"I want you to know the only reason I'm consenting to this is because I wish to clear my name." "Not that I care what people think, but enough is enough." "And if in the end, it helps some other people out, well, then, that's fine, too." "I consider myself normal, whatever that means." "Some people call me a freak." "I hate that word." "I don't believe in it." "Better yet, I don't believe in labels." "But what are you gonna do?" "This was the deal." "I believe that there is only one person, one person in this world, who is meant to be your soul mate, your lifelong companion." "The irony is rarely do these two people hook up." "They just wander about aimlessly." "But if you're lucky, and you do find that person, you can't blow it." "Nola was that person." "Deep." "Do you really mean what you say?" "I swear to God on my grandmother's bible." "Where are you going?" "NOLA:" "To get the candles." "Are you sure you have enough?" "Do you smell them?" "What?" "The candles, they're scented." "Yeah, it smells good." "Now, why don't you undress?" "I love you." "Me?" "Uh-huh." "I'm running on E." "You're always running on E." "(CHUCKLES)" "(MOANING)" "What can I do for you?" "A massage?" "You want a massage?" "You got it." "Uh-huh." "How does that feel?" "You have the serious touch." "A lot of men I've dealt with don't know a thing about a woman's body." "Is that right?" "Uh-huh." "But not you." "Sweetness." "Uh-huh?" "Why can't we be like this in my place?" "I can only do it in my own bed." "It has magical powers?" "Uh-huh." "Must be the mattress." "NOLA:" "Night-night." "(MACHINE WHIRRING)" "(CHILDREN CHATTERING)" "(SIGHS)" "Nola and I used to be roommates, until we had this slight falling out." "No, actually, it was a big falling out." "But we're okay now, we're still friends, but not roommates." "I had a boyfriend, and sometimes he would spend the night, usually on a weekend." "But Nola!" "Jesus, I couldn't keep track." "I'd get up in the morning and I'd run into all these strange men in my bathroom." "When we talked about it, she said," ""Look, I found the place, so if you can't hang, leave." "Bye."" "So, I said bye and I got this studio." "Now, I haven't spoken to her in a while and I kind of miss her." "In my experiences, I've found two types of men, the decent ones and the dogs." "It seems that men are taught not to be in touch with themselves, with their true feelings, but the things that they do say?" "Weak!" "You so fine, baby, I'd drink a tub of your bath water." "Congress has just approved me to give you my heat and moisture seeking MX missile." "I just wanna rock your world." "Baby, it's got to be you and me." "You may not realize it tonight, but you are sending out some very strong vibes." "May I continue?" "Well, you're lonely, you're alone, you're sad, you're confused, you're horny." "You see, you need a man like me to understand you, to hold you, to caress you, to love you." "You need me." "What's your number?" "I know I only saw you for the first time in my life a minute ago, but I love you." "I know I only saw you for the first time in my life one minute ago, but I love you." "I love you." "I love you." "Look, baby, let's go to my house right now." "Let's do the wild thing." "I mean, let's get loose." "I got my B.A. from Morehouse, my M.B.A. from Harvard." "I own a new BMW 318i." "I make 53 thou a year after taxes, and I want you to want me." "Girl, I got plenty of what you need." "Ten throbbing inches of USDA, government inspected, prime cut grade A tube steak!" "(BARKING)" "One guy was different." "Nola, I don't want to chance not seeing you again." "Whatever you wanna do, I'll do, wherever you wanna go, I'll take you." "Will you see me?" "And that's how we met." "Are you following me?" "You were following me." "Oh, I was, but I was minding my own business waiting for the 41 bus when you walked by." "I know it sounds corny, but, if I didn't follow you," "I might not ever see you again." "You're right." "That does sound corny." "Was it worth it?" "I don't know." "Following me and me following you and you don't know?" "It's too early to tell." "What's your name?" "Nola." "Jamie." "You know, following me around could be dangerous." "You look pretty safe." "Nola, I don't want to chance not seeing you again." "Whatever you wanna do, I'll do, wherever you wanna go, I'll take you." "Will you see me?" "You will?" "(WHISTLE BLOWING)" "(SCREAMING)" "(CRASHING)" "(PEOPLE LAUGHING)" "What about Nola Darling?" "What do you want to know?" "I thought she was a freak." "You know, freaky-deaky?" "You ask why'd I continue to see her?" "Do I look like a retard?" "I'm not crazy." "The sex was def." "Nola had the goods and she knew what to do." "Look, all men want freaks." "We just don't want them for a wife." "You got it?" "Yeah, I got it." "Dag!" "You know, Nola, it took you long enough to invite me up here." "I don't let just anybody up here." "Am I supposed to be anybody?" "You're not anyone, that's why you're here." "Yeah, it took long enough." "That's nice." "Thank you." "My birthday's May 19." "Do you know what that is?" "The 19th of May?" "Am I supposed to know?" "You're supposed to know." "I'm supposed to know." "Yes." "Why?" "It was Malcolm's birthday." "The 19th?" "Of May?" "Yeah." "Uh-huh." "Uh-huh." "That's cool." "He was down by law." "This whole place is yours, huh?" "Whole place." "I likes, I likes." "What's the rent?" "It's cheap." