Original subtitles

It's not fair. You said I could have a job as long as I wanted.

At least I'm giving you two weeks' notice.

I'm sorry.

Oh, man!

What can I do for you?

Well, I think my baby needs her oil changed because she's been wheezing and

pumping.

Fine. Pull on in.

It's a lovely day, isn't it?

This baby is very special to me.

Is there a particular oil that you recommend?

It doesn't matter. It all comes from the same place.

Oh, really?

I thought there was something about the, um... What's that word?

Viscosity. You know.

Word, isn't it?

Viscosity.

Is something wrong?

My boss just told me I'm out of a job.

Excuse me.

Al's closing this place.

You never know, it might lead to something better.

I wouldn't bet on it.

His name is Ricky Houck.

He's very intelligent, very angry, and very talented.

Talented at what?

Go in there and see.

This is a joke, right? No, no, no. Go on. Go in and see.

Let's go!

Go in! Go in!

I just got my two -week notice.

It's the only notice I ever got. After 19 unnoticeable years, nobody said, take

a shot.

Well, I don't want what they've got.

I don't want anything at all.

So he's a poet.

He's got a lot of potential, but it's just never gotten past that door.

Why?

Well, a long time ago, Ricky built this great big wall around himself to save

his life.

And now he doesn't know how to take it down.

He can't knock it down.

He can't climb over it. All he can do is write on it.

And every poem he writes is a cry for help.

But he's only 19.

How could someone so young become so hopeless?

That's what you're going to find out, Angel Girl.

When you walk down the road,

heavy burden, heavy load, I

will ride and I will walk with you.

I'll walk with you till the sun don't even shine.

Every time I tell you I'll walk with you.

Walk with you.

Believe me, I'll walk with you.

You guys are all set.

That'll be one dollar.

Just one dollar?

That is a special.

Consider it a going out of business sale. No one will miss a couple quarts

oil.

Hey, Monica.

You're early. Hello, Al.

Ricky, this lady's going to do the inventory of the place and sell

that's not nailed down.

Like oil.

Oil, filters, tires.

I'll be accounting for everything.

That'll be $19 .99.

I got it.

Want me to fill her up?

No, Dad.

Bathroom this way?

Ricky, you build up the paper towels in there yet?

Not the best graffiti I ever read.

It's called a poem.

How would you know?

You don't go to the university, do you?

Didn't think so.

Stop posing and take off the hat.

Thanks.

You want to show Monica around the place, Ricky?

I got to go pick up Joey first.

Joey? His little brother.

He picks him up from school every day.

Got a lot of homework?

Uh -huh.

Hey, do you know how to invent stuff?

I don't know.

Why? Well, there's this invention contest for kids down at the college,

winner gets to go to a science camp.

and, you know, other kids are doing it, and I'd really like to do it too, but I

don't want to be in any trouble.

So it's okay if I can't, but I'd really like to if I could.

What do you have to do?

Sign up for the college.

You want to go now?

Oh, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool.

Hey, so did Dad ever do the stuff with you?

No. Joey, Dad had other stuff on his mind.

Like what?

The stuff.

I'll get you signed up.

Hi,

Monica.

This is Joey.

Ah, hello, Joey.

Nice to meet you. You too. Sorry we were late. We had a stop to make.

Yeah, I have to sign up for the invention convention, because I'm going

inventor. An inventor?

How exciting.

What are you going to do? The kid's got brain.

We'll be right back.

So, um, what kind of invention are you going to make?

Well, I don't know, but I'm going to need a lot of stuff for it.

Ah.

Well, there's a lot of stuff you could use around here.

Do you like macaroni and cheese?

Yes, I love it.

Hey, man, what's up?

Same old, same old. Looking for action wherever we can find it.

Where you been?

Wasting my time here.

Now it's closing the place, so I gotta start looking for another job.

You gonna be able to hook yourself some gas?

Sorry, man.

