All language subtitles for To Die For 1995fe

[♪♪♪]

WOMAN:
Here's what I found out.

That all of life
is a learning experience.

Everything is part
of a big master plan.

But sometimes it's...
Well, it's hard to read.

I mean, it's like if you get too close
to the screen,

all you can see
is a bunch of little dots.

You don't see the big picture
until you stand back.

But when you do,

everything comes into focus.

Hi. My name is Suzanne Maretto.

No, wait. I'm sorry.

Suzanne Maretto
is my married name.

My own name

is Suzanne Stone.

That's my professional name.

Suzanne Stone.

It's not like I have any negative
feelings about the name Maretto.

Maretto is the name, after all,

of my husband,

who I loved very, very much.

[SNIFFLES]

Um... Heh.

Sorry.

It's also the name of his parents,
Joe and Angela Maretto,

and of his lovely and talented
sister, Janice Maretto,

who have been like
a second family to me

and who I regard
as I do my own family,

particularly since
my recent tragedy.

And who, just through knowing
and being related to them,

have given me what I think is
a very valuable insight

into the different kinds
of ethnic relationships

that are part of the very things
that I've been trying to explore

as a member
of the professional media.

First impressions in one word?
You really want to know?

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

[WOMAN GROANS]

WOMAN:
Wet.

[WHISTLES]

Four letters, begins with "C."

JOE:
Larry, it's a girl.

You've never seen
one of them, huh?

JANICE:
Cold.

Cold. C-O-L-D. Cold.

Yeah.

MAN:
What did you think of Suzanne
when you met her?

I just didn't get the Suzanne thing.

I mean, all the girls around town
thought Larry was really cute.

I mean, they all used to hang out
at the restaurant on the nights

when my dad would let Larry
and his dopey rock band play there.

Just, uh, you know?

[BAND PLAYING "SUSIE Q"]

MAN:
♪ Oh, Susie Q ♪

♪ Oh, Susie Q ♪

♪ I'm comin' to you ♪

♪ I love you
My Susie Q ♪

♪ I love the way you walk ♪

♪ I love the way you talk ♪

♪ I like the way you walk
I like the way you talk ♪

♪ Susie Q ♪

♪ Say go back home ♪♪

Laura Risley, I remember.
She really...

Peggy Holden.
I mean, she's kind of a slut.

But, I mean,
he could've had anybody,
basically, is what I'm saying.

But I don't know. Suzanne, blond.

I don't know.

[MOTORCYCLE ENGINE
REVVING]

Well, yeah, sure,
I could've said some things.

Well, to tell you the truth,
I did say some things.

Yeah, it's my brother.

But in a very subtle way.

Larry, what do you think
of Angela Raguzzo?

She's all right.
She's hot.

LARRY:
Why?

She wants you to ask her out.

Look, sis, don't try and fix me up
with people. It's embarrassing.

All right.

What do you think of
Dana Defalco?

You want me to go out with a girl
whose father's in the mob?

Who says he's in the mob?
Everybody.

Everybody. So?
Don't you want a little excitement?

I got all the excitement I can take.
Oh, with who? The ice maiden?

You don't know
what you're talking about.

I don't?
No.

Okay.

Inform me.

Well, it's none of
your business.

But, Suzanne, she looks, you know,
very fragile and delicate, right?

Mm-hm.

But when we're...
When we're...

I mean, when I'm...

Look, I don't even know
why I'm telling you this.
Details are too graphic.

But let me just tell you,
she's like...

She's like a volcano.

You mean,
people come from miles around

just to watch her explode?
Heh-heh-heh.

Is that it?
Very funny.

Like Mount St. Helens?
Very funny. Ha-ha-ha!

Man, when he says to me...

I'm gonna marry her.

Wait a minute. You what?

"You what?" I said.
And then he says...

I'm telling you, sis,
she's it.

She's the golden girl of my dreams.
Oh, God.

And I did one of these:

Which I regretted right away,
because, you know, he looked at me

with that kind of doggy look
that guys get.

I'm just kidding. I'm kidding.

She can't even bowl.

Yes. Yes.

Let me tell you something, all right?
Yeah.

She's like... She's like, uh,
a delicate china doll.

Larry, you ever try kissing a doll?
You know, they don't kiss back.

