American Hustle Quotes: Witty, Sexy and Stylish

[Richie walks into the interrogation from the other side of the glass where Irving is standing watching Sydney in the room]
Richie DiMaso: Been in there three days. It hasn’t been so good for her.
[Irving just watches Sydney through the two-way mirror glass]
Richie DiMaso: How does it make you feel, her in there? That check was for you, right? But you knew something was off. Because you’re good, you’re like the best at what you do in the whole country, aren’t you? Yep. But you know, if the country were run by people like you, Irving Rosenfeld, we’d be living in Eastern Europe or Guatemala. You ever been to Guatemala? You ever been in jail in Guatemala? You ever try to get a telephone or an apartment or anything in Guatemala? That’s what this country would be like if we let people, liars, like you run this country.
Irving Rosenfeld: Who made you God and judge? Huh?
Richie DiMaso: My grandmother lived to be ninety-three years old and never lied in her life.
Irving Rosenfeld: Congratulations.
Richie DiMaso: Thank you. I’m proud of that too. Does that make her another good person? Isn’t that something to strive for?
Irving Rosenfeld: Why are you breaking my balls? Huh? Get to the point.
Richie DiMaso: I see something in you, Irving. I get very excited. I think that we have a lot of potential here. Now, look, I came up with the idea, it’s all from me. I wanna change things. I wanna go after white-collar crime. Irving, you’re very skilled and I want you to teach me, and we can do this. I want four people to do what you do. Fraudulent investments, fake certificates of deposit, stolen art, fake art. You get me four people and you’re off the hook.
Irving Rosenfeld: Four busts, and you’ll leave us alone? We don’t have to testify?
Richie DiMaso: They get caught and you’re done, anything you want. But if you run, then your life’s over, you’re gonna be hunted. It’s gonna be very difficult for Rosayln and your kid to live in this country.

[after being released, Sydney is in her apartment with Irving]
Sydney Prosser: We need to leave. We need to run and we need to do it now. Right, we’ll go to Estonia or Romania, I don’t care. But we’ll take the cash from the bed and get out of here, alright? We talked about it a hundred times.
Irving Rosenfeld: What about Danny?
Sydney Prosser: What about Danny?
Irving Rosenfeld: I adopted him, I gave him my name! I’m not leaving him with Rosalyn! She’s unstable!
Sydney Prosser: That is a manipulation. Rosalyn will never let you go. She’ll use Danny against you because she’s too messed up to let you leave.
Irving Rosenfeld: I can’t leave him, I love him, alright? He’s my son.
[Sydney looks at him with tears in her eyes]
Sydney Prosser: Richie said you’d say that.
Irving Rosenfeld: Richie?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah.
Irving Rosenfeld: What, the cop? You’re on first name basis with him?
Sydney Prosser: Yes, I am. I’m not even on your list, am I?
Irving Rosenfeld: What list?
Sydney Prosser: Your list, your short list, your long list. I’m not even on any one of your fucking lists.
Irving Rosenfeld: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Sydney Prosser: I thought you loved me.
Irving Rosenfeld: I love you!
Sydney Prosser: I thought we had something.
Irving Rosenfeld: We do have something! It’s perfect!

Irving Rosenfeld: What are you saying? We’re gonna go to Romania. Is that what you’re saying?
Sydney Prosser: Yes. Yes, that’s what I’m saying.
Irving Rosenfeld: Really?
Sydney Prosser: You, me, Danny. Yes.
Irving Rosenfeld: Well you never said that before.
Sydney Prosser: Well, I’m saying it now. We are us. We can make it an adventure, like we did. We can make it an adventure, like we make everything, alright?
Irving Rosenfeld: Alright.
Sydney Prosser: Okay? We have to go now, alright? Trust me. We have to leave right now.
Irving Rosenfeld: I can’t leave Danny, I’ll lose custody.
Sydney Prosser: No, you have to take me away. We have to leave.
Irving Rosenfeld: I can’t.
Sydney Prosser: No, what are you saying? What are you saying?!
[she starts lashing out at him and pushes him down on the bed]
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey, what are you doing?
[she turns and storms out of the room, Irving follows after her]
Irving Rosenfeld: Babe, will you pull it together?
[Sydney begins to cry]
Sydney Prosser: I can’t believe this is happening.
[she paces in the living room crying]
Irving Rosenfeld: Don’t say I don’t love you, that’s bullshit.
Sydney Prosser: This is bullshit! We are bullshit! You were bullshit. You were bullshit.
Irving Rosenfeld: Please, don’t do this.
Sydney Prosser: I just never thought that you were conning me.
Irving Rosenfeld: I could never con you. I love you. Please don’t say this.

