I.A.L. Diamond

There's a quiet wisdom in how Diamond—screenwriter of *Some Like It Hot*—doesn't make this a complaint but a permission slip. The line works because it arrives at the *end* of accepting someone you love, not at the *beginning* of judging them; it's the conclusion after you've already committed, not the excuse you use to abandon the effort. When your teenager forgets to call, or your spouse repeats the same irritating habit for the thousandth time, those four words can mean either "I give up" or "I stay anyway"—and Diamond's version means the latter. The genius is that he lets you choose which one it is.