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "You know, we could put a divider right here, and you'll have a roommate, me." "You'll never know I'm here." "You're right, I'll never know." "How come every time I let a guy up here, the first thing they want to do is move in?" "Well, you work, you got a nice crib and you're fine." "What makes you think I want somebody to take care of?" "I didn't say that." "You know, I didn't say that." "I pay my own way." "I'm not looking for no meal ticket." "So, what do you do?" "What's your job?" "I'm a layout/paste-up artist." "I do mechanics for magazines, you know." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know what that shit is." "There's something about you." "About me?" "Uh-huh." "Good or bad?" "I haven't figured it out yet." "You'll let me know though, right?" "You'll be the first to know." "You'll let me know?" "You'll let me know?" "Uh-huh." "Yeah." "You'll let me know?" "Sure." "You'll let me know?" "Yeah." "Good." "It was bad enough, Nola and all her male friends, but there was also this one particular female who was after her, and that was a bit much." "I had my suspicions about their relationship, so I asked her point-blank if anything was happening." "She said no." "I know you're thinking how do I know she was telling the truth." "Well, Nola couldn't lie, even if she wanted to." "It wasn't her nature." "She could be brutally honest." "You're not born lesbian or heterosexual." "Both traits are within us." "We all have the potential to go either way." "At a young age, I knew where my preference was and I pursued it." "Nola may have been straight as an arrow." "I just want her to be open-minded." "Check it out." "Then decide." "That's all." "You didn't have to come." "Hey, when you said you were ill, I flew over." "Summer colds are the worst." "You're a sweetheart." "Hmm." "This has lots of lemon and honey in it." "Mmm." "This is good." "Thanks, doll." "Girl, you shouldn't be bedridden and nobody looking after you." "It's not that bad." "Jamie comes by every day." "Jamie?" "I'll be up and around in a couple of days." "Okay." "Hey, what's on your mind?" "What's it like to make love to a woman?" "What's it like?" "You heard." "Why do you ask?" "When you want to find out something, you ask somebody who knows." "I'm curious." "How curious?" "Relax." "You got the wrong idea." "Do I?" "I think you have the answer to your question already." "Come on, someone who likes sex as much as you do?" "Well, what makes you say that?" "I have eyes." "Oh, I forgot about your lesbian radar." "You've never had a woman before?" "Are you deaf?" "Come on, tell me something." "I can tell you what it's not." "It's not some musty man pounding away inside of you a mile a minute." "And what's wrong with that?" "I'm sorry, go ahead." "I'm through." "That's it?" "That's the best I can do for now." "If you want to find out, it's on you." "And I still say you're not Miss Naive." "I am when it comes to that." "I know you." "Drop it, Opal." "It's dropped for now." "You'll come around." "You think so, huh?" "(KNOCKING ON DOOR)" "I'll get it." "Okay." "Who?" "JAMIE:" "It's me." "And who are you?" "Hi." "Hi." "I bought you some groceries." "What a nice surprise." "I want to give you a big fat juicy kiss, but I don't want you to get my cold." "Come here." "This is better than any medicine." "Opal was nice enough to sit with me all day." "Thanks." "But I'll take care of her now." "Opal, you're welcome to stay as long as you wish." "Sweetheart, I just want her to know that if she wants to leave, it's okay." "It's no bother." "Nola and I have a lot of fun together." "What kind of fun?" "Fun fun." "We do." "We better let Nola get some sleep." "I'm going to stay with her." "Goodbye." "I like nursing Nola." "You like to nurse?" "Go to the hospital." "Close the door on your way out." "Do I threaten you?" "Afraid Nola might seek other things?" "Other things?" "Opal, you're a very beautiful woman." "I wouldn't have never thought that you were gay." "How one looks has no bearing." "I guess that's true." "You're learning." "Goodbye, Opal." "Jamie, it's not over yet." "Wake up." "I'm sick." "I know, sweetheart." "Wake up." "Where's Opal?" "Well, I'll be a son of a bitch!" "What are you doing?" "What are you talking about?" "What's up with you and Opal?" "We're friends." "What kind of friends?" "Oh, come on." "She's interested in me, but I told her it's not like that." "You told her that?" "Uh-huh." "Well, I don't like her." "She's done nothing." "I bet she dogs me out every chance she gets." "She only has good things to say about you." "Is that right?" "Mmm-hmm." "I still don't like her." "Don't be silly." "Come here." "I was the best thing that ever happened to Nola Darling." "Ask her, she'll tell you that herself." "Why, she worshipped me." "Oh, we were something else together." "When we walked down the street, heads turned." "We were one stunning couple." "She was a little rough when I first started going out with her." "Typical Brooklyn tackhead." "But I refined her." "I encouraged her to read more, took her to the best of places, exposed her to new ideas." "Why, you should have seen the way she dressed." "It was I who made her a better person." "I molded her." "Greer Childs was the sculptor, and Nola Darling was but a mere lump of clay." "Poor Nola." "She got led astray by common street trash." "All of my hard work undone." "If she'd have only listened to me and moved out of Brooklyn, why, we'd be together this very day." "It's so uncivilized over there." "I've never seen anybody who liked to look at themselves more than you do." "Don't you ever get tired?" "Never happen, baby." "I bet if you could marry you, you would." "Is there a crime in a man taking good care of himself?" "One, two, three, four, five." "Aren't