Home Quotes [new quotes] Movies Books Lyrics Articles Poetry Misc. Contributions myGT gtForum Submit Quote

Little Miss Sunshine Michael Arndt RICHARD: There's two kinds of people in this world -- Winners... and Losers. If there's one thing you take away from the nine weeks we've spent, it should be this: Winners and Losers. What's the difference? Winners see their dreams come true. Winners see what they want, they go out and they get it. They don't hesitate. They don't make excuses. And they don't give up. Losers don't get what they want. They hesitate. They make excuses. And they give up. On themselves and their dreams. SHERYL: Olive?! OLIVE: Yeah?! SHERYL: Is Grandpa with you?! OLIVE: Yeah! SHERYL: What are you guys doing? OLIVE: Rehearsing! JEFF: Sheryt, hey it's Jeff. Listen, great news. You know, when Olive was down here last month, she was runner up in the regional Little Miss Sunshine...? Well, they just called me and said that the girl who won had to forfeit her crown. I don't know why -- something about diet pills -- but anyway, that means Olive won the regionals, so now she has a place in the State contest in Boca. FRANK: What? You don't talk anymore? Why not? You can talk. You just choose not to? Is that Nietzsche? You don't speak because of Friedrich Nietzsche? Far out. FRANK: So, Sheryl... I couldn't help notice Dwayne has stopped speaking. SHERYL: Oh! I'm sorry. Dwayne's taken a vow of silence. FRANK: You've taken a vow of silence?! SHERYL: He's gonna join the Naval Academy and become a fighter pilot. He's taken a vow of silence until he reaches that goal. FRANK: You're kidding...! RICHARD: How's the new routine coming? OLIVE: It's good. RICHARD: When're you gonna let us see it? OLIVE: I dunno. It's up to Grandpa. GRANDPA: A couple of days. It needs a polish. GRANDPA: What is this?! Chicken?! Every day it's the chicken! Holy God almighty! Is it possible, just one time, we could have something for dinner except the goddamn fucking chicken?! FRANK: When did you start? With the vow? RICHARD: It's been nine months. He hasn't said a word. I think it shows tremendous discipline. SHERYL: Richard... RICHARD: I'm serious! I think we could all learn something from what Dwayne's doing! Dwayne has a goal. He has a dream. It may not be my dream, or your dream, but still... He's pursuing that dream with focus and discipline. In fact, I was thinking abou the Nine Steps... GRANDPA: Oh, for crying out loud...! OLIVE: How did it happen? FRANK: How did what happen? OLIVE: Your accigent... SHERYL: Honey... FRANK: No, it's okay. Unless you object... SHERY: No, I'm pro-honesty here. I just think, you know... It's up to you. FRANK: Be my guest... SHERYL: Olive, Uncle Frank didn't really have an accident. What happens was: he tried to kill himself. OLIVE: You did? Why? RICHARD: I don't think this is an appropriate conversation. Let's leave Uncle Frank alone. OLIVE: Why did you want to kill yourself? RICHARD: Frank. Don't answer that question. FRANK: I tried to kill myself because I was very unhappy. RICHARD: Don't listen, honey, he's sick and he doesn't know what he's... SHERYL: Richard... Richard... Richard... RICHARD: What?! I don't think it's appropriate for a six year old! SHERYL: She's gonna find out any. Go on, Frank. OLIVE: Why were you unhappy? FRANK: Well, there were a lot of reasons. Mainly, though, I fell in love with someone who didn't love me back... OLIVE: Who? FRANK: One of my grad students. I was very much in love with him. OLIVE: Him? It was a boy? You fell in love with a boy? FRANK: Yes. I did. Very much so. OLIVE: That's silly. FRANK: You're right. It was very, very silly. GRANDPA: There's another word for it... RICHARD: Dad... OLIVE: So... That's when you tried to kill yourself...? FRANK: Well, no. What happened was: the boy I was in love with fell in love with another man, Larry Sugarman. SHERYL: Who's Larry Sugerman? FRANK: Larry Sugarman is perhaps that second most highly regarded Proust scholar in the U.S.. RICHARD: Who's number one? FRANK: That would be me, Rich. OLIVE: So... That's when you tried...? FRANK: Well, no. What happened was: I was a bit upset. I did some things I shouldn't have done. Subsequently, I was fired, forced to leave my apartment and move into a motel. OLIVE: Oh. So that's when...? FRANK: Well, no. Actually, all that was okay. What happened was: two days ago the MacArthur Foundation decided to award a "genius" grant to Larry Sugarman. And that's when... GRANDPA: ... You tried to check out early. FRANK: Yes. And I failed at that as well. RICHARD: Honey, tell Frank why you're doing your dance routine. FRANK: Olive. Why are you doing a dance routine? OLIVE: For Little Miss Crab-Cakes. FRANK: A-ha! Just as I suspected...! SHERYL: Honey, tell him what Little Miss Crab-Cakes is. OLIVE: Little Miss Crab-Cakes is a beauty contest for everyone in Maryland. But you have to be six or seven years old and you have to be a girl. SHERYL: Don't look at me! This is Jeff anf the new step-Mom. It's big down in Florida. FRANK: So what do you think your chances are? OLIVE: I think I can win. 