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

The long-anticipated movie version of the best-selling book 'The Help' finally hit theaters in August of 2011, and, not surprisingly, it's filled with great quotes. From the humor of Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) to the wisdom of Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) and the persistence of Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) - the young, very green writer determined to tell their stories to the world - 'The Help' offers poignant, memorable quotes that echo those in Kathryn Stockett's novel. These women blaze a dangerous trail, daring to expose the racial injustices the black maids suffer at the hands of their white employers in the early-1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. If you're a fan and you don't see your favorite 'The Help' quotes on this list, feel free to add them!

‘The Help’ debuted very strong at the U.S. box office, taking in more than $26 million in its opening weekend. The movie stayed strong in coming weeks, securing the number one spot for several more weeks, outperforming initial box office expectations. The movie was buoyed by generally favorable reviews and strong word-of-mouth, as moviegoers passed the word along that it was a great film. By mid-September of 2011, ‘The Help’ had earned well over $147 million domestically.

If you're interested in quotes from other blockbuster movies, check out our quotes pages for 'Moneyball,' 'Contagion,' 'Friends With Benefits,' 'Crazy Stupid Love,' ’I Don’t Know How She Does It’ ’Dolphin Tale,’ ’What’s Your Number.’ 'One Day' and ’50/50.’

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Kind, Smart and Important Added by: Shirley Tessle

Aibileen Clark (to Mae Mobley): "You is kind. You is smart. You is important."
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Can't Forget Added by: Shirley Tessle

Missus Walters: "I may have trouble rememberin' my own name, or what country I live in. But there's two things I can't seem to forget. That my own daughter threw me into a nursin' home and that she ate Minny's sh*t. Good night."
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3

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I'm Gonna Do It

Minny: "Alright, I'm gonna do it. But I need to make sure she understands this ain't no game we're playing here." (to Skeeter) "Slide your chair out from under that table, face me. I need to see you square on at all times." (sits) "I got to come up with your questions, too?!"

Again, Minny offers a small bit of comic relief, even though the subject matter is deadly serious. Skeeter, not surprisingly, is shocked that she's finally willing to come forth and talk to her.
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4

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Lost Your Mind

Hilly (to Minny): "Have you lost your mind?!"
Minny: "No ma'am. But you about to..."

Minny Jackson definitely has some of the funniest lines in the movie (as she did in the book), including this zinger.
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5

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We Love Them and They Love Us

Skeeter: "I was raised by a colored woman. We love them and they love us - but they can't even use the toilets in our houses."

Skeeter sums up the crux of 'The Help' nicely in this one, simple quote.
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Bringing Back Courage Added by: Shirley Tessle

Charlotte Phelan: "Courage sometimes skips a generation. Thank you for bringing it back to our family."
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Godless

Aibileen: (to Hilly) "You're a Godless woman."

Aibileen's anger is never more apparent than when she utters this line to Hilly. Her devastation is understandable (for those who haven't read the book or seen the movie, we'll skip telling you why).
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Done It Now

Aibileen: "We've gone done it now."

Yes Aibileen, you have. With the help of your fellow maids, and Skeeter, you've put your story out for everyone to read - including the residents of Jackson. Brave, and dangerous.
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I Got a Job Today

Skeeter: "I got a job today."
Charlotte: "Where?"
Skeeter: "Writing for the Jackson Journal."
Charlotte: "Great, you can write my obituary - Charlotte Phelan dead, her daughter, still single."

All Charlotte (Allison Janney) wants for her daughter is marriage - not a career. She makes this abundantly clear throughout the film, starting as soon as Skeeter graduates from Ole Miss. This is the last thing on Skeeter's mind...
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Scandalous

Missus Walters: "You should read the book, it's quite scandalous - sounds like Jackson if you ask me."

Missus Walters (Sissy Spacek) is spot on. Skeeter did change a few things in her book - but it's pretty obvious who she's writing about. Hilly isn't going to be happy...
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What Disturbs Me

Skeeter (to editor Elain Stein): "You said to write about what disturbs me, particularly if it bothers no one else."

Skeeter's stuck. She's stuck writing a boring column for the 'Jackson Journal,' when she has much bigger ambitions. She makes a risky proposal to Harper & Row editor Elain Stein: writing a book about the experiences of black maids in the still-segretated South. Stein's skeptical: Can Skeeter really find enough maids to tell her their stories for a piece?
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Not About Me

Aibileen: "What if you don't like what I've got to say?"
Skeeter: "This isn't about me."

No, it's not about you, Skeeter. It's about the women who've been taking care of you and those like you for decades, enduring injustices quietly - until now. You are simply the vehicle through which they're going to tell the world about their situation.
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Miss Hilly Holbrook

Skeeter: "What changed your mind?"
Aibileen: "God. And Miss Hilly Holbrook."

Aibileen Clark has spent her entire life working as a maid for families in the segregated South - and she, like many of the other housekeepers, is initially terrified of telling her story to Skeeter. Understandable, given the time.
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My Prayers Added by: Shirley Tessle

Aibileen Clark: "I thought I might write my stories down or read 'em to you. Ain't no different in writin' down my prayers."
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Toilet Paper

Minny: "Forgive me lord but I'm gonna have to kill that woman Aibilene. Now she gone and puttin' pencil marks on the toilet paper."
Aibileen: (laughs) "Did she?!"
Minny: "Mmmhmm. But I carry paper in from my own damn house - that fool won't know..."

Exchanges like this one serve to hammer home the ridiculous things that these maids had to endure from some employers - most notably, Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard).
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Aibileen's Help

Skeeter: "I want to interview you about what it's like to work as a maid. I'd like to do a book of interviews about working for white families. We could show what it's like to work for uh, say, Elizabeth?"
Aibileen: "Do you know what Ms. Leefolt would do to me if she knew I was telling stories on her?"
Skeeter: "Well I was thinking we wouldn't have to tell her. The other maids would have to keep it a secret too."
Aibileen: "Other maids?"
Skeeter: "Well, I was hoping to get four or five - to show what it's really like in Jackson."

Skeeter isn't going to let this one go, Aibileen - it's far too important. But Aibileen knows all too well the danger she'd be putting herself - and her family - in if she spills the beans about what it's really like working for a white woman in the early-60s South.
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Home Health Sanitation Initiative

Hilly: "I've drafted the Home Health Sanitation Initiative."
Skeeter: "The what?"
Hilly: "A bill that requires every white home to have a separate bathroom for the help."
Skeeter: "Maybe we should just build you a bathroom outside Hilly."

Hilly Holbrook is a classic example of why Skeeter wants so badly to tell the story of the help - to try and shed some light on the injustices the housekeepers suffer at the hands of some of their employers (white women).
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