She's like one of those
porcelain figurines
that Mom collects.

She is so pure and delicate

and innocent.

You just have to look at her,
and you wanna take care of her

for the rest of your life.

Yeah, I can see that.

So...

Anyway, so when she, Suzanne,
says to me...

If you're actively seeking a career
in the professional ice skating field...

In the spotlight, so to speak.

- I think you have to maximize
your positive features.

Mm. Sure.
So, what I'm saying

is that a qualified
plastic surgeon

could just snip away those little
beauty spots or facial blemishes,

whatever you call them.
You'd see how much better
you'd feel.

JANICE:
You know, commenting about
my face and stuff. I, you know...?

I knew where she was going,
Miss Fixer-Upper.

I believe that Mr. Gorbachev...

You know, the man who
ran Russia for so long?

I believe he would be in power today
if he'd done what people suggested

and had that big purple thing
taken off his forehead.

[LARRY LAUGHS]

I firmly believe that.

I hope to interview him.
We'll discuss that

along with other more pertinent
international things, you know?

I'm telling you, sis, she's gonna be
the next Barbara Walters.

JANICE:
Oh, is that right?

SUZANNE:
Well, Barbara does have
many admirable qualities.

A wide range of knowledge
of current events,

and a sympathy
for people's feelings,

which is a trait so many people have
who are of the Jewish persuasion.

Isn't she something else?

So, yeah, that was it.

I mean, a done deal, finito.

He was a goner.

The point is that, for instance,

Connie Chung,
who is married, I believe,

to Maury Povich, the well-known
interviewer, doesn't say,

"Hello, this is Connie Povich
with the news." Now, does she?

And I don't think she would be
embarrassed by it,

because she's already pretty ethnic
when you think about it.

Or to take another example,

someone who doesn't have
an ethnic bone in her body.

There's Jane Pauley,

who I strongly relate to

because, you know,
we have similar physical traits.

Although I don't have to struggle with
the weight problem like she does.

And she also,
to the best of my knowledge,

has never identified herself,
audience-wise,

as Jane Trudeau,

even though her husband,
Mr. Trudeau,

is a prominent cartoonist
of some kind,

and not, as so many people believe,
the ex-president of Canada.

So, what I'm saying is this:

There are some people
who never know who they are

or who they wanna be
until it's too late,

and that is a real tragedy
in my book,

because I always knew who I was
and who I wanted to be.

Always.

EARL:
Okay. Who wants to be on TV?
There she is.

CAROL:
Oh, look at who's looking at herself.

EARL:
Just look at that.
Suzanne, look there.

CAROL:
Look there. Come here.
Look at the camera.

EARL: See?
CAROL: Look at what a darling.

EARL:
Oh, sweetheart.

CAROL:
Can't you get it focused
better than that?

WOMAN:
And we're back with the families
of Suzanne and Larry Maretto.

Mr. Stone.

Mr. Stone?

At first, I have to admit we...

We didn't think too much of it,
the relationship.

I mean, here was our daughter,
a college graduate.

Junior college, yes, but with
good grades and a degree in...

FAYE:
Electronic journalism.

Exactly.

And here was
this young man,

a good boy, obviously,

but, still, a boy
whose education was...

limited to high school.

And I remember saying to her,
"Honey..."

I'm worried that you don't know
what you're getting into with this kid.

Dad, I'm not a little girl anymore.
I know that, sweetheart.

All I'm saying is that we come
from pretty different backgrounds.

"For all you know,
his family could be mixed up
with the Mafia or something."

[AUDIENCE MURMURING]

I'm sorry, Joe.
No problem, Earl.

I was just being...
No, no. No. I understand.

[WOMAN SCREAMS]

Oh, I understand. Please.

Of course, she just laughed at me.

[LAUGHING]

Dad, don't worry.
Well, I have to worry.

That's what dads do.

[♪♪♪]

If you ask me, I'd say that Larry
appealed to a side of her

that you wouldn't ordinarily know
was there.

It was a kind of a... What? Uh...

A wild side.

Well, not wild, but, uh...

[♪♪♪]

[BOTH MOANING]

Wild.

I thought he would marry...
I don't know.

You know, like,
a nice Italian girl.