you gonna join me, honey?" "I'm working." "You know, the minute you get fat, I'm leaving you." "You know, if you weren't fine," "I wouldn't even bother with you." "Don't hurt yourself." "(PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)" "GREER:" "Honey, I don't see why you ordered that salad." "This steak looks absolutely delicious." "You know, for someone who's such a health nut, it's odd you still eat red meat." "Hey, I like meat, I eat meat." "Why don't you order chicken or fish?" "Why?" "Because you say so?" "Keel over from a heart attack, see if I care." "Well, are your two hoodlum friends veggies?" "I don't know any hoodlums." "Oh, come on." "Jamie and that lunatic Mars." "You know, he doesn't even tie his sneakers." "They're neither hoodlums nor lunatics, so leave them alone, okay?" "Nola, will you forget about them?" "Honey, you and I can really do a lot in this world." "For the love of God, I don't even see what you see in those two." "I'm everything that you need." "You are tripping." "Hmm." "One." "Two." "Three." "Four..." "Hey, honey, I got a call from the agency." "And?" "Greer Childs is gonna grace the cover of GQ magazine." "Really?" "That's great." "When did all this happen?" "This morning." "I'm happy for you." "Honey, my career is really taking off, and I want you by my side." "Shh." "Don't say another word." "(AFRICAN DRUM MUSIC PLAYING)" "I ain't no psychiatrist, but I believe one of the reasons Nola Darling was doing all that boning..." "What?" "Having sex." "Boning." "Anyway, like I was saying, I think she was doing this because she probably had a bad relationship with her father." "He wasn't around." "She was looking for him." "Serious." "Anyway, I told her I wasn't her pops." "She was also greedy." "I wrote that for her." "Nola's my only child." "She's a normal daughter." "She hate that word "normal."" "Jessie, my wife, and I tried to expose her to everything that we could afford." "Piano lessons, ballet lessons, everything." "And each summer we'd send her away to camp." "But Nola never was one who could keep her mind on any one thing for too long." "Every month it would be something else." "But we didn't mind." "We still tried to encourage her." "Jessie, my wife, she's at work now." "We both tried to show Nola as much love and affection as we could, and then some." "You asked me earlier if I remember anything strange about her." "She did crawl backwards till she walked." "I always remember music in our home." "I would go to sleep and wake up to it." "My father would be at that piano day and night, night and day." "And sometimes my mother would sing with him." "I stopped taking lessons when I realized the discipline it takes." "I would never practice." "I do wish I had a brother or a sister." "Sometimes I got lonely being the only child." "Nola Darling is having herself a big family when the time comes." "Five rusty-butt boys!" "Happy birthday, sweetheart." "Thank you." "And I have another surprise for you." "Tell me." "Turn around." "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now turn around." "Turn around and close your eyes." "No peeking." "My eyes are closed." "I want you to click your heels together three times and repeat after me." ""There's no place like home." Oh, come on." "Come on, now, just one surprise." ""There's no place like home."" "This better be good." "It's going to be." "(GIGGLES)" "Two, three." "There's no place like home." "There's no place like home." "There's no place like home." "There's no place like home." "There's no place like home." "(CHUCKLING) There's no place like home." "Hit it." "(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)" "¶ There's a girl that I once knew" "¶ Who often had a friend or two" "¶ She gave them time, lovewitand rhymesublime" "¶ They would come fromfaraway" "¶ And often gather thereallday" "¶ To show their love andseewhichonewould stay" "¶ But to her it mattered not" "¶ For loyalty was not her lot" "¶ Her answer was for notforthemtoknow" "¶ There she goes on her merry way" "¶ Though she's only queenforaday" "¶ Boy and girl oftentakethiswhirl" "¶ So you'd better mind whatyousay" "¶ My advice to you, my friend, is try to find what it's about" "¶ And then you take intoaccountyourrole" "¶ Do not take some sugar in your mouth that may be sweet to you" "¶ But bitter in yourstomachlateron" "¶ What is good for you maynotbegood forme" "¶ So different stroke fordifferentfolk" "¶ Could be a real good rule" "¶ There she goes on her merry way" "¶ Though she's only queen for a day" "¶ Boy and girl oftentakethiswhirl" "¶ So you'd better mind whatyousay" "¶ Now it's time to bid adieu" "¶ It's been a pleasure knowingyou" "¶ I'll see you when it's time tomeetagain¶" "(CLAPPING)" "This is the sweetest birthday I've ever had." "Thank you." "Where'd you get them from?" "I know the dancer." "It's beautiful." "Make a wish." "(WHISTLING)" "How much did you put out for the dance?" "Not much." "Jamie, I loved it, but I know it cost you." "You didn't have to." "I'd starve a week for you any time." "Let me give you half." "Uh..." "No." "Are you sure?" "Sweetheart, it won't break me." "Suit yourself." "(TELEPHONE RINGING)" "Would you get that for me, please?" "Yeah." "Give me." "Good evening." "Yo!" "Happy birthday, Nola." "It's me, Mars." "Thank you." "But I'm sleeping." "Sleeping?" "This is your birthday, Nola." "Let me ride my bike over there." "In five minutes we can celebrate." "It is late." "Come on, call me in the morning." "I'm really tired." "In the morning it won't be your birthday, Nola." "It's not my birthday now, if you