'Cause a lot of the new girls -- they don't have the experience. RICHARD: Now there's no sense in entering a contest if you don't think you're gonna win. Now, do you think you can win Little Miss Sunshine? Yes or no, Olive. Are you gonna win? OLIVE: Yes! RICHARD: We're goin' to Florida! GRANDPA: Jesus, I'm tired. I am so fucking tired. You know how tired I am? If some girl came up to me... begged me to fuck her... couldn't do it. That's how tired I am. GRANDPA: Can I give you some advice? I'll do it anyway. I don't want you making the same mistakes I did when I was young. RICHARD: Great. I can't wait to hear this. GRANDPA: Dwayne? This is the voice of experience talking. Are you listening? Kid: Fuck a lot of women. Not just one woman. A lot of women. You're young... RICHARD: Dad, I'm going to pull over... GRANDPA: So pull over! You're not gonna shut me up! Fuck you! I lived 80 years! You're like those fucker at Sunset Village...! FRANK: What happened at Sunset Village? SHERYL: Frank, don't encourage him. GRANDPA: I'll tell you what happened! I pay my money, they let me in. I should be able to do what the fuck I want! SHERYL: He started snorting heroin. FRANK: You started snorting heroin?! GRANDPA: I'm eighty! FRANK: You know, that stuff'll kill you. GRANDPA: What am I, an idiot? And don't you get ideas. When you're young, you're crazy to do that shit. FRANK: What about you? GRANDPA: Me?! I'm old! You get to be me age -- you're crazy not to do it. FRANK: So I take it you didn't like it at Sunset Village? GRANDPA: Are you kidding? Fucking paradise there! They cook for you. Clean for you. You got golf. A pool. Now I'm stuck with Mr. Happy here, sleeping on a sofa! FRANK: Aren't there other places? SHERYL: He keeps getting kicked out. Sunset was number four. GRANDPA: Motherfuckers. GRANDPA: Hey, listen: I know you're a homo, but... You go to one of these place? There's four women for every guy. What does that say to you? FRANK: You must've been pretty busy. GRANDPA: Oh, man. They were knockin' on my door day and night! It was almost too much! If I didn't have those little fuckin' blue pills... Forget about it! OLIVE: What are you guys talking about? GRANDPA: Politics. GRANDPA: Fuck a lot of women, kid. I got not reason to lie to you. Not just one woman. A lot of women. RICHARD: Olive, can I tell you something about ice-cream? Ice-cream is made from cream, which comes from cow's milk. And cream has a lot of fat in it... SHERYL: Richard... RICHARD: What? "She's gonna find out anyway." Right? OLIVE: Find out what? RICHARD: Well, when you eat ice-cream, the fat in the ice-cream becomes fat on your body... SHERYL: Richard, I swear to God...! OLIVE: What? What's wrong? SHERYL: Nothing, honey. Nothing's wrong. RICHARD: So if you eat lots of ice-cream, you're gonna become big and fat. But if you don't, you'll probably stay nice and skinny. GRANDPA: Olive, Richard's an idiot. I like a woman with meat on her bones. MECHANIC: Well, I tell you what: these old buses? You don't need a clutch to shift from third to fourth. You just ease up on the gas. You only really need the clutch for first and second. What I'm sayin' is: as long as you keep parkin' on a hill, you get yourself going' fifteen, twenty miles an hour, and you just start up in third. Then you shift between third and fourth. RICHARD: And you can drive like that? MECHANIC: Oh, yeah. The problem's just getting up that speed up. As long as you keep parkin' it on a hill, you're fine. My brother and I once drive from here to Canada... RICHARD: What if you're not on a hill? MECHANIC: What? RICHARD: I mean, it's sitting here right now. There's no hill. How do we...? MECHANIC: Well, I tell you what: You get enough people -- you just get behind and push. Just push it up to ten, fifteen miles an hour, and you just go. Everybody jump inside, and you just go! FRANK: How about that...! RICHARD: And I can detect that note of sarcasm, Frank... FRANK: What sarcasm?! RICHARD: ... But I just want you to know -- I feel sorry for you. FRANK: You do? Good. RICHARD: Because sarcasm is the refuge of losers. FRANK: It is?! Really?! RICHARD: Sarcasm is just the sour grapes of losers trying to pull winners down to their level. That's one of the lessons of Step Four. FRANK: Wow, Richard! You've really opened my eyes to what a loser I am! Say, how much do I owe you for those pearls of wisdom? RICHARD: It's on me, buddy. It's on me. FRANK: I'm gonna get a drink. You guys want anything? GRANDPA: Yeah. Get me some porn. Something really nasty. None of that air-brush shit, alright? Here, here's a twenty. Get a little treat for yourself too, if they got any fag-rags in there. FRANK: Where's Olive? GRANDPA: There you go. Snug as a bug in a rug. OLIVE: Grandpa...? GRANDPA: Yeah? OLIVE: I'm kind of