"We're all just sensitive people." "Marvin Gaye had it right." "Maybe too sensitive." "See, with sensitivity comes these feelings." "And with all these feelings comes the desire to wanna shut them out." "And I ain't pointing fingers because I know somewhere between birth and death, we learn how to twist some of the simple stuff you gave us into drugs." "You need to listen." "Where between the first day and the day of rest did the coca plant and weed and..." "I mean, yeah, we altered them, abused them." "I guess I am pointing fingers, huh?" "But I gotta tell you from us sensitive creatures, it's a real bitch sometimes having to choose between sitting in our feelings and twisting one up..." "Fire." "... throwing one back, tying one on." "Fire." "In some ways, the drugs end up replacing you." "It's true." " Sad but true." " Leave me alone!" "We worship them, live for them." "Sometimes even die for them." "They become our closest friends." "And then at some point, we have to let them go." "So in a way, getting sober is a kind of death." "It's like killing your oldest and best friend." "And maybe we're too sensitive for that." "Mr. And Miss Smith, it's my sad duty" "to inform you that we took your kid and killed him." "And we regret to inform you that we're gonna dig a big, deep hole and dump your kid in it." "Thanks for the memories." " I don't want your money, Dad." " It's a job." "All of a sudden, you have interest in what I do." "It's not all of a sudden, William." "I just never needed you before." " Oh, thanks." " That's not what I meant." "I'm paying." "I'm just a client." "No, Dad, I can't just call you some client named Bill and then walk away when the gig is done." "It doesn't work that way, you know that." "Besides, I'm not working." "I cleared out my staff for a few days." " I'm gonna spend time with Ben." " I get it, but Duren's my best friend." "Oh, great." "Red, hey, how are you?" "You're looking good." " Major Duren." " Yes." "Ben." "Ben, how are you?" "You're growing up there, son." "Growing up big, huh?" " You look great, sweetheart." " Thanks, Bill." "That's different, huh?" "Ben, you know how to play blackjack?" "Texas Hold 'Em is the real wheel." "Another wiseass Banks." "That's rare and refreshing." "Sit down, kid, we're gonna play some poker." " Go on, you've got your own money." " Come on." "Come on, kid, let's take some of Duren's money." "Yeah, Texas Hold'em here." " You just shuffle the cards." " Just shuffle the cards." "So you turned the loft into a bedroom?" "Yeah, yeah." "You think he's gonna like it?" " Are you nervous?" " Stupid, right?" "Same kid I've had for 17 years." "Well, you know Ben, just give him two nights and he'll love it." " Yeah, okay." " Okay." "Lula's excited about coming next Saturday." "Oh, and Ben's English paper is due next week and the form for his SAT class is in his backpack." "Got it." "Thank you." " I'll see you on Tuesday." " Okay." " Bye." " Bye." "Your gramps and I won a weekend pass at Quy Nhon." "We buy this monkey off some kid for 5,900 piastres, that's about 50 American." "So we bring him back to base and he's an instant hit." " Everybody just loves him." " I didn't love him." "That's because he pissed in your boots all the time." "Yeah, and who taught him that?" "I always get blamed for everything, huh?" "Let's see." "Oh, I got a straight flush." "Anybody beat that?" " Money, honey." " Yet again, again." "All right, William, how much are you into me now for, huh?" "Seventy-two dollars and a muffler." "Seventy-two and a muffler." "I'll make a deal with you." "You take a ride out and take a look at this hope-to-die drunk that I'm dealing with and we're even-steven." "Well, I'm looking at a hope-to-die drunk." " I can hold my liquor, boy." " Clearly, one in each hand." "Yeah, well, this guy is a serious state of affairs." " Yeah?" " His son stepped on a landmine." "His unit was pulling back from what they thought was a safe zone and 19 years old and cut in half." " What's this got to go with $72?" " And a muffler." "See, the father won't stop drinking." "Now, he's got another kid at home, 16." "But the kid's got no mom and no big brother now." "Now, your dad brags about how you can help all these