I was got this lady here counting every nut, bolt, and gallon in the place.

Oh, my.

Yeah.

Anyway, you guys better get out of here before my brother starts thinking I'm up

for something. See ya.

Hi.

Oh, I was here earlier and I lost my student ID. You haven't seen it around

anywhere, have you?

Uh... Oh, yeah.

I think I saw it in the... in the lost and found.

Wait here. I'll go get it.

Oh, great.

You can't do anything on campus without your ID. But I guess you know that.

Yeah, just part of going to school.

Well, thanks.

Um, you should check out this class sometime.

The teacher's awesome.

What are you doing in there?

I was taking infantry.

When Al says everything must go, he means everything.

That's a lovely poem you wrote on the wall in there.

Who said it was mine?

Two weeks notice, 19 unnoticeable years.

Let me see, you're 19, you're out of work, and Al told me.

Hey, guess what?

Monica's coming for dinner tonight.

This is Monica.

Hello, Mrs. Hawk.

Hi.

I'm working with Ricky for a few weeks, and Joey asked me back to dinner. I hope

you don't mind.

She really likes macaroni.

What kind of work are you doing at the gas station?

Oh, well, I'm... Nothing.

Nothing always means something.

What'd you do?

I told you, nothing.

Al's going out of business, and I'm out of a job.

It's no big deal.

He gave me two weeks' notice.

Well, good.

That'll give you plenty of time to find another job.

What's this?

Nothing. It's just a flyer from the university.

What are you doing with it?

I haven't the slightest idea why I would ever want to go to college. Right, Mom?

Don't you talk like that to me.

You walk in here, tell me you've lost your job.

Bring some woman home to dinner. Don't even give me a chance to get cleaned up.

And now you're dreaming about greener pastures?

I guess your brother and I don't matter.

Fine.

Do what you want.

Just like your dad.

He's just worried we're going to grow up and leave her.

But we won't, right, Ricky?

time, Martha.

Well, if it isn't the merry mechanic.

What are you doing here?

Aren't you a little old? Watch it, but when it comes to education, there's no

such thing as too old.

Sit down.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

Some of you have come up to me recently with some questions about the assignment

that's due on Friday. So, let me clarify to you exactly what I want.

I want you guys to write about a feeling, an emotional reaction

to the world around you. And it can be about anything. It can be about a puppy,

a flower, or a basketball game, or a pretty girl. It doesn't matter, as long

it's honest.

That's what I'm looking for.

Now, I don't expect you guys to write like Wordsworth, but let me give you an

example of what this man could do with just one moment in time.

Okay?

She was a phantom of delight when first she gleamed upon my sight a lovely

apparition sent to be a moment's ornament.

Her eyes as stars of twilight fair like twilight to her dusky hair, but all

things else about her drawn from Maytime and the cheerful dawn, a dancing shape,

an image gay to haunt, to startle, to waylay.

I won't do it again.

Love you with open arms, without fear of falling.

I have fallen before.

We learn by failure like a baby's first steps, crumbling, getting up, crying as

we reach for the one we love.

And I won't do it again.

What's this supposed to be?

It's a book of poetry yet to be written.

Thanks, Monica, but that's not really my style.

You write on the walls of restrooms because you think it's temporary,

you think your words are garbage, not worthy of a real place in the world.

But they are worthy, Ricky.

They are your words, your thoughts, and they deserve to be remembered.

They need to be written down on paper.

I don't write anything down on paper.

That's a shame.

I'll see you in the morning.

They need to be written down.

I don't write anything down on paper. That's a shame.

Look what you did, you stupid little brat!

You ruined it! No, Daddy, please!

No, Daddy, please! No, Daddy, please! No, Daddy, please! No, Daddy, please!

Daddy, please! No, Daddy, please! No, Daddy, please! No, Daddy, please!

Why don't you use the bathroom

where you actually buy your gas?

Why don't you get a light, you punk townie?