notice." "Nola." "What?" "Nola?" "What?" "Nola?" "What?" "Just let me smell it." "You are ill." "Please, baby." "Please, baby." "Please, baby." "Baby, baby, please!" "Good night." "Good night?" "Wait, wait a minute." "Is Jamie there?" "Fuck that girl." "GIRL:" "What up?" "Yo, Roxanne!" "What up?" "I've been thinking about you." "Who was that?" "Mars." "What did he want?" "He wanted to come over and wish me happy birthday, but I told him it was too late." "Too late?" "Why didn't you tell him you were with me?" "What do you see in Mars?" "I don't consider myself a poet, but I do like writing." "And Nola likes poetry." "So I would write her poems whenever she needed them." "The first one was the best." ""Remembering the first time my eyes found you gives me a private joy" ""As deliberate and provocative as the privacy of your touch" ""You see, you have me now, as you easily had me that first warm day in spring" ""Elegant and rich you seemed" ""Majestic in persona, vulnerable in form"" ""I was taken" ""I have since been inspired by your needs and courage" ""and made full by the warmth of your laughter" ""You have allowed and guided me into your heart gracefully" ""Timing, you say?" "Yes, timing" ""The eternal rhythm of natural love"" "(EXCLAIMING)" "That's the worst piece of shit I ever heard!" "And Nola fell for it, too." "I don't wanna badmouth the brother, but his poetry is not the answer." "Jamie ain't got no rap." "He's like ice cream on a summer day." "Soft." "Now, if Nola had been righteous and correct the way she's supposed to have been, she would have known true love." "Mine!" "(NOLA MOANING)" "(NOLA LAUGHING)" "MARS: (SOFTLY) Nola." "Nola." "Nola." "Nola." "(SHOUTING) Stop, stop, Nola, stop!" "Stop!" "Nola, are you up?" "Yes, I'm up." "You awake?" "I'm awake." "You up?" "I'm up, Mars." "Can I ask you a question?" "Yeah, go on." "It's okay?" "It's okay." "Yeah, okay." "Am I as good as Jamie or Greer?" "That's the dumbest question you've ever asked me." "Dumb?" "You know, I've been thinking..." "Don't think." "Nola, I think I love you." "I know I do." "We are not in love." "We're in like." "You know, I warned you from the beginning, but you wouldn't listen to me." "If anything you're in love with my love-making." "So don't mess it up." "Don't mess it up?" "Squash it then, okay?" "It's squashed." "It's squashed?" "Yes." "Good." "Later for you." "Nola." "Nola." "What?" "Did I ever tell you about the time I used to be a superhero?" "No, I must have missed that one." "Missed that one?" "Yeah." "I'm gonna tell you anyway, okay?" "Okay?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Don't peek." "No peeking at all." "Okay, turn around." "(LAUGHING) I used to be Panty Man." "You smell something?" "(MARS SNIFFS)" "Now, do Jamie or Greer make you laugh like this?" "Huh?" "No, they don't, but they don't put my panties on their heads, either." "That's true." "You know, if I can make a babe laugh, I'm over like a fat rat." "And when they stop laughing, I book!" "Uh-huh." "We shall see." "Yeah?" "I leave." "You know, it's been a while since you greased my scalp, you know." "Hint, hint." "Go get the comb and the oil, and I'll do it for you." "You'll do it?" "Yeah." "Yeah?" "Okay." "When was the last time you washed your hair?" "The other day." "The other day?" "It's not clean?" "Mmm-mmm." "It's dirty?" "It's got an awful lot of dandruff." "God." "I just washed it." "Okay." "You know, Nola?" "What?" "You should trust me with your secrets." "Why should I trust you?" "If you can't trust Mars Blackmon, who can you trust?" "Trust you with what?" "You know, your secrets." "Your stuff, like Jamie and Greer." "Not again." "You know, I don't see what you see in those two Joe neckbones." "Have you ever taken a look at Jamie's head?" "(CHUCKLING) He has a fucking 16-piece Chicken McNugget head." "And Greer?" "Look at his hair." "He's got that slicked-back shit!" "What is that?" "Lower." "Right here." "Right here." "There?" "Yeah, right there." "There?" "Yeah." "Ah." "This is better than boning." "Oh, really?" "Yeah, serious, get rid of those two Joe neckbones." "You're finished." "Finished?" "Finished." "You did the whole scalp?" "The whole scalp." "You greased it?" "I greased it." "Okay, thank you." "Nola." "What?" "Did I ever tell you about the time I used to dance with Alvin Ailey?" "No." "I thought I did." "No!" "You danced with Ailey." "Yeah, I didn't tell you that?" "We used to..." "We had this special African move." "It was like this." "(SINGING)" "Somebody come and get this sick child." "(MARS SINGING)" "(PHONE RINGING)" "NOLA: (LAUGHING) Stop." "MARS:" "Stop." "Stop what?" "(RINGING CONTINUES)" "MARS:" "Who is that?" "NOLA:" "Who cares?" "You want me to answer it for you?" "Yeah." "(NOLA LAUGHING)" "(DIAL TONE BEEPING)" "I got sick and tired of feeling like a spoke in a wheel, which is what I was." "To Nola, we were all interchangeable, simply parts of a whole." "And it didn't matter who, just as long as it was a warm body." "Nola had no devotion, allegiance, or loyalty whatsoever." "When she whispered..." "Jamie, they don't matter, don't matter at all." "You're the one I love." "...that was no consolation at all." "That "You can't tell the players from the scorecard" shit had to go!" "When we'd be making love, I found myself wondering who or what other men had been in this bed with her besides the two I knew about, doing things to what I felt was mine." "I had did enough sharing to last me for the rest of my life." "Nola hurt me to the core, but she's gotta have it." "One day you're gonna wake up in this bed, and I'm gonna be long gone." "Do you take me for some kind