people." "I thought maybe you might like to try to help him out." "Well, why don't you finish that monkey story first and then we can talk about it?" " How about that?" " All right." "So the monkey's living in the barracks with us and pretty soon, we get called back to the bush." "And we gotta find a place..." "A place for..." " Duren?" " Oh, God." "Dad?" " What is it?" " It's not good, call 911." "Oh, what is this?" "Oh, God." "Now, easy, easy." "All right, Ben, turn him over on his side." "There you go." "You'll be all right." "Loosen up that tie." " Oh, my God." " I'm all right." " What is that?" " That's his liver." "You're all right, just breathe." "There you go." "Just give him some air, give him some room." "What's a guy like Duren do?" " A guy like what?" " A drunk." "What do you mean, for work?" "Well, he used to be a soldier." "And then he trained guys on the base." "After he couldn't do that, they..." "They assigned him to work with families who lose a kid to war." "Is that like a funeral planner?" "Yeah, something like that." "Hey, I'm sorry about this, Ben." "We'll do something cool tomorrow, all right?" "It is what it is." " Everything cool, man?" " Yeah, I'm good, man." "Hey." "They're gonna release him." "Well, who's his doctor?" "You want me to talk to him?" "He's been admitted over a dozen times this year." "The doctors told him to get his affairs in order." " Does his daughter know?" " I tried to call her, but..." "Get ahold of her?" "I left a message but they don't talk." "He's drinking himself to death, William." "Please, take my check, help him." "At least then he can say goodbye to his daughter." "Oh, no." "I thought I made it clear." "I'm not interested in your help." "You did." "So I need to make it clear to you that I have a real aversion to people dying on me." "Oh, son, look." "I got two hollow legs, a liver made of twisted blue steel." "Nah." "Unless that thing is filled with 80-proof of happiness." "No." "You might be on to something, Duren." "Martini IVs, I like it." "Yeah, only one problem." "How you gonna get the damn olive in the tube?" "There goes my mojitos in a bag." " You all right?" " Yeah, I'm fine." "Tiptop." " Well, maybe not." " All right, hang in there." "Hang in there, Duren." " You want me to get you some water?" " Oh, no." "Oh, no, I'm fine." " Get out of here, I'm fine." " Duren, you sure?" "Will you get out, please?" "What are you doing, Ben?" "Duren doesn't sound so good." "No, he's throwing up blood." "Don't touch that, you understand?" "Not on my watch, okay?" "It tastes like crap." "To some people." "You think somebody like Duren liked it right out of the gate or did he have to get past the taste?" "I don't know." "Everybody's wired differently, you know?" " How about you?" " What about me, Ben?" "Did you like it right out of the gate or did you have to work at it?" "I liked it right out of the gate." "Okay, let's get back to work." "I hope I didn't ruin your son's weekend." " What?" " Well, it's just gonna be nice to have someone else to blame other than me." "Believe it or not, William," "I used to be a pretty good-looking guy in my day." "Oh, you're not so shabby." "Oh, son, shabby passed me by a long time ago but being Irish, I do appreciate the bullshit." "Here we go." "Hi, good to see you again, son." "I have some military matters I need to discuss with your father." " He's sleeping." " Would you wake him up, please?" " Can't." " Can't or won't?" "Either way, he told me to leave him alone." " Kenji, this is my friend, William Banks." " Hey." "I bring him around when there are special circumstances." "Now, excuse me." "Mr. Simon?" "Reveille, wake up." "Lonnie, wake up, wake up." "Now, listen up, sir." "This is your son's duffle bag." "And I have a list here we need to go through and check off." "This is proof that we returned his belongings to you." "And we're gonna need a signature." "Now, if you can tell me what funeral home you and your family plans on using," "I can go ahead and get that all started." " Samuels and Son." " Samuels and Son." "And how many days would like you for viewing?" "I wouldn't." " Would you like other arrangements?" " I would not." "You know, just put him in the ground