5 Great Movie Monologues

“Donny was a good bowler and a good man. He was one of us. He was a man who loved the outdoors - and bowling, and as a surfer he explored the beaches of Southern California from La Jolla to Leo Carrillo and - up to - Pismo. He died - he died as so many young men of his generation before his time. In your wisdom, Lord, you took him, as you took so many bright flowering young men at Khe Sanh, at Langdok, at Hill 364. These young men gave their lives. And so would Donny. Donny, who loved bowling. And so, Theodore Donald Karabotsos, in accordance with what we think your dying wishes might well have been, we commit your final mortal remains to the bosom of the Pacific Ocean - which you loved so well. Good night, sweet prince.”

The Big Lebowski (1998)
John Goodman as Walter Sobchak
Screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen



“You came to see a race today; to see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It's hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape - especially if you've got a bet on him. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe you're dinner's burnt. Maybe you haven't got a job. So who am I to say, "Believe, have faith," in the face of life's realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way. I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.”

Chariots of Fire (1981)
Ian Charleson as Eric Liddell
Screenplay by Colin Welland



“Why shouldn't I work for the N.S.A.? That's a tough one, but I'll take a shot. Say I'm working at the N.S.A. and somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself 'cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East and once they had that location, they bomb the village where the rebels are hiding. 1500 people that I never met, never had no problem with, get killed. Now the politicians are sayin', "Oh, send in the Marines to secure the area" 'cause they don't give a sh!t. It won't be their kid over there gettin' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number got called, 'cause they were of pullin' a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some kid from Southie over there takin' shrapnel in the @ss. And he comes back to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his @ss got his old job, 'cause he'll work for 15 cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile, he realizes the only reason he was over there in the 1st place was so that we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And, of course, the oil companies used a little skirmish over there to scare up domestic oil prices. A cute little ancillary benefit for them, but it ain't helping my buddy at $2.50 a gallon. And they're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back, of course, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and f@ckin' play slalom with the icebergs. It ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So now my buddy's out of work, he can't afford to drive, so he's walkin’ to the f@ckin' job interviews, which sucks 'cause the shrapnel in his @ss is givin' him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starvin', 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat, the only blue plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what did I think? I'm holdin' out for somethin' better. I figure f@ck it, while I'm at it why not just shoot my buddy, take his job, give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president.”

Good Will Hunting (1997)
Matt Damon as Will Hunting
Screenplay by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck



“A lot of people think this is just a job that you go to. Take a lunch hour - job's over. Something like that. But it's a 24-hour deal. No 2 ways about it. And, what most people don't see - is just how hard it is to do the right thing. People think if I make a judgment call, that that's a judgment on them, but that’s not what I do. And that's not what should be done. I have to take everything, and play it as it lays. Sometimes people need a little help. Sometimes people need to be forgiven. And sometimes they need to go to jail. And that is a very tricky thing on my part - making that call. I mean, the law is the law. And heck if I'm gonna break it. You can forgive someone. Well, that's the tough part. What can we forgive? Tough part of the job. Tough part of walking down the street.”

Magnolia (1999)
John C. Reilly as Jim Kurring
Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson



“I've been around this block twice now. Looking for something. A clue. I've been looking for clues and something led me back here. Yep. So here I am. It could have been me, the one who was at Ringo's place when the sh!t went down. Hey. I know how it is. I've been there. We've all done bad things. We've all had those guilty feelings in our heart. You wanna take your brain out of your head and wash it and scrub it and make it clean. I don't know. But I'm going to help you settle this. First we're going to check for holes and see what we can find. Then we're going to get nice and wet, and you're going to spread your legs. Oh, that's good. So you know me. You know my reputation. 13 inches is a tough load, I don't treat you gently. That's right. I'm Brock Landers. So I'm going to be nice. So I'm going to be nice. So I'm going to be nice, and I'm going to ask you one more time. Where the f@ck is Ringo? . . . I am a star. I’m a star, I’m a star, I’m a star. I’m a big, bright, shining star. That’s right.”

Boogie Nights (1997)
Mark Wahlberg as Dirk Diggler
Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson