Better Things (2016) s02e06 Episode Script

Eulogy

1 Mother, you had me But I never had you I wanted you You didn't want me.
Let 'em get high - Let 'em unload - (loudly exhaling) Everything Will be all right if you let it go Let 'em get high Let 'em unload Okay, so maybe I'm not perfect.
I make mistakes.
I'm weak.
So maybe there's a million other guys who would've done better than me.
But you chose to be with me.
So you're saying this is my fault? Oh, my God.
All I've ever tried to do is just be the SAM: Nuh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh.
Hold on.
You're getting there too easy.
- Too easy? - Yeah.
I don't want to know how you're gonna react.
You shouldn't know it.
That's not how people are.
Where is all this confidence coming from? It's poison for this scene.
Throw it away.
Cut it out.
Don't cry.
I love you.
Jaia.
You got to toughen up.
Believe me, this is nothing.
You got to toughen up in life and get weaker in the scenes.
- Okay? - Okay.
- (clears throat) Okay.
- And Wong Wong you're boring.
That's all.
Work on it.
Move your arms around or something; I'm falling asleep.
- Sure, Sam.
- SAM: Okay.
(groans) Let's get Henry and Josh up here.
Come on, guys, show us the gay version.
And maybe there are a million different guys that-that would have been better for you, but you chose me.
You chose me.
I chose you? I chose someone who was gonna be with me, who was gonna love me.
A-And do the right things.
That's what I chose.
I didn't choose someone who was gonna run out on me.
J I'm sorry, okay? I-I Sorry? Yeah.
See? I always like the gay version better.
(all laugh) My friends are so alone And it breaks my heart And my friends don't understand (groans) Okay, so when he says, "I'm not perfect" what is that? Why does he say that? Why? Because this is shitty writing.
That's why.
That's the only reason.
But, look, most of the work you're gonna be given as actors It's gonna be shitty writing.
Do you think you're gonna walk out of here and get a job doing a Quentin Tarantino monologue, like, straight out of the gate? No.
At best, 90% of the words that you're gonna read are gonna suck and have no real feeling behind it.
Anyone can do a scene that's well-written.
The skill you're gonna need, if you want to really work, and get steady work As steady as you can, anyway Is to make shitty writing mean something.
To elevate the work.
If you can take a bad script and make it work, they'll keep hiring you.
Okay? Good job, you guys.
Okay, let's hear it for them.
Clear this out.
MAN: I'm not paying for this.
- You already paid for it.
- This isn't what I ordered.
Okay, look, I'm not perfect, okay? I-I'm weak.
I can't hold this all day.
But there are a million - taco trucks out there.
- Look at it.
You made this.
And you chose mine.
- Okay? - I did.
I did.
- Yeah, you did.
- Yeah, I did.
But you know what? - What? - I want a divorce.
Oh, you got it.
Oh, frickin' comedians.
You guys, the problem is you're great performers.
- That's a problem? - Yes, it is.
For an actor.
No character you're ever gonna play is gonna sound like that.
You're playing a person in this scene.
People are weak.
They're not cool and fast.
What are your assets as an actor? Your weaknesses.
Whatever your fears are, whatever you suck at, that's what you got to tap.
That's what people want to see when you're playing people.
They want to see you at your weakest.
They don't want to watch some asshole comedian show off.
They want to see him fail.
That's acting.
Let 'em get high Let 'em unload Everything will be all right If you let it go Let 'em get high Let 'em unload Everything will be all right if you let it go.
(imitates engine revving, tires screeching) Can I drive now? - Cut.
Reset.
- (bell rings) Back to one.
- How many is that? - Oh, I think, 12.
Ooh, fun.
Well, you know, at least you're not spitting and making noises.
My lips are numb.
Joe.
You're killing it.
You're doing great.
- Good looking out.
- You bodied that.
Hey, sorry, guys.
Uh, the car folks are making a couple of adjustments, cool? That's all right.
At least we're sitting down.
(chuckles) - All right, let's go again.
- Okay.
(clears throat) Here we go.
Rolling.
And action.
(imitates engine revving, tires screeching) Can I drive now? Cut.
Reset.
Okay, everybody settle.
Quick, quick, quick.
Oh.
All right, here we go.
And rolling.
Action.
(imitates engine revving, tires screeching) Can I drive now? Cut! (bell rings) Reset.
(sighs) Okay.
- Could I, um, get some water - Yeah, sure.
- that's really vodka? - Count me in.
Here we go.
Rolling.
Action.
(imitates engine revving) (imitates tires screeching) Can I drive now? Cut.
Reset.
Back to one.
Is there anything different that you want from me? - Anything - No, you're fine.
Yeah, mm-hmm.
(deep voice): Okay.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
This is, like, uh Groundhog Day.
Like, a 20-second version.
Also, it's longer.
- (chuckles) And not quite as funny.
- All right, so let's go again.
(laughs) (bell rings) - Think Macbeth, all right? - Okay.
You know, it's, like, this car is your mom.
Okay.
So which act would this be, Act V, Act III? No, Act II.
