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Quotations from Ordinary People

Ordinary People is a drama film that follows the lives of a parents who lost one of their sons due to a boating accident. The movie looks at the lives of the parents and their other son as they struggle to keep the family together. Directed by Robert Redford. Starring Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Elizabeth McGovern, Judd Hirsch, and Timothy Hutton. Based on the novel of the same name by Judith Guest.

Ordinary People was both a critical and financial success. It won four Oscar awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing.


Conrad "Con" Jarrett: Anyway.
Jeannine: Hm, what?
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: Oh just anyway. It's a conversation starter.
Jeannine: Hm, catchy.
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: I knew you'd like it, I've been working on it all day.
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: When I let myself feel, all I feel is lousy.
Dr. Berger: Oh well excuse me, I never promised you a rose garden.
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: Oh fuck you Berger.
Dr. Berger: What?
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: FUCK YOU!
Dr. Berger: Hey, that's it!
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: Geez! You're really weird huh, what do you feel huh? Do you jerk off, or jack off, or whatever you call it?
Dr. Berger: What do you think?
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: What do I think? I think you're married to a fat lady and you go home and you fuck the living daylights out of her!
Dr. Berger: Sounds good to me.
Jeannine: Conrad, I'm not a very good bowler, what I mean is, I'm a funny bowler. Conrad "Con" Jarrett: Oh, well we don't have to go bowling if you'd rather not. How funny are ya?
Jeannine: On a scale of one to ten... about a ten.
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: Oh... yeah, that's pretty funny.
Jeannine: Can you ever break the ball?
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: You can't break the ball. Can't break the floor. Can't break anything in a bowling alley. And that's what I like about bowling alleys. Can't even break the record.
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: [seeing Beth set the table] Can I help?
Beth Jarrett: Help with what?
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: With... this?
Beth Jarrett: No. I'll tell you what you can do is go upstairs to that room of yours and clean out the closet.
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: [still desperately trying to talk with her] Mom?
Beth Jarrett: [sensing this, but is afraid] Okay? Because it really is a mess.
[they stare at each other in silence for a moment before the phone rings]
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: [Berger is pretending to be Buck, Con's older brother] Why did you have to die, Bucky?
Dr. Berger: [as Buck] Because I let go!
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: Well, screw you, you asshole!
[breaks out of his fantasy]
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: I just did one wrong thing.
Dr. Berger: What was that?
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: I survived.
Dr. Berger: So you felt great. You brought home a Christmas tree and everything was hunky dory. Okay?
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: You're the doctor.
Dr. Berger: Listen, don't take refuge in one-liners like "you're the doctor". Okay? Because that pisses me off.
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: Okay.
Karen: Conrad. Let's have a great Christmas. Let's have... a great year. Let's have the best year of our whole lives. We can, you know... this could be the best one ever.
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: I made a 74 on a trig quiz.
Beth Jarrett: Oh really? Gosh I was awful at trig.
Conrad "Con" Jarrett: Oh. Really? You took trig?
Beth Jarrett: No... wait a minute... ha, did I take trig? Huh... anyway, I bought you two shirts they're on your bed.
Dr. Berger: A little advice about feelings kiddo; don't expect it always to tickle.
Next: Out of Africa
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