After rising to prominence as one of the leading stars of the mumblecore movement, Greta Gerwig first tried her hand at directing, or rather co-directing with Joe Swanberg, with 2008’s Nights and Weekends. But she wouldn’t be recognized as one of the greatest filmmakers working today until she made her solo directorial debut with Lady Bird, a deeply personal coming-of-age tale set in Gerwig’s native Sacramento.
She then cemented herself as a director to watch with a critically acclaimed new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Both of Gerwig’s solo directorial efforts are filled with dialogue that fans have been quoting since.
Lady Bird: “The Only Thing Exciting About 2002 Is That It’s A Palindrome.”
The central conflict in Lady Bird is that the eponymous high schooler is bored of her mundane life in Sacramento at the beginning of the 21st century. She wants to explore the world and go where all the culture is.
Lady Bird isn’t growing up during the counterculture movement; she’s growing up in 2002. She hits the nail on the head when she says, “The only thing exciting about 2002 is that it’s a palindrome.”
Little Women: “I’m So Sick Of People Saying That Love Is Just All A Woman Is Fit For.”
All throughout Little Women, the March sisters are encouraged to find husbands, but Jo wants to be more than just somebody’s wife.
She explains, “Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for.”
Lady Bird: “What If This Is The Best Version?”
At its core, Lady Bird is a mother-daughter story. Like all teenagers, Lady Bird rebels against her mother but ultimately loves her. Meanwhile, Marion is frustrated by her daughter’s change of identity.
Marion says, “I want you to be the very best version of yourself that you can be,” to which Lady Bird replies, “What if this is the best version?”
Little Women: “Just Because My Dreams Are Different Than Yours, It Doesn’t Mean They’re Unimportant.”
Although Emma Watson’s American accent in Little Women is shaky to say the least, she gives a terrific performance as Meg. Jo tries to convince her to run away on her wedding day because she should be an actor, not tethered to a husband.
But Meg refuses because she wants to be married. She tells Jo, “Just because my dreams are different than yours, it doesn’t mean they’re unimportant.”
Lady Bird: “Different Things Can Be Sad! It’s Not All War!”
When Lady Bird loses her virginity to Kyle under the misapprehension that he’s also a virgin, she’s upset that he implied to her that he was and she’s also upset that one of the biggest moments in her life was built on a lie.
Kyle tries to tell her that it’s not worth getting sad about, because conflict in the Middle East is ongoing (in the story’s 2002 setting), but she says, “Different things can be sad! It’s not all war!”
Little Women: “The World Is Hard On Ambitious Girls.”
While Laura Dern’s performance in Marriage Story was always a shoe-in for the award itself, Florence Pugh more than earned her Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Amy in Little Women.
She has many great lines in the movie, including “The world is hard on ambitious girls.” This sentiment is still depressingly true to this day, let alone in the story’s 1800s setting.
Lady Bird: “Some People Aren’t Built Happy, You Know.”
Two years before Beanie Feldstein would take center stage in Booksmart and How to Build a Girl, she gave a scene-stealing supporting performance in Lady Bird as the title character’s best friend, Julie.
Despite thinking there’s a character in Shakespeare’s The Tempest called “the Tempest,” Julie does deliver some nuggets of wisdom throughout the movie, including this heartbreaking tidbit: “Some people aren’t built happy, you know.”
Little Women: “Life Is Too Short To Be Angry At One’s Sisters.”
Although there are plenty of romances baked into the plot, the character dynamics at the heart of Little Women are that of the March girls. Gerwig captured the love between sisters in Little Women as exquisitely as she captured the love between mothers and daughters in Lady Bird.
The sisters do plenty of things to annoy each other throughout the movie, but they always come to realize that holding onto animosity toward their siblings is a bad idea.
Lady Bird: “I Wanted To Tell You I Love You. Thank You, I’m...Thank You.”
In the final scene of Lady Bird, the title character wakes up in hospital after drinking too much at a party. She wanders through New York and attends a Presbyterian church service that makes her think of home, which makes her cry.
At the end of the movie, she leaves a heartfelt voicemail message for her mom: “Hey, Mom, did you feel emotional the first time that you drove in Sacramento? I did and I wanted to tell you, but we weren’t really talking when it happened. All those bends I’ve known my whole life, and stores, and the whole thing. But I wanted to tell you I love you. Thank you, I’m...thank you.”
Little Women: “If I’m Going To Sell My Heroine Into Marriage For Money, I Might As Well Get Some Of It.”
At the end of Little Women, Jo finally finishes her novel (her second attempt at it, anyway, after Amy burned the first one out of resentment) and brings it to Mr. Dashwood to publish. He reluctantly agrees to print it when his daughters want to know how it ends.
However, he won’t publish it unless the protagonist gets married at the end. Jo agrees to this, but only if she can keep the copyright and get more of the royalties. She explains, “If I’m going to sell my heroine into marriage for money, I might as well get some of it.”