But like the guy
in The Godfather says,

"This is America, okay?

The melting pot."

Anyway, one day,
Larry comes over to me.
He says...

I'm gonna tell you something, Pop.
She's going places.

She's got goals.
You know, she's studying stuff.

She's sending out résumés
all the time.

Did I show you what
she gave me for my birthday?

JOE:
"You Can Be The One."

The one what?

Well, the one anything.
That's the point.
It's self-motivation.

It's from that guy on TV,
the millionaire

with all the houses and yachts.

You know?

Sounds pretty serious, Larry.
Serious? Pop, I sold my drums.

You sold your drums?
Yep.

JOE:
And he did. He sold his drums

and he turned himself right around
just for her.

[♪♪♪]

FAYE:
The veil Suzanne wore,

she had copied
from a picture in a magazine.

The exact same one
Maria Shriver wore at her wedding.

[SHUTTER CLICKS]

Larry was, uh...
He was so proud, you know,

because Suzanne,
she designed the wedding rings

all by herself.

You want me to describe them
for you?

They were round and gold.

I mean, big fucking deal.

LARRY:
Come on, Suze, let's go!

I'll still never find a guy like you,
Dad.

LARRY:
Suze.

What?

[♪♪♪]

We got a postcard
from Suzanne

every single day that
they were on their honeymoon.

And it very much surprised us
that they went to Florida,

because Suzanne was never
one to lie around the beach.

But Larry was very much
into boating and fishing,

and I think she just wanted
to make him happy.

That's a pretty little lady
you got there.

Yes, sir.

We've been married for four days
and, uh, 18 hours.

I wouldn't let her
out of my sight for very long.

LARRY:
Well, she can't go in the sun.

It's not good to tan
when you're on TV.

TV? What show is she on?
Have I ever seen her?

Not yet, but you will.

[♪♪♪]

[DOOR OPENS]

SUZANNE:
Hi, honey.

Suzanne.

Did you miss me?

Hm?

Did you dream about me, baby?

Suzanne.

Ahem. It must've been
a pretty successful honeymoon,

because when they came back,
they were...

Radiant.
Exactly. Radiant.

JOE:
Larry took money he was saving
in case he wanted to go to college,

he put a down payment
on that condo over at the Heights.

CAROL:
And he bought her
that pretty little Mustang.

ANGELA: Yeah.
JOE: Yeah.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

Hi.
EARL: How are you?

JOE: Good, good, good.
SUZANNE: Come in.

Hey, Mom.

MAN:
So you thought Larry changed a lot
after he and Suzanne were married?

Totally. It was like suddenly,
you know, he went from Van Halen

to Jerry Vale overnight.

I don't know.
She didn't have any... Well,
she thought she had taste, but...

[SIGHS]

Barquettes with leek chiffonade.

This is the dish that they serve

in Johnny Carson's
favorite restaurant in Hollywood.

Well, hey, if it's good enough
for Johnny...

[SILVERWARE CLANGS]

Well, was that
some meal or what?

Oh.

I say Julia Childs
better watch her back

or she'll be looking
for another job, huh?

Oh, Larry.

Well, I won't be doing this
every night.

I'm planning to start
this exercise class so
I can get rid of a few pounds.

From where? Your feet?
Heh-heh-heh.

On TV the camera adds five pounds.
ANGELA: Is that true?

I didn't know that.
Did you know that, Joe?

No.

Talking about exercise,
I gotta go.

LARRY: Hey.
JANICE: I gotta rehearse.

I got a rehearsal at some god-awful
hour all the way over in Norwalk.

CAROL:
What are you rehearsing, dear?

Janice has a job
in the Ice Follies.

They're going on tour in September.
Hey, sis, that's fabulous.

JANICE:
Thanks.

I'm just one of the chorus,
you know, now, but...

Well, actually, I do skate
this one medley.

It's kind of a, you know,
salute to great TV shows.

I skate the Peggy Lipton part in
The Mod Squad number, you know?

Peggy Lipton?
Yeah.

I get to wear a blond wig
and everything, you know?

CAROL:
How exciting.

JANICE:
Yeah, they're talking about, like,

well, maybe a TV special
this year, so...

Now, listen. Hang on, everybody.