[Irving walks over to Sydney, who’s now become subdued, and kneels down in front of her]
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey.
Sydney Prosser: No, I’m done.
Irving Rosenfeld: Don’t say that.
Sydney Prosser: I’m gonna do these four busts, these four cons, to get us out of this. Not just me, but us. And I’m gonna get really close with Richie, the cop, in case we need to use him if we need another move.
Irving Rosenfeld: We don’t need another move. We need four busts, then we’re done.
Sydney Prosser: We are gonna need another move, trust me. And you’re gonna be thanking me. The key to people is what they believe and what they want to believe. So I want to believe that we were real.
Irving Rosenfeld: We are real.
Sydney Prosser: And I want to believe that a man could want me. And I’m gonna take all of that heartbreak, and all of that sorrow, and I am going to use it. And I’m going to make Richie think that I want him and that I like him. And I’m gonna be very, very convincing.
[she strokes his face]
Sydney Prosser: And I’m pissed at you.
[suddenly she hits him]
Sydney Prosser: Cause I’m pissed at you!
[Irving looks at her in confusion]
Sydney Prosser: Maybe I do like him. Maybe I like him a lot.
[she shrugs her shoulders]
Sydney Prosser: From the feet up, right? Baby.
[she gets up and starts walking to her room then turns to face Irving]
Sydney Prosser: Quit your bellyaching and come up with something to get us out of this. And you’re right, I am in no state to deal with this. So what’s it gonna be, Mr. Mastermind?
[she turns, walks back to her room and slams the door shut]

[Irving, Sydney, and Richie are in an art gallery with a man in a Sheik’s clothes standing near them]
Richie DiMaso: An Arab Sheik? What do we want an Arab Sheik for?
Irving Rosenfeld: How do you think this works, stupid?
[Sydney speaks in her fake British accent as Richie still doesn’t know her real identity]
Sydney Prosser: If you could not call him stupid, which he isn’t. He’s smarter than you. Last time I checked, he’s in control and we work for him now, so be nice. Okay?
[Irving looks at her in confusion]
Irving Rosenfeld: Okay.
[Richie looks suspiciously from Sydney to Irving]
Irving Rosenfeld: To set this up, to bust a con artist, we need to make the honey pot to attract the bees. To attract the bees, we need to offer them a wealthy individual who they can take advantage of. Someone special, someone new, someone amazing. And those guys are gonna wanna sell fake bank CDs to that guy. Take the Sheik’s money, see?
[they begin to walk with the man dressed as a Sheik following closely next to them]
Sydney Prosser: Only they can’t get into his money unless they know someone and that someone is us.
Richie DiMaso: Oh, that’s good. So if you want to get somebody like your uh…con artist friend, Carl Elway, you get him to want to buy…
Irving Rosenfeld: Keep your voice down.

[Richie lowers his voice]
Richie DiMaso: …or sell fake art or stolen art on a fake certificate deposit, he needs…who does he need? He needs a rich Sheik guy. There you go, we can pinch him.
Irving Rosenfeld: That’s right. That’s right. But I don’t call my Sheik, I wait for him to call me. The art world is a small world, and one of Elway’s acquaintances is clocking us right now.
Richie DiMaso: Where?
Irving Rosenfeld: Don’t look. Don’t look.
[Richie turns his head and sees someone a man following them on the balcony above them]
Irving Rosenfeld: Did you have a good look?
Richie DiMaso: How do you know the Sheik?
[referring to the man dressed as a Sheik standing next to Irving]
Irving Rosenfeld: This is my friend Al from Queens.
[Al leans in and says quitely]
Irv’s Sheik Plant: I do aluminium siding and roofing.
[Richie looks impressed]

[Irving takes Richie to another part of the art gallery to show him a painting]
Irving Rosenfeld: I wanna show you something. This Rembrandt here, people come from all over the world to see this.
Richie DiMaso: Yeah, it’s good. Yeah.
Irving Rosenfeld: It’s a fake.
Richie DiMaso: Alright, what are you talkin’ about? That’s impossible.
Irving Rosenfeld: People believe what they wanna believe. Cause the guy who made this was so good that it’s real, to everybody. Now who’s the master? The painter or the forger?
[Richie is still looking at the painting in shock]
Richie DiMaso: That’s a fake?
Irving Rosenfeld: That’s the way the world works. Not black and white. Like you were saying, extremely grey.
[at that moment Carl Elway’s friend approaches them]
Arthur: Irving, could I?
Irving Rosenfeld: Arthur, how many times I gotta tell you, we can’t meet the Sheik alright?
Could I just meet him?
Irving Rosenfeld: No, you can’t meet him. Not yet, another time.
[Sydney walks over to them]
Sydney Prosser: Arthur, hi. Edith.
Arthur: Edith, hi.
[they shake hands; referring to Richie]
Sydney Prosser: Yes, I wanted to introduce you to Robert Spencer. We’re advising the Sheik together.
Richie DiMaso: Robert Spencer, advisor to the Sheik. Yep.

