The Bikeriders (2023) Movie Script

1


(faint chatter)
(object clacking softly)
("Lonely Room" by Mickey Murray
plays on speakers)
Here I go walking down
this lonely street...
PAULIE: Hey, Henry,
look at this fucking kid.
Who the fuck
this guy think he is?
Hey!
You can't have
those colors on in here.
HENRY:
You hear my brother, bozo?
He told you to take that
stupid fucking jacket off.
You know, I'm gonna take
that jacket off your back,
and I'm gonna wrap it around
your fucking neck,
and then I'm gonna
choke the shit out of you.
You hear my brother?
Can't be wearing no colors
in this neighborhood.
Take that fucking jacket off.
These old nightmares
are getting the best of me
I wake up and find
my pillow wet
Lonely with my tears...
What?
You'd have to kill me
to get this jacket off.
(both chuckle)
This fucking kid, huh?
(chuckles)
(groans)
(grunting)
HENRY:
Come here.
(Benny groaning)
Paulie, he won't stay down.
Keeps getting back up.
(groaning)
You better stay down,
you rotten fuck.
I'll get him to stay down.
HENRY: Is this
your fucking bike, asshole?
(grunts)
(grunts)
Oh, shit. Henry!
-(knife slices)
-(Henry screaming)
(dramatic music plays)
(Paulie grunts)
KATHY:
I've had nothing but trouble
since I met Benny.
(dramatic music continues)
I've seen more jails,
have been to more courts
and met more lawyers.
I mean, it can't be love.
(chuckles):
It must just be stupidity.
("I Wanna Holler (But
the Town's Too Small)" playing)
I wanna holler...
And then they said
it's fer da kids, you know?
Everybody should bring der kids.
We bring the kids, and
all the husbands are stoned,
the wives, you know,
are bitchin' at the husbands.
DINGY:
I don't think it's good
-to bring de kids.
-Huh?
I don't think it's good
to bring de kids.
Yeah.
Well, especially
when the guys are drinkin'.
Well, you know, Johnny says,
uh, "family picnic."
His kids were there, too,
you know.
Yeah, but he didn't get stoned
out of his mind either.
KATHY:
No, but then, Dingy, last year,
you know, I didn't know
any of them people
-there neither, you know?
-(camera clicks)
Kathy, remember once when
you were tellin' me about,
you know,
when you first met the guys...
-Yeah.
-...and how you, uh...
Well, I changed. I have.
All right, why don't you
talk to me about that?
Well, in a year...
I mean, last year...
-What, from the beginning?
-(chuckles)
Last year,
my girlfriend called me up
and she asked me to come down
to Grand and Division,
she needed some money,
and she said it was a bar.
And she said that the guys were
having a meeting there.
Well, I didn't know the guys
or anything, so I went there,
and I never felt
so out of place in all my life.
("Declaration of Independence"
by Count Five plays)
(rowdy laughter and chatter)
I walked in there,
and I had white Levi's on.
I had a-a sweater on, you know?
And I looked, and
the first guy I seen was Corky.
Hey there, beautiful.
You need a man?
All right, nice talking to you.
KATHY:
I mean, I seen 'em all.
With earrings hanging
out of their ears,
belly buttons showin',
you know, like half naked.
I mean, to me, they was, like,
half naked, you know?
I mean, of course
I didn't know 'em yet,
but there was,
there was Corky, Zipco,
Cal, Wahoo, Brucie.
You know, I seen 'em all.
They're all hootin'
and hollerin'.
I mean, they scared
the livin' shit out of me.
So I sees my girlfriend,
and I goes over by her,
and I sits down there,
and I'm takin' everything in.
-Here.
-You're the best.
-Oh, I gotta go.
-You just got here.
-That's Cockroach.
-What?
They call me Cockroach.
And why they call you
a stupid name like that?
'Cause I like to eat bugs,
you know?
Like a gag.
But I do, I mean,
like to eat 'em.
Bugs, you know?
Well, that's disgusting.
I gotta go.
Hey, they're not that bad.
Just sit here for a minute.
Hey there. (chuckles)
You wanna come live with me?
What about me? You wanna go out?
No, thank you.
Oh, I have a date.
-A date?
-KATHY: Yeah, 12 o'clock.
I-I have to get home.
You hear that, Cockroach?
Cinderella's got a date.
Yeah, Cinderelli's got a date
at 12 o'clock.
She's about to turn
into a fucking pumpkin.
-(men laughing)
-MAN: Oh, yeah.
It's not all
she's about to turn into.
(men laughing)
(indistinct chatter)
You see that?
They're plannin' somethin'.
Look at all of 'em
whisperin' over dare.
-Huh.
-Oh, I'm gonna go.
KATHY:
And that's when I seen Benny...
...standing over
at the pool table.
("Talkin' 'Bout You"
by The Animals playing)
Ah ah ah ah da dam da
Ah ah ah dam da da
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah.
(song stops)
Boy, who's that good-looking guy
-over at the pool table?
-Oh.
Kathy, you don't wanna
go out with him.
Why not?
He don't look like
the rest of these animals.
Because nobody wants
to go out with him.
Why?
Because he cracks up
on his bike. (chuckles)
Every time
he gets up on his bike,
-he has an accident.
-Oh, okay.
Let me get you a pop.
("Come and Get It" by
Johnny Soul plays on speakers)
BENNY:
Hey.
I'm Benny.
Hello.
Well, so what are we doin' here?
Just, uh...
shootin' the breeze?
Yeah, I guess.
Well, I gotta go home.
Oh.
Okay.
You gotta go.
What is this, a Rotary buffet?
What's your name?
Kathy.
Well, Kathy, uh...
...don't worry.
Don't worry about what?
Nuthin'.
I'm Johnny. I'm the president
of this club, and, uh,
the guys, they just wanna
have some fun, you know?
(men laughing)
But I won't let nuthin'
happen to you.
Oh, yeah?
What's gonna happen to me?
Nuthin'.
Ha, ha, okay,
well, thanks fer that.
You know, nice to meet ya.
Adios, I gotta go.
(indistinct chatter)
KATHY: So, I walk out
the front door real nice,
you know, being grabbed
about five times.
And when I got outside,
I could see on my slacks
were just-just handprints
all over me.
You son of a...
So I'm standin'
on the bus corner thinkin',
"Oh, my God," you know?
"Something's gonna happen
to me yet."
(sighs)
(intriguing music playing)
(engine starts)
(engine rumbling)
(door thuds)
(gang laughing)
-Hey, come on, Cinderelli!
-Ah, jeez.
COCKROACH:
Let's go for a ride!
-(gang whistling)
-CORKY: Come on,
come for a ride!
Don't be scared!
Cinderelli, Cinderelli!
(gang continues whistling
and catcalling)
Okay, okay.
-Okay, okay, okay, okay!
-He's not gonna hurt ya.
-Okay.
-CORKY: Yeah?
-MAN: Go for a ride.
-CORKY: Don't be scared, yeah?
Think she's gonna do it?
(gang cheering)
CORKY:
Take off!
Hey, we'll see you
on the expressway!
So he's going through
the stoplights and everything,
probably so I wouldn't jump off.
And I wouldn't have
jumped off anyway.
You know, I was scared shitless.
(chuckling):
I've never been on a motorcycle
in all my life.
And finally, we get out
on the expressway,
and that's when it happened,
you know?
That's when I saw 'em all
for the first time, you know?
Like, really saw 'em, I mean...
("Out in the Streets"
by The Shangri-Las playing)
He don't
(motorcycle engines rumbling)
Hang around
With the gang no more
He don't do the wild things
that he did before
He used to act bad
Used to, but he quit it
It makes me so sad
'Cause I know
that he did it for me
-Can't you see?
-And I can see
He's still in the street
His heart is
out in the street...
KATHY:
I mean, I have to admit,
it took my breath away.
(Kathy exhales deeply)
You see, Kathy?
I told you you had nothin'
to worry about.
The guy just wanna go out
with you, that's all.
Do you want a drink?
KATHY:
But I didn't get home
till nearly four in the morning.
And I swore I'd never go
with them guys again. Never.
'Cause they're
just like animals, you know?
I mean, they didn't talk
the same way I did.
It was everything
"F this" and "F that."
By the time the night was over,
I mean, my ears were ringin'
from listening to 'em
all braggin'.
So Benny brought me home,
and my boyfriend, he was
sittin' on the front porch.
All right. (sighs)
Good night. Adios.
The hell you been?
KATHY: (sighs) I never wanna
see them guys again.
They're real idiots.
(engine revs)
(breathes heavily)
(motorcycle returning)
(engine shuts off)
(dog barking distantly)
(scoffs)
(pensive music playing)
KATHY:
Benny planted himself dare
all night and wouldn't go home.