- Act II? - Obviously.
So it's still setting it up.
- Yeah, of course, of course.
- Okay.
No.
It's.
.
If I said Look, I didn't mean anything like that.
Really? I don't think Baby, uh, this is Really isn't the time.
I mean I'm come on, Sam.
Ooh, look at the pineapple.
- Oh, I want some of that.
- (Sam sighs) - Hey, would you step out, please? - Oh.
Sure.
- Ha-ha.
- Fired, or - just free? - MECHANIC: Thank you.
Bring back supplies.
Oh.
Oh, man.
Okay, yeah.
Yeah, it was definitely the hood that was part of the problem.
Is this the worst job you've ever had in your life? Huh? What? No, dude.
No, no, no, no, no.
Okay, what was the worst? Okay, so, I was making this horror movie, Mm-hmm.
and, uh, my boyfriend turns into this, like, purple monster, and his hand reaches down and grabs me, pulls me up to the ceiling JAIMYON: All right, that's clear! Let's go again! O Kay.
Here we go.
- Everybody at one.
- Oh, my Joe.
(laughing) Wow.
- Action.
- Okay.
(imitating engine roaring, tires squealing) - Can I drive now? - (imitates tires screeching) Can I drive now? (imitates tires screeching) Can I drive now? Can I drive now? Can I drive now? - (bell rings) - Cut! Cut! Reset! (speaking indistinctly) - I thought that was the one.
- Yeah.
- Ooh.
- Okay.
So see that, uh, woman over there? SAM: The blonde one? They want to do a version with you and her.
- What? - And at the end, they want you to kiss.
- Wha - I'm just kidding.
I'm just kidding.
- (laughing): I got you! - Ha! That was good! - (laughing) - You got excited.
- I got e - Yeah, yeah, - you're wrapped, you're wrapped.
- I am? - We're wrapped, baby! - Ah, wrapped.
No, not you, Joe.
Oh.
I love you.
- Mwah! I love you, too.
- That was so fun.
- Okay.
- We'll catch up soon.
Thanks for the job.
- No problem.
- All right.
Let's go.
Everybody else back to one.
Run like the wind! WOMAN: Scarlet attends Stanford University, where she is a sophomore and well on her way to a degree in economics.
What do you want to do when you grow up? SCARLET: I'd like to help restructure the economies in new democracies.
WOMAN: What about just being a little girl? Yeah, I like to play and be with my friends, but also I want to start my career.
So if you were to get married and have a partner, would you support them financially? Absolutely not.
I have no desire to support anyone who cannot support themselves financially.
- Can we watch RuPaul Drag Race? - How about being - the president of the United States? - Yes, please.
Maybe.
- Yeah, for a second - RICH: Oh! There's your mom! - Oh! Did - Gentlemen, start your engines.
FRANKIE: What? That's not the channel it's on.
- And may the best woman win.
- Well okay.
Mom, do you want me to go back so you can watch your thing? No.
It's fine.
Just Geez! Mom, what do you want? I don't know it just sucks that you didn't go back.
Mom, don't do that.
It's not fair.
Okay, I don't care.
Forget it.
They'll love you when you're dead.
That's right, when you're dead they'll watch all of your stuff, and they'll be amazed at what you've done.
They'll say beautiful things at your funeral about how they were always inspired by your career.
No.
No.
I want it now.
I want it now.
I don't want to have to wait till I'm dead for my kids to appreciate me.
I'm numb from the waist down, tuck included.
I really could die, bitch; I'm giving you realness.
WOMAN: He's got a smaller waist than Barbie.
WOMAN 2: Oh, don't sneeze, honey.
You know I think I have a right to say this.
- (scoffs) - Frankie! - What? - Look I do a special thing.
I think I'm allowed to say this at this point.
Your mom is an actor, and I make things, and I put myself out there, and I've accomplished some things.
And I've been doing it, like, my whole life.
Besides the fact that it pays for all your clothes, it really sucks that you don't give a shit.
(chuckles): Mom, you're being dramatic.
Screw you, Max.
Do you know how many of your dance recitals I've been to, and your games? And your games, Frankie? And I shower you guys with praise When you try.
Why do I get none of that in return? 'Cause you're the adult, Sam.
We're the children.
And it is my job to be proud of you.
But it also, it really hurts my feelings that my work means nothing to you.
Mom, yes, we're proud of you.
And yeah, we'll say it at your funeral.
Well, I want to hear it now.
That's me.
I'm dead.
This is my funeral.
Oh, God, cut it out, Mom.
No.
I died, Frankie.
This is my funeral.
Let's hear what you're gonna say.
Mom, Mom, no Oh, no, no, Dukey.
No, baby, you're dead, too.
We both died.
We're dead.
Look.
See? Look.
Look.
This is you.
You're laying right here next to Mommy.
- How did we die? - Um well, we got in a car accident, because we were picking up you, Frankie.
And you weren't there.
You went to Sanaam's house without telling me, and we had to go way up the canyon, and we rolled the car.
Big ball of fire.
We're both dead.
This is our funeral.
Thanks.
Go.