[Irving meets Carl in Carl’s office]
Carl Elway: What’s this about a Goddamn Sheik? Why are you leaving me out of this? Huh? I gotta hear it from my friends?
Irving Rosenfeld: It ain’t for you, Carl.
Carl Elway: What do you mean, it ain’t for me?
Irving Rosenfeld: No, it ain’t for you.
Carl Elway: What are you talkin’ about? We got certificates of deposit, I can print as many as you need.
Irving Rosenfeld: Alright? I got my associates.
Carl Elway: What do you mean, guys?
Irving Rosenfeld: Come on, this is not one man operation.
Carl Elway: Look, I can get other guys. What are you talking about, Irving? I can get you other guys…
Irving Rosenfeld: Can you tell me if you can get four guys to sell fake certificates of deposit to my investor within a week?
[we see that Irving is wearing a small microphone under his collar]
Carl Elway: Yes, I can make that happen. Carl Elway can do what he says he’s gonna do.
Irving Rosenfeld: That’s interesting, but you know, I got other guys lined up, I gotta meeting.
[at that moment Carl’s assistant enters with Richie and Sydney behind her]
Irving Rosenfeld: These are my associates, I gotta run
Carl Elway’s Assistant: Carl, his associate are here. He’s got a meeting, he has gotta go to.
Irving Rosenfeld: I gotta run.
Carl Elway: Listen, don’t go. No, don’t go.
Irving Rosenfeld: I gotta go.
Carl Elway: No, don’t go…
Irving Rosenfeld: [voice over] The crazy thing about people, the more you say no, the more they want in on something. It is so stupid.

[after Carl tries to persuade him to say, Irving finally gets up to leave]
Irving Rosenfeld: I gotta run! Come on, I’ll tell him. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him.
[he walks towards Sydney and Richie]
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey, you know what Carl just told me? He said he could do this whole thing with four guys within a week. Alright?
Carl Elway: We could do something much bigger.
Richie DiMaso: Something bigger? Yeah, my guy deals with hundreds of million of dollars. How much bigger?
Carl Elway: Hundreds of million…? I knew you were holding out on me, Irving! Hundreds of millions of dollars, like much bigger.
[he goes over to Richie]
Carl Elway: Like, I’m talking about, we can say never the fuck mind to CDs. And we can have some complete access to something huge.
[Irving watches Richie with annoyance at him taking over]
Richie DiMaso: Huge, like what? Robert Spencer, I’m advisor to the Sheik.
Carl Elway: Carl Elway. I want you to think of the most under valued asset in the state of New Jersey today. The rebuilding of Atlantic city.
[Richie looks over to Irving and Sydney]
Carl Elway: Look, maybe they…maybe they legalized gambling a year ago, but nothing’s happening.
Irving Rosenfeld: Hey…
Carl Elway: No licenses…
Irving Rosenfeld: Quit while you’re ahead, Carl.
Carl Elway: I know the guy, I know the right people that are gonna help you out.
Richie DiMaso: Who’s the guy?
Carl Elway: The guy is Carmine Polito.
Richie DiMaso: Who’s Carmine Polito?

[at the FBI headquarters after Richie has told his boss his plan]
Stoddard Thorsen: Carmine Polito? Carmine Polito, No.
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] My boss started proceeded to tell me that Carmine Polito was the most quietly powerful person in the state of New Jersey. A lifetime native of the very racially mixed Camden, which had become a ghetto, and where he had been Mayor for ten years. A very beloved guy. A guy who never gave up on his people. His father had immigrated from Italy and had stoked coal. A big family guy with five kids.
[we see a Carmine meeting people in Camden and then we see him at his home with his family]
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] They even adopted some other kid, a black kid, from the boys and girls club who’d lost his family. I mean his house hold was a joyous place. And his wife Dolly, well she was the apple of his eye, and the center of the household. I mean everyone loved this guy. And he had a huge heart.
[Carmine is giving a speech]
Mayor Carmine Polito: The WPA employ craftsmen to painters during the depression. Why can’t we employ people today to do work like this in rebuilding Atlantic City?
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] He worked with all the unions, he was the leader of the state assembly and he had just gotten gambling legalized in New Jersey to create jobs. But he couldn’t get the funds to rebuilt Atlantic City, and that was his problem. So, with our help he was about to have his hand in the wrong pocket at the wrong time. And to me, that meant corrupt.

[back at the FBI, Richie is sat in his boss’ office]
Stoddard Thorsen: You said grifters, con artists. We’re not going after some politician. This is…this is a bad idea, Richard.
Richie DiMaso: Ssh. Look, it’s really simple. All you need is to put two million in a Chase account.
Stoddard Thorsen: What?!
Richie DiMaso: Under the Sheikh’s name.
Stoddard Thorsen: Whose two million dollars?
Richie DiMaso: Shh, just listen. Two million dollars, under the Sheikh’s name in a Chase account, that we control. Carmine calls up on the telephone, calls the bank, and he sees that the Sheikh is real and he has a real account. Five days.
Stoddard Thorsen: I’m not taking tow million dollars of the tax payers money, putting it anywhere for five days. I don’t care if we control it the whole time.
Richie DiMaso: Stoddard, let us do what we need to do to rule out corruption and to get rid of the payoff guys that are ruining this country. That’s my dream. Don’t smother it, please.
Stoddard Thorsen: You know, Richard, I understand your eagerness. I really do. You know I’m from Michigan, right? Let me tell you a story about me and my dad and my brother. We used to go ice fishing every November. Ice fishing, that’s all anybody…that’s what we lived for.
Richie DiMaso: Holy shit.