(train horn blows)
(man speaking indistinctly
on radio)
This crazy...
Now, you better go home.
If my boyfriend
gets back from work
and you're still sittin' dare,
he's gonna be pissed.
This crazy kid.
You're crazy!
(intriguing music playing)
WOMAN (distantly): Yeah,
just leave it at the front.
(vehicle approaching)
(tires screech)
KATHY: I told him to leave,
but he wouldn't leave.
DAVID: Well, you better
go get rid of him!
KATHY: You go get rid of him!
I told him already.
-DAVID: This is bullshit, man.
-KATHY: Where are you going?
DAVID: I don't need this shit,
you know?!
-KATHY: Don't need what?
-(running footsteps)
What do you want me to do?
DAVID:
I'm done!
-KATHY: Where are you going?
-DAVID: I'm done!
-(vehicle door shuts)
-(engine starts)
(engine accelerating)
Asshole!
(children chattering)
You wanna go to a meetin'?
Five weeks later, I married him.
("My Babe" by Dale Hawkins
playing)
My baby don't stand
no cheatin', my babe
(engine roaring)
Well, my baby don't stand
no cheatin', my babe
Well, my baby don't stand
no cheatin'...
-(whistle blowing)
-(sirens wailing)
WOMAN:
Slow down!
True little baby,
she's my babe
Well, my baby, I know
she love me, my babe...
(tires screeching)
Well, my baby,
I know she love me
-(engine accelerates)
-She don't do nothin'
But kiss and hug me
My babe, true little baby,
she's my babe
Whoo!
("My Babe" by Dale Hawkins
continues playing)
My baby don't stand
no foolin', my babe
(engine sputtering)
No, my baby don't stand
no foolin'...
-Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
-(song fades out)
(engine dies)
Ah.
Shit.
(sirens approaching)
(chuckling)
BRUCIE:
"It took several police cars
"and motorcycle units
from Elmwood Park, Norridge,
"Harwood Heights,
and Saint Charles
"to stop a motorcycle driver
Thursday in a wild ride
that ended amongst the farmland
on Highway 64."
("Get Up and Get Out"
by Clint Stacey plays)
Get out...
"Benjamin Cross of..."
Benjamin?
Fancy.
"Benjamin Cross of Elmwood Park
"was arrested and charged
with 18 traffic violations,
"but not before reportedly
"running through
seven stoplights,
"hitting speeds
over 85 miles an hour
"in two 20-mile-an-hour
school zones,
"and causing damage
to four municipal vehicles
"as a result of the pursuit.
"Cross is free on a $2,500 bond
"and will stand trial
in Park Ridge Traffic Court
on December ninth."
Hey, kid.
H-How many stoplights
did you run?
They said seven, so...
So what?
So I guess that's the number.
But it felt like more.
(chuckles)
KATHY:
And Johnny always loved Benny.
DANNY:
Why?
Well, 'cause Johnny always
wanted what Benny had.
And what's that?
To not care about nothin'. Hey!
Dingy, tell them guys to
get their bikes off the grass.
Jeez. Hmm.
I mean, my ex in-laws live
right across the street.
You know, they see these bikes
here all the time.
Hey, so, uh, tell me more
about Johnny.
-Like what?
-I don't know.
Like, uh,
how he started the club.
You know how
he started the club?
I heard he was watchin', uh, TV.
You know, Johnny's not like
the rest of these guys.
You know, how they're all bums.
I mean, he's not
a-a square or nothin',
but Johnny's got a good job,
you know?
He's had the same job as long
as I've known about him.
-What was that?
-Truck driver.
He's a truck driver.
Yeah, short routes, you know?
Like the Midwest.
But, I mean, he's got a family.
-Right.
-Yeah.
Two daughters. His wife, Betty.
She's all right, you know.
I mean,
a lot of these girls, oof,
I can't stand to be around
because it's always, you know,
"That's my man, don't be
lookin' at my man," you know?
But Betty, she's not like that.
Hey. What do you mean by,
um, Johnny was watching TV?
He was watchin', uh,
Marlon Brando on TV
and got the idea for the club.
I mean, that's what
I heard anyway.
-(girls laughing)
-Girls, girls...
WOMAN (on TV): Somebody tell me
what that means.
BRMC. What does that mean?
Black Rebels Motorcycle Club.
-(chuckles) Isn't that cute?
-(chuckles)
Hey, Johnny, what are you
rebelling against?
Whattya got?
(laughter on TV)
Hmm. Whattya got?
-What?
-Hmm.
Nothin'.
KATHY: Oh, but really
how the club started
was it was a racing club.
(engines revving)
("Raunchy" by Bill Justis
playing)
(engines accelerating)
(crowd cheering)
KATHY:
I never seen Johnny race,
but they say he was good.
You know,
him and Jimmy Goodpaster
had a-a racing club.
-Goodpaster?
-KATHY: Yeah.
You know him.
He's got that, uh, that
BSA shop out past Hyde Park.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
-Mustache.
-What?
-He's got a thin mustache.
-KATHY: Yeah.
Yeah, well, they, uh, they had
a racing club together.
I'm thinking of startin'
a riding club.
Why?
I don't know.
Just somethin' to do, you know.
The fuck you wanna
start a ridin' club for?
All those clubs do is sit around
talking about motorcycles.
That's what we do.
Yeah, we talk about 'em,
and then we race 'em.
The fuck good you do
to talk about 'em
if you ain't gonna race 'em?
KATHY: So they split up,
and about, uh, about 12 guys
joined up to be Vandals.
They were the first, you know?
So that's where the guys--
I mean,
the first guys at least--
that's where the first guys,
uh, come from,
was the racin' club.
-DANNY: Oh, yeah?
-Mm.
And who all was that?
Well, it was Wahoo and Corky.
I know that.
WAHOO:
My name's Wahoo.
I ride a Harley Duo-Glide.
I'm from Chicago, Illinois.
I've been a Vandal
for about five years now.
They call me Corky.
I ride Wahoo's old lady.
-Oh, the fuck you do, fuck.
-(shrieks)
He doesn't.
KATHY:
And Brucie was one of 'em.
He was Johnny's right hand
from the beginning.
He was an electrician.
But everyone wants
to be part of somethin'.
I mean,
that's what it really is.
These guys don't belong
nowhere else,
so they belong together,
you know.
I can't explain it
to my parents.
They-they don't understand
the way I live.
Because bikeriders...
(sighs)
Lotta people seem to think
that bikes lead
to somethin' negative.
That's-that's why they think
guys ride 'em.
They think it leads
to somethin' obscene.
I don't know why, but, uh...
...but obscenity and motorcycles
travel hand in hand.
That's what everybody
thinks anyway.
Why?
I guess, uh...
everybody needs somebody
to pick on.
Can you think of anyone
better than us?
("Mama, Mama, Talk to Your
Daughter" by Magic Sam playing)
Well, Cal from California.
CAL:
I look at a scooter, man,
that's completely chopped, man,
and-and...
and every part on it,
he either made himself, man,
or bought special for it,
you know.
(camera clicks)
Now, y-you look
at that dude, man,
that dude's a Vandal, you see.
Let's say you, uh...
say you take a-a guy
that buys
a brand-new Harley-Davidson,
fully equipped. Hmm?
Though, there'll always be
a motherfucker that comes along
and says, "Well, I got one
exactly like yours."
-(Danny chuckles)
-'Cause he can get it
exactly like his.
But all choppers are different.
Every one of 'em, different.
No matter how much alike
you build 'em,
-you know what I mean?
-Mm.
'Cause everybody's
melon's different.
COCKROACH:
When I was about 15 years old,
my father brought me
-an Indian four-cylinder.
-(camera clicks)
Motorcycle.
I like to be dirty.
Yeah, I'll go out of my way
to put filth on my clothes.
Dirt on my pants,
dirt on my face,
mess up my hair and eat bugs.
A bug isn't really bad to eat.
It's all in a person's mind.
Now, if you will eat
a raw beef sandwich
or you will eat a rare steak,
a bug won't hurt you anymore.
And what about Zipco?
What about Zipco?
You know anything about him?
Oh, he was from Latvia.
-Yeah.
-Right.
Do you know
when he joined the club?
Zipco? I mean, I don't know.
He's just always been there.
(chuckles)
DANNY (distantly):
So, uh,
tell me more about Johnny.
What?
KATHY:
I never understood it, you know.
You got all these guys,
none of 'em can follow a rule
-to save der lives, you know.
-(child crying)
The whole point of these guys
is that they can't
follow rules, you know.