Because, well, we've got

a pretty important announcement
ourselves to make,

and I think congratulations
are in order.

[SCREAMING]

JOE:
Larry.

Oh, honey.
Wait, wait, wait. Cut, cut, cut.

It's not that.

You're not...?
No, I'm not pregnant, for God's sake.

Oh.

Suzy's got a job.
JOE: What?

LARRY:
Over at WWEN, the TV station.

The first woman they ever hired.
Isn't that right?

That's right.

Yep, our Suze is on her way now,

and nothing is gonna stop her.

CAROL:
Oh, honey, I'm proud of you.

EARL:
That's great.

We're proud of you.

EARL:
Great. Great.

SAL: So how are the newlyweds?
Oh, they're doing great.

Thanks, Sal.
Yeah, cute kids.

Aren't they just?
Yeah.

Did you like the barquettes?
The what?

With the leek chiffonade.
Was it okay?

We never did them before,

but she showed us this recipe
in a book, so, pfft, no problem.

I never told anyone.

Even Joe.

So she couldn't cook.
There are worse crimes,

as we all know.

You're not anybody in America
unless you're on TV.

On TV is where we learn
about who we really are,

because what's the point
of doing anything worthwhile

if nobody's watching?

And if people are watching,
it makes you a better person.

Marry me. Mary, say yes.

I thought she was like
a goddess of some kind.

Like Lady Di
before she dumped the prince

and went nudist and everything.

Suzanne bought me this dress,
which I hope to fit someday.

[WOMAN SCOFFS]

Suzanne Maretto was
a beautiful human being

with real dreams and "aspiritions."

[♪♪♪]

Suzanne used to say,
"Opportunity is always knocking.

If you aren't listening,
its knuckles get sore,

and it moves to another house."

Something like that.

She said that even
on her honeymoon

she had Larry take her to this hotel

in Florida where there was gonna
be this kind of convention

of all these big-shot TV people

that she'd read about
in a magazine.

Which, of course,
she didn't tell Larry,
because she didn't want

to maybe hurt his feelings
about her attending to her career

while they were bonding sexually,
so to speak.

MAN:
So the German reporter
says to the Hungarian editor,

[IN GERMAN ACCENT]
"Of course she's always smiling.

She gets faxed at least
10 times a day." Boom!

[AUDIENCE LAUGHING
AND APPLAUDING]

[IN NORMAL VOICE]
Thank you. Thank you.

I know that's a silly joke,

but it does illustrate
our central thesis today,

which is "Here and Now in the
Fast-Moving Computer Age."

It's the...

[♪♪♪]

In our fast-moving computer age,

it's the medium of television

that joins together
our global community.

And it is the...

It is the television journalist
who serves as messenger,

bringing the world
into our homes

and our homes into the world.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]

Thanks a lot.

MAN 1: The point is, Miss...
Stone.

Miss Stone.
Suzanne.

Suzanne Stone.
That's a good name.

Now, that's a name
you can remember.

The point is, Suzanne,

if you want it bad enough
you'll get it,

but you gotta really want it.

You gotta be able to do things
that ordinary people wouldn't do.

Mm.
You see what I'm saying?

Hm. I think so.

How about another of those?

Oh, um... I don't know about that.
Sweetheart?

WAITRESS: Yes.
Give us another all around, okay?

Okay. Heh, heh.

Anyway,
when I was at the network,

there was this gal from some
10-watt station in the Midwest

where she did the weather.

The weather.

[SNICKERS]

So she comes up to New York

in her best Donna Karan
dress-for-success knockoff,

blond hair all done up
in a French twist,

and an audition tape
in her imitation leather briefcase,

along with a letter of introduction
from her station manager.

And it says,

"Please give your
most serious consideration

to the bearer of this letter."

Miss So-and-So.

"Who is of moderate intelligence,

who has some experience
in broadcasting,

and, more importantly,

who can suck your cock
until your eyes pop out."

[GASPS AND LAUGHS]

[CHORTLING]

[CHUCKLES]

And you know
who that gal is today?

Who?

[WHISPERS INDISTINCTLY]

[GASPS]

Is that true?

It's true.

And here comes
the best part.

Yes?
MAN 2: This is the best part.