Stoddard Thorsen: Just listen to me. It’s beautiful. You have a little stove, you…you huddle around, you keep each other warm, you drop a line and you just wait. One year my brother says, “Let’s go in October.” He wants to go ice fishing in October. My Dad says, “No, the ice is too thin.” My brother says…I love my brother, he said…
Richie DiMaso: I understand what’s happening is that your brother went on the ice, the ice was too thin, he fell through the ice. He went into the water cause he was too eager and you’re saying I’m too eager. Is that what you’re saying?
Stoddard Thorsen: No, that’s not what I’m saying.
Richie DiMaso: What are you saying?
Stoddard Thorsen: You know, we’ll finish the ice story another time, young man. For now, no Carmine Polito. Go do your job.

Richie DiMaso: [voice over] Stoddard shot the whole thing down.
[to Stoddard as he looks at him with disdain]
Richie DiMaso: Boring.
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] But Edith was a genius. She somehow found this woman who controlled the wire room. A woman I never even heard of.
[Sydney takes Richie to meet the woman in the FBI wire room]
She’s amazing. She’s in charge of all the wire transfers. She’s…
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] Way back in a dorm buried in the bureau. This cat lady no one ever even talked to, and Edith met her in the ladies room. Yeah, became friends with her.
[as they approach Brenda’s office]
Sydney Prosser: Brenda.
Brenda: Oh!
Sydney Prosser: Hi, how are you?
Brenda: Hello!
[they enter Brenda’s small office]

Richie DiMaso: [voice over] This lady handled all the wires, and now, she was working with us. She was excited to be included in an operation instead of just being on the other end of a memo. It was beautiful.
[Sydney gives Brenda a bottle of Pimm’s]
Brenda: Than you so much.
Sydney Prosser: You said you liked exotic food. That’s from England.
Brenda: This is from England?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah, it’s great. And I brought you some tea as well. I know how you liked those.
Brenda: Oh, thank you so much! I mean, nobody ever talks to me.
Sydney Prosser: I know.
Brenda: They just say, “Brenda, do the clerical wiring stuff and don’t ask questions.”
Sydney Prosser: You need to tell Richie about your cats. He loves cats.
Brenda: My cats? My cats?
Sydney Prosser: Yes.
[showing the photo’s of her cats stuck on her office wall]
Brenda: Well, that’s Perry. Look at him, standing up. Isn’t that sweet? And that’s Wendy, she’s a rascal. But Barnaby, that’s another story. Barnaby plays the piano.
Richie DiMaso: That’s impressive.

Richie DiMaso: [voice over] We got her to wire two million dollars to an FBI controlled account at Chase. It’d be there for five days. And if Polito called? He’d see that the Sheikh was real. And by the time he Stoddard caught up to us, Edith made sure his boss was impressed by my idea. So before he even knew it was happening, his boss was calling to congratulate him.
[we see Stoddard’s boss calling Stoddard to congratulate him]
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] Anthony Amado. He had a major hard on to make a name for himself. I mean, this guy loved the idea of being famous. And Stoddard had to say it was his own idea or he’d look stupid in front of his boss.
[Richie is sat in Stoddard’s office again]
Stoddard Thorsen: You made me accept praise from my boss for thanking me for something that never should have happened! Something that I didn’t approve.
You should be happy. There’s imaginative things happening in this office. Alright? We’re not just working in a box.
[Richie draws a shape of a box with his fingers then gets up to leave]
Stoddard Thorsen: Punk.
Richie DiMaso: [voice over] We got the two million to put Carmine and the Sheikh together. I liked being on this side of the line, but someone had been left out.

[Richie and Sydney are in Irving’s office]
Irving Rosenfeld: We succeed because we stayed small. I got you Carl Elway, he bought the stolen art, sold fake CDs. That’s enough, that’s one. I get you three more and no politicians.
Richie DiMaso: You’re gonna do this because you got no choice, you work for me.
Irving Rosenfeld: Now you keep changing the rules. Now you’re getting a little power drunk, Richard.
[looking at Sydney]
Irving Rosenfeld: You know, you wanna tell him any of this? You wanna wake him up?
Sydney Prosser: Oh, no. I said we shouldn’t do any of it, Irving. You know I said that. So now I support Richie. He’s got vision. Do it heavy, or don’t do it.
Irving Rosenfeld: What does that mean? He’s the one ruining America not me.
Richie DiMaso: How the fuck am I ruining America?
Irving Rosenfeld: Because people just got over Watergate and Vietnam, alright? And you’re gonna shit all over politicians again? Just because you wanna be a big shot, get a promotion?
Richie DiMaso: No, I’m thinking big. Alright, this is gonna be fantastic. We’re doing video surveillance. I’m doing this from the feet up!
Irving Rosenfeld: You will never do it properly because you got too much government attitude to be small and sleek. I’m like the fucking the Viet conman, alright? I’m in and I’m out. I was there the whole time. You don’t know it, alright? That’s the fucking art of becoming somebody who people can pin their beliefs and their dreams on. You can’t do it.