You put 'em together,
and they get in this club,
and all of a sudden,
oh, they start makin' up
all these rules
for everybody to follow.
DINGY:
It's ridiculous.
I mean, it's absolutely
ridiculous, you know?
But this one time,
someone challenged Johnny
for the leadership
of the club, you know.
That's one of these, uh,
these crazy rules
is that anybody can challenge
Johnny if they really want to,
but of course, you know,
none of 'em want to
'cause they're all bums,
you know,
and none of 'em
want the responsibility.
But this one time,
this guy Jack,
big guy, I mean, real big guy,
I mean, you know,
Big Jack they called him.
-DINGY: Fat Jack.
-What?
-Wasn't it Fat Jack?
-No.
He was the one outta Toledo.
This guy was, uh...
Well, I don't know.
Anyway, this Big Fat Jack
guy says...
Hey, I got a question!
Wait your turn! Let me finish.
(indistinct chatter)
Now, we're gonna
get the phone installed
behind the bar dere,
but Johnny has to put that
on his personal account.
-Why's he gotta do that?
-So...
I don't...
Because that's the way
the phone company
has to set it up.
Club should pay for it
outta the dues.
Yeah.
That way, we can use it
how we want.
-It don't work like that.
-WAHOO: Why not?
-CORKY: Why?
-Shut up a minute.
Shut the fuck up!
-(chatter stops)
-(man clears throat)
BRUCIE:
Now listen.
We need a phone back der
in case anybody
gets in trouble, all right?
Now, you get thrown in jail
or you need bail, you call here.
You get stuck out someplace
on your bike, you call here.
But the first time we get a bill
where you been callin'
your fat fuckin' girlfriend
-out in East What the Fuck...
-(laughing)
...we're gonna take that phone,
and we're gonna put knots
on your head with it.
Understand?
Yeah, but I got a question.
I got some friends in Milwaukee,
they like
what we're doin' out here
and asked if they could join up,
start a Vandals chapter
out dere.
Nah.
Why not?
What the fuck we need 'em for?
You know, this is our club.
Okay, we are in this town. Here.
You know,
we are all friends here.
Now, I don't know these guys.
(scoffs) You know 'em.
We drank with 'em
on that last run to Columbus.
Oh, yeah.
(inhales deeply) I say no.
Well, I... I say we let 'em
start a chapter.
Hey, you said if any of us
disagrees with ya,
we could challenge ya, so...
So what?
So, I guess I'm challengin' ya.
Go fuck yourself.
Fists?
Or knives?
Well, I don't wanna kill ya.
So, what? Fists?
Yeah?
Yeah.
-KATHY: It was a picnic.
-(Johnny clears throat)
-A big family picnic.
-All right.
KATHY: I remember
because it was cold that day.
(lively chatter and laughter)
The kids were runnin' around,
guys were gettin' stoned,
wives and girlfriends
all over the place, you know?
And they cut a track out there.
(crowd cheering)
-Come on!
-Crush him!
KATHY:
They'd spend all day drinkin'
and runnin' their bikes
on that track
all frickin' day long, you know?
(motorcycle engines revving)
By the end of the day,
the place is like
one big mud pit.
And that's where they did it.
(both grunting)
("Road Runner" by Bo Diddley
playing)
I'm a road runner, honey
And you can't
keep up with me
(choking)
(groaning)
Come on, let's race
Baby, baby, you and me
-(Big Jack grunts)
-(Johnny groans)
KATHY:
I mean, the thing about Johnny,
he wasn't always bigger
than the other guys,
but he was always meaner.
(Johnny grunting)
(groans)
-(bones snap)
-(screaming)
(groaning)
You okay?
You broke my damn finger.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we done?
Huh?
Now, you tell your friends
in Milwaukee
that they can have
their chapter, all right?
You... You tell 'em
Johnny said so. All right.
-BRUCIE: You all right?
-(Johnny whimpers)
If you were gonna
let 'em have a chapter,
why'd you go through
the trouble of fightin' him?
If anybody was gonna
have the idea,
it had better be me, right?
And now he knows it. (wincing)
-BETTY: You good?
-JOHNNY: Yeah,
-I never felt better.
-(Betty laughing)
KATHY: After that,
the club started growin'.
It got real big, real fast.
-All right?
-Yeah.
(motorcycle engines rumbling)
(hubcap rattling)
(intro to "Mannish Boy"
by Muddy Waters plays)
(sighs)
(motorcycle engines rumbling)
Oh, yeah
KATHY:
Chapters started poppin' up
all over the place, you know.
Other clubs started
askin' to join up.
Everything's gonna be
all right this morning
Oh, yeah
(beat drops)
Now, when I was a young boy
At the age of five
My mother said
I was gonna be
The greatest man alive
But now I'm a man
I'm past...
-(song cuts off)
-(car horn honks)
(car engine idling)
Get the hell
out of the street, kid.
(grunts)
Goddamn it!
What the hell do...
(engine accelerating)
(intro to "I Feel Free"
by Cream playing)
Bomp, bomp, bomp,
bomp, bomp, bomp
Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp,
bomp, bomp
I feel free...
(motorcycle engines rumbling)
Bomp, bomp, bomp,
bomp, bomp, bomp
Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp,
bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp,
bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp,
bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp,
bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp,
bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp,
bomp, bomp, bomp
(beat drops)
Feel when I dance with you
We move like the sea
You, you're all
I want to know
I feel free
I feel free.
(song fades out)
(engine revving)
(tires squealing)
(indistinct lively chatter)
("New Orleans"
by Gary U.S. Bonds playing)
"Hey, hey, hey, yeah"
I said,
"Hey, hey, hey, yeah..."
MAN (on speaker): And welcome
to the 12th annual car show.
Oh, come on, everybody,
take a trip with me
(motorcycle engines rumbling)
Well, down the Mississippi,
down in New Orleans
They got honeysuckle growing
on the honeysuckle vine
And love is a-blooming there
all the time
Well, every Southern belle
is a Mississippi Queen
Down the Mississippi,
down to New Orleans
-I said, "Hey, hey, hey,
yeah." -(song stops)
ZIPCO: Look at
these pinko motherfuckers.
These motherfuckers.
It's like my brudder.
You know, my brudder?
Me and my brudder,
we swing the same way, but,
only thing is, he's a pinko.
There's somethin' in his head,
is wrong, you know.
But when he gets drunk,
he's just like me.
Otherwise, he thinks different.
What do you mean by
"he's a pinko"?
Ain't you supposed to be
takin' pictures?
Yeah.
So what you got that microphone
for all the time, then?
I don't know.
I was thinkin' I could record
people talkin', maybe.
Use it with the pictures.
Make a book or somethin', maybe.
A book?
-Yeah. Maybe.
-Yeah.
So what do you mean by
"he's a pinko"?
Pinko, uh, you know,
college boy.
They wear tennis shoes
and short pants,
-you know, shit like that.
-Uh-huh.
-What's your brother do?
-Uh, he's in the Air Force.
Going to Thailand next November.
Air Force mechanic.
They took him,
they wouldn't take me, you know.
They took him 'cause he's
a clean-cut, all-American boy.
You know, short pants
and tennis shoes.
I gotta take a piss.
ZIPCO: I told my brother...
He went to college one year.
I said, "Fucker,
you don't quit that college,
I'mma beat the shit outta you."
And he quit.
'Cause I told him I don't want
no goddamn pinkos in my family.
'Cause I can't stand
that shit, you know.
'Cause if you can't work
with your fuckin' hands,
you ain't no fuckin' good.
MAN:
Hey. Stupid.
Yeah, you, you tall fuck.
CAL:
Tall?
MAN: Yeah, you.
You scratched my bike.
JOHNNY:
Hey, come on. Come on, hey.
I, uh, you know, I like to work.
I ain't a fuckin' prick.
I like to work
with my hands and shit.
I work hard for my money,
you know?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
-(camera clicks)
-What do you do?
I study photography.
-In college.
-(camera clicks)
MAN:
Why'd you scratch my bike?
(scoffs) I didn't scratch
your fuckin' scooter, man.
Well, I walk off,
there's no scratch.
I see you here,
now all of a sudden,
there's a scratch.
-Scratch?
-What's goin' on?
Man, I was looking
at this guy's carburetors.
He's got Jaguar carburetors,
you know,
big Italian carburetors.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And now he says
I scratched his bike.
Whoa.
I didn't scratch
that ancient piece of shit.
The fuck you didn't.
You wanna get salty,
motherfucker? I'll get salty!
Okay, now, hold on,
hold on, hold on.
Nah. Nah.
(sighs)
Where you guys from?
Gary.
All right. You know a...
You know a guy around there
called Shitty Pete?
Around there?