Eulogize me.
Mom, you're, like, traumatizing us right now.
Yeah, that's the point.
Let's hear any feelings about me at all.
Okay.
It's your funeral.
(sighs) Here lies Sam.
Ha-ha! Loser! MAX: Stop it! - It's not funny! - Yes, it is.
This is a joke.
(loud footsteps going up stairs) (door slams) Do you see what she does? She is such a drama queen.
She acts like a child.
She's always the victim.
Oh, me? Don't look to me to back you up, girls.
TRESSA: You chased your mother out of her own house.
That was stunning.
Yup.
O-Oh, my God.
We didn't.
No, she completely started it.
Unless you want to hear what I have to say, don't engage me.
You're dead.
Oh, no There goes There goes my head There goes my Head We'd sneak into the little boys' room and mess around.
(laughs) - Really? - Yeah! But only small stuff.
One boy would lick his finger and then he'd stick it up the other boy's keister.
(chuckles) That's as far as it went.
No blowing or anything? Oh, no, no, no.
It was a Catholic school.
- Aw, that's tough, Ray.
- Mmm.
Nobody could be openly gay until I was too old to have any fun.
I feel like the exact same thing is happening to me.
- (phone buzzes) - SAM: Oh.
- I got to go.
- Uh-uh, no.
I got this, babe.
Really? Okay.
- You have a good night.
- Good to see you.
- Drive carefully.
- Thanks for the drink.
- There's a lot of nuts out there.
- I will.
- All right, honey bun.
- SAM: Bye, Patrick.
See ya when I see ya, Sam.
In the stories, the lies that they wrote Escape me And the winged horses That we once rode Have stopped breathing.
Hello? (murmur nearby) Hello? Oh.
Shh.
I saw God By the river Panning for gold I saw God By the river Weary and old He said, Son I used to know Where I put things I used to know Here lie Sam and Duke.
Gone so suddenly.
In attendance, her surviving daughters, Frankie and Max, and her friends, Tressa and Rich, who are now in custody of her children because she left no word of how to provide for her children in case of her death.
Oh, shit.
I got to take care of that.
Shh.
We're dead.
Sorry.
Sam's friend Tressa would like to say something.
I saw God In the forest (sniffs) Teaching Tai Chi To the trees Sam was my best friend.
Even if I wasn't hers, which is fine.
Hee.
Quiet are the dead.
Oops.
She is the best mother I ever saw.
Better than my mother.
Better than me.
I could never be like her.
Which is always a comfort.
She's like my pace car.
I love you, Sam.
I'll miss you.
Aw.
Sorry.
My mom was really cool and talented, and I really admired the way she worked so hard.
And even though she had to take care of us, she did, amazing things.
And I always watched every show she ever did, but I never told her.
And I was always proud of her, but I never told her, because I think that once I gave her that I wouldn't have it to give anymore.
And now I wish I hadn't waited.
My mom was my rock.
Every day of my life I wake up and I feel bad.
I feel like I'm not going to get through this day just with all the stuff that's in my own head.
And as soon as I see Would see her in the morning, I would unload on her: "Mom, where are my socks?" Or whatever, because I needed to give her some of my pain because I knew she could carry it when I couldn't.
And now that she's gone, I don't know what I'm going to do.
I never watched my mom's shows.
Ever.
I never saw any of her work.
And I don't really care about what she did because she's Mom.
(sniffles) And I was jealous that people knew her before I did.
And I never wanted to share her.
Not even with my sisters, because I remember when it was just me and her.
Even when my dad was there, it was just me and her.
And I know that was hard for her but I loved it.
(crying and sniffling) So I don't like that she's famous or on TV.
She's my mother.
I learned from her how to be a woman and how to be a person.
And all I can say now that she's gone is (crying) RICH: Sam.
(crying and sniffling continues) Sam was a unhinged complicated woman.
She was very short.
I never told her that, but I think we can all now say she-she was short.
Yes, she was very short.
(crying and laughing) She lied a lot.
A lot.
She was two years older than she ever told anyone.
She was the rudest, most inappropriate woman I've ever met.
(sobbing): Thank you, guys, so much.
I love you so much.
FRANKIE: I love you, Mom.
MAX: Mom, I love you.
- TRESSA: We love you.
- RICH: Yeah.
(crying): Nobody said anything about me.
I'm lying here dead and nobody cares.
(chuckling): Oh, Dukey.
Oh, Dukey.
Sweetie.
(overlapping chatter) (Duke crying) SAM (crying): No.
No, you're not You're not dead.
No.
- SAM: Tu-Tu-tuy.
- RICH: Tu-Tu-tuy.
- Tu-Tu-Tu - Tu-tuy.
I love you.
Thank you.
I love you.
Thank you so much.
I love you.
Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Rosemary's baby.
Sacrifice.
ALL (chanting): Sacrifice.
Sacrifice.
(whooping) Oh, I, I Will break you in Death is in, death is in.
(all laughing) (whooping) Death is in, man.
Oh, yeah.
FRANKIE: How does it feel? - MAX: See you on the other side.
- I, I -
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