Richie DiMaso: How about a suite at the Sheraton Hotel?
Irving Rosenfeld: For Carmine Polito and rebuilding Atlantic City?
Richie DiMaso: Why not?
Irving Rosenfeld: You need a luxury hotel for the Sheikh.
Richie DiMaso: Oh, come on! Carmine does back door dealings all the time. We don’t have a guy…we don’t got a budget for that, Irving.
Irving Rosenfeld: We are gonna knock the Mayor, the speaker of the State Assembly, you gotta knock him off of his fucking feet. Alright? He’s gotta feel like he is out of his league. What you’re offering, this deal, I mean, this is unheard of in the state of New Jersey, maybe even the whole fucking country. Alright? A Sheikh worth hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild Atlantic City? Are you fucking kidding me? That’s gigantic, alright? And the Mayor, he’s gonna wanna see cash, he’s gonna want to see it in an account, he’s gonna want to see it right now, and he will check. And that’s why this meeting isn’t happening. Because to get millions, you need millions.
[Richie looks at Sydney who smiles]

Sydney Prosser: We already did it.
Irving Rosenfeld: What?
Sydney Prosser: We got the Bureau to park two million dollars for three days. We’ve got the account numbers.
Irving Rosenfeld: We, meaning you and him?
Richie DiMaso: Yeah, we did it.
[looking at Sydney]
Irving Rosenfeld: Really?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah, me and that guy.
Richie DiMaso: She showed me.
Irving Rosenfeld: You showed him our thing? You did that without me? Are you kiddin’?
Sydney Prosser: What are you gonna do?
[Irving shakes his head, turns and leaves the room]

[after Richie leaves the room]
Richie DiMaso: You playing me? Are we doing this? Or are you playing him? It’d be very bad for you if you’re playing me.
Sydney Prosser: You’re gonna have to decide for yourself, kid. I just laid everything on the table.
[Richie walks over to Sydney who’s sat on the table seductively]
Richie DiMaso: It’s all very exciting.
[he stands between her thighs and leans close to her]
Richie DiMaso: I didn’t know life could be like this.
[she leans in closer to him]
Richie DiMaso: You’re pretty wild. You know we’re taking down like a…
[he puts his hands around her thighs and pulls her closer to him]
Richie DiMaso: A very important politician.
Sydney Prosser: Mm-hmm.
[he takes her hand puts it on his face, they almost kiss when Richie suddenly pulls back, holding just her foot he takes a few deep breaths, then walks away from her to get his jacket and walks out of the room leaving Sydney looking shaken with passion]

[Richie talks into the surveillance video showing a briefcase filled with cash]
Richie DiMaso: This is agent, Richie DiMaso. I’m placing seventy-five thousand dollars in this briefcase for Mayor Carmine Polito to procure casino licenses and building permits for Atlantic City.
[then we see the scene from the beginning of the film, with Richie pushing the briefcase towards Carmine which makes him suspicious and leave the hotel; outside Irving runs after him]
Irving Rosenfeld: Mr. Mayor? Please, stop, listen. I apologize if that prick offended you. I really apologize.
Mayor Carmine Polito: I’m alright. Thank you. I’m okay.
Irving Rosenfeld: No, no, no. I’m fucking embarrassed to be associated with that guy at all.
Mayor Carmine Polito: It’s okay.
Irving Rosenfeld: Can I just say something to you, please. Don’t lose this opportunity to fucking Florida, alright? Just because of some…bullshit from that punk adviser, alright? With his “diploma”, alright? Who could never get into the school that we come from. Don’t loose that opportunity.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Where are you from?
Irving Rosenfeld: From the Bronx. Grand Concourse, 164th Street.
Mayor Carmine Polito: I got a lot of friends who live up there.
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah?
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah, I got a Tomasso’s on uh…
Irving Rosenfeld: Tomasso, yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: You know Tomasso on Arthur Avenue?
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah, I know their clams there.
Mayor Carmine Polito: The clams, the spicy clams! Oh, those are fucking to die for, those things.
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah, I haven’t been there in a while, I like that place.
Irving Rosenfeld: Well, you know what? Carmine…can I call you Carmine?
[Carmine nods his head]
Irving Rosenfeld: You know, Carmine…hey, my fucking heart is goin’ from running down those stairs. I’m not used to running.
[they both laugh]

Irving Rosenfeld: There’s a lot of green grass in that hotel room up there. Alright? And all the deals will flow through you. You’ll get…you’ll get a serious piece on both ends, alright? You do with that what you will, man. I live in the real world, alright? I’m a family man, I got mouths to feed and everything like that. But, you know, you got…we just…we gotta grease you directly. No middle man, no bullshit, it’s the Arab way. That’s it, that’s it.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Alright. Yeah, look I understand. It’s a…it’s a great opportunity. You understand, it’s just I got a little thrown by going into meeting with somebody and them not being there.
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah, listen, I was thrown as well. I was thrown as well.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah, look, I understand. I’ll…I’ll deal with you directly. I don’t want any middle man, or any of that bullshit.
Irving Rosenfeld: Done!
Mayor Carmine Polito: I’ll deal with you directly.
Irving Rosenfeld: Done. You and me.
Mayor Carmine Polito: I like you. Eye to eye. We can do business together, that’s fine.

[walking back into the hotel together]
Mayor Carmine Polito: How long have you known this guy? You work with this guy before?
Irving Rosenfeld: I gotta work with him, it’s the Sheikh. Alright? You know?
Mayor Carmine Polito: But I still need to meet the Sheikh.
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Okay?
Irving Rosenfeld: Done.
[as they reach the hotel doors]
Irving Rosenfeld: After you.