Yeah.
-He rides with us sometimes.
-Oh.
How do you know Shitty?
Me? Well, I used to work
with Shitty Pete.
You know, truckin'.
Around, uh, five years back.
Your boyfriends
are gettin' into trouble.
(tuts) Oh, shit.
What you guys call yourselves?
Rogues.
-Gary Rogues.
-(chuckles) Yeah.
And how many guys you got?
-(grunts)
-(men exclaiming)
Not enough, eh?
(groans)
(all grunting and clamoring)
("Baby Please Don't Go" by Them
feat. Van Morrison playing)
Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go down
to New Orleans
You know I love you so
Baby, please don't go
(camera clicks)
Baby, your man done gone
Well, your man done gone
Well, your man done gone,
left the county farm
He had his shackles on
Baby, please don't go
Before I be your dog
Before I be your dog
(clamoring subsides)
(song fading out)
Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go down
to New Orleans
You know I love you so.
(grunts softly)
(exhales)
Jesus.
(both grunting)
JOHNNY:
No, no!
(Benny grunting)
Benny, no, stop, stop.
-No, no. No.
-(breathing heavily)
No.
No, all right?
(Benny panting)
All right.
Jesus fucking Christ.
That kid's fuckin' crazy.
(panting)
Yeah.
-Fuck this.
-(Cal groans)
Let's get some beers.
-Come on.
-(groans)
Well, I had... I had four carbs
and, uh, 80 cubic inches
per engine,
two-inch valves,
all ported and relieved,
and, uh, I had the biggest cams,
the hairiest cams
I could put in there, man.
How the fuck did you start it?
My mechanic. (chuckles)
He weighed 300 pounds.
He started it. One kick
and that fucker started.
ZIPCO (chuckles):
Fuck.
You know how to time stuff
pretty good, huh?
Pretty good. I mean, all right.
Enough for me, you know.
I'm the one ridin' it.
ZIPCO: Yeah, but, see,
here's the problem.
Then you gotta bring
that fat guy with you ridin'.
-(all laughing)
-And you gotta feed him.
JOHNNY:
Whatta you thinkin' back there?
BENNY:
What?
Right there, when you-you come
chargin' in like that?
Nothin'. I saw you
squarin' off with them guys.
What I'd need to think for?
Yeah.
Yeah, you and me, kid.
You and me, you crazy fuck.
-Mm.
-Yeah.
(Johnny sighs)
KATHY: Well,
Benny's always been a fighter.
And that's just
what they need in that club.
Because you know what?
-Half them guys in there
are candy ass. -Hmm.
There's a lotta guys in there
that are candy ass.
-Can you walk with that thing?
-Yep.
KATHY:
I mean, candy asses.
They'll just as soon turn around
than get into a fight.
They don't care
if they go to jail
for disturbin' the peace.
No, but they ain't
gonna go to jail
for aggravated assault
or nothin' like that.
-(TV playing)
-Will you move those bikes?
Yes, ma'am.
KATHY:
Oh, wow. You, uh...
You left me one beer
out of a whole case of bottles.
What saints.
MAN (on TV):
From Bell, California,
-here is Richard Connelly.
-(applause on TV)
Get these bikes off my yard!
I mean, Benny's not even here,
and all these jerks
are out in front.
I mean, 'cause they got
no place to go, see?
So they'll come
and they'll sit here.
And it makes the place look bad.
I mean, the neighbors see it,
and this and that.
I used to be respectable.
Kathy, why do you think
the guys,
they don't wear their colors
when they're not all together?
Why?
'Cause they're afraid
when they're all by themselves.
'Cause too many people
are after 'em,
for one thing, you know.
Too many people
got a grudge against them.
So if they catch 'em
one by one--
I mean,
that's what happened to Benny.
Benny always wore his colors,
and when he did wear his colors
and he was by himself,
there was trouble.
I mean, you heard about
all the trouble he got in
-over at the Lakeside Inn?
-Yeah, yeah.
And that was it.
Benny was by himself
and wouldn't take
his colors off for nobody.
And there was trouble.
(chuckles)
You hear my brother?
Can't be wearin' no colors
in this neighborhood.
(Benny groaning)
HENRY:
Paulie, he won't stay down.
Keeps getting back up.
(grunts)
You better stay down,
you rotten fuck.
I'll get him to stay down.
HENRY: Is this
your fucking bike, asshole?
(Benny grunts)
Oh, shit. Henry!
-(knife slices)
-(Henry screams)
HENRY:
(groans) You motherfucker!
-Oh, you dirty cocksucker!
-PAULIE: Henry!
-Henry.
-(screaming)
Yeah, don't worry.
I got this motherfucker
right here.
(grunts)
(coffee machine whirring)
I mean,
it nearly took his foot off.
You know, my dad always told me
it takes a lot
to make a man cry,
an awful lot, you know.
I mean, they don't get hit
on the head and start cryin'.
Not a real man.
Well, I've seen my father cry
twice in all my life.
Once when his father died
and once when
my mother almost died.
And I mean really cry, you know.
And I always believed him.
Whereas Benny,
I've seen him getting
worked over with blackjacks.
I've seen him
gettin' stitched up
with no nothin', you know.
I mean, it's just like,
just like stitchin' him up
while he's wide awake
and everythin' else.
You don't see that guy
shed a tear.
The closest I ever seen him
come to it was that day. Mm.
Not for the pain or nothin', no.
You know what it was?
BENNY: (sighs)
Don't let 'em take my foot.
-(kisses)
-All right? You don't let 'em
take my foot off.
(Benny breathing heavily,
sniffles)
They take my foot off,
and I can't ride no more.
KATHY:
That was it.
He didn't want to lose his foot
'cause then he couldn't
ride no more.
Never mind
that he-he got a concussion
and this maniac
nearly chopped his foot off
for not taking his colors off.
No, never mind that he...
He wasn't even
supposed to be ridin'
'cause his license
had been suspended
from that one time
the cops chased him all over.
I mean... (exhales)
No, no, no, no.
I mean, all he could think about
was ridin'
his stupid motorcycle.
I tell ya, you know,
be funny if it wasn't so tragic.
(Kathy slurping)
And what about Johnny?
Oh, Johnny.
Johnny went crazy.
(whispering):
Johnny, Benny is in a bad way.
He's in the hospital.
Two guys jumped him
over his colors.
They nearly
chopped his foot off.
(Cal sighs)
Where?
Lakeside.
("Hush Little Baby" by Deon
Jackson playing on speakers)
(motorcycle engines rumbling)
(glasses rattling)
(engines revving)
(engines continue revving)
(song continues playing faintly
on speakers)
(smacks lips)
I don't want any trouble here.
Well, um...
Young kid get beat up
in here earlier today.
And, ah...
You know who did it?
Couple of regulars.
A couple regulars?
Yeah, all right.
Take that pencil,
write their names down,
where they live.
Then I'll let you leave.
This is my bar. I own it.
(pencil scratching)
(engines continue revving)
Send a few guys,
make it so they can't
walk no more.
What about the bar?
Burn it down.
("Masters of War"
by The Staple Singers playing)
Now, you masters of war
You build all the big guns
You build the big planes
And you build the big bombs
You hide behind walls
And you hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can never done nothin'...
We gotta go.
("Masters of War" by
The Staple Singers continues)
You play with my world,
mm, mm
Like it's your little toy
Nah, we don't.
You put a gun in my hand
They're scared of us.
And you hide from my eyes
Then you try
to run farther...
KATHY:
I think it terrified him.
You know, that's a lot of power
for one guy to have.
You know,
to be in charge of alla that.
I mean, that can really mess
with your noodle.
-Cream?
-DANNY: No.
You know, Benny was bad off.
Now, I had him in a motel
for three weeks.
I mean, he couldn't walk,
so I got him a place
with no stairs.
(over TV):
This is my husband. This is...
-MAN: Darrin.
-(canned laughter)
(both laughing)
DARRIN: Oh, we were
just having a drink.
Would you care for a cocktail?
-I'd like a very dry martini.
-(knocking at door)
Italian Vermouth, Spanish gin
-and a Greek olive?
-(canned laughter)
DARRIN: Well, I don't think
we have any of...
-(knocking at door)
-WOMAN: Don't bother.
I'll fix it myself.
(canned laughter)
(shuts off TV)
Hey, Kathy.
Come on in.
Hey, look at you.
All propped up.
Like the queen.
Who you callin' a queen?
(chuckles) Ah, you look good.
You're looking all right.
The guys thought
you might really be out of it.
He is out of it. He can't walk.
What'd the surgeon say?
They, uh, cut through a tendon.
JOHNNY:
Oh, Jesus.
KATHY:
We're outta ice.