before he brings any more embarrassment to this family." "Sir, before we proceed with your son's arrangements, we'll have to discuss your current and future states of inebriation." "You're drunker than me." "I have consulted a professional in the field of alcoholism." "There's not enough gum or mints in the world to cover how bad you got it, sir." "And my future states are none of your damn business." "Now get out of my house." "Take your friend with you." "Out." "Hey, Duren, let's go." "Let's go." "Hey." "I really appreciate you coming, thank you." "I'm sorry about your loss." "He was a good man." "It's good to see you." "Come on, kid, I told you I'd be here." "You gonna be okay?" "I don't know but I had to pay my respects and say hi to your dad." " Mr. Simon..." " Hey, no." " You're not welcome here." " Pops, chill, okay?" "No, no, no, I want you to leave now." " He was Cassius' friend." " Oh, his friend, huh?" "Let's not make a scene, okay?" "I'm not the one making a scene here, this homo is." " Okay, Mr. Simon." " Pops." "I just came to pay my respects, that's it." "Well, you paid them, okay?" "Now go." "Your son..." "Your son, Cassius?" "You don't know your son at all." " Nothing." " I knew him a lot better than you did." " I hope..." " Yeah, yeah, I knew him." "I just want you to hear." "Yeah." "Hey, get off of me." " Sir, you need some fresh air." " Wait, hey, what?" "I know what you all are thinking." "I know what you're thinking." "He's my son, okay?" "He's my son." "I don't need this so, just, you know..." "Whatever you're thinking, I don't care." "Have some respect." " You wanna talk to him?" " Yeah, that's a good idea." "Hey, you need a ride home?" "Oh, no, I gotta stay." "I got more friends and family coming, so I better stay." " Cool if I wait with you?" " Suit yourself, man." "This is my son, Ben." " Hey." " Hey." " So do you all work for the Marines?" " No." "Why are you hanging around with that guy?" "Well, because..." "Because he's a drunk and he needs someone to look after him." " You get paid for that?" " Sometimes." " He paying you?" " No." "Good, because you're doing a crap job." "Yeah, you're probably right." "I think I can help your dad, though." "How you doing, Kenji?" "Hey, Ben, do me a favor." "Take these bottles out, will you?" "Hey, can I ask you some questions about your old man?" " How often does he drink?" " 24/7." "And when he drinks, does he talk to himself or sometimes see things that you don't see?" " Is that from the drinking?" " Yeah." " Why?" " After a while, it affects the brain and makes him act like somebody totally different." "Now, listen, when he comes home, he's not gonna be happy to see all of us." "He's definitely not gonna be happy to hear what we have to say." "So you hang in there." "Just remember, we don't have to get it all done all at once, okay?" " What the hell are they all doing here?" " Pops, we need to talk." "Hey, what's going on?" "Where's all my stuff?" "You drank it all, Pops." "Don't you remember?" "No." "No, I didn't." "Are you hiding it from me, huh?" " You got a flask?" " Yes, I do." " Give me some." " No." " What?" " No." "Mr. Simon, my name is William Banks." "Major Duren here asked me to see if I can help you." "You don't know nothing about what I need." "I know you need to be sober for your son's funeral." "You're here to bury my son, okay?" "You stay the hell out of my business, all right?" "Leave me alone." "Pops, please, just listen to what they have to say." " Get out of my way." " Don't, just listen." " Get out of my way." " No, please." " Look, get out of my face, all right?" " No, you need to listen." " Hey." "Hey, leave me alone." " You need to listen." "Hey, you need to leave me alone!" "That's enough." "Take it easy, man." "Lonnie." " Lonnie?" " Yeah." "Come here." "Where are we going?" "Ben, go sit down." "Go sit down right now." "You okay?" "This your idea of help?" "Actually, it's a pretty decent start." " How'd you figure that?" " He heard us." "No, he dipped out." " Is he gone?" " Yeah, but he won't get far." " What do you mean?" " I got his wallet." "You know where he is?" "Yeah." "Triple, Johnnie Walker." "Mr. Simon." "What are you doing in here?" "Get out of