of fool or something?" "No!" "Idiots like your two friends." "Greer!" "What am I supposed to do?" "Wait around while you sleep with Jamie and Mars, of all people?" "I never asked you to wait!" "I think you're sick." "Now, I'm not saying that you're a nympho, a slut, or a whore, but maybe a sex addict." "If I'm a sex addict, then why don't you leave me the hell alone?" "Nola, I care!" "Now, you need professional help." "A nice lady doesn't go humping from bed to bed." "Will you please go see a doctor?" "Can you be quiet for a minute?" "Okay, fine!" "I won't say anything again, then." "If I'm a sex addict then I'm going cold turkey!" "Greer Childs, you're numero uno onmylist." "Me?" "You." "Why me?" "Now, honey, don't do anything rash like going on cold turkey." "This has to be handled very delicately." "I'm the one you should keep." "Trust me." "I know what I'm talking about." "Baby..." "Don't touch me." "Get off me!" "Nola Darling came to my office a confused and frightened young lady." "It seems as if one of her male friends told her she was sick." "She started seeing me once a week." "Gradually she opened up and that's when we started to make progress." "My whole area of sex therapy is about trying to get to the feelings." "He can't..." "I'm as honest with him as I can be." "I tell him that's his problem." "Nobody sat down with him and told him, this is what I'm doing." "Well, Nola, some types of excessive sexual activity have all the signals of being an addiction and can be treated in a fashion similar to other addictions, like alcoholism and gambling." "Your friend, if you choose to call him that, confuses a healthy sex drive with sickness." "I am no addict." "Well, it's beyond sex, Nola." "It's something else." "What we're all looking for in this brief life can be described by the word love." "Do you hear me?" "If what you want is total female sexuality, be honest." "The beautiful sex organ is between your ears, not between your legs." "I didn't hear from Nola, so I called her, and she said she had regained her self-confidence." "Well, I would have preferred one or two more sessions, but she felt it wasn't necessary." "Nonetheless, in my opinion, Nola Darling is a healthy human being." "A female doctor?" "What does she know?" "I didn't need a degree to know that the girl needed help." "(LAUGHING)" "He was the one with the problem." "The fact is he couldn't handle it." "He got turned out." "Lord, thank you for the food we are about to receive, for the nourishment of our bodies." "For Christ's sake, amen." "ALL:" "Amen." "Before we enjoy this meal," "I'd like to know whose brilliant idea this was." "Who invited you?" "And who invited you?" "I invited all of you fools." "You were gonna meet sooner or later, so why let it be an accident?" "(CHUCKLES)" "Maybe she's right." "Let's just enjoy today." "Thank God we all have a lot to be thankful for." "MARS:" "Like what?" "Well, our health and our careers." "Our careers?" "Greer, I haven't had a job in two years." "$50 sneakers and I gots no job." "Tell me how to do it when times is hard." "Start serving your plates." "Jamie, would you serve the turkey for me, please?" "Sure, dear." "What would you like, white meat or dark meat?" "Man, give me the dark, okay." "Give me some more meat, man." "Those are baby slices." "I'll give you more later, Mars." "Hmm?" "White, please." "MARS:" "Figures." "This is the first Thanksgiving I've ever cooked." "The first?" "Yeah, the first?" "Honey, this food is absolutely delicious." "Thank you." "MARS:" "Don't listen to him." "It's better than delicious." "Honey, for dessert, try some of my homemade sweet potato pie." "You'll love it." "Also I brought bottles of Martinelli's sparkling cider." "Wait, wait, wait, wait." "I didn't know." "I didn't know I was supposed to bring something." "Nola, why didn't you tell me?" "NOLA:" "You didn't have to bring anything." "It's okay?" "NOLA:" "It's okay." "It's okay?" "NOLA:" "It's okay." "But I didn't bring nothing." "NOLA:" "You're fine." "It's okay?" "Yeah." "Hey, Nola, did I ever tell you about the time I met Jesse Jackson?" "No." "MARS:" "I didn't tell you?" "No." "I thought I told you." "Tell me now." "Yeah, it was like five years ago, you know?" "I was walking down the street and I saw Jesse Jackson." "Oh, shit, I couldn't believe that." "I went over to talk to Jesse." "I said, "Jesse." You know, we talked..." "I said, "Jesse, you know," ""one day you'll make a good President of these United States."" "Look what happened." "He ran." "It was me, Mars Blackmon." "I gave him the idea, "Run, Jesse, run."" "(LAUGHING) It was my idea, "Run, Jesse, run."" "Lies!" "Lies!" "Greer, who you calling a liar?" "You heard what I said." "I believe you." "Thank you, Nola, it's the truth." "Who'd you vote for?" "Ronnie baby?" "Why do you always stick up for this..." "This chain snatcher?" "Chain snatcher?" "I didn't snatch this." "I bought this." "This is 18-karat gold." "I did not snatch this!" "What do you know?" "You're a Celtic fan." "Nola, what did you expect to accomplish by bringing us all together like this?" "To share Thanksgiving with me." "Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute." "Jamie, let's settle this between you and me." "Once and for all, man to man." "What about me?" "What about you?" "You ain't down, so chill." "I don't believe you." "This is a quarter here, right?" "Right?" "NOLA:" "I don't believe this." "Heads?" "Tails." "(NOLA LAUGHING) Call it in the air, okay?" "You gonna call it in the air?" "Yeah, Mars." "You gonna call it?" "You gonna call it?" "In the air, right?" "Can't live without