JOHNNY:
Oh, yeah.
They tie it back together
or what?
-BENNY: Somethin' like that.
-JOHNNY: Mm-hmm.
-I'm gonna go get some ice.
-So, uh...
So, how long they keep you
in the hospital for?
-BENNY: Three or four days.
-JOHNNY: That's a long time.
(sighs)
JOHNNY: The guys would love
to see you out there.
It's gonna be a big one,
you know,
maybe the biggest one yet.
Biggest what?
Picnic. Johnny's sayin'
they're goin' all out
for the Dayton run.
Oh.
BENNY:
How long is that? Three weeks?
JOHNNY:
Yeah.
BENNY: I mean, I'll still be
in the cast by then, but...
Cast?
Cast, nah.
You shift with your left foot.
You can always
use your front brake
if you can't put
no pressure on it.
I know the guys, they would...
(ice rattling loudly)
You want a drink Johnny?
I'm good.
The guys would love
to see ya out there.
You know,
they're real worried about ya.
-I'll be there.
-All right.
I'll get out of here.
I'll let you rest.
Okay.
Kathy.
(door closes)
(motorcycle engine starts)
I mean, you wouldn't
really try riding
-after three weeks, would ya?
-(lighter clicks)
The doctor said three to four
months with no weight on it.
I don't know.
Turn up the TV, will you?
(scoffs)
I don't want you ridin'.
Yeah, it scares me, especially
this soon after surgery.
I-I don't like it.
-You don't like it?
-I get worried.
I should just go.
I'm just gonna leave.
-What?
-No, it's better.
-You'd be better off.
-Stop. Stop it.
Not having to take care of me.
-Worry about me.
-No.
No.
When I heal up, I'll leave.
(sighs softly)
I don't want you to go.
(pensive music plays)
I'm going off the freeway
into this, uh, ice plant.
I don't know if you know
what ice plant is.
If you're ever in California,
stop and look if you want,
but, like...
Hey, Kathy.
KATHY:
Hey, Brucie. How's Gail?
She's good. She's, uh, got
a job doin' nails in Oak Park.
I'll go see her.
Uh, Johnny, can we talk?
Mm.
Oh, you always gotta have these
guys around to hear everything?
-Well, what's there to hear?
-Some things.
Oh.
You need somethin', Kathy?
You can't have him.
Who?
You know exactly
who I'm talkin' about.
Benny. You can't have him.
The club can't have him.
He's mine.
You know, and if he keeps
ridin' motorcycles,
he's gonna die.
One way or another,
it'll kill him.
And you know this is true.
What am I supposed
to do about it?
You know I don't run Benny,
just like you don't run Benny.
There ain't nobody
can tell that kid nothin'.
He's grown.
If he wants to ride a bike,
he'll ride a bike.
Well, not if you tell him,
Johnny.
Not if you tell him
he's outta the club.
-Come on.
-No, he's mine, Johnny. Mine.
I'm his wife, not you.
Fuck is that supposed to mean?
Well, I know you love him.
I love him, too.
That's why you gotta do this.
(sighs)
Uh...
Are you, are you done?
I don't know. Am I?
Oh, you got
anything more to say?
No, I said it.
All right, then,
you know, y-you are.
You're...
You're done.
(sighs)
KATHY:
You can't have him!
MAN (muffled):
Shut the fuck up!
WOMAN:
Why don't you try it?
MAN:
Shut your fuckin' yap!
I swear to God,
all you do is bitch.
Yap, yap, yap!
I oughta shut that fuckin'
mouth of yours for good.
WOMAN: If you did,
it'd be the first thing
-you ever finished...
-Quit the racket!
I'm sick of that mouth on you.
WOMAN:
...worthless piece of shit!
Always acting like
you're so fuckin' tough!
If it wasn't for my bad back,
I'd have beat
-your ass blue by now!
-Yeah, lemme get my jacket.
WOMAN:
My back! My back!
-I said to quit the racket.
-MAN: Come here!
WOMAN: What a worthless
piece of shit...
Come here! I'm gonna put
this belt on you!
WOMAN:
...you turned out to be!
-No, no, no!
-Take that!
-I said, quit the racket!
-MAN: Told you!
-I told you!
-Fuck!
(man cries out)
-(groans)
-Told you, huh?
-I told you. Didn't I?
-WOMAN: No.
-Quit it! Quit it!
-WOMAN: No!
-No!
-(man sobbing)
Hey, come here. Come here.
-Come on.
-WOMAN: Stop!
-Stop it!
-(man choking)
Stop it! You're gonna kill him!
Stop it! Stop it!
(groaning)
(panting)
I want you outta here!
Don't you ever come back here!
Don't you ever!
(panting)
WOMAN (softly):
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. (sobbing)
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
(breathing heavily)
KID:
Who's comin'?
(energetic rock music playing)
(engine starts)
-(music stops)
-(indistinct chatter)
What's the matter?
(indistinct chatter continues)
KID:
Hey, hey.
You a Vandal?
That's right.
All right, well,
me and the guys,
you know,
we're looking to join up.
-You wanna join...
-Uh-huh.
...you gotta talk to the man.
Oh, yeah? Who's the man?
Who's the man?
That's the man.
Come on.
Hey, look at this guy.
-BRUCIE: Hey, welcome back.
-JOHNNY: Wow.
You rode in all the way on that?
I strapped it to the bike.
He needs it
'cause his leg is broke.
-Hey, Betty.
-BETTY: Hey, Kathy.
I need a drink.
So, uh, what's it like
ridin' on the old foot?
(motorcycle approaching)
(engine revs)
(engine shuts off)
Hey, man.
Somebody told me you're the guy
I need to talk to.
Maybe.
Blew out here from California.
Heard there was a big picnic,
wanted to check it out.
Heard you're the man in charge.
I'm Sonny.
I was hoping maybe to...
...little food,
little to drink...
...camp out for a night or two.
Wanted to show a little class,
contribute to the party.
All right. Help yourself.
This here's Brucie.
This, uh, Benny right there
with the boot.
And I'm Johnny.
We're the Vandals.
SONNY:
Well...
...it's nice to meet
some proper fuck-ups.
("I'm Going Home"
by The Sonics playing)
(men hollering)
-(grunting)
-When I was a boy
I had a mind of my own
-Told my folks
-(yelling)
I was leaving home
(whooping)
Vandals, motherfucker!
BRUCIE:
I always wondered
what riders out in California
looked like.
Can you imagine a thousand
of those fucking guys?
I'm going home
-I'm going home
-(man hollers)
Yeah, I'm going home.
(song fades out)
CAL: Oh, they always
pegged me for stupid.
Man, I couldn't read
a fuckin' comic book
until I was in the army.
What comic book?
I was born in Canada, man.
Come on, I mean,
I went up to the fourth grade,
man, in school,
all French, no English.
And I was, I was always hasslin'
and just tryin' to learn
the goddamn language.
-You were in the army?
-Yeah.
I got a undesirable discharge
in there
because I was always salty.
ZIPCO:
I wanted to be in the army.
I always wanted
go over there to Vietnam.
I went to the draft board
to get in.
They had this big party
at the Seaway there then,
where I went the night before.
And get home about four,
you know.
(sniffs)
My ma comes home.
"You ain't goin' yet?"
(laughter)
"You ain't goin' yet?"
My alarm clock's ringin',
I'm still conked out,
and my fuckin' beard's
full of wine,
-and, you know...
-(all laughing)
...and my ma,
she takes me in a taxicab,
she drives me over there,
and she throws me in there.
(chuckles)
They, uh, they go from
station to station,
and you sit there,
and I keep fallin' asleep.
(laughter continues)
Well, hey, I passed.
I passed
all the fuckin' tests, man.
And the guy says, "Hey,
you flunked your physical."
I said, "What the fuck?
What, my ears?
I couldn't hear or what?"
He said, uh,
"No, your, uh, your
psychiatrist flunked you."
(laughter)
COCKROACH:
That doctor's a fuckin' genius.
ZIPCO:
Yeah, I smell like
a fuckin' distillery, wined up,
but I give him good answers,
you know.
So he says,
"You passed everything, except,"
he says, "you are
an undesirable character.
We don't want you."
I says, "I wanna go," you know?
And I cussed that fucker out
that told me that.
I say,
"You goddamn motherfucking
bastard cocksucker."
I walked outta there.
I was crying, man.
I wanted to go.
There's pinkos burnin'
their draft cards,
they that wanna go,
they won't take.
Boy, that pissed me off.
It means a lot,
you comin' out here
all banged up like that,
you know?
I've been thinkin', uh...
I can't run this club forever.
You know, I'm gonna have
to find somebody, uh...
to take it over, you know.
