Barfly (1987)
Mickey Rourke: Henry
Photos
Quotes
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Wanda Wilcox : I can't stand people, I hate them.
Henry : Oh yeah?
Wanda Wilcox : Do you hate them?
Henry : No, but I seem to feel better when they're not around.
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Henry : Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.
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Henry : This is a world where everybody's gotta do something. Y'know, somebody laid down this rule that everybody's gotta do something, they gotta be something. You know, a dentist, a glider pilot, a narc, a janitor, a preacher, all that.
Henry : [sighs] Sometimes I just get tired of thinking of all the things that I don't wanna do. All the things that I don't wanna be. Places I don't wanna go, like India, like getting my teeth cleaned. Save the whale, all that, I don't understand that.
Jim : You're not supposed to think about it. I think the whole trick is, not to think about it.
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Henry : It's hatred. It's the only thing that lasts.
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Henry : [voice over] And as my hands drop the last desperate pen, in some cheap room, they will find me there and never know my name, my meaning, nor the treasure of my escape.
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Henry : That's it.
Wanda Wilcox : That's what?
Henry : I'm broke. Can't buy another drink.
Wanda Wilcox : You mean you don't have any money?
Henry : No money, no job, no rent. Hey, I'm back to normal.
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Tully : Why did you send your stuff to us?
Henry : Well, I liked the title of the mag. It boggled my scrotum.
Tully : Why don't you stop drinking? Anybody can be a drunk.
Henry : Anybody can be a non-drunk. It takes a special talent to be a drunk. It takes endurance. Endurance is more important than truth.
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Henry : [screaming] Why did it have to be Eddie? He symbolizes everything that *disgusts* me.
Wanda Wilcox : [quietly] What.
Henry : Obviousness. Unoriginal macho energy. Ladies man...
Wanda Wilcox : You're right. He's not much.
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Henry : Nobody who ever wrote anything worth a damn could ever write in peace... Jesus.
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Henry : [to Eddie] Your mother's cunt stinks like carpet cleaner.
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Henry : Drinks for all my friends!
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Wanda Wilcox : [talking about the rumor that her neighbor killed people] Maybe he had a reason to kill those people.
Henry : Yeah well most people think they do.
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Henry : So you hired a dick to find an asshole?
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Henry : Baby, what we had was just green corn.
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Henry : [to his own bloody face as reflected in the bathroom mirror] Nothing but the dripping sink. Empty bottle. Euphoria. Youth fenced in, stabbed and shaved. Taut words propped up to die
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Henry : I remember ordering a draft, barkeep. What, are you out of brew, or has that lobotomy finally taken hold?
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Henry : I sure want to thank you for your hospitality.
Wanda Wilcox : Just one thing. I don't ever wanna fall in love. I don't wanna go through that. I can't.
Henry : Hey, don't worry. Nobody's ever loved me yet.
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Henry : I'm gonna ask you the same damn thing, people are always asking me?
Wanda Wilcox : Like?
Henry : Like what do you do?
Wanda Wilcox : I drink.
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Henry : Hey, what do you think I am? A bum?
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Henry : The first thing I noticed about you were your legs.
Wanda Wilcox : Really? I guess I got lucky with legs. It's the brain I was shorted on.
[Wanda pulls up her robe to expose her entire legs while she lies on the couch]
Henry : Oh. Oh, yeah. Hey. I could look at a woman's legs for hours.
Wanda Wilcox : I've got nothin' but time.
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Henry : Humanity, you never had it - from the beginning.
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Wanda Wilcox : Maybe this guy had a reason for killing.
Henry : Hey, well, most people think they do.
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Henry : Hey, you don't believe in that crap, do you?
Wanda Wilcox : Sure. The more crap you believe in, the more better off you are.
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Henry : Who's Wilbur? Is he your pimp?
Wanda Wilcox : I'm no hooker, I don't have a pimp.
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Wanda Wilcox : Don't you hate cops?
Henry : No, but I seem to feel better when they're not around.
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Wanda Wilcox : How did your face get so beat up?
Henry : You don't mind, do you?
Wanda Wilcox : I think it looks beautiful.
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Henry : Do you think I'm crazy?
Wanda Wilcox : What's crazy? I dunno. We're all in some kind of hell. And the madhouses are the only places where people *know* - they're in hell.
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Wanda Wilcox : You're the damndest barfly I've ever seen. You act like some real blue blood, like royalty.
Henry : Oh. Oh, I wasn't aware of that. Thank you. Yeah, I noticed you're class too, baby.
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Wanda Wilcox : What is it?
Henry : Oh, it's hatred. It's the only thing that last.
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Wanda Wilcox : What are we gonna do about us?
Henry : Well, us? Us is gonna drink, I hope.
Wanda Wilcox : Pour me one then.
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Henry : This thing upon me, like a flower and a feast. This thing upon me, crawling like a snake. It's not death, but dying will solve it's power. And as my hands drop the last desperate pen, in some cheap room, they will find me there. I never know my name, my meaning, nor the treasure of my escape.
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Wanda Wilcox : See. The angels are everywhere.
Henry : Oh, it's time those fuckers came out of hiding.
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Tully : I know something about you.
Henry : Really?
Tully : You've been jailed twelve times. You like Mahler and Mozart... You hate movies. You like avocados and Schopenhauer.
Henry : Sound's like your man did his homework, baby.
Tully : When I read your stories, I had to find out. They made me feel. And they make me curious, very curious.
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Tully : I'm one of the main producers of the "Contemporary Review of Art and Literature."
Henry : Oh, producer?
Tully : I own the magazine.
Henry : So?
Tully : So, we've discovered you.
Henry : Oh. Oh, I had an idea, that I'd be discovered - after my death.
Tully : You look well on the way. You might beat our deadline.