Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Jerry Levine: Steve Boyer

Photos 

Quotes 

• Steve Boyer : You could start out as a cashier... and then work your way up to becoming a manager of one of these places - just like your dad.

  Ron Kovic : I get $1700 a month from the government. I think I'm just going to lay low, and look around...

  Steve Boyer : [dismissively]  That's charity money, Ronnie; this isn't.

  Ron Kovic : Charity?

  Steve Boyer : All I'm saying is that you got to - you got to put the war behind you, you know; you got to forget about this chair you're in!

  Ron Kovic : [leans forward]  Sometimes, Stevie, I think people, they know you're back from Vietnam, and their face - changes: the eyes, the voice, the way they look at you, you know.

  Steve Boyer : I know what you mean, Ronnie, but people here - they don't give a shit about the war! Yeah! To them it's just a million miles away. It's all bullshit, anyway. I mean, the government sold us a bill of goods and we bought it, and got the shit kicked out of us, and for what, huh?

  Ron Kovic : What do you mean, "we," Stevie? You were in college, man.

  Steve Boyer : [shrugs shoulders]  You bought that Communist bullshit, Ronnie. Yeah, they were going to take over the world, you remember that? Fenelli, you, Walsh - the whole town was devastated.

  [pause] 

  Steve Boyer : For what? For lies, for bullshit lies?

• Steve Boyer : You probably think it's just a hamburger. A patty's just a piece of meat, but it can have character. See that doughnut hole? Gets 18 patties to the pound instead of 16. Saves me about $40,000 a year. That's serious money, Ron. I plug the hole with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, spices. I cover it with a pickle. They'll never miss a thing.