Original subtitles

How long is it going to take to retile that bathroom, Randy?

You're paying me by the hour, right?

Right. Well, you figure out how many hours it'll take to buy a 100 -foot

That's about how long it's going to take me.

Just my luck, I had to get a stand -up tile man.

Here, sign this.

What am I signing here? Just sign it. Wait a minute.

I didn't ask you to write this.

Well, who... is a crooked mechanic going to pay more attention to, Gretchen

Krause or Lieutenant Governor Benson Dubois?

The guy fixed your car last week. It's not his fault you drove it up on the

sidewalk.

It's not my fault either.

I was trying to avoid a squirrel.

I'd be happy to fire off a nasty note to the squirrel if you think it'll help.

Gretchen, did anyone ever tell you that... You should be in a beauty

You silly Randy, you.

Oh, Benson agrees.

No, I don't either.

Oh, come on. She could be Miss Capital City.

Miss Capital Punishment.

Hey, Benson, I'm going to take off for the day. I'll finish up tomorrow.

Is it okay if I leave this up here?

Well, yeah, yeah, no problem.

Let me ask you something. Which way do you go home?

South. Mind dropping Kraus off?

Sure. Where?

In Argentina.

Kraus, can I see you in here for a moment?

I'm on the phone.

Is it important?

Is your job important?

I was talking with Rowena Gorn.

Again? What do you two find so interesting to talk about?

Where is Randy?

Well, I know one thing. He's not with Dr. Gallagher's wife. She ran off to

Winnipeg with a Portuguese psychiatrist.

Cross, I don't care.

Now, about this Randy McGill... I don't blame her. She caught Dr.

Gallagher with a belly dancer and a Swedish masseuse.

Cross, I want a belly dancer.

Rowena Gordon was there doing a pedicure. She saw everything.

Everything?

Everything. Did you see Randy McGee?

No.

Well, it's been two days.

I guess you better call maintenance and have them take this stuff out of here

until he comes back.

I did that.

Eh? They won't do it.

You mean they won't do it?

Did you tell them the lieutenant governor requested it?

They know that they don't care.

They don't care?

What did he say?

He said that if they were not good enough to put the tile in in the first

that you can take that bucket. I know the rest.

But I just don't see why Randy would skip out on us like this. I don't know.

keep calling him at home. There's never any answer.

Did you try calling him at his office? He... doesn't have an office. I hired

through the Westside Veterans Support Group.

Here's their card if you want to try them yourself.

Oh, good. This is right on my way home. I'll stop by and see him.

You've got to get this bathroom finished.

Well, see, I don't understand why you started all this retiling in the first

place. Because I'm sick and tired of explaining lavender.

Men.

All right, what can I do for you? Yes, I'm looking for... See, aren't you the

lieutenant governor?

Why, yes, I am.

Whoop! Whoop!

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

Whoop! Whoop!

Whoop!

Whoop!

Whoop!

Whoop!

Whoop

Is he that tile guy? Yes.

Yeah, man, he hasn't been around here in a long time.

You Randy's friend?

No, not exactly.

He was doing some tile work for me, and he just sort of disappeared.

We appreciate you hiring a vet. To tell you the truth, I didn't even know he was

a vet. You try going through the metal detector with him sometime.

Hey, you try going through the metal detector with me sometime.

What are you talking about?

Randy's carrying around some souvenirs from Nam, grenade fragments.

Well, you never mentioned it.

I never tell anybody I'm in a wheelchair, either.

Some things are private.

You got a stand -out chair? I thought it was because you were lazy.

If I need a can open, I'll call you.

Come on, Nick, you need five.

Oh, and lose four in the process? No way.

Got a couple of jokers here. I hope you enjoy bionic humor.

Sure, these guys can laugh. They got all the good parking places.

Well, here's Randy's file. I want a copy of the address. Okay, thank you.

So, what do you guys do around here?

Well, we do a lot of things.

Counseling, job placement, help the guys deal with the VA red tape.

You having trouble with the VA?

Well, around here, VA stands for very aggravating.

Well, I guess I've been lucky. They've been pretty good to me.

They paid for some night school courses, helped me get a mortgage on my condo.

Condos, they do that very well. But their system for getting disability

really boggled the mind.

You know, first time I went in that place, this pretty little nurse takes me

the examine room, measures my stump to determine the extent of my disability.

