Lorenzo quotes from A Bronx Tale (1993)

Lorenzo

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.

Lorenzo

People don't love him, they fear him. There's a difference.

Lorenzo

You stay away from the bar. You don't see me going to the bar do you?

You mean Mom won't let you go either?

Lorenzo

What am I going to do with this kid?

Mommy, Mommy! Look what I got! Some peaches for… free.

Lorenzo

What’s this?

What’s what, Dad?

Lorenzo

Where did you get this?! Your mother found this behind your drawer.

It’s my savings, Dad.

Lorenzo

Six hundred dollars you’ve been saving? What? Did you become a brain surgeon overnight, son?!

Rosina

Tell your father where you got the money.

Dad, I worked for it.

Lorenzo

Doing what?

Things.

Lorenzo

Things? Whaddya mean things? What things?

Old things. Ya know, things.

Lorenzo

Hey. Don’t lie to me. Just tell me the truth. I won’t get upset.

I worked the crap games and the guys gave me tips.

Rosina

The crap games?

Lorenzo

What crap games? What crap games? What tips? [Calogero doesn’t answer] [yells angrily] WHAT CRAP GAMES?!

I told ya you weren’t gonna get upset, dad.

Lorenzo

I LIED! Now tell me everything!

I told you, I worked for Sonny and he gave me tips.

Lorenzo

I knew it.

Rosina

Weren’t you told a thousand times not to go NEAR that bar?

But Ma, I work for it.

Rosina

Well, whaddya mean you work for it? You’re not supposed to be in that bar!

Sonny

First of all, I respect you, Lorenzo, you're a stand-up guy and we're from the same neighborhood, but don't ever talk to me like that again. I tell your kid to go to school, to go to college...

Lorenzo

You don't understand: it's not what you say, it's what he sees, the clothes, the cars, the money, it's everything. He tried to throw away his baseball cards because he said Mickey Mantle will never pay the rent.

Sonny

He said that to you? I don't believe this kid.

Lorenzo

That's not funny. Not when your kid has a bigger bank account than you.

Sonny

I offered you a job, you said "No" to me.

Lorenzo

That's right, and I say "No" now. Just leave my son alone, please.

Sonny

Hey! [Stands up] Don't you see how I treat that kid? I treat him like he's my son.

Lorenzo

He ain't your son, he's MY son.

Sonny

He's what?

Lorenzo

He's MY son!

Sonny

Hey, get the **** outta here!

Lorenzo

I'm not afraid of you.

Sonny

You should be.

Lorenzo

I know who you are, Sonny, I know what you're capable of, and I would never step out of line, you can ask anyone in the neighborhood who knows me. But this time, you're wrong. You don't fool with a man's family. This is my son, not yours.

Sonny

What are you gonna do, fight me?

Lorenzo

You stay away from my son!

Sonny

Get outta here before I give you a **** slap!

Lorenzo

You just stay away from my son!

Sonny

Go ahead!

Lorenzo

I don't care who you are! You stay away from my son!

Sonny was right. The working man IS a sucker, dad. He's a sucker.

Lorenzo

He's wrong! It don't take much strength to pull a trigger, but try and get up every morning, day after day and work for a livin'! Let's see him try that! Then we'll see who's the REAL tough guy! The working man's the tough guy! Your father's the tough guy!

Oh, I don't wanna hear this.

Lorenzo

You don't wanna hear it, but you're gonna hear it. I might not have any money, I might not have a Cadillac, but I'm proud of what I do and I don't answer to anybody. My mother and father came to this country with nothin'…

And they died with nothin'.

Lorenzo

Hey! Don't you dare disrespect your grandparents, do you hear me? They tried to give me a better life, and that's what I'm trying to give you!

What better life?! We don't even own a car! We ain't got money, we ain't got nothin'! Don't take it out on me because you're a bus driver! The workin' man is a sucker.

Dad, what are you doing here?

Lorenzo

I came to pay my respects to your friend. You okay?

Yeah. Dad, I’m sorry if I ever hurt you in any way.

Lorenzo

It’s okay. [Kisses him] Everything’s gonna be okay. [To Sonny in the coffin] Sonny, I wanna thank you for savin’ my kid’s life. I never hated you. I guess it’s… that I was just mad at you because you made him grow up so fast. May God have mercy on your soul. [Crosses himself, to Calogero] I’ll wait for you over here. [Steps away to let Calogero talk to Sonny one last time]

Sonny, did you hear that? My father didn’t hate you. Nobody cares, huh? You were wrong about that one. [Kisses his fingers and touches them to Sonny’s forehead] Wasted talent. [Throws up three fingers] See you round, Sonny. [Walks away from the coffin]

Lorenzo

Let’s go home, “C.” [They leave the funeral home]