You Can Count on Me (2000)

Kenneth Lonergan: Ron

Quotes 

• Ron : You know, Terry, a lot of people come to see me with all kinds of problems. Drugs, alcohol, marital problems, sexual problems, health problems

  Terry : Great job you got.

  Ron : Well... I like it. Because even in this little town, I feel like what I do is very connected with the real center of people's lives. I'm not saying I'm always Mr. Effective, but I don't feel like my life is off to the side of what's important. You know? I don't feel my happiness and comfort are based on closing my eyes to trouble within myself or trouble in other people. I don't feel like a negligible little scrap, floating around in some kind of empty void, with no sense of connectedness to anything around me except by virtue of whatever little philosophies I can scrape together on my own...

  Terry : Well

  Ron : Can I ask you, Terry: Do you think your life is important?

  Terry : You mean - Like, me personally, my individual life?

  Ron : Yeah.

  Terry : Well... I'm not sure - What do you mean? It's important to me. I guess. And like, to my, you know, the people who care about me...

  Ron : But do you think it's important?

  Terry : I -

  Ron : Do you think it's important in the scheme of things? Not just because it's yours, or because you're somebody's brother. Because I don't really get the impression that you do.

  Terry : Well, I don't think... I don't particularly think anybody's life has any particular importance besides whatever - you know - whatever we arbitrarily give it. Which is fine. I mean we might as well... I think I'm as important as anybody else...

  Terry : I don't know: A lot of what you're saying has a real appeal to me, Ron. A lot of the stuff they told us when we were kids... But I don't want to believe something or not believe it because I might feel bad. I want to believe it because I think it's true or not... I'd like to think that my life is important... Or that it's connected to something important...

  Ron : Well, isn't there any way for you to believe that without calling it God, or religion, or whatever term it is you object to?

  Terry : Yes. I believe that.

• Sammy : I don't know what the church's official position is on fornication and adultery these days, and I felt really hypocritical not saying anything to you about it before, but... what *is* the official position these days?

  Ron : Well... it's a sin.

  Sammy : Good, I think it should be!

  Ron : But we try not to focus on that aspect right off the bat.

  Sammy : Why not? I think you should.

  Ron : Well...

  Sammy : Maybe it was better when they screamed at you from the box for having sex with your married boss, they told you what a terrible thing it was, they were really mean to you. Maybe it would be better if you just told me that I'm endangering my immortal soul and that if I don't stop, I'm gonna burn in hell. Don't you ever think that?

  Ron : No, not really.