It's a cute story and nicely told.

Thank you.

Sounds like a different VA to me.

Now, when we got out of the service... Give me your arm.

Now, let's say you get half your arm blown up.

No, let's not say that.

No, no, see, you don't understand. You lose half your arm, you're talking maybe

$300 a month.

You lose the whole thing, you could get $1 ,300.

You lose both your arms, you'd be set for life.

Well, all I really wanted was to get my bathroom retailed.

Well, you've got Randy's address.

Yeah, well, I'll stop by and see him.

Okay, and when you do, tell him to come by and see us, okay?

Yeah, we never did get him to open up too much. He just sat there drinking

-Aid and eating cheese doodles.

I'm sorry we gave you such a hard time. But if you ever need your picture taken

with a disabled vet, I'll work cheap.

Good, I pay cheap.

Nice place you got here.

You must have a charge count of Bamboo City.

Yeah.

What do you want?

Well, I got about a hundred little tiles down in my bathroom just crying out for

grout.

Maybe you should get somebody else to do it.

Hey, what are you talking about?

You can't quit now. You ain't got enough money to buy that yacht.

I probably just get seasick.

What's wrong?

Nothing. According to this.

Got that little gem from the VA about three days ago.

Cutting off your benefits?

It's a screw -up.

Well, you just go down there and get it straightened out.

It's not worth the hassle.

What do you mean? It's your money.

Yeah?

Yeah. In a sense, you earned it.

Sure. No, man, don't get mad. I mean, it's a big bureaucracy.

They got a lot of people... Now, what are you, the chaplain?

Well, no, I'm simply... Vincent, get out of here.

Excuse me?

I'm tired of looking at your face.

Well, you keep talking like that, and I'm gonna leave.

Get the hell out of here.

Benson, you understand what I'm saying. The problem of veterans' benefits may be

just out of your jurisdiction.

Well, Randy's a human being and I'm a human being. That makes him in my

jurisdiction. But this is a federal issue.

Now, you've got a political career to think of. I'm not saying you should stay

away from it, but maybe you should stay away from it.

No. Is that firm?

Yes.

Yeah, well, yeah.

Okay, well, would you tell them that Benson Dubois called again and leave a

message? Thank you. Oh.

You're fucking out loud. What are you doing? That is not the way to handle

people. Let me do this.

You've got to be more aggressive with these people. You've got to remember

they're public servants and treat them like servants.

Hello? Yes, I'd like to speak to someone about discontinued benefits.

Mm -hmm.

Yes, tell them Ronald Reagan is calling.

Clayton, you can't impersonate the president.

I didn't say President Ronald Reagan. Well, you implied it.

Well, if that's what they heard and we get snappier service because of it, no

one is going to be upset.

They think it's the president.

Well, then they're stupid.

Hello? Yes, yes, this is he.

Uh -huh. Mm -hmm.

No, no.

No, not that Ronald Reagan.

Well, then you're stupid.

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. You know who you're talking to?

you realize that this is Clayton Endicott III, the budget director of

Hello?

Nink and poops.

Let me see if I can get this guy back.

Benson, I empathize with the veterans, but the VA's doing the best job they

Maybe we ought to just get out of their way and let them do it.

Sir, you know, you're taking the same attitude everyone else takes. Let the VA

do it. Well, these people deserve more than to be swept under some bureaucratic

rug. We have a responsibility to them.

Well, I'll be damned. I never thought I'd see the day I'd be proud of you,

Clayton.

Well, you should be proud of me. You should be proud of everyone who was over

there. Were you over there?

I was a Marine.

Hey, I was CEO of a Remington T -12.

Oh, the tank corps?

Well, actually, typing pool.

That is not the point. The point is I saw a lot of misery.

Probably as a result of your typing.

You know, I don't know why I'm so upset. Yes, I do.

It's because something more can always be done, and no one does it. And why?

Because you'd rather let the VA do it.

Well, I guess he told us off.

Actually, he told you off.

He'd never dare talk to me that way.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm still here.

Mr. Miller is here from the VA, and I don't like him.

Krause, please try to be nice.

I don't see why I should. That creep put me on hold six times yesterday.

Well, would you ask him to come in?

Okay, I'd be happy to.

Miller!