here." " Dad." " Get out of here." "Go." "You know, you can't undo that, Mr. Simon." "You can't unring that bell." "What are you talking about?" "The things you say and do." "It sticks to our kids forever." "You know that?" "Trust me." "I've got my crap stuck all over my kids." "Kenji?" " Yo, Kenji, you all right?" " Do I look all right, man?" "Look, I know it's messed up." "Really?" "And how the hell would you know?" "My dad, your dad, they're not that different." "Trust me." ""Not that different"?" "What did your dad do?" "Dude, what didn't my dad do?" "I don't know, time?" "He did that." "All right." "You can climb into that bottle, you can stay there as long as you can, but nothing's gonna change out here." "The world ain't gonna stop spinning." " It might." " For a minute maybe, yeah." "Then Child Services comes in." "You lose Kenji." "I know drunks." "I've been a drunk all my life." "And I'm gonna die a drunk." "But it's okay because I got nothing to live for." "Screwed up everything I ever had." "Marriage, my daughter." "You know why I got this job?" "Because nobody else wants it." "Hell, I only got one friend left in this whole world." "And believe me, he ain't no prize." "Am I right?" "You got any reason to live, Lonnie?" "Because nothing good is gonna come out of this." "Not for you." "Not for your son." "Either one of them." "I was sober for 20 years." "Good." "My son, he didn't do nothing to deserve what he got." "Ended up dead, he didn't do nothing." "His mother, she understood." "She told me that he was gonna be different." "She told me and then the Lord takes her away and then without her between us," "I mean, the boy, he just stopped hiding his true self." "He stopped hiding..." "He stopped hiding it." "I mean, he even went so far as to bring his friend home, my house." "Never supposed to be a Marine and now..." "You know, the day he was born, he had this way about him, you know, this other way." "And I took this soft kid and I made him go to a hard place." "A dangerous place." "I did that." "And maybe I should have..." "I mean, maybe I should have..." "I could've just..." "Let's get going, Lonnie." "It'll be all right." " You'll let me finish my drink?" " Yeah, go ahead, finish." "That's good, attaboy." "Watch your step." "I'm good." "William, I wanna thank you for doing this." "Well, I can hook you up too." "Nah, we already crossed this bridge." "When they make the olives itty-bitty small like that, call me." " Thanks." " You got it." "So that guy who was at the wake, he was your brother's..." "Yeah." "Got it." " Your dad didn't..." " Man, he can't even talk about that." "Yeah, I saw." "Oscar, though, he's a good guy." "Cassius really loved him, didn't wanna leave him." "Why did he?" "My mom died." "My father took over the house." "My brother didn't stand a chance." "No!" " Take it easy." " No!" "Take it easy, take it easy." "Let me out of here!" "I can't do that, Mr. Simon." "You got sober before." " So you know what's coming." " Yeah." "What if I can't do it this time?" "Well, I think you can." "I think you can." "You'll be all right." "Everything's gonna be all right." "Hey." "Wild night, huh?" "Yeah." "Where's Duren?" "Oh, he's in there passed out with Kenji's dad." " Who's Kenji?" " Duren's case." " You took him on." " Like you said, wild night, right?" "Come on." "Yeah, Duren helped me bring him in last night." "Duren?" "Duren?" "Duren?" "Listen, I need to go out with your grandfather." "I need you two to watch Lonnie." "Can you define watch him?" "Don't worry, he's restrained, he's asleep." "But if he wakes up, you call me, I'll come right back." "Not the answer I was looking for." "Hi." "Pops?" "Kenji, come here, I gotta talk to you." "Come on, come sit by me here." "Come on, I gotta talk to you about what I've done." " Pops..." " I know what I've done, okay?" "I can see it all over your face." "I want you to let me out of here now." "Because I want you to know that you can trust me." "Well, I'm not gonna do that." "I want you to know that I know you're all I've got left." "I just want you to get better." "That's right." "Come on over here and let me out of here." "Come on." "I can't do this." "I mean, I'm fine, right?" "Look at me, I'm