hiv-aids-in-film

"Mariah Carey - Mrs. Weiss"

"I'm gonna break through or somebody gonna break through to me."

"Lenny Kravitz - Nurse John"

"My name is Claireece Precious Jones. I wish I had a light-skinned boyfriend with real nice hair. And I wanna be on the cover of a magazine. But first I wanna be in one of them BET videos. Momma said I can't dance. Plus, she said who wants to see my big ass dancing, anyhow?"

"The other day, I cried. I felt stupid. But you know what? Fuck that day. That's why God, or whoever, makes new days. Still hungry, though."

"Gabourey Sidibe - Claireece Precious Jones"

"Paula Patton - Ms. Blu Rain"

"See, I think right now you think you becomin' a grown woman. 'Cause that shit you pulled in the kitchen... I shoulda fucked you up. But I let you walk away. And I let you get yourself together. But, bitch, I'mma let you know, don't you ever pull that shit again. That'll be your last mothafuckin' day stayin here. I promise you that. You gon' send a white bitch to my mothafuckin' buzzer? Talkin' 'bout some higher education? You're a dummy, bitch! You will never know shit! Don't nobody want you, don't nobody need you! You done fucked around and fucked my mothafuckin' man? And had two mothafuckin' children? And one of 'ems a goddamn animal, runnin' 'round lookin' crazy as a mothafucka? Bitch, you know what? See, I think you... I think you tryin' me. I think you tryin' to fuck with me. You fuckin' with my money... and you gon' stand up there and look at me like you a mothafuckin' woman? I'mma show you what real women do, bitch. See, you don't know what real mothafuckin' women do. Real mothafuckin' women sacrifice! I shoulda aborted your mothafuckin' ass! 'Cause you ain't shit! I knew it when the doctor put you in my goddamn hand you wasn't a goddamn thing! You wear that smirk on your face, bitch?"

"There's always something wrong with these tests. These tests paint a picture of me with no brain. These tests paint a picture of me and my mother, my whole family as less than dumb. Just ugly black grease, need to be wiped away, find a job for."

"Mo'Nique - Mary Jones"

"[to her mother] You know, to this day, I never even knew who you was, not even after all them things you did. Maybe I was too stupid. Maybe I just didn't want to. You ain't gonna see me no more."

"How could anyone act so macho with a pair of tits like that?"

"I'm not a whore. I've been fucked around a lot, but I'm not a whore."

"You are not a human being, Lola. You are an epidemic."

"Just don't disappear again. I like to say good-bye to the people I love, even if it's only to cry my eyes out, bitch."

"Well, as I was saying, it costs a lot to be authentic, ma'am. And one can't be stingy with these things because you are more authentic the more you resemble what you've dreamed of being."

"How could I own a real Chanel when there is so much poverty in the world?"

"Denzel Washington - Joe Miller"

"Joanne Woodward - Sarah Beckett"

"Point number one, Andrew Beckett was - is a brilliant lawyer, great lawyer. Point number two, Andrew Beckett, afflicted with a debilitating disease, made the understandable, the personal, the legal choice to keep the fact of his illness to himself. Point number three, his employers discovered his illness, and ladies and gentlemen, the illness I am referring to is AIDS. Point number four, they panicked. And in their panic, they did what most of us would like to do with AIDS, which is just get it, and everybody who has it, as far away from the rest of us as possible.Now, the behavior of Andrew Beckett's employers may seem reasonable to you. It does to me. After all, AIDS is a deadly, incurable disease. But no matter how you come to judge Charles Wheeler and his partners in ethical, moral, and in human terms, the fact of the matter is, when they fired Andrew Beckett because he had AIDS, they broke the law."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Forget everything you've seen on television and in the movies. There's not gonna be any last minute surprise witnesses. Nobody's gonna break down on the stand with a tearful confession. You're gonna be presented with a simple fact: Andrew Beckett was fired. You'll hear two explanations for why he was fired: ours and theirs. It is up to you to sift through layer upon layer of truth until you determine for yourselves which version sounds the most true. There are certain points that I must prove to you."

"Bradley Whitford - Jamey Collins"

"Antonio Banderas - Miguel Alvarez"

"Charles Napier - Judge Garnett"

"No one would take on his case... until one man was willing to take on the system."

"We're standing here in Philadelphia, the, uh, city of brotherly love, the birthplace of freedom, where the, uh, founding fathers authored the Declaration of Independence, and I don't recall that glorious document saying anything about all straight men are created equal. I believe it says all men are created equal."

"Some of these people make me sick, Philco. But a law's been broken. You remember the law, don't you?"

"Tom Hanks - Andrew Beckett"

"Mary Steenburgen - Belinda Conine"

"Jason Robards - Charles Wheeler"

"Joey Perillo - Filko"

"Now, explain it to me like I'm a two-year-old."

"The music ignites the night with passionate fire."

"December 24, 9 PM, Eastern Standard Time. From here on in, I shoot without a script. See if anything comes from it, instead of my old shit."

"Glory: in a song that rings true. Truth like a blazing fire, an eternal flame."

"You were the song all along, and before the song dies… I should tell you, I should tell you, I have always loved you. You can see it in my eyes!"

"I hear it, I hear it, I hear it my song!"

"Find glory, beyond the cheap colored lights. One song, before the sun sets. Glory - on another empty life."

"AZT break..."

"I see Mimi everywhere."

"All your words are nice Mimi, but love's not a three way street! You'll never share real love until you love yourself, I should know!"

"Zoom in on my empty wallet."

"Mark's got his work, they say Mark lives for his work and Mark's in love with his work. Mark hides in his work."

"We could light the candle… Oh, what'd you do with my candle!"

"It's true you're with this yuppie scum?"

"I'm writing one great song before I... oh."

"I'm lookin' for baggage that goes with mine."

"But now and then I like to feel good."

"Meow... HA!"

"I should tell you—I blew the candle out, just to get back in."