What actually is a townie, Teth?

Well, baby, a townie is what the college students call the kids that grew up in

this town.

It's another one of those cruel words to make people feel bad about themselves.

And when people like Ricky hear it often enough, they begin to feel that way.

And pretty soon, you know, you don't even have to say it at all.

Just the man I was looking for.

I'm going to be late for class, and I don't like to be late for class. I'm

to make this very short.

You must be registered for my class in order to attend, and you're not.

I was thinking about it. That's good.

Think some more, and do something about it. I'm going to let you attend for one

week, but after that, you've got to make a decision.

This is going to be great.

Yeah, she's going to love this.

All right.

The light.

The bride!

No, no, no.

No, don't. Please don't. It's us. It's not Dad.

It's okay, Mom.

Mom.

It's okay. It's okay.

I wasn't thinking, Mom. I wasn't thinking.

Good

morning.

Isn't it a school day?

No, it's some kind of a teacher day. Um, where's Ricky? He had something he

needed to do.

How was your mother's birthday party last night?

It was weird, but I did figure out what I wanted to do for my invention.

What's that?

Well, I want to invent something to make people forget bad things.

Oh.

Is there something that you'd like to forget?

No, I was too little.

But your mom and Ricky do.

You know, sometimes, Joey, you have to remember the bad things so that you can

learn from them.

Yeah, but sometimes bad things don't stop, even when you've already learned

something.

I graded your poems last night, and I've got to tell you that they are, for the

most part, pretty darn good.

There's one, however, that strikes me as surprisingly good, and I would really

like the young man who wrote it to come up here and read it to the class.

So, Marshall?

Marshall Fuller?

I won't do it again.

Love you with open arms, without fear of falling.

I have fallen before.

We learn by failure.

Like a baby's first step, crumbling, getting up, crying as we reach for the

we love.

And I won't do it again.

I think he's a townie.

Hey, man.

What are you doing hanging around here? Are you trying to be a college boy or

something? No.

Just hating somebody's guts.

Hitting a car, too.

Well,

it doesn't have to work. It just has to be some kind of invention that could

work someday in the future.

You know, they're always inventing new things, and they just have to have

somebody give them the idea.

Well, I think if anyone ever did invent a forgetting machine, this is what it

would look like.

How would it work in the future, I mean?

Well, first you get some uranium and you put it in here, and then you would X

-ray your brain waves.

Oh, my goodness.

You'd have to look into something.

What? Well, I don't know. I don't have that part yet. But it would hypnotize

you, and then, boom, all your bad memories would be gone.

Whew.

Well, at least they liked your poem.

I really don't feel like being made fun of right now.

Well, no, I'm not making fun of you.

But the truth is, if you had been enrolled, you would be the one getting

praise.

Don't you see you need to get the education that you want?

I can't just go to college.

It's not that easy. What am I going to do about my mother?

What about Joey?

Maybe the best thing you could do for your family is to show them that someone

could overcome the pain you've all been through.

Look.

No matter what I do, there's always going to be guys like that who will do

anything to succeed in guys like me.

Who get stepped on along the way.

Maybe that's why you can't write down your poetry, Ricky.

Maybe you were stepped on as a child.

But you're almost an adult now.

And it's time for you to learn to stand up and not allow yourself to be used in

that way.

So that men like Marshall and your father... Joey!

Get out of here!

Talk about my father.

My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky.

So it was when my life began. So it is now I am a man.

So be it when I shall grow old or let me die.

The child is father of the man.

And I can wish my days to be bound each to each by natural piety.

Yeah. Hey, where is my car?

Oh, man.

Can't begin to imagine what this is for.

How did you get this job?

What's up, college boy? You need a ride anywhere?

You like the mirror? We brought you the whole car. What are you guys doing?

Get that out of here.

Thought you'd be glad, man. We did you a favor.

Well, don't do me any more favors. Get it out of here.

You're lost, man.