a head." "Heads?" "Tails, you lose." "Nola, will you tell these two gentlemen now, it's time for them to go?" "My fate decided by the flip of a coin?" "How much longer must I tolerate these ignorant, low-class ghetto Negros?" "Who are you calling an ignorant, low-class, ghetto Negro?" "MARS:" "Word!" "Please." "Lucky for you Nola is here, because I'm gonna have to hurt you." "Oh, I'm shaking." "You'd be hurt serious." "If you don't stop, I'm throwing the whole lot of you out!" "Sweetheart, the food is quite good." "Nola, is this the first Thanksgiving you cooked?" "NOLA:" "Very first." "The first?" "The very first?" "Uh-huh." "It's good." "This is the first, though, right?" "The first." "Okay." "Honey, this food is indicative of marrying material." "Marrying material?" "Nola Darling would never marry a non-modeling, non-weightlifting pseudo black man like yourself." "That's it." "I've had it." "Pass the cranberry sauce." "Cranberry sauce?" "Greer's finished." "You know, Jamie, you're okay." "You know, I've been thinking, I'm gonna hook you up." "With Nola, you get four days, I'll get three." "That's mighty black of you." "But I get the weekends, though." "I never liked this game." "No wonder." "You know, it does take some semblance of intelligence." "Intelligence?" "Nola, will you talk to this guy?" "Greer." "Talk to him!" "Would you please not start?" "I'm gonna have to hurt you, man!" "Talk to this guy." "I'm sorry." "Mars, it's your turn, play." "It's just a game!" "I'm gonna have to hurt you now. "Insidious." Gonna have to diss you." "Okay, this is a triple letter score join." "Right here." "That is not a word!" "It is a word." "I challenge you. "Gonna"?" "G-O-N-N-A is not a word." ""I'm gonna kick your ass." It's a word!" "Illiterate, barbaric fool!" "MARS:" "Look it up, look it up!" "I quit, I quit!" "Likewise." "MARS:" "You fake Billy Dee motherfucker." "Sore losers." "Nola, there's nothing as pitiful in life as a quitter!" "No wonder he can't find a job." "If I'd have known that all three of you grown men were gonna..." "See, I told you it's a word." "...behave like children, I would have rather had a quiet meal by myself." "I'm going to bed." "Good night!" "You all make me sick!" "Oh, honey, don't personalize this just because you invited this..." "Hey, what's this "Honey" shit, man?" "...idiot." "Oh, honey, will you come back?" "Because of you she left!" "Because of you." "Due to your temper tantrum, you have ruined my evening." "Ruined a perfectly good Thanksgiving." "Wait a minute, both of you just stop." "Or you can get your coats and take this noise outside." "Jamie, if you're staying, I'm staying." "Who are you, Henry Kissinger?" "So I guess we're gonna be one big happy family." "I doubt it." "Mars, you dry off the table, and you dry the dishes and I'll wash them." "No, no, no, no, no, that's out." "Well, do you have a better idea?" "Yes, I do." "I'm washing my one fork, my one plate, my one knife." "That's it." "Later." "Makes sense to me." "There goes that home wrecker." "Home wrecker." "I know she's trying to steal my man." "No-good, sleeping-around stank bitch!" "You know, I don't blame Greer, I blame her." "She knew he was mine." "If Nola had loved Jamie, it would have been different!" "Love?" "Oh, come on, she just fucks them and leaves them!" "It's sisters like her who are corrupting our men." "The few good ones left." "I'll be damned if she takes Mars from me," "I'm four months pregnant!" "Mmm-hmm." "The decent black men are all taken." "The rest are in prison or homos." "I've gone to bed alone too much already!" "I'm from Brownsville." "We don't play that shit!" "So, what should we do to her?" "Let's set the bitch on fire!" "Your fucking days are over!" "Miss Girl will never steal another man again." "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "It was a bad dream, sweetheart, a nightmare, that's all." "These three girls were trying to set me on fire, they wanted to kill me." "They were the girlfriends of you, Mars and Greer." "But it's over now, darling, it's all right, relax." "Okay." "I had trouble sleeping myself." "Why?" "I just have some things on my mind, that's all." "Have we decided on a film yet?" "Oh!" "I forgot to tell you." "I have to help Mars look for an apartment." "An apartment?" "Mmm-hmm." "What about the movie?" "We were, but he called me at the last minute, he really needs my help." "Needs your help?" "Nola, Mars is supposed to be a grown man." "Next you're gonna tell me you have to hold his dick when he takes a piss." "Think what you want." "You know why I couldn't sleep?" "I've started to see another woman." "Oh, don't put it off on me." "Oh, you can do what you want but I can't, huh?" "Well, how holy do I have to be?" "I've tried to understand you, Nola." "But I'm beginning to feel like a fool." "Who is she?" "The dancer." "I knew it." "You don't know nothing..." "Her?" "...and you got no right to be upset." "I know, but I am." "So, how long have you been seeing Miss Danskin?" "Two weeks, but I ain't like you." "I can't spread myself between three or four different people." "Meaning?" "Meaning you have to make a decision." "What's her name?" "Ava." "Now go back to sleep and give it some serious thought." "Well, I'm so glad you found time in your busy schedule to see me." "I've been running." "Yeah." "Well, so have I." "You know, people do make time for things that they feel are important to them." "Ever since that Thanksgiving dinner, I've lost a lot of respect for you, Nola." "I didn't care for you telling me that I was sick, either." "Can we just get back to the way it was