Big Night (1996)

Tony Shalhoub: Primo

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Quotes 

• Primo : To eat good food is to be close to God.

• Secondo : [after handing him a request to make a side order of spaghetti]  Primo, please, just... come on.

  Primo : I want to know for who.

  Secondo : Just make the side order of spaghetti, please.

  Primo : Secondo, I want to know for who it is for.

  Secondo : [hesitant at first]  ... For the lady with the risotto.

  Primo : [drops pan on the counter, perturbed]  What? Why?

  Secondo : She likes starch! I don't know! Come on!

  Primo : Bitch!

  Secondo : [sighs]  I make it myself.

  Primo : Nah! Who are these people in America? I need to talk to her.

  Secondo : Oh, please, Primo, what are you going to do? Tell the customer what she can eat? Huh? That is what she want. This is what the customer ask for. Make it! Make the pasta, make it, make it, make the pasta! Come on! Let's go!

  Primo : How can she want? They are both starch. Maybe I should make mashed potato for another side.

  Secondo : [rubs the bridge of his nose, exasperated]  Primo, look, don't. Okay? Because they are the first customers to come in two hours. The fucking pipes are...

  Primo : [interrupts, walks away and crosses his arms in refusal]  No. She's a criminal. I want to talk to her.

  Secondo : [fed up]  You want to talk to her? Okay. You want to talk to her? That's good. You want to talk to her? Okay. Good. Fine. I'm sick of this every fucking night. Okay? You want to talk to her? Fine.

  [walks over to the doorway] 

  Secondo : Okay, here we go.

  [kicks open the door and holds it open to show the lady and her husband sitting at their table right outside, Secondo turns furiously at Primo] 

  Secondo : Go talk to her!

  Primo : [takes a look at the lady]  No. She's a philistine. I'm not gonna talk to her. She no understand anyway.

  Secondo : [rolls his eyes and walks out to the lady]  It will be just a moment.

  [with hesitance, the defeated Secondo retrieves a pan to prep the spaghetti, stops for a moment to think, slowly resumes to make the pasta and then out of nowhere he angrily picks up the pan and throws it across the kitchen] 

• Secondo : Primo, do you know why this night is happening?

  Primo : No.

  Secondo : Because it has to happen.

• Primo : Do you know what happens in that restaurant every night? RAPE! RAPE!... The rape of cuisine.

• Primo : Give people time, they will learn.

  Secondo : This is a restaurant! This is not a fucking school!

• Secondo : What's the matter with you, are you sick?

  Primo : People should come just for the food.

  Secondo : I know. Primo, I need your help here, okay? Louis Prima is coming! He's not just some guy, he's famous!

  Primo : Famous? Is he good?

  Secondo : He's great.

  Primo : People should come just for the food.

  Secondo : I know that.

  Primo : People should come just for the food!

  Secondo : I know that, I know. But they don't.

• [first lines] 

  Primo : [offers a taste asking opinion in Italian] 

  Secondo : What?

  Primo : More Salt?

  Secondo : No.

  [continues chopping] 

  Primo : Not too fine, eh? Sometimes you cut it too fine, then all you taste is the garlic!

• Primo : This place is eating us alive!