What about Brucie, huh?
Brucie.
Oh...
Yeah, you know, I love Brucie
like a brother, you know?
But it ain't,
it ain't Brucie, no.
Brucie'll get eaten alive
by these guys.
It gotta be somebody that, uh...
...that they respect.
It's gotta be somebody
that ain't gonna take
no shit off of 'em.
It's you.
(chuckles softly)
Come on.
Look.
I built this club
outta nothin', all right?
I built it.
I put more
into this fuckin' club
than my own family, all right?
This is my family.
I don't know how many
fuckin' chapters we got now.
I know we got...
new guys.
We got young guys.
I don't even know
some of them, but...
the guys I do know, you know,
they ain't gonna follow nobody
except somebody who can
hold their own, you know?
Look at me.
I'm all fucked up.
Hmm.
I can't even
pay the fuckin' dues.
Yeah, well, fuck the dues.
(scoffs)
(Benny inhales deeply)
(exhales deeply)
You're a grown-up, man.
You got a house. You got a job.
I don't want that.
I don't care about none of that.
(Johnny sniffs)
Yeah, you know.
See...
that's why it's you.
Huh?
You are who all these guys here,
they're all, they're all
trying to be.
You see?
(smacks lips)
-Johnny...
-What?
It's yours.
Hmm.
Hey, you know...
Just think it over, you know.
(chuckles)
(clears throat)
BRUCIE:
Sonny, you, uh...
...y-you ride
in California, right?
-Your club's out there?
-SONNY: Mm-hmm.
So why the hell
are you way out here?
I came here for him.
He didn't turn in his colors.
We heard he was ridin'
with another club.
So they brought me out here
to fuck him up.
BRUCIE:
So, are-are you...
Are you gonna fuck him up?
Nah.
I like you guys.
I'm hopin' to trip with you
for awhile.
The fuck happened here?
(sniffs)
Well, I-I think this-this
Funny Sonny just, uh...
just made Cal shit his pants.
(men laugh)
Look at his face.
(laughter continues)
Fuck, man.
Goddamn. Fuck.
I smell something,
is all I'm saying.
(laughter continues)
I mean, he's... It's...
You know, I understand.
He's a scary guy.
(indistinct chatter)
KATHY:
I mean, the only thing is
I thought I could change him,
you know?
-(cap clatters)
-Oh, jeez.
I mean, every woman thinks
that she can change a guy,
not to her own ways,
but to be different, you know?
Not to be different,
but to be...
I don't know, like, he's wild.
I thought
he'd get over that, but...
no.
But Benny, he always
talks about leavin'.
You know, sometimes
I wish he would, you know?
'Cause every time
he gets into trouble,
the first thing
he'll say to me is,
"Well, I'm gonna leave."
And I think
he just says this to me
so I say to him, you know,
"Don't go, don't go."
But it's gettin' to where
if he'd just go,
not tell me about it,
but just pick up and go,
it doesn't hurt so bad,
you know?
I mean, I've got feelings.
'Cause Benny has no feelings.
I don't know where he gets it.
From what I hear,
even when his father died,
he showed no feelings.
Said he's better off dead.
I mean, Benny thinks
that when you die,
you're better off than
when you're living, you know?
Like when his dad died, he said,
"It's just as well.
He's better off that way."
You know,
when Brucie got killed,
"He's better off that way."
No feelings.
Brucie, I mean, I-I think
ever since Brucie died,
things with the club
have changed, you know?
Don't you?
Hmm.
I mean, I miss Brucie.
(tires screech)
CAL:
Nothin'.
Just pow. That's it.
WAHOO: I mean,
that's how it is, you know.
There's always that one.
You know, there's always
that one that gets you.
CAL:
It's the one that comes out,
that one that comes
out of nowhere.
That's the one
that will get you.
WAHOO:
That's it.
One that comes outta nowhere.
Hey, Johnny.
Yeah.
We just got a call.
What?
It's the funeral home.
They won't take the flowers.
What?
They won't take the flowers
you sent over there.
Says the family don't want 'em.
Well, fuck it. Send them anyway.
You know, they can eat 'em
if they don't wanna take 'em.
Okay.
Wait.
Get the guys together,
all right?
We'll take 'em ourselves.
("I'll Never Learn"
by The Shangri-Las playing)
Sit here thinkin'
Thinkin' bout the happy times
we used to have
(man sighs)
Now they're gone forever
I still have to wait
for their return
No, I'll never learn
I'll never learn
My eyes, they burn
from sleepless nights
-Cryin'
-Cryin'
(spits)
Get outta here.
I'll never learn,
I'll never learn
My eyes, they burn
from sleepless nights...
JOHNNY:
You guys remember Teddy Singer?
WAHOO:
Yeah.
JOHNNY:
Yeah.
And Teddy Singer died
on the way back
from, uh, the blessing
on Saint Christopher's Day.
Yeah, he swerved
and hit a parked car
near the rock quarry.
Good guy.
Yeah, he used to,
used to ride that, uh,
beautiful Knucklehead, the...
All chrome. Nothin' but chrome.
His dad made
s-special things for 'em.
You know, because his dad was
a... was a tool and diemaker.
Yeah.
After-after Teddy died,
I, um, I did offer his dad
to buy the bike
because, you know,
it's beautiful.
I offered him good money, too,
you know?
But he wouldn't, he wouldn't...
...he wouldn't sell it.
You see?
(sniffs)
He wouldn't sell it.
He didn't even ride it.
He kept the bike.
In his basement.
Right?
You understand?
Yeah?
Anyway.
Just fuck it. Fuck it.
("I Can See" by The
Liberty Bell plays on speakers)
(patrons chattering)
WAHOO: You know,
that's how I wanna die.
Absa-fuckin-lutely.
And my mother, she says to me...
She says,
"Well, you've had wrecks.
"I mean, you've seen people die,
"seen both your cousins
die on bikes.
You're gonna kill yourself."
But that's... that's the way
I wanna die.
And when I die,
I wanna die on a bike.
Shut the fuck up.
-WAHOO: There's no...
-Shut...
-the fuck up...
-WAHOO: What?
Johnny.
Hey, they say that, uh...
they say that you're the one
to talk to about joinin' up.
Oh, no.
No, we don't, uh...
we don't take kids.
But I ain't a kid. I'm 20.
Come on. Get out of here.
All right? Just...
Will you just come
look at our bikes?
We chopped 'em ourselves.
Okay. (sighs)
Come look at our bikes.
CAL:
Let's see these pieces of shit.
Oh, my God.
-These are pieces of shit.
-(Wahoo laughing)
So we, uh... we scrapped
all the pieces ourselves.
You know, I mean, we didn't
have nothin', but we did it.
You know, we did all the work.
There you go.
Wh-What do you call yourselves?
The Renegades.
We've been ridin'
since we were kids.
(indistinct chatter)
Look, we'll do whatever
we gotta do. All right?
If you want us to rob someone,
we'll rob 'em.
You know, if you want us
to fight someone,
we'll kill 'em.
All we wanna do, we wanna...
we wanna ride with you.
You want this pretty bad,
huh, kid?
KID:
Yeah.
(Johnny mumbles)
(sighs)
I bet if I offered you
to run this whole club,
you'd take it in a heartbeat,
right? (sniffs)
What?
Nothin'.
Uh...
Yeah. You're in.
But just you.
You gotta leave
your friends behind.
Fine.
Nah.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
Nuh-uh.
No.
Get the fuck outta here.
What kinda piece of shit
are you?
What, you leave
your friends behind like that?
(train horn blowing in distance)
No.
Get the fuck outta here.
I don't wanna see you
around here ever again.
-WAHOO: Johnny!
-COCKROACH: Hey!
-WAHOO: Hey, you...
-COCKROACH: Johnny, hey, hey!
(groans)
-(Kid grunts)
-(knife clatters)
(Johnny sighs)
All right,
clean this piece of shit up
and get outta here.
Jesus fucking Christ.
(spits)
WAHOO:
Cocksucker, motherfucker.
KATHY:
But you left.
What?
You left before
things really got bad.
I guess it was '69, so, uh...
So, yeah,
I was done with school,
and I just packed
and left for New York.
(lighter clicks)
That's why I wanted to talk.
I wanted to know
what happened to the guys.
What happened to the club.
You know, a year or so after
Brucie died, after you left,
things with the club
really changed.
They just got...
You know, and the club,
it split.
It split between
the old guys and the new guys,
between the beer drinkers
and the pot smokers.
And those rules,
it's just a bunch
of made-up stuff,
but these new guys
really believed 'em.
It was like it was all written
in stone or something.
COCKROACH: There's a guy
used to ride with us.