Get your tail in here!

You can park it over there.

Lieutenant Governor?

Mr. Miller?

What is her problem?

Please, don't get me started.

Have a seat, sir. Thank you.

Now, what can you tell me about my friend's situation?

Yes. 260 -573 -44.

Well, I don't know his government name. I just call him Randy.

indicates that he was discharged in July of 1979.

That's right. And assigned standard benefits as of August 1979.

That's right. And those benefits ended two months ago when he died in a tractor

accident. That's wrong.

Can't be wrong. Computer says so. If he's dead, someone should inform him

because he's still paying rent.

The odds of this being a computer error are prohibitive.

Randy McGee is alive.

That is impossible.

McGee. This file says Henderson.

You have the wrong file. No, no, no. This is 260 -57344. Then you have the

man. Boy, it sure looks like it, doesn't it?

It's a computer glitch, most likely. I'll take care of it. Thank you for

bringing this to our attention.

That's it?

Well, Mr. DuBois, it's just one mistake.

Well, perhaps it's because we only looked into one case.

What are you getting at? What I'm getting at is there must be something

seriously wrong with your system.

Not my system.

Our system.

Look, you don't think this bothers me?

Let me tell you something. This whole stinking mess bothers me.

Now, believe me, we do the best we can.

We work real hard because we care.

Now, if you think you can do better, I've got a desk and a phone and a lot of

people on hold waiting for a sympathetic ear.

Would two days a month help? Two days a month would... I mean,

uh...

You'd help? Well, how else am I going to know what the problem is?

Like you said, it's our system.

Yeah.

Well, I'll get those benefits restored for Henderson right away. McGee. McGee,

right, right. McGee.

Mind if I come in?

Why not?

I tried to call ahead, but the operator said your phone was off the hook.

I guess you got tired of not answering it, huh?

Well, look, I got some great news for you. Oh, yeah? Yeah, I checked with the

VA. There was a computer foul up.

You'll be getting your benefits back.

Great.

You want a beer?

I'm buying the tall cans now, so I don't have to go out to the stores often.

Did you hear what I said?

I said great.

You want a beer or not?

No, I don't. I want to know what's going on.

What do you mean?

Well, I mean... I want to know when you're going to stop the self -pity.

When are you going to let go of the past and go on with your life?

I thought we went through this already.

Fine.

I'm not going to waste my time trying to help somebody who doesn't want to be

helped.

Don't you think I've tried to let go of the past?

No, I don't.

Look at this place.

You made a monument out of your own misery.

You want to know what's going on?

I'm going to tell you what's going on.

I was ready to do my duty.

We all were.

We were doing the right thing.

And the one point that the Army kept making over and over again,

soldiers do for each other like family. You are one. You are an entity.

Period.

Yeah, well, they told me the same thing. I know the feeling. I thought that was

the deal we had with the country.

We take care of each other.

Randy, I don't have any answers.

One day, we're coming off the line.

This woman appears out of nowhere, hands me a baby wrapped in a blanket, and

takes off just that fast. And the kid is crying.

Something falls from beneath the blanket.

No, Brian's coming. Grenade!

Grenade!

They booby -trapped a baby.

They booby -trapped a baby, man.

It's the first time I ever told that story to anyone before.

We're still the bad guys, you know.

The attitude is, what are you doing here?

No one comes back alive from wars you lose.

Randy, it would be easy for me to...

Stand here and tell you you have nothing to be ashamed of or to feel guilty

about.

But you and I both know that that won't take away that feeling.

They're never going to go away.

You think trying to shut out the world will help?

I'm just tired of remembering.

Well, if you're tired of remembering, just forget it. It's not so easy,

Of course it's not easy, man. If you're going to stay cooped up here in Saigon

Hilton, I'm happy here.

This is happy?

Come on, man.

The people out there who can help you.

Support group.

Here.

Give him a chance.

There's soldiers like you.

And soldiers do do for each other.

Like family.

It's not fair, Benson.

Using my own words against me.

Not against you, Randy.

For you.

I guess I could go by there.

I have been craving cheese doodles lately.

Well, now that I've made my little sermon, I

guess I'll take that beer.

Eat it yourself.

and before I tie into this thing, let me ask you a question.

Yeah?

Is there a bathroom in this joint?

Let me see you chug this sucker.