About 10 years ago, I'm at
some TV conference somewhere

and I run into that station manager

and I congratulate him
on his letter-writing skills.

And he doesn't know
what I'm talking about.

[WOMAN LAUGHS]

Why doesn't he?

Because, sweetheart,
he didn't write the letter.

Oh. Heh, heh.

Oh. Who did?

She did. She wrote it herself.

Oh.

Oh, I see.

It's good, isn't it?
MAN 2: I love it.

[MAN 2 & WOMAN CHUCKLING]

[LAUGHING]

I watch your show all the time.
MAN 2: Everybody does.

So, uh...

What do you think, Suzanne?

What...?

What do I think about what?

Well...

[DOOR OPENS]

Suzanne.

[♪♪♪]

Suze.

Hi, honey.
Suze.

Where were you?

I couldn't sleep.

When I put out the sign
for a gal Friday,

I figured I'd be interviewing
high-school dropouts

who wouldn't mind going to the mall
and picking up doughnuts

and emptying the ashtrays.
That kind of thing.

And this is when we first meet
Gangbusters.

That's what George and I
called Suzanne.

[ED LAUGHING]

Uh, not to her face, of course.

[♪♪♪]

Mr. Grant, I am the woman
you are looking for.

My name is
Suzanne Stone Maretto,

but I, um, plan to use Suzanne Stone
as my professional name.

I'd like you to look over
my résumé,

which details
both my educational background

and my references
in the media field.

Mr. Grant,
I can make you a solemn promise

that I will be dedicated
and committed to this job.

Whoa. Hang on
a second, Suzanne.

We're only looking for someone
to answer the mail, run errands.

Minimum pay, no benefits.

Oh, money is not
my main concern, Mr. Grant.

I just want a chance
to contribute something.

I think you'll find I have very
valuable ideas about programming.

Whoa, whoa. No.

You're not hearing what I'm saying.
Take a look around you.

I mean, Suzanne, we're talking
local cable station here.

Oh, I just want a chance
to get my foot in the door.

Everybody has to start somewhere.

Do you know where
Edward R. Murrow started?

No. No, I don't.

No.

No. Well, neither do I offhand.
But I don't think it was at the top,
do you? Hm?

I live only five minutes away
from here.

I will be willing and eager

to respond to any newsworthy
emergency you put in front of me.

Uh...

Mr. Grant, this is a dream
I have had all my life.

I will do anything to get this job.
Anything.

This is my associate, George.

Oh.

Pleased to meet you, George.

Well, we'll think about it.

I believe that my assets...

Hey, I said we'll think about it.

And we will.
Okay.

Okay?
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay.

[♪♪♪]

I believe that
in our fast-moving computer age

it is the medium of television that
joins together the global community,

and it is the television journalist
who serves as messenger,

bringing the world into our homes
and our homes into the world.

It has always been my dream
to become such a messenger.

I look to you, gentlemen, now

to make that dream a reality.

Jesus Christ.

Gangbusters.

Fucking gangbusters.

[BOTH LAUGHING]

[ALARM BUZZING]

LARRY:
Hey.

Hey, come on back to bed.
I gotta go to work.

Come on, 10 minutes.
I gotta go.

Five minutes.
I gotta put my face on.

Come on. Put your face on me.
Two minutes.

Take your hand away.

[BARKING]

SUZANNE:
Come, Walter.

The dog was a cute little thing,
now wasn't he?

She was just crazy
about that dog.

ANGELA:
It was darling.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

[GASPS]

[SUZANNE SQUEALING]

Oh, hello.

[MOTORCYCLE ENGINE
REVVING]

[MOTORCYCLE DRIVES AWAY]

She named it Walter
after Walter, um...

Is it Cronkite?
The guy who used to be on TV.

I think he was Dan Rather's
uncle or something.

It was like a hairball puked up
by some demon from hell.

There wasn't much to do.

Most of the time she just sat
over there and worked on her file.

Her idea file.

She had so many ideas.

[♪♪♪]

This is the presentation on that idea
with me going to movie theaters,

talking to the people coming out
to see what they really think.

An actual, um, ahem,

vox populi, if you know the term.

Here's the memo on that children's
show with me as the hostess

and the live, in-studio animals.

If you could look it over tonight.
Give me your thoughts
in the morning.