Took photos.
He says he's, uh...
he says he's gonna make a book.
So I says to him...
"All I ever want
is to be photographed
dressed up like a barbarian."
Like a real barbarian, you know?
With fur and an axe
or some shit.
("Oh Love" by Brother T.
And Family plays on speakers)
CAL:
I can't really take it anymore.
So, there I am,
perplexed about what to do.
This guy seems he's gonna
pull rank on me or something.
And I'm not having it.
So this guy's hassling me, man.
Hey, Funny,
-stop hogging the booze, man.
-SONNY: Mm.
CAL:
So this, I'm like,
"Listen, man. I'm warning you."
One step closer,
and I'm gonna...
I'm gonna give it to him.
(indistinct chatter)
Boy, look at that dress.
I bet I'd look good
in that dress.
Yeah. I bet you would, Kathy.
CAL: And when I get salty,
motherfucker... (exhales)
yeah, it's like a fucking
old egg sandwich. You know?
MAN: He's lucky I wasn't mad,
you know?
KATHY:
You got all these new guys,
you know, half of 'em
coming back from Vietnam.
They're the pot smokers,
and they're different,
these young ones, I mean.
You know, I mean,
smoking pot, sure. You know?
But they do other stuff, too.
Drugs.
You know, like hard stuff,
and they're crazy.
MAN: I got him laid out
on the floor, right?
And I put this right up
to the back of his head.
He says,
"Why don't you let me go?"
I say, "You ain't goin'
nowhere, motherfucker.
"I captured you.
You go when I say you can go."
(chuckles)
You hear what they did
to Cockroach?
What'd you say?
COCKROACH:
A motorcycle cop.
I always wanted to be
a motorcycle cop.
That's why I gotta...
...give my colors back.
You say you're quittin'?
Yeah.
But what better job, huh?
I say, what better job is there
than to get paid
to sit on a Harley-Davidson
all day long?
I already told her.
She's gotta call a lawyer,
-you know?
-I don't think she'll do that.
I told her that last week.
She...
-Kathy. Here.
-WOMAN: Oh.
Here.
Where'd you get that?
That girl,
she wants you to have it.
Sonny, what the heck
is she wearin'?
She took some fellas upstairs.
She don't need it.
CAL: Don't worry.
They're having a good time.
She said
she wants you to have it.
She did, huh?
Try it on.
(Cal cackles)
Come on!
-Yeah. (cackles)
-We're like Santa Claus.
Where are they from?
Columbus.
All you new fuckin' guys.
Yeah, I can't keep up.
I gotta... I gotta take a piss.
(groans)
-Fuck. Fuck!
-You wanna quit, motherfucker?
You wanna quit,
you motherfucker?
("Down on the Street" by
The Stooges plays on speakers)
(man wolf-whistles)
-MAN: Yeah.
-SONNY: Whoo.
It's real pretty.
You look good, Kathy.
(whistles) It's good.
Benny, come 'ere.
(door opens)
(speaking indistinctly)
What's goin' on?
(groaning softly)
SONNY:
Somebody fucked him up good.
-You see who did it?
-Nah.
All right, let's get him
loaded in the car.
You two, you need
to take him to a hospital.
-CAL: Come on.
-Okay.
JOHNNY:
Come on. Up you get.
A thousand lights
Look at you
A thousand lights
Look at you...
-Where you goin'?
-Let go.
-Let go.
-I'm sorry.
-Stop!
-Look what we got.
-Don't worry.
-Come on.
-We'll take care of you.
-Stop!
-We're gonna take care of you.
-KATHY: Stop it!
-(gang laughing)
-No! No!
-We got you.
-No.
No!
-Come on.
-No.
Goddamn, girl.
KATHY:
Benny! Benny!
No! No.
-Hey, hey, hey! (laughs)
-KATHY: No!
No.
Benny! Benny, no! No.
WAHOO:
The fuck you doin'?
All right, we're just
getting our wings.
(both grunting)
Come on, man.
They said the girl in
the red dress was ready to go.
We're just gettin' ours.
They said the girl
in the red dress.
Get the fuck outta here.
Fuck, man,
fuckin' misunderstanding.
Fuck outta here.
(voice breaks):
Where's Benny?
Um, well, he's not...
He's not here. He had to go.
(breath trembling):
Yeah.
You're okay.
(breath shuddering)
("Treat Him Right" by Mickey
Murray playing on speakers)
JOHNNY:
It's short pours. Short.
Yeah, but, I mean, it's like
they're walking out the back
-with a bottle a night.
-(footsteps approaching)
Johnny.
If liquor keeps walkin',
we're going to...
WAHOO:
No, I told 'em.
I need to talk with you.
Alone.
They broke two fuckin' ribs.
These fuckin' new guys.
I think they're crazy, Johnny.
I told my old lady
I'd turn in my colors.
I wanna turn in my colors.
Quit the club.
I understand.
But, Johnny, these guys,
the fucking new ones...
I'm worried when they find out,
they'll fuckin' kill me.
I need help.
Hmm.
I'll take care of ya.
You got a pistol, right?
Yeah.
Bring it by tonight.
What are we gonna do?
We gotta go see Cockroach.
(Benny sighs)
KATHY:
Benny?
-You up here?
-Yeah.
Whatcha doin'?
Nothin'.
Look, I got somethin'
I need to say.
I gotta be someplace.
Well, we all got places to be,
you know?
All right, what is it?
I can't live like this no more.
(breath trembling)
(sighs)
And I ain't gonna live
like this no more.
Well, you weren't there, Benny.
You didn't see it, you know?
Like, I-I don't know
what I would've done
if they got me up those stairs
and into that bedroom.
You know, I'm...
Johnny said he took care of it.
-He said nothin' happened.
-But that's not true.
You weren't there.
You didn't see it.
I mean, you weren't there.
I know. I-I'm sorry.
You weren't there!
If they'da got me
up those stairs,
I think I woulda taken your gun,
and I woulda popped
my brains out.
-Come on.
-I'm serious.
You know, I-I know
I'm always sayin' that
people who commit suicide,
they must be nuts.
Well, you know, I think
this time I would go nuts.
Well, who'd even want you
after a thing like that?
Who'd even wanna look at you?
What do you want me to do?
I want you to quit ridin'.
I want you to quit the club.
Don't ask that.
Yeah, I was thinkin' we'd go
someplace, you know? You...
I mean, you said
you had a cousin in Florida
with a garage you could work at.
Let's go there, you know.
Let's just go someplace, Benny.
(sighs)
Benny.
-Benny! -What?!
-(stomps)
(inhales)
What do you think this is? Hmm?
What did you ever think
this was gonna be?
Benny.
I gotta go meet Johnny.

(dog barking in distance)
Don't do nothin'.
Just follow me in.
(train horn blowing in distance)
(doorknob clatters)
(shotgun shell clatters)
You ready?
Give me the pistol.
Fuck! Fuck!
(Cockroach screams in pain)
You let it bleed.
(breathing heavily)
Go now.
Stay gone.
(groaning)
JOHNNY:
Come on.
(sirens wailing distantly)
(car doors open)
-(car doors shut)
-(engine starts)
(sighs heavily)
(engine shuts off)
The fuck was all that for?
(sighs deeply)
That...
that was takin' care
of Cockroach.
Like you took care of Kathy?
Is that what this club is now?
Is that who we are now?
That's it.
Benny. Benny.
Um...
These new guys.
These, uh...
These young guys, they...
Don't none of 'em listen.
I, uh... I can't,
I can't run this club no more.
I n...
I need ya.
You know...
I don't ask nobody for nothin'.
And I don't want nothin'
from nobody.
It's not me.
Never gonna be me.
Mm.
(engine starts)
(pensive music plays)
KATHY:
You know, Benny always
talked about leavin'.
And then he was gone.
It's like Funny Sonny
says to me.
He says, "Kathy,
I'm gonna tell you something."
He says, "Once you go out
with a guy from the Vandals,"
he says, "you'll never go back
to any other guy." You know?
And I think this is true,
'cause after a while,
you get just like them.
You know?
You start thinkin' like them
and actin' like them.
It changes you.
And Benny was gone more than
a year, 'cause that was '71.
You know, that's when some kid
showed up to challenge Johnny.
("I Don't Worry Myself"
by Johnny Adams playing)
I'd never heard of him.
You know, it was just some kid.
Hey.
I'm a Vandal now.
What chapter?
Milwaukee.
All my guys been talkin'.
We're done with you
runnin' things.
(breathing heavily)
I'm here to challenge you.
Fists or knives?
Knives.
Hmm.
All right. There's a...
There's a parking lot on Fuller.
Near the lake.
Tomorrow night.
