Little Manhattan

If you've never seen or heard of the movie Little Manhattan, let me highly recommend it to you. It's hilarious. And clean. And also, strangely, pretty profound. I was just thinking today of some of my favorite parts; here are some great quotes (to give you a little background, it's narrated by an 11 year old boy as he experiences his first love).


Gabe: Look at them all. Rats in their cages, their lives destroyed by love. I'm done with it. I won't be like them. The fools.

*****
Gabe: Dad, what's the deal with girls? I mean, why are they the way they are?
Adam: You're talking to the wrong man.
Gabe: Well, how come all love has to end?
Adam: Let me tell you something about me and your mom. Once upon a time, we really loved each other, but as time went by, there just got to be all these things, little things, stupid things, that were left unsaid. And all these things that were left unsaid piled up, like the clutter in our storage room. And after awhile, there was so much that was left unsaid, that we barely said anything at all.
Gabe: Well, why didn't you just say them then, dad?
Adam: I don't know, Gabe. I kind of wish I had.

*****
Gabe: Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. Love isn't about ridiculous little words. Love is about grand gestures. Love is about airplanes pulling banners over stadiums, proposals on jumbo-trons, giant words in sky writing. Love is about going that extra mile even if it hurts, letting it all hang out there. Love is about finding courage inside of you that you didn't even know was there.

*****
Gabe: [watching Rosemary looking at herself in the mirror in her flower girl dress] Okay, what's going on here? What the heck is this? Oh my God. What's this feeling in the pit of my stomach? Who is this - this amazing creature before me? I looked at Rosemary and just felt so, um, confused. She's a girl. I'm supposed to despise girls, not feel nervous talking to one, not feel tongue-tied. I mean this was Rosemary Telesco, I knew her since Kindergarten!

*****
Gabe: Love is an ugly, terrible business practiced by fools. It'll trample your heart and leave you bleeding on the floor. And what does it really get you in the end? Nothing but a few incredible memories that you can't ever shake. The truth is, there's gonna be other girls out there. I mean, I hope. But I'm never gonna get another first love. That one is always gonna be her.