between you and I?" "I've got a job in the Caribbean for two weeks and I want you to come." "When?" "Next week." "Oh, everything has been taken care of." "It won't cost you a cent." "Thinking?" "Greer?" "Uh-huh?" "To tell you the truth, I don't know if I could stand being alone with you for two weeks." "Well, that's a nice thing to say!" "I'm being honest." "Do you realize how many women would jump at the invitation" "I've just extended you?" "I only talk to fine women." "Why are you pressing me?" "Because I've got to know." "Do you have to know this second?" "Yes." "The answer is no." "But there's no rush." "Take a couple of days." "Think it over and then let me know." "Greer, let me explain something to you." "That's the last time I wanna hear that tired story about you only talking to fine women." "Let it rest." "No matter what I said to her, she..." "What's up?" "Man, are you still talking with them about Nola Darling?" "Uh-huh." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "You sure?" "Let me say a couple of things to them, okay?" "Go ahead." "I forgot about it." "Of all Nola's many faults, none got me more pissed than her not being where she's supposed to be." "Never happened to me." "Never happened to you?" "Jamie, who's telling this?" "You." "So why don't you let me tell it?" "The girl is not dependable." "Nola is dependable." "Dependable?" "Nola's about dependable as a ripped diaphragm." "Hey, wait." "Hold it, hold it, man." "Watch your mouth!" "Man, making a date with her, it's 50-50 she shows at all." "Last year I had two tickets to the play-off game, the Knicks against the Celtics." "I asked her if she wanted to go." "She said okay." "You know, I waited outside the Garden for the first goddamn two quarters, and she never showed?" "And guess what?" "What?" "Bernard King scored 35 points." "Oh, I remember that game, Bernard was pitching a bitch!" "You remember that game?" "Bernard was serving the whole Celtic squad." "Even jammed in Bird's ugly mug." "A vicious death-defying Brooklyn Bridge high-flying 360 slam dunk." "Wait a minute, man." "The white boy is bad, and you got to give him credit." "Larry Bird is the best player in the NBA." "The best?" "He's the best in the NBA!" "The best?" "The best." "The best?" "He's the ugliest motherfucker in the NBA, that's what he is." "That's too bad, man." "She never made a move like that on me." "You know how you did that?" "You know how you got it over?" "It's because you're taller than me." "You're taller than me." "You're six feet." "I'm kind of small, that's why Nola dogged me." "There was many a time Nola came through on the clutch for me." "Yeah." "I'm tired of talking about Nola Darling, man." "I thought you said enough already." "The sister was bogus." "Twenty-four seven, 365." "Bogus." "Are you finished?" "I'm leaving, okay?" "You're leaving?" "Yeah, man, I'm booking." "Later." "You gonna leave me hanging, Jamie?" "Okay." "Call me sometime, okay?" "Jamie, call me, right?" "Yeah, man." "We'll go to a game?" "Yeah, man." "You call me?" "You call me?" "This guy." "Sweetheart, what are you searching for?" "Do you honestly ever think you're gonna find it?" "Whatever." "Whatever." "What kind of answer is that?" "I hope I find it." "Whatever it is you're searching for?" "Mmm-hmm." "I'm gonna ask you one more time." "Have you made up your mind?" "Jamie, I love you, but it's not the right time." "It can't be right now." "When is the right time?" "Soon." "Soon?" "Fuck soon!" "I've been hearing that shit from day one!" "I still want to see you." "One day you're gonna regret this." "(SCOFFS) I don't believe in regrets." "Hi, Jamie." "You can have her." "Jamie just stormed right by me." "It wasn't the first time, but it might have been the last." "Hey, what happened?" "Nola, you can tell me." "That bad, huh?" "Opal, can I have my hand back?" "I'm not in the mood." "You shouldn't let anyone upset you like this." "I'm not gonna bite." "Is this that bad?" "I can make you feel good." "Opal, it's time for you to leave." "Are you sure about that?" "Jamie?" "I want you to come over, it's important." "Forget it, Nola." "It's very important." "Please come over." "Why don't you call Mars or Greer?" "I don't want to talk to Mars or Greer." "I need to talk to you." "All of a sudden, huh?" "Jamie, I wouldn't bother you unless I really had to." "Leave me alone, Nola." "(CLOCK TICKING)" "All right." "But it better be an emergency." "Where you going?" "A friend is in need." "Well, I won't be here when you get back." "I knew you'd come if I asked." "What's so important?" "I need you." "Is that what you got me out of bed for?" "I thought something was wrong." "I need you!" "And all the men in Brooklyn." "That was before, I can change." "Once a freak, always a freak." "You don't mean that, Jamie, take it back." "I ain't taking a goddamn thing back!" "You don't mean it!" "I don't?" "Come here." "Kiss me." "Come on." "I love you." "You don't love me!" "Make love to me." "You don't want me to make love to you." "You want me to fuck you!" "Is this the way you like it?" "Huh?" "Is this the way you like it?" "Does Greer do it like this?" "What about Mars?" "Who else?" "Who else?" "You're hurting me!" "Whose pussy is this?" "Whose is it?" "It's yours!" "(PANTING)" "(SOBS)" "Here I am trying to dog you the best I can." "And what bothers me is I enjoyed it." "(CRASHING)" "I still don't practice enough like I should." "Sounds fine to me." "Anything would sound fine to someone with untrained ears." "I am not that bad." "So, why are you showing up today, Nola?" "I've been thinking about you." "I haven't heard