The War at Home (1996)

Kimberly Williams-Paisley: Karen Collier

Photos 

Quotes 

• Karen Collier : Okay, I know you don't want to hear this right now. And I know you think I'm a complete idiot, and I know that the last you want to do right now is have a conversation with me.

  Jeremy Collier : Knowledge is power.

• Maurine Collier : I was taught to honor your father and mother. That's what I've tried to teach... I guess I'm not good enough to deserve that kind of respect!

  Karen Collier : Of course you are.

  Maurine Collier : [Karen preheats the oven and comes back to the table] 

  [about Jeremy] 

  Maurine Collier : I just don't understand what went wrong. His whole life he was so grown-up, so polite.

  Karen Collier : War changes people.

  Maurine Collier : War doesn't make you rude to your parents!

• Karen Collier : [Jeremy is sitting outside on the porch]  You know it could be that he's waiting for someone to talk to him.

  Bob Collier : Maybe... but it's not us.

• Karen Collier : [narration]  The history of my family, like the history of civilization, is the history of war. The getting into it, and outta it, and over it... and Vietnam should have been no different. But it was. It's final battle was fought on an unrecognized front, far from the shellings and the napalm and the guns and the shooting... it was a battle my brother Jeremy fought when he came back.

• Karen Collier : You know what? I'm sorry I prayed for you. I am! I never thought it'd be possible to be sorry for a thing like that! But I apologize to myself for all the times I got down on my knees and begged to God to bring you home safe!

  Jeremy Collier : Such a self-righteous little BITCH.

  Karen Collier : I am not taking this from you. You are NOTHING. You are a freak, an absolute zero, and you're not my brother anymore!

• Karen Collier : [on their mother]  She's gonna have a nervous breakdown.

  Jeremy Collier : I know she wants one. I know she ain't gonna be happy until she has one.

• Karen Collier : You know how in horror movies the door is swinging back and forth from one hinge in front of a dark room, and some stupid moron is walking up to it, just gonna go in, and you think to yourself, 'Why is she doing that? Why is she going in there? What could possible make her go into that room? Doesn't she know better?'

  Donald : Yeah.

  Karen Collier : [looks over at her house]  Don't let me go in there, please.

• Karen Collier : You know, I'm not gonna be mad at you, because I know you have personal problems.

  Jeremy Collier : What are they? What are these personal problems that I have?

  Karen Collier : I don't know the medical term, but I suppose you could describe it as being a terminal jerk.

• Jeremy Collier : Stay away from my door.

  Karen Collier : It is only your door on the inside. It's anyone's door out here, and I'll stand by it as long as I want to, and you just try and stop me.

• Karen Collier : You know Jeremy was screaming in his sleep again.

  Bob Collier : Yeah I know.

  Karen Collier : I think that's what's been bothering Mother.

• Bob Collier : This is MY house!

  Karen Collier : This is your house? You know what, you can HAVE IT! What does that mean, this is my house? What does that MEAN?

  [runs upstairs]