Where have you been?

Doing what I should have been doing all along, looking for a job.

Sorry I've been stressed out lately.

You forgive me?

How's the invention coming?

Terrible.

I'm still missing one part and I really need it. The convention's tomorrow.

Don't worry, you'll think of something.

Use your imagination.

Did Dad ever build stuff with you?

No, Joey, Dad was better at taking stuff apart.

All right, now go back to sleep.

I've got to sleep under the mom radar.

What about this? They put it on their head and it hypnotizes them.

She don't get it.

You better find something.

The convention starts in half an hour and I promised your mother we'd be on

time.

Keep looking.

Hypnotizer.

Hypnotizer. Hello?

Hypnotizer. Hypnotizer.

Hey,

that's it.

Where have you been?

Taco Town.

I start Monday, 6 .50 an hour.

Oh, Ricky, that's wonderful.

I look terrible.

No, you don't, Mom.

You look really good.

Ready or not, it's time to go.

You know, I'm ready.

You are?

Yep. Found just what I needed.

I guess I better find the bathroom in this place and freshen up.

I was hoping I'd see you here.

Why?

You have some fantasy about a guy from the other side of the tracks?

You know, you didn't have to lie.

I thought you were cute before you told me that you went to school here.

What? Do you know what I've had to do to go to school here?

I wash dishes.

In the school cafeteria.

My family doesn't have any money.

I'm just a townie from another town.

I should have known.

Yeah, um... Marshall's one of the judges.

Yeah, well, I better go help my brother with his invention.

Looks like you're next, Joey.

Are you ready, buddy?

Yeah.

Oh, my.

What are you doing with that?

Isn't it great? You look into it and you're hypnotized. You've got to take it

off, Joey.

Why? Did you use my imagination?

You don't understand.

Wait, you're going to break it. Number 12.

Okay,

Joey.

Okay. What are you doing here?

This is my little brother's invention.

That's my mirror.

my car.

Oh, Ricky, no.

No, I didn't. I just ripped off your stupid mirror because you stole my poem.

What are you talking about?

It was on the wall.

But I don't understand.

Who cares about a poem? You stole my car.

I did not steal his car.

Of course you did.

You're a thief, just like you've been stealing an education.

Whoa. I gave Ricky permission to audit the class for a week.

And I ripped off your mirror before your car was stolen.

I'm calling the police.

Well, hold it. Wait a minute now. He's telling the truth.

I saw Ricky take your mirror, but he did not steal your car.

I also saw the two boys that did. One of them was wearing a blue bandana kind of

thing, and the other one had on a very disturbing T -shirt.

I've seen those guys.

They're townie.

Probably friends of this loser.

I know exactly where they are. And when I'm through with them, they will not

want to put their hands on anybody else's property ever again.

Fine.

Still haven't you arrested for what you did?

You know, Marshall, it concerns me that you're more worried about your car than

your conduct.

I mean, has it occurred to you that you've just been accused of plagiarism?

First of all, I didn't plagiarize anything.

And second, if I was going to, I wouldn't steal from some stupid townie

probably can't even write his own name. And third, stealing a poem is not the

same as stealing a car.

Wrong, Marshall.

Stealing is stealing.

Forget it.

It doesn't matter.

Guys like me end up going to jail for ripping off a stupid mirror, and guys

him rip off a poem and end up graduating from medical school.

What are you doing?

Nothing.

Don't you think you've done that enough?

I'm not in the mood for a lecture.

I'm not here to lecture you.

I'm here to help you learn to fight for yourself.

Guys like me never have a chance, so why bother?

Guys like you, that's always your excuse, isn't it?

But you know what I think?

I think it's not that guys like you never have a chance.

It's that guys like you are afraid to take it.

Back off, Monica.

No You can keep running Ricky,

but everywhere you go I'm going to be there Why are you doing

that?

Because God has something to say to you.

And when he has something to say, he doesn't hide his message behind a door

bathroom wall.