from you in ages, and you got my number." "You have mine, too." "Well, I guess that makes us even." "Look, Clo, I've been thinking about you, so here I am." "I know." "Well, what happened between you and Jamie?" "Dag!" "You know me better than I know myself." "I only lived with you for two years, Nola." "I know." "That's why I'm here." "So, let's hear it." "I think I might have really fucked up this time." "This time?" "Clo, I need your help, and you're playing." "Okay, I'm sorry." "I never saw Jamie act like this before." "He hates me." "Come on, I don't think he hates you, Nola." "I'm telling you, he does." "Well, I don't even wanna try to guess what you did to make him feel this way." "It was the same stuff, my other friends." "Except, I guess, not anymore, huh?" "Well, I don't know what to tell you." "Nothing?" "Don't be a stranger." "You know where I live." "Listen, I don't wanna sit around here and let you get me all down." "You wouldn't let me if I tried." "Sorry." "Nope." "I miss my roommate." "So do I." "You do?" "Mmm-hmm." "Okay, I'm gonna get back to my music." "Okay, I'll be quiet." "You know, in retrospect, I can now see that Nola saw Mars, Jamie and myself as a whole." "Not as three separate individuals but as one organism." "We let her create a three-headed, six-armed, six-legged, three-penised monster." "And it was all our fault." "(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)" "(INAUDIBLE)" "Baby, you're late." "What happened?" "I'm sorry, it couldn't be avoided." "Listen, let's go into Manhattan and have brunch, okay?" "I'm sorry, Greer, I can't." "Why not?" "I won't be seeing you anymore." "Are you going away?" "No, I'll still be here." "Am I supposed to cry or something?" "You're not supposed to cry." "Well, I hope not because I don't shed a tear for nobody." "Can we end this pleasantly?" "I'm being pleasant." "You're cutting your own throat and you know it, honey." "Goodbye, Greer." "Yeah, okay, fine." "Hey, I'm not pressed." "There are plenty of fine, super-fine women in Manhattan." "You never did have enough drive or ambition for me." "You don't wanna be somebody!" "I am, so forget you!" "Keep your tight ass here in Brooklyn!" "I'm gonna get me a white girl." "You could have had it all!" "Forget you!" "It's not gonna work, Mars." "It's not gonna work?" "What's not gonna work, Nola?" "You and me." "You and me?" "What about me and you?" "Me and you is not gonna work, either." "That ain't gonna work, either?" "No." "Who's it gonna work with, Nola?" "Jamie, if he'll have me." "Jamie?" "Nola, what do you mean it's not gonna work?" "It's working." "These things take time." "I'm sorry, Mars." "You're sorry?" "Do you know, when I woke up this morning" "I had a feeling I was gonna have to slice you." "You can't axe me first, I axed you." "What's the matter?" "Nothing's the matter." "I'm not funny anymore?" "It's not that." "You're always funny." "I'm always funny." "Then what the fuck is it, then?" "I don't love you." "You don't love me?" "Nola, what's love got to do with anything?" "Goodbye, Mars." "Goodbye?" "When my last girlfriend tried to pull this same shit, I dumped her right in this pier!" "You know you wanna laugh." "You know you wanna laugh." "It's time for you to grow up." "Grow up?" "Yeah." "Bye." "Bye?" "You know, Nola, you done me wrong." "Please, baby." "Please, baby." "Please, baby." "Baby, baby, please!" "Nola!" "I tried calling you at home." "I knew you'd be here." "I've made that decision." "It's you I always wanted." "What about Mars and Greer?" "One on one, you and me." "I've been thinking." "I need to chill for a while." "I'm talking about sex." "I've decided I need to be celibate." "Celibate?" "You know." "But why now?" "To cool out." "Give myself a rest." "A rest?" "I'd rather not get into it." "Don't you think that your near-rape of me was a good enough reason?" "I never did a thing like that before in my life." "You're always searching, Nola." "For what I'll never know." "I do need understanding from you." "But you go from one extreme to another." "There's no middle ground with you." "No stability!" "Why am I so lucky?" "And what am I supposed to do while you're being a nun?" "See your dancer friend." "That was nothing." "It won't be that long!" "I'm moving forward, Nola." "I don't deserve this." "I love you." "Nola!" "You mess up one more time..." "That celibacy thing didn't last too long." "Who was I fooling?" "As for Jamie, I just got a little crazy." "I should have never gone back in the first place." "It was a momentary weakness." "He wanted a wife, that mythic old-fashioned girl next door." "But it's more than that." "It's about control." "My body, my mind." "Who was gonna own it?" "Them or me?" "I am not a one-man woman." "So there you have it from a number of people who all claim to know what makes Nola Darling tick." "I think they might know parts of me." "MAN:" "Slate in, mark it." "SPIKE:" "Dad." "Bill Lee." "Okay." "SPIKE:" "Action." "Joie Lee." "SPIKE:" "Mark it." "(GIGGLING) Raye Dowell." "SPIKE:" "Say it again." "Raye Dowell." "SPIKE:" "Action!" "John Canada Terrell." "SPIKE:" "Tell us one of those stories, Tommy." "Well, when I was a little boy about 12, my daddy called me to his side, he said, "Son, you're growing up now." ""So what you wanna do with yourself?"" "I said, "Well, Daddy, I wanna be a man."" "He said, "Well, you know how to be a man, you got to cry."" "I said, "I don't wanna cry." He said, "But sometimes you got to cry." ""It don't matter." Tommy Hicks." "(ALL LAUGHING)" "SPIKE:" "Slate." "Tracy Camilla Johns." "Action!" "Spike Lee." "(ALL LAUGHING)" "Cut!"