The Descendants Movie Quotes By Movie and TV Quotes [174 more lists]

'The Descendants' movie quotes represent the best lines from this 2011 comedy/drama starring George Clooney as Matt King, a land baron in Hawaii who struggles to connect with his daughters after his wife is critically injured in an accident. This is an Alexander Payne co-scripted and directed film, and true to form, it offers some outstanding dialogue and first-rate acting from Clooney and his co-stars, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Judy Greer, Nick Krause and Beau Bridges. Is your favorite 'Descendants' quote on this list? Vote it up - and if you see a great quote that's missing, feel free to add it.

'The Descendants' was adapted by Alexander Payne ('Sideways') from the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. Matt King, father of two and husband of a cheating wife, is trying his best to keep himself together, while working to sell his family's land in Hawaii. For Oscar-watchers, 'The Descendants' is definitely a movie to keep an eye on.

The buzz was huge for the movie in general, Clooney's performance in it - and the performance of newcomer Shailene Woodley, among others. Not surprisingly, 'The Descendants' won 2012 Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor (Clooney). The movie also garnered five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Alexander Payne), Best Actor (Clooney) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash).

Looking for more great 2011 movie quotes? Check out these lists for the best quotes from 'J. Edgar,' the 'The Rum Diary,' 'The Ides of March,' 'Moneyball,' '50/50' and the 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.'

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Enough Money

Matt King: "You give your children enough money to do something, but not enough to do nothing."

Matt's family has big money - and while he wants to make sure his kids have enough money to realize their dreams, but not so much that they become lazy and spoiled.
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Don't Do That Again

Alexandra: "Dad this is Sid."
Matt: "Hi Sid."
Sid: "What's up, bro?" (hugs Matt)
Matt: "Don't ever do that to me again."

Matt King is about to discover the joys of parenting a teenager. And 'bro' hugs.
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Come Home

Matt: "Alex?"
Alexandra: "Dad? What's up dad? What's happening?"
Matt: "You need to come home and see your mom."

Alex/Alexandra is off the rails when Matt steps into the picture.
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Nobody Notices

Matt: "I thought you were supposed to be getting your act together?"
Alexandra: "I've been doing really well, actually. Nobody ever seems to notice that."

Alexandra has reason to be rebellious, to some extent: Her family is falling apart, her mother is hospitalized in a coma and her father is kind of...well, he wasn't around much. She's just been orbiting in her little world, and no one notices when she's doing great - or not so great.
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Who Is He?

Matt: "Who is he? I'd like to know who the guy is that my wife was...seeing?"

When Matt finds out his wife was fooling around on him, he does what many other men have done before: Confront everyone else (who knew way before he did) and demand some answers.
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Immune to Life

Matt: "My friends think that just because we live in Hawaii, we live in paradise. We're all just out here sipping Mai Tai's, shaking our hips and catching waves. Are they insane? Do they think we're immune to life? How can they possibly think our families are less screwed up? Our heartaches, less painful?"

In 'The Descendants,' George Clooney is a father struggling to come to terms with his life after his wife has a horrific accident. And no, living in Hawaii doesn't necessarily mean paradise - far from it.
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Real Good Job

Alexandra: (to Scottie) "Get out of my underwear, you freak!"
Matt: "No no, back inside - put on a swimsuit, now!"
Alexandra: "Real good job you're doing."
Matt: "That's part of why I brought you here. You have to help me with her - I don't know what to do with her."
Alexandra: "Maybe if you spent more time with her, she wouldn't act like such a complete spaz."

Tough enough that Matt has to try and connect with a teenage daughter, but throw in another, younger daughter, Scottie (Amara Miller) and you've got double trouble.
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Derogatory

Matt King: ""You little f**k! Do you get hit a lot?!"
Sid: ""I don't know, I've had my share."
Matt King: (turns to Alex) ""Your friend is retarded - you know that?"
Sid: ""Hey! I've got a brother who's retarded! You don't have to get all derogatory.""

Matt has a tough time dealing with Alex's boyfriend, Sid (Nick Krause). He's obnoxious, for one thing, and Matt struggles to accept him.
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Cold Cocked

Sid: ""How often do old people just haul off and cold cock you like that?""

Sid promises to be much-needed comic relief in this tragic comedy/drama (hard to pin it down, we're talking about Alexander Payne here, after all).
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No Clue

Alexandra: "I don't want to talk about mom with anyone."
Matt: "Look, whatever you two fought about, you have to drop it. Grow up!"
Alexandra: "You really don't have a clue, do you? Dad, mom was cheating on you."

And cue the bombshell, dropped by your teenage daughter. Matt is about to come completely unhinged.
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Tough Deal

Cousin Hugh: "What you've been going through, that's a tough deal."
Matt: "I'm just trying to keep my head above water."

Life is cruel, and Matt is right in the thick of things, as Cousin Hugh (Beau Bridges) is quick to point out. Tough deal? Understatement.
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What's Happening

Matt King: "I have to go around and tell people what's happening. Family, and a few close friends."
Alexandra: "I don't want to talk about mom with anyone."

Matt is still in shock as he talks to Alex about Elizabeth's situation. She's lying in a hospital, dying, and he's got to make some calls, letting key people know what's going on. Alex is angry, vunerable and frustrated - and she's about to tell him something he really, really doesn't want to hear...
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Always Like That

Sid: "That guy is a prick. Is he always like that?"
Matt King: "Yeah."

Sid makes this astute observation about Matt's father-in-law, Scott. Scott may seem like a "prick" but he's also grieving deeply for his daughter (Matt's wife, Elizabeth).
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She's Dying

Matt King: ""Elizabeth is dying. Oh, wait, no, f**k you. Also Elizabeth is dying.""

Matt's emotions are all over the place as he finally confronts the man his wife, Elizabeth, was cheating on him with. He has to deliver the horrible news about her accident - but then he remembers who he's speaking to - and delivers a few explatives as well.
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Women

Matt King: "What is it that makes the women in my life destroy themselves?"

Matt King has had major troubles with the women he loves. All of them bring him down and cause him to question his own masculinity (and they spur him to try and get his life together).
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My Daughters Detest Me

Matt King: "...with Elizabeth, my wife, in a hospital, my daughters detested me..."

Going from understudy to full-time, primary parent, is quite a shock for Matt King. His daughters, Scottie and Alex, are extremely close to their mother - and dad hasn't been a major figure in their lives until now.
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The Understudy

Matt King: "I'm the back-up parent -- the understudy."

When Matt's wife, Elizabeth, has a terrible accident, he steps up from understudy to star parent quickly. His struggles to come to terms with everything that's going on - his wife's accident, her affair, his kids - is at the heart of 'The Descendants.'
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See His Face

Matt King: "On the phone he can escape, in person, he's got nowhere to go. I wanna see his face."

Matt is determined to confront Elizabeth's lover, Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard). He wants to make sure he sees him in person, to make the experience real. He'll definitely get more than he bargained for when he knocks on that door...
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Ironic

Scott Thorson: "It's ironic, Elizabeth in this misfortune just as you come into your fortune."

Matt's father-in-law, Scott Thorson (Robert Forster), is matter-of-fact about everything. So much so that he can be a total jerk. There's way more going on behind the facade, though.
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Paradise

Matt King: ""Paradise? Paradise can go f**k itself.""

Matt may be living in paradise, but his life is anything but - in fact, it's just the opposite.
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