He's not ashamed of the words he has to say.

He can write them in the sky. He can write them in your heart.

Or he can send his angel to speak them right out loud.

An angel?

You're an angel?

Yes.

I don't believe in angels.

You've been too afraid to believe in anything good in this world.

So, what does he want to say to me?

He loves you.

What?

God loves you.

God doesn't love guys like... Guys like you.

Oh, yes, he does, Ricky.

He loves guys just like you.

Angry, hopeless young men who used to be sweet, loving, trusting little boys,

but who've had the joy of life beaten out of them.

It's not that simple, Monica.

Yes, it is. Look at Joey.

He never knew his father. He was never abused.

And he's free to dream.

Free to love so honestly.

Free to imagine a future for himself.

Free to...

Invent a forgetting machine to help the people that he loves the most.

But he can't.

Because you've already become a forgetting machine, Ricky.

You put up a wall to block out your pain and your fear. But a wall works two

ways.

Yes, it keeps things in, but it also keeps things out. Like joy, trust.

You don't know what it was like.

That's right, I don't.

That's why the words need to come from you.

Those poems that you write are the truth.

Why do you think God put these things in your heart to say?

He wants you to deal with your pain.

He wants you to write it down. He wants you to let it go.

I'm afraid.

That if I let go,

I'm just going to lose it.

Yes, you might.

It can be very frightening to open up and let out a pain that has been bottled

up for years.

But God is here, and you are safe.

It's okay to write down your poems.

It's okay to fight for your dreams.

It's okay to go back now.

And bring that little one home.

That little boy with the crayon in his hand who just wanted to write, I love

you.

You can't ignore this, Marshall. This is a very serious charge.

Why would you believe some townie who's just trying to cover it? Because I know

the truth when I hear it.

And the truth is, you stole my poem.

Prove it.

You copied it off the wall at the gas station.

What, is it still on the wall?

No, I washed it off.

Well, you must have written it down somewhere.

No.

I don't write anything down.

It was there. I saw it.

That doesn't prove anything.

Fine. Tell you what.

Why don't you recite the poem for me?

Sure.

I won't do it again.

Love you.

Go on.

I can't.

I wrote it about a girl. It's very emotional. I can't go on. It's because

not about a girl.

I wrote it about my dad.

And I wrote a lot more than the eight lines that he turned in. I

wrote more.

I won't do it again.

Love you.

With open arms, without fear of falling.

I have.

I have fallen before.

We learn by failure, like a baby's first steps.

Crumbling, getting up, crying as we reach for the one that we

love.

And I won't do it again.

You taught me to lie.

I learned at your feet.

She ran into a door.

She fell down the stairs.

Your family lay scattered about you like the pages crumpled from a book.

The book that I wrote.

I love you.

Daddy.

The book that you ripped out of my hand.

And I won't do it again.

Never again, Dad.

Never.

I thought maybe...

I thought you'd forgotten most of that.

But you didn't, did you?

I'm so sorry.

You should never have had to live through that.

But you were there too, Mom.

You did the best that you could.

So that's why you guys never talk about Dad.

You're in.

But he never hurt you.

And that is the one thing that I am proud of in my life.

How could you do this, Marshall?

And what are you going to do about it?

Wouldn't have used it if it wasn't a good poem.

And I wouldn't have took your mirror if it wasn't such a nice car.

And if Ted finds your car, I'll put that mirror back on.

I will.

I found it already.

It's right outside.

And there are a couple of boys out there that think differently about joyriding

now.

So, Joey, you thinking about your next invention?

Yep. What's it going to be?

Something that makes macaroni and cheese whenever you want.

That already exists, Joey.

It's called your mother.

Yes.

Will you do something for me, Ricky?

Will you write down that poem someday?

Yeah, I will.

I will.

I didn't know you could ride like that.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt if you took that path.

No, it won't hurt, Bob.

Not anymore.