All right.
(TV playing)
(grabs keys)
(over TV):
Any ideas?
A few. A few.
But I wanna take a look
at the test before I commit.
How was your evening?
-Where are the girls?
-Out with friends.
All right, I gotta head out.
You comin' back tonight?
Yeah.
You grab some eggs
on your way home?
I don't wanna get out again.
MAN (on TV): Well, I apologize
for the way she acted, Steve.
Always late.
MAN 2: Kay was against
our coming out.
-Yeah.
-MAN 2: She was very content.
(door opens)
She couldn't understand
why I wasn't.
(door closes)
(engine shuts off)
Hey! Johnny.
Hey, Kathy.
Benny ever come back around?
No.
No, if he had, I figured
you woulda seen him before me.
Nah.
Yeah, last I heard, he rode
to, uh, Indiana with some guys.
That sounds right.
What do you need?
Nothin'.
(sighs)
Well, I guess
neither of us got him.
I guess not.
You know...
You can give everything you got
to a thing.
Yeah, you can give it
all you got.
And it's still just gonna do
what it's gonna do.
Mm.
What, you mean
like my marriages? (snorts)
(Kathy chuckles)
Come on, Johnny.
What do you need?
I already said it.
Nothin'.
Hey, take it easy, Kathy.
You, too, Johnny.
(car door opens)
(engine starts)
(car pulling away)
(pensive music plays)
KATHY:
It was late October,
so it was already gettin' cold.
From what I hear,
some of the old Vandals
-didn't even take their bikes.
-(engine idling)
They just sat in their cars
to watch.
WAHOO:
The Huber Law.
What? What is that, German?
Nah, Huber Law
is when you go to work
and you go to jail at night.
That's-that's what I'm sayin'.
They're teachin' 'em a trade.
All these flunkies.
(motorcycles approaching)
All right,
let me take care of this.
WAHOO:
Go get 'em, Johnny.
(both blowing air)
It's gettin' fuckin' cold
out there.
(train horn blowing in distance)
(sniffs)
(breathing heavily)
How you want it, kid?
(Corky gasps, breathing heavily)
Fuck.
(breathing heavily)
Well, I heard a guy say later...
a bikerider, he says
that once Johnny got killed,
that was the end of
the golden age of motorcycles.
Hey, after that,
this kid took over.
He turned the Vandals
into a proper gang, you know?
The fuck we do now?
Nothin' to do.
(slow instrumental rock music
playing)
KATHY:
The gang got even bigger.
(engines roaring)
I mean, they have chapters
all over the Midwest now,
even further, you know?
I heard they started
runnin' drugs down from Canada.
You know, gambling,
prostitution, you name it.
I mean, I heard
they even murder people.
You know, and other clubs,
you know, you think of
Funny Sonny, right?
Comin' from California.
That couldn't happen today.
You know?
I mean, with other clubs,
they attack each other
on sight now.
I mean, it's a real shame.
And what about the other guys?
What happened to all the guys?
I mean, well, some of the guys
still ride with 'em, you know.
Wahoo and Corky, I think.
They're still Vandals.
("Come Softly to Me"
by The Fleetwoods plays)
-Fuck you!
-(hollers)
'Cause everybody's melon's
different.
-KATHY: You know, Cal died.
-Thinks different.
Yeah, they said he was, uh...
he was paintin' houses
in Lakewood.
He fell off a ladder,
and he broke his neck.
Somebody told me
Funny Sonny got paid five bucks
to sit on his bike
outside the movie theater
to try to get people in
to watch Easy Rider.
Whoo! (laughing)
KATHY:
The whole thing is
just ridiculous. (chuckles)
Cockroach went back home.
And can you believe this?
He's a motorcycle cop now.
Yeah, of all things.
And Zipco moved to Texas
to work on a-a shrimp boat.
That's the last I heard of him.
I don't know.
And what about Benny?
(exhales)
I love you so
Please hold,
hold me so tight...
("Come Softly to Me"
continues over speakers)
MAN:
Hey, Benny.
-BENNY: Mm.
-You hear that?
They just told me the leader
of the Vandals got killed.
A guy named Johnny.
Said some kid just walked up
and shot him in a parking lot.
Didn't you used to ride
with that guy?
Mm.
These fucking kids.
(glass rattles softly)
("Come Softly to Me"
continues playing)
(exhales deeply)
(Benny crying quietly)
(sniffles)
(continues crying)
(sniffling)
(sobbing)
KATHY:
We moved down here to Florida.
You know?
Does he still ride?
No. No.
No, ever since Johnny died,
you know,
Benny don't ride no more.
And, you know, I...
I don't think he misses it.
And things are real good.
We're real good. We're happy.
Yeah, Benny works
with his cousin now,
and things are real good.
(indistinct conversation)
(muffled):
I swear by it. I mean, at cars.
We're happy.
BENNY'S COUSIN:
...stunning cars.
He comes in,
I'm checking it all out,
and I go back to him,
and I tell him
everything that he did wrong.
How he didn't respect it,
how he didn't treat it right,
he didn't maintain it.
Then he starts getting mad.
He starts yelling at me.
-And so...
-(voice fades out)
(motorcycle engines rumbling
in distance)
("Out in the Streets"
by The Shangri-Las playing)
He used to act bad,
used to, but he quit it
It makes me so sad
'Cause I know
that he did it for me
-Can't you see?
-And I can see
He's still in the street
His heart is
out in the street
He don't comb his hair
Like he did before
But he don't wear those
Dirty old black boots
no more
But he's not the same
There's something
'bout his kissing
That tells me he's changed
I know that something's
missing inside
-Something's gone
-Something's died
It's still in the streets
His heart
is out in the streets
He grew up on the sidewalk,
streetlights shining above
He grew up
with no one to love
He grew up on the sidewalk,
he grew up running free
He grew up
and then he met me
He don't hang around
with the gang no more
Out in the streets
He don't hang around
with the gang no more
Out in the streets
He don't hang around
with the gang no more
Out in the streets
He don't hang around
with the gang no more.
(song fades)
("Bikeriders" by Lucero playing)
Kathy met a girlfriend
at a place around Grant
Swore if she got out alive,
she'd not go back again
Fellas didn't know her
And they scared her
half to death
Handprints on her jeans
She would have
just got up and left
That's when she saw Benny
standing over by the bar
Sat back down and waited
till he came over to talk
Later on that night
As she was walking
out the door
Benny started up his bike
And the boys came out
for more
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
They picked her up
and put her
On the back of Benny's bike
Now Kathy's been
with Benny Bauer
Ever since that night
She's tried to leave him
many times
Can't quite get away
Seen more jails
and courts and lawyers
Than she'd like to say
That Benny's always
been a fighter
That'll never change
Kathy takes him home
and heals him up
It's all the same
He made it from the club room
all the way out to the street
They beat him
with the barstools
But he made it on his feet
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Kathy's running to her boy
Picks him up
and takes him home
And Benny's crying
"Kathy, please,
I'm sorry, don't you know?"
I'm sorry, don't you know?
I'm sorry, don't you know?
At a bar they call Stoplight,
the fellas drink their beer
Women with their hair done
up, they make it very clear
Which one of the fellas
is all theirs
And can't be touched
They're tellin' me
That motorcycle riders
just give up
They're talkin'
to the pretty ladies
Everyone they can
I never seen the trouble
caused all by just one dance
If Benny don't get
himself shot tonight
I wish he did
when he gets home
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Now Kathy's dating Benny
and he keeps her by his side
Kathy's still the cutest girl
these boys will ever find
Riders line up BSAs
out on the scrambler's tracks
Levi's jeans
and leather jackets
Numbers on their backs
Benny's bike's too big
to race up 250 class
They make him start
way up the hill
Up by the railroad tracks
Tomorrow, they'll all
ride across
The Illinois state line
Motorcycle Blessing at
the Saint Christopher Shrine
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Kathy's walking out the door,
leaving Benny all alone
And Benny's crying
"Kathy, please,
baby, don't you go"
Ah, baby, don't you go
Ah, baby, don't you go
Kathy mean it this time
Just leave
in the middle of the night
His wallet's on your table,
his boots on your floor
The car is parked
right outside your back door
So leave him asleep
in your bed
And you're halfway to Chicago
before goodbye is said
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh.
(song ends)
("Lonely Room"
by Mickey Murray playing)
Here I go walking down
this lonely street
Laughing and smiling
with everyone that I meet
But no one knows
what's in this lonely heart
No, but me
Oh! This lonely street
Talking about
this lonely street
This lonely street
-Remind me of my baby...
-(song fading)
-(faint chattering)
-(object clacking)
-(switch clicks)
-(song ends)