Irving Rosenfeld: I’m going out for dinner with Carmine and the wives in Camden.
Richie DiMaso: Who?
Irving Rosenfeld: Carmine and myself and the wives.
[Sydney looks visibly upset at hearing this]
Richie DiMaso: What? Without me?!
Irving Rosenfeld: He doesn’t like you. What do you want from me? Yeah, I got him to come back and take the money. You got him on tape. Alright? I mean, I can’t make him like you. I did my job.
Richie DiMaso: Did you tell him that you were working with me and that I’m the Sheikh’s associate?
Irving Rosenfeld: I just fucking told you, he doesn’t like you. I mean, let him have a nigh out with a human being for fuck’s sake. Alright? He is going to jail soon, you’re done with him. You got him on tape taking a bribe.
Richie DiMaso: Carmine has got to deal with me, Irving. We’re gonna use Carmine. Yeah. No, no, no. We’re gonna use Carmine. We’re gonna use Carmine and get other people, that’s what we’re gonna do.
Irving Rosenfeld: What? Like who?
Richie DiMaso: Carmine is gonna use the Sheikh to pay off people.
Irving Rosenfeld: You fucking nuts? What are you say…? Are you fu…?
Richie DiMaso: We’re gonna let Carmine show the Sheikh Atlantic City, how he’s gonna renovate hotels and see who shows up! And whoever the Sheikh pays off for licenses and casinos, that’s who we’re gonna go after! We’re gonna go after all of ’em!
Irving Rosenfeld: And more politicians?
Richie DiMaso: Yeah.

Irving Rosenfeld: You realize how fucking dangerous that is? There’s no fucking reasoning with you. Alright, Edith and I were so successful for so long because we kept it just small enough. You are taking us to a very fucking dangerous place with very serious numbers!
Richie DiMaso: If you’re that successful, how come you wound up in this room with me, right now? Taking orders from me?
Sydney Prosser: You’re taking your wife out to dinner? Your fucking wife, did I just hear you correctly?
Irving Rosenfeld: That’s the one thing you heard me say?
Sydney Prosser: I just find it rather shocking, that’s all.
Irving Rosenfeld: I get to handle two wives with one dinner. Alright? I take Rosalyn out, she keeps her mouth shut, she sees that my work is legitimate. I get to keep my kid and I get to keep…
[pointing to Richie]
Irving Rosenfeld: …that fucking wife happy. Both wives happy.

[later at home, Richie is sat in the bathroom eating with pink curlers in his hair when his mother calls out to him]
Richie’s Mother: Richard, what are you doing? Richard, don’t eat in the bathroom! I’ve told you so many times! And Diane brought Napoleons. Come out of the bathroom and pray.
[Richie opens the bathroom door and his girlfriend is standing outside holding a box of pastries]
Richie DiMaso: Oh, my God! What did you do?
[he enters the dining room]
Richie’s Mother: Richard, the filter is broken in the fish tank. It’s a problem.
[Richie goes to fix the fish tank]
Richie DiMaso: See, your job is to do the filter, Mom, mine is to do the grub. When you don’t do the filter right, you get all the fish die. See?
Richie’s Mother: I can’t that top on the filter, that thing on there.
Richie DiMaso: I’ve been over this a hundred times, Mom.

[Richie, his mother and girlfriend are sat around the dinner table praying]
Richie’s Mother: And please help Richard to marry Diane so that I may have grandchildren, and the Pope may have more followers.
[suddenly the phone rings]
Richie’s Mother: And please bless this food that we are about to eat.
[Richard goes to answer the phone]
Richie’s Mother: Richard!
[he picks up the phone]
Richie DiMaso: Yeah, hello?
Sydney Prosser: Hi.
Richie DiMaso: Who’s this?
Sydney Prosser: It’s Edith.
[Richie moves goes into the hallway with the phone in his hand]
Richie’s Mother: Sit down and pray properly!
Richie DiMaso: Are you alright?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. I’m just, I’m alone, you know? Irving’s out with Carmine.
Richie DiMaso: Oh, yeah. That’s right. He went out with Carmine and his wife. Yeah, you must not feel so good about that.
[Sydney hears Richie’s mother yelling in the background]

Richie’s Mother: Richard, sit down!
Sydney Prosser: Wait, who’s there? Who are you with?
Richie DiMaso: Oh, no. It’s just people.
Richie’s Girlfriend: People?! I’m your fiancé! Richard!
Sydney Prosser: Oh, you’ve got a fiancé. You’re engaged.
Richie DiMaso: Well, I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t have a fiancé. I don’t know. I don’t know.
Sydney Prosser: You don’t know? You don’t know if you have a fiancé?
Richie DiMaso: I don’t, no.
[Sydney hears his mother in the background again]
Richie’s Mother: The fish filter is broken.
Sydney Prosser: Hm, interesting.
Richie DiMaso: Anyway, you wanna get together?
Richie’s Mother: Richard, do something about the fish tank!
Sydney Prosser: 54th street?
Richie DiMaso: Okay, 54th street.
Sydney Prosser: Okay, great.