A couple of pages
outlining that concept

for interviewing everyday citizens,
like mailmen,

school crossing guards,

to inform our citizenry on what kind
of services are available to them.

After a few months,
she wore me down.

I let her do
the evening weather report,
which she was fine at.

With the preparation she put into it,

you'd think she was
covering D-Day. Ha-ha-ha.

GEORGE:
Six, five,

four, three,

two, one.

You're on.

Good evening
from the WWEN Weather Center.

Weather Center?

The heavy system
we were expecting

[ON TV]
Moving down from the north
is not gonna show up after all,

because the high-pressure system

is going to be moving
up to the north.

The temperature for tonight
will remain unseasonably cool

with patches of fog in the morning
and probably...

Hey, come on.
Let's have some quiet here.

The winds are at seven to 10 miles
per hour and sunrise will be at 6:12.

That's it for your
up-to-the-minute weather report.

This is your WWEN
weather person saying

I'll be with you again
tomorrow evening,
rain or shine.

[THEME MUSIC
PLAYING ON TV]

I never really gave a rat's ass
about the weather

until I got to know Mrs. Maretto.

Now I take it very serious.

If it rains

or there's lightning or thunder

or if it snows,

I have to jack off.

MAN:
Uh... Hm...

Oh, right. Sorry.

[NAILBOMB'S
"WASTING AWAY" PLAYING]

♪ No values anymore ♪

♪ Nowhere to turn
Wasting away ♪

♪ Right down on you ♪

♪ Wasting away ♪

♪ Suffer more, somebody still ♪

♪ Found release locked away ♪

♪ Right down on you ♪

♪ Wasting away ♪♪

[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

Today's guest, Mrs. Maretto,

is a representative of our local
television station, WWEN.

SUZANNE: On-air correspondent.
I'm sorry?

Well, actually,
I'm an on-air correspondent.

Well, that's fine.

Anyway, Mrs. Maretto has asked
to have a few words with you,

and I know that while I'm gone
you will give her your best attention.

Here's my best attention.

[STUDENTS LAUGHING]

Did you say something, Russell?

No, Mr. Finlaysson, I didn't.

I didn't.

[DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES]

Well, first of all,
I would like to thank you all

for extending me the courtesy
of your time and attention.

I got something to extend.

[STUDENTS LAUGHING]

And I would like to say
that I hope you'll all be as excited

about the project I'm here
to propose to you as I am.

First of all, I want to ask

have any of you actually ever
been on television before?

Not counting home video,
of course.

No one?

[RUSSELL SLURPING]

I was.

[STUDENTS LAUGHING]

SUZANNE: What's your name?
Lydia Mertz.

And how did it happen
that you made this appearance?

Oh, it was down
at Benson's Electronics.

They have this video camera
in the window

and when you walk by
they take your picture.

[STUDENTS LAUGHING]

Well, Lydia, this may come
as a surprise,

but that is how some of our most
famous personalities started out.

Just seeing what they look like,
accidentally.

Is that true?
Absolutely.

Now, I am producing
a television documentary

about kids just like yourselves,

because it is teenagers like you

who are the future of our nation.

And, after all, I used to be
a teenager myself once,

back in the Dark Ages.
Heh, heh.

So I would like to find out
about your way of life.

How you feel
about your education,

how you feel about
things like peer pressure,

how you feel about drugs,

um, rap music.

Pussy?

[STUDENTS LAUGHING]

Do we have to get permission slips
from our parents for this?

No. No, that wouldn't be necessary.

Hey, when did your folks learn
to read and write?

Hey, read this, shitface.

[STUDENTS GROANING
AND LAUGHING]

All right. All right.

[STUDENTS CHATTERING]

All right, all right, all right.

I am going to put this list
on your bulletin board.

And any of you
who think this project

would be as meaningful
as I know it can be

just put their names on it.

And I would also like
to thank you all

[CHATTERING STOPS]

For your interest.

Everything settled then?
Yes.

Well, then let's give
Mrs. Maretto our thanks

and a round of applause.

Thank you. Thank you.

[SCHOOL BELL RINGS]

Sign up.

[NAILBOMB'S
"WASTING AWAY" PLAYING]

Suzanne.

I'd never really signed up
for anything before