scared about tomorrow. GRANDPA: Olive, you're gonna blow 'em out of the water. I guarantee it. They won't know what hit 'em. OLIVE: But what if I lose tomorrow? GRANDPA: Whoa, whoa, back up a second. You can't lose. You know why? Because a real loser is someone who's so afraid of not winning they don't even try. That's not you! You're in the contest! You're gonna dance! So even if you win, or you don't win, you've already won! See? You see? You-see-you-see-you-see? FRANK: What? DWAYNE: "Please don't kill yourself tonight" FRANK: Not on your watch. I wouldn't do that to you. OLIVE: Dad...? RICHARD: What is it, hon...? OLIVE: Grandpa won't wake up. OLIVE: Dad? What's gonna happen to Grandpa? RICHARD: Honey, as soon as we get to Florida, I'm gonna call a funeral home in Maryland and they'll take care of everything. Your Grandpa was smart and planned ahead. Okay? SHERYL; Honey, Grandpa's soul is in Heaven now. He's with God. Okay? OLIVE: Uncle Frank? Does everyone get to go to Heaven? FRANK: That's an excellent question, Olive. Actually, the Hindus believe that you get as many lives as you want. Buddhists believe that you live many lives but at a certain point you reach Nirvana and cross the finish line. Christians believe you only get one life -- they don't believe in do-overs. OLIVE: What do you believe? FRANK: I dunno. I haven't made my mind up. What about you? OLIVE: I think everyone goes to Heaven. FRANK: Even me? OLIVE: Yes! FRANK: You promise? OLIVE: Yes!!! TROOPER: How're you folks doing' today? RICHARD: Fine! Doin' fine! [honk] Sorry! TROOPER: Having trouble with your horn? RICHARD: Yeah a little trouble. [honk] Sorry! [honk] Sorry! FRANK: Don't apologize, Rich! It's a sign of weakness! FRANK: Dwayne. I think you're colorblind. You can't fly jets in the Navy if you're colorblind. KIRBY: ... And you're done! Here's you receipt; tickets; sash; tiara. Anything else? RICHARD: Yeah. Is there a funeral home around here? FRANK: Hey, you know, facing the wall like that...? There's no way you gonna stop me from killing myself. No way! I could be out of the window before you even turn around. FRANK: Man, it's beautiful out here. I don't know if I believe in God, but that ocean -- it's always here for you: infinitely bigger than you are, and completely indifferent. So... My version of God. DWAYNE: Frank...? What'd it feel like when you cut your wrists? FRANK: You know, I wish I could tell you I felt bad. But I didn't. I was... Outside the world, y'know? It was very peaceful. But, I'm feeling that way now, too, so... DWAYNE: Sometimes I wish I could just go to sleep until I was eighteen. Just skip all this crap -- high school and everything. Just skip it... FRANK: Y'ever hear of Marcel Proust? DWAYNE: He's the guy you teach? FRANK: Yeah, French writer. Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent twenty years writing a book almost no one reads. But... he was also probably the greater writer since Shakespeare. Anyway, he gets down to the end of his life, he looks back and he decides that all the years he suffered -- those were the best years of his life. Because they made him who he was. They forced him to think very deeply. And the years he was happy? Total waste. Didn't learn anything. So, if you sleep til you're eighteen... Think of the suffering you'd miss! High school's your prime suffering years. You don't get better suffering than that! Unless you go into academia, but that's a different story. DWAYNE: You know what...? Fuck beauty contests. It's like life is one fucking beauty contest after another these days. School, then college, then work. Fuck it. Fuck the Naval Academy. Fuck the MacArthur Foundation. If I want to fly, I'll find a way to fly. You do what you love and fuck the rest. FRANK: I'm glad you're talking again, Dwayne. You're not nearly as stupid as you look. So now what do we do? DWAYNE: You got me, Frank. Maybe we can stay out here forever. RICHARD: I don't want Olive to go on. SHERYL: Are you kidding...?!!! RICHARD: We're not in Maryland anymore, all right? She's out of her league here. SHERYL: So...? RICHARD: Sheryl...! She's not gonna win. There's no fucking way. SHERYL: It doesn't matter...! RICHARD: It does matter! SHERYL: It doesn't matter! RICHARD: It does!!! I don't want her to lose. I know what that feels like. It's not good. We can't let that happen. DWAYNE: Where's Olive? SHERYL: In the dressing room. What's up? DWAYNE: I don't want Olive doing this. SHERYL: Oh, my God...! RICHARD: See?! DWAYNE: Mom, look around! This place is fucked! I don't want these people judging Olive! Fuck them! RICHARD: Exactly! Fuck them! SHERYL: No, Dwayne. It's too late... DWAYNE: It's not too late! You're the Mom! You're supposed to protect her! OLIVE: I'd like to dedicate this to my Grandpa, who helped me do this routine. MC: That's sweet! Is he here? Where's your Grandpa right now? OLIVE: He's in the trunk of our car.

www.generationterrorists.com