[as Richie puts the phone down from talking to Sydney he turns to his mother and puts his hands on her face]
Richie’s Mother: That’s what that phone call’s about. Everybody thought, “Oh, Richie DiMaso is gonna stay in the office, pushing papers.” That’s not gonna happen, Mom. I’m outside on the field, I got people working for me. My ideas, I’m running the show, I’m the quarterback and I’m not gonna settle for no one, Mom.
[he looks at his mother for a moment before kissing her on the cheek and getting up to leave]

[Irving and Rosalyn meet Carmine and his wife, Dolly, for dinner and they enter the restaurant]
Dolly Polito: Rocco, how are you?
[as they sit at the table]
Mayor Carmine Polito: Rocco, you know, we’d like the uh…the chicken very thin, right? Very thin. Really thin. Look, the way you dress the chicken with the red sauce. Right? With the red sauce and the lemon. They’re so good. Oh, here it is right here! Here it is! This is it. This, right here, this right here! Look at this. You see that?
[the chef has brought the chicken to show them]
Mayor Carmine Polito: This is so good. So good.
[we see Rosalyn looking uncomfortable, then it cuts to them having dessert and wine]
Mayor Carmine Polito: Thank you, Rocco.
Dolly Polito: Thank you, Rocco.
[later Irving chats to Carmine]
Irving Rosenfeld: I believe that you should treat people the way that you wanna be treated.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Mm-hmm
Irving Rosenfeld: Didn’t Jesus say that, or something?
Mayor Carmine Polito: He may have.
Irving Rosenfeld: I think also, always take a favor over money. I think Jesus said that as well.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Well, I don’t know if he said the second one. But he might have said the first one.
[Irving laughs]

[as Irving and Carmine are chatting Rosalyn shows Dolly her nails]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: I chipped them moving furniture, it’s my new obsession. Moving, redecorating, it makes me feel better, like, exercise. But there’s this…
Dolly Polito: Oh, yeah.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: But there’s this top coat that you can only get from Switzerland, and I don’t know what I’m gonna do because I’m running out of it. But I love the smell of it.
Dolly Polito: Oh, I can get it for you.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: I can’t get enough of it.
Dolly Polito: I can get it for you.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: That would be amazing.
Dolly Polito: Of course.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: There’s something…the top coat, it’s like, perfumy. But there’s also something rotten?
[she starts to laugh]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: And I know that sounds crazy, but I can’t get enough of it. Smell it, it’s true.
[she holds out her nails for Dolly to smell, Dolly smells them and laughs]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Dolly…
Dolly Polito: Oh, my God. Yeah, it smells disgusting. It’s true.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Historically the best perfumes in the world they’re all laced with something nasty.
Dolly Polito: Stop! Stop!
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: It is true!
Dolly Polito: It feels true.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: It’s true.
Dolly Polito: It feels true.

[Rosalyn extends her hand towards Irving across the table]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Irving loves them.
Dolly Polito: Oh, my God.
[Irving takes a sniff of her nails]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: He can’t get enough of that smell.
Irving Rosenfeld: Mm. I can’t get enough.
[Rosalyn extends her hand towards Carmine]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Carmine.
Dolly Polito: Carmine, smell her nails.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Sweet and sour.
Dolly Polito: Smell the nails.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Rotten and delicious.
[Carmine smells her nails]
Mayor Carmine Polito: It smells…it smells like flowers.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Flowers, but with garbage. Yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Or like flower with flower.
[they laugh]
Mayor Carmine Polito: You know what that is for me? It’s coriander for me. It’s coriander for me.
[she extends her nails to Irving again and he takes another sniff of her nails]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Oh, Irving loves it, he can’t get enough. That’s what hooks you. He always comes back for it.
Dolly Polito: Mm.
Irving Rosenfeld: I can’t stop.
Dolly Polito: Yeah.
[Dolly laughs; referring to Dolly and Rosalyn]
Mayor Carmine Polito: Look at them having a good time. Look at her.
Dolly Polito: Oh, she’s so nice.

[referring to Irving as he talks to Carmine; Rosalyn leans to Dolly and says quietly]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: He’s gonna say…he’s gonna say, “We have to talk business.”
Dolly Polito: Oh.
[she holds up her hands and counts down with her fingers]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: In Five…
Rosalyn and Dolly: Four, three, two, one.
[at that moment Irving turns to Dolly]
Irving Rosenfeld: Dolly…Dolly, can me and the man talk about business here?
[Dolly and Rosalyn burst out laughing which makes Rosalyn falls off her seat, the waiter and Carmine come over to help her up]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: No, no, no! Don’t do that! It makes me look more drunk than I am.
Dolly Polito: I got you. Okay.
[Dolly, Carmine, the waiter help her up]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: I’m not this drunk. No. Just because I’m laughing…
[Irving comes over to give them a hand]
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Irving, please don’t make me go. I was just starting to have fun. I was just starting to have fun.
[Carmine and Dolly help walk her out]