fine." "I gotta go to the bathroom." "Forty-three years." "Forty-three years of the drinking and the B.S. Stories and..." "You know what?" "I still can't let the son of a bitch go." "I don't think there's more that any of us can do." "I think he needs to..." "Do you have any idea where he might be?" "Maybe check his daughter's house." "Come on, Kenji, I've gotta..." "I've gotta go to the bathroom." "I can't." "We've been here before when your mama died." "But we survived." "Let's handle our own business, okay?" "Just you and me together." "Kenji, you hearing me, huh?" "Are you hearing me?" "What...?" "What...?" "I know it's hard, but you gotta do it." "It's the only way." "Don't listen to him." "Don't be like your brother." "Don't be like your brother." "Listen to your old man, huh?" "Take these damn things off me!" "Leave him." "Come here, come here." "Last chance, Kenji." "That's right, come here." "That's right, boy, take these off." "Stop." "What are you doing?" "What are you doing?" "Get back here now!" "Take these damn things off!" "Kenji!" "Kenji, listen." "Just listen to me." "There's Duren's car." "He's here." "This is good." "This is good." "Hey, can I ask you something?" "Sure." "Why do you think it is the way it is?" " What?" " You and me." "The way we're wired differently." "I've thought about it more than you know over the years." "Particularly when things got so bad for you." "I turned it over in my head again and again." "What'd you come up with?" "I really don't believe that we are different." "You stopped by your daughter's house." "We saw your car out there." "How's she doing?" "Bill, I couldn't go in." "I couldn't." "The truth is, I'm not so comfortable, kid." "I could use a little help." "How about that hollow leg?" " It's rusted." " And the liver?" "Dusted." "I was wondering if you..." "I could appreciate it if you could help me out a little." "You see," "I'd really love to see my daughter just once when I don't stink." "The kid doesn't work miracles, Duren." "I know." "We'll get you set up, Duren." "We'll get you into better shape." "Thanks, kid." "Wouldn't mind playing a little cards." "I feel like shit." "This is only the first step." "I know." "I'll be with you straight through the funeral." "Then we'll get you into a program, help you stay clean, all right?" "We'll be out front." "You come out when you're ready." "Hey." "Hey." "How are you feeling?" "I need a drink." "This flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation for the honorable and faithful service rendered by your loved one." "Arms!" "Ready." "Fire." "Aim, fire." "Aim, fire." "Present." "Order." "So I'll pick you up later today, all right?" " I'll be ready." " No, you won't." "But, hey, that's cool." "Well, day one, sober, right?" "Minute by minute." "So how long did it take?" " For what?" " For your old man to finally get it." "He's still getting it." " They pulling back from what they thought." "Excuse me." "Hey." "Looks like you're gonna be okay." "Okay." "Hey, I'm gonna do better, all right?" "I'm gonna try to do better." "Hey, Duren." "You ready?" "Absolutely." "You never finished that monkey story." "Oh, yes, the monkey." "So we had to leave him at the base with the cook." "We go out to the bush for two weeks." "Come back, no monkey." "He disappeared on us." "So we finally find him at the base bar." "Dead." "Drank himself into an early grave." "That's terrible." "Oh, what's terrible is he left us with an $800 bar bill." "Handsome group you got there, Duren." "Yeah." "Yes." "You coming, Duren?" "Duren?" "Duren?" "You make birth." "You make death." "Then you ask us to hang out in between and figure out the rest." "I mean, you give us the ability to create all these feelings." "And then you give us all these drugs, all these ways to help us not to feel them anymore." "The drugs become our closest friends." "The thing we love the most." "I'm sorry." "Things got a little out of control." "And I'm sorry about Duren." "I guess Ben's gonna stay a while longer." "Looks that way." "Well, just drop him off whenever he's ready." "And time and time again we choose drugs." "And at some point, we have to let them go." "I mean, we're all just sensitive people."