7 Matthew McConaughey Movie Speeches That Are Alright, Alright, Alright
No one delivers a big, rousing speech quite like Matthew McConaughey. Here are some of his most memorable movie speeches, from "A Time to Kill" to "Wolf of Wall Street."
'A Time to Kill' (1996)
A very young McConaughey nails the closing statement in this John Grisham drama about a father (Samuel L. Jackson) who kills the men who raped his daughter. He begins with: "I had a great summation all worked out, full of some sharp lawyering. But I'm not going to read it... You see, in all this legal maneuvering, something has gotten lost -- and that something is the truth" and ending with the powerful... "now imagine she's white." Watch the whole heart-tugging speech here.
'Dazed and Confused' (1993)
Okay, so it's not technically a speech. But McConaughey's immortal observation about high school girls -- "I get older, they stay the same age" -- is as classic as his catchphrase "Alright, alright, alright," from this same film.
'U-571' (2000)
In this WWII submarine thriller, after being on the receiving end of an inspirational speech about making hard choices that might get someone killed from his commander Bill Paxton (just before Paxton bites it), now-captain McConaughey has to motivate a young crewman to undertake certain death to save the whole ship, telling him, "I wouldn't ask you if our lives didn't depend on it... You're the only chance we've got."
'We Are Marshall' (2006)
In this true story of a town that lost nearly its entire high school football team in a tragic plane crash, McConaughey plays the new coach, who tries to rebuild the shattered town and team. He gives a speech at the memorial, saying, "I’m telling you, for the first time in my life -- hell, maybe for the first time in the history of sports -- it really doesn’t matter if we win or lose. How we play the game, that’s out the window, too. All that matters is that we play."
'Magic Mike' (2012)
Stripper daddy Dallas goes over the rules of the house with a rowdy crowd, telling them it's not okay to touch the male strippers like Channing Tatum. "But I think I see a lot of lawbreakers up in here tonight," he grins wickedly. We also love his dance studio speech to Alex Pettyfer, where he reveals that they're not just strippers, they're "fulfilling every woman's wildest fantasies."
'Dallas Buyers Club' (2013)
In his Oscar-winning role as AIDS patient Ron Woodroof, who begins supplying fellow patients with unapproved (but effective) drugs from Mexico, the actor gives a number of rousing speeches. Our favorite? When he addresses a room full of pharmaceutical execs who call him a drug dealer: "I'm a drug dealer? Goddamn, people are dyin'! And you all up there are afraid we're gonna find an alternative without you."
'The Wolf of Wall Street' (2013)
In this memorable scene with new hire Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), McConaughey sings the praises of cocaine, hookers, and making money. In between chest thumps. Watch the whole crazy NSFW scene here.