[meanwhile Richie and Sydney are out on the town]
Sydney Prosser: Didn’t your fiancé want to come out tonight?
Richie DiMaso: Yeah. No, uh…I don’t…yeah. No. No, I don’t know.
[he stops walking and turns to look at her]
Sydney Prosser: Oh, God. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. We don’t have to talk about it.
Richie DiMaso: That’s alright.
Sydney Prosser: I was just teasing you. I’m not…
Richie DiMaso: It’s alright. You ever think, like, how did I end up here? Like, how did my life become this? Do you ever think that?
[Sydney nods her head]
Richie DiMaso: And you wonder, like, am I ever gonna get out to a better place or is this it?
[Sydney nods her head]
Richie DiMaso: You feel like that?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah. Yeah, I do.
[she touches his face]
Sydney Prosser: I definitely know that. I’m sorry, we don’t have to go dancing. We can go have coffee, or talk, or something, or just…
Richie DiMaso: No, no, no, no. No, no. I need this. Please, I need to go dancing with you. Please.
[he takes her hand]
Sydney Prosser: Okay, baby. Let’s go dancing.
[they end up dancing at a club getting very close, they end up kissing on the dance floor, then Sydney walks off, Richie follows her and they cut in front of a long line of women in the bathroom, they enter one of the stalls making the women angry]

[inside the bathroom stall, as the women yell at them to get out, Richie starts to touch Sydney very intimately but pulls away]
Richie DiMaso: I really fucking like you.
Sydney Prosser: Yeah. Yeah, I like you too. I wanna live. Alright? For real. No more fake shit. Right? We’re gonna wait until we decide to go for a love we achieve for real. That’s when we fuck. Right? Not till then. Okay?
Richie DiMaso: Okay.
Sydney Prosser: Alright?
Richie DiMaso: Yeah.
Sydney Prosser: No more fake shit.
Richie DiMaso: No more fake shit.
Sydney Prosser: No more fake shit.
Richie DiMaso: No more fake shit.
Sydney Prosser: No more fake shit!
Richie DiMaso: No more fake shit.
[outside the stall there’s a long line of women, the first one bangs on the door yelling]
Girl Outside Stall: Fuck me! I gotta piss!
[inside the stall Sydney and Richie kiss passionatley and then she stops and smiles]
Sydney Prosser: Get out. Get out. Get out.
[she opens the stall door and pushes Richie out, he yells excitedly at the women in the bathroom, whilst inside the stall Sydney screams out laughing]

[later that night Carmine and Irvine bond by singing along to a song, then later Carmine introduces Irving to his friends]
Mayor Carmine Polito: Boys, this guy right here, Julius? This guy, Irving Rosenfeld, you know what he’s gonna do? He’s gonna bring the Sheikh to Atlantic City, that’s what he’s gonna do. Where we can rebuild all those resorts there, put everybody back to work. He’s gonna get this community, he’s gonna get this state, back on its feet to where it belongs. Isn’t that right? He’s gonna grow our tax base, and create thousands and thousands of jobs for everyone. Do you understand that? Do you know what that means?
Julius: To Irving.
[Carmine’s friends raise their glass]
Carmine’s Friends: To Irving!
Mayor Carmine Polito: Come on, this guy right here, he’s got a big heart.
[Carmine sits next to Irving, who’s now starting to look guilty, and pats Irving’s chest]
Irving Rosenfeld: I’d just hate it if it didn’t work out.
Mayor Carmine Polito: What do you mean? Of course it’s gonna work out. Alright? Guys like you and me? Come on, man. Right? We dream and we build. We never give up, we never quit.

[the next morning as Carmine and Irving are eating breakfast at a diner]
Mayor Carmine Polito: Hey, can I ask you a question?
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah, sure.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Is the Sheikh black?
Irving Rosenfeld: He’s uh…he’s an Arab.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Well, that’s…that’s black, isn’t it?
Irving Rosenfeld: No.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Right, I know, maybe it’s a dumb question, but I was just wondering.
Irving Rosenfeld: Why…why are you asking?
Mayor Carmine Polito: I would like to arrange the Sheikh to see Camden, to see the people of Camden. The people I serve, the people I love, who are mostly black and Puerto Rican. Irv, I really want him to see how good this is going to be for the community, how ready we are for this opportunity. And he can see how far his dollar will go. You know what I mean? What do you think?
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah. Yeah, we can do that. Yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah?
Irving Rosenfeld: Yeah, he can see Camden. Yeah.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Ah, good. Oh, hey! I got something I wanna give you. Come on.
Irving Rosenfeld: For me?
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah, I got…I got you a gift. Let’s get out of here. The girls are gonna kill us.
[they leave the diner]

[Carmine and Irving walk to Carmine’s car and he opens the trunk]
Mayor Carmine Polito: There you go.
Irving Rosenfeld: What is it?
[we see that it’s a microwave]
Mayor Carmine Polito: It’s a Microwave. It heats up everything. Pasta, lasagna, meatballs, whatever.
Irving Rosenfeld: Really?
Mayor Carmine Polito: It’s science. Yeah, it’s how it heats up the food. It’s scientific.
Irving Rosenfeld: And you specifically bought this science oven for me?
Mayor Carmine Polito: Yeah. A new friend.
[Irving, touched by this gesture, looks guilty again]
Irving Rosenfeld: Thank you. Thank you.
Mayor Carmine Polito: Don’t put metal in it. Come on, let’s get out of here.