The Nature of Evil Explained

Sweet Stephan So, he-hey, do you know why Philly robbed the porno store or not?

Mr. Jack The answer is yes. And if you gave it some thought, you'd know too.

Sweet Stephan I don't like thinking, you just tell me.

Mr. Jack The answer is elementary my dear Stephen. Evil, begets evil.

Sweet Stephan And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?

Mr. Jack It means, that there is a logical, and natural force in the world. It preserves things spherically. Everything that goes around comes around. What goes up, must come down. You with me?

Sweet Stephan I'm with you so far.

Mr. Jack Good work and hard effort will undoubtedly reap reward. Do something good, something good will come from it. Right?

Sweet Stephan Right.

Mr. Jack Well, the opposite is true. Do something wicked, something wicked, this way comes.

Sweet Stephan Equate this to the fucking porno store.

Mr. Jack Well, contrary to popular belief, the selling of sex in any form is wrong. I'm not saying I agree with it, but check your bible, they're not going for it.

Sweet Stephan Is-masturbation evil?

Mr. Jack According to my mother yes. Thank god she's dead.

Sweet Stephan So the very existence of the porno store-was conceived in evil.

Mr. Jack Wickedness, yes.

Sweet Stephan And Bucky had something coming to him because he satisfied my desire to see other people fucking.

Mr. Jack Voyeurism, correct. Gentlemen!

[''To passerbys'']

Sweet Stephan So, Philly was sent in to even things out an eye for an eye-why would he get his head blown off by Tommy the cop?

Mr. Jack There are various levels, of evil. Selling porno in a crappy Los Angeles hellhole is not as evil as robbing that same place and shooting an innocent clerk. There's an unbalance there and the-forces of nature don't allow for that kind of thing.

Sweet Stephan So... Because the evil committed by Philly far outweighed the evil committed by Bucky, an arbitrator had to be brought in.

Mr. Jack An interloper.

Sweet Stephan Tommy the cop.

Mr. Jack Precisely.

Sweet Stephan And evil begets evil.

Mr. Jack By George, I think you've got it.

Sweet Stephan What makes you so sure he wouldn't-turn our lights out?

Mr. Jack You said it yourself in the porno store. Wasn't in his nature. Really Stephen. You don't give yourself enough credit.

Sweet Stephan I could've been wrong. You know? If that cop had come in two seconds later-.

Mr. Jack It was fate then.

Sweet Stephan Fate's what people believe in when it's the last choice they've got.

Mr. Jack Oh my, I disagree. I think fate had everything to do with it. It was fate that we were in the store to begin with. It was fate that there was a clerk behind the counter, and it was his fate to die today. I believe in fate as much as I believe in love.

Sweet Stephan I know you do. But that doesn't make a difference. You didn't know.

Mr. Jack Well I'll tell you this I go by two things, intuition, and assumption. Intuition tells me what to think and how to act. And assumption rules out the rest.

Sweet Stephan And you'd risk your life based on that line of shit?

Mr. Jack If we stop assuming, we'll lose something important. An assumption, is a leap of faith to believe that, something that we really want to believe is actually true. If we stop making assumptions, we might just lose our faith.

Sweet Stephan I was scared.

Mr. Jack And that's okay.

Sweet Stephan Uh, what if uh-my intuition tells me-that we're both gonna die-soon?

Mr. Jack Sweet Stephen, everything dies. The world is a circle, and everything dies.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Pacific Heights

Conflict Over Tenant Dispute Unfolds

Stephanie MacDonald Why didn't you tell me you tried to force him out?

Drake Goodman I didn't think it mattered.

Stephanie MacDonald You set us back months.

Drake Goodman He's lying!

Stephanie MacDonald This guy has been playing you like a piano concerto.

Drake Goodman Me? What about you? I got a guy livin in my building who hasn't paid one cent! Not only can't you get him out, but now I owe him money?

Stephanie MacDonald Maybe you'd like to retain another attorney.

Patty Palmer Stephanie. Please don't quit. Drake's been under a lot of pressure. The bank is threatening to foreclose on us.

[sighs]

Stephanie MacDonald This isn't a moral question, Patricia. Morally, you're right. You win. Big deal. This is a game and the object of the game is to get Hayes out of your building before he destroys your lives. He knows you're gonna get him out eventually. He's just trying stay there as long as he can.

Patty Palmer Why?

Stephanie MacDonald I don't know! Because it's possible. Because he's evil. What difference does it make? It's nothing personal. God forbid he ever makes it personal.

Vision Quest

Louden Swain's Ideal Traits in Others

Louden Swain She's got all the best things I like in girls and all the best things I like in guys.

[about Carla]

And the Band Played On

Conflict Over Collaboration in Virus Research

Dr. Robert Gallo All right, explain one thing to me. Ten times ten times ten, my name is in every book ever written on the human retrovirus. Why would you get in bed with the French instead of me?

Dr. Don Francis Is it you against the French? I thought we were all against the virus. If you go to court now, everybody loses. You, the people who die while you quibble...

Dr. Robert Gallo What do you want?

[Interrupting]

Dr. Don Francis I want to stop you from turning a holocaust into an international pissing contest!

And the Band Played On

Ethics vs. Profit in the Blood Industry

Blood Bank executive Is the ] seriously suggesting that the blood industry spends $100M a year to use the test for the wrong disease because we have a handful of transfusion fatalities and eight dead hemophiliacs?

[[CDC]

Dr. Don Francis How many dead hemophiliacs do you need? How many people have to die to make it cost efficient for you people to do something about it? A hundred? A thousand? Give us a number so we won't annoy you again until the amount of money you begin spending on lawsuits make it more profitable for you to save people than to kill them.

Short Cuts

Exploring the Concept of Nothingness

Dr. Ralph Wyman Tell me about that night with Mitchell Andersen.

Marian Wyman There's nothing to tell.

Dr. Ralph Wyman Alright, then tell me about nothingness! I'd like to hear a complete account of nothing!

Gross Anatomy

Questioning Perceptions of Medical Students

Joe Slovak What? What's the matter? You never seen a medical student before?

[to his family after reading a letter from a med school]

Vision Quest

The Importance of Love in Life's Journey

Louden Swain But all I ever settled for is that we're born to live and then to die, and... we got to do it alone, each in his own way. And I guess that's why we got to love those people who deserve it like there's no tomorrow. Cause when you get right down to it - there isn't.

Pacific Heights

Balancing Investment and Homeownership Concerns

Drake Goodman You have to remember this is an investment, Patty. You can't afford to do everything at once.

[as they are house painting]

Patty Palmer It's not just an investment - it's our home.

Pacific Heights

Court Documents and Unlawful Eviction Claims

Judge Mitchell Black In answer to your suit against him, Mr. Hayes has submitted to the court affidavits A and B confirming plaintive's attempted unlawful eviction of a Mr. Hayes on the 15th of last May.

Drake Goodman No, I turned his gas and electricity off. There's a policeman...

[quietly to Stephanie]

Stephanie MacDonald Your Honor, my client and I...

Judge Mitchell Black Miss MacDonald, I assume you have received these documents?

Stephanie MacDonald Yes, I have just received them, Your Honor. I think there's been a mix up.

Judge Mitchell Black I think the law is quite clear on this point, don't you? Mr. Hayes is entitled to a reduction of rent due to uninhabitability caused by Mr. Goodman's misguided attempt to force him from the premises by disconnecting his utilities. Court rules for the defendant, Carter Hayes. Let the records show that according to the lease, Mr. Hayes's legal cost to be paid by the plaintiff.

Stephanie MacDonald Your Honor, I would like to ask for a 10-minute postponement.

Judge Mitchell Black Miss MacDonald, I see you have other cases before this court today. I hope you're better prepared for them. I assumed you'll wanna cooperate with the bench now in keeping things moving?

Stephanie MacDonald Yes, sir.

Drake Goodman That's it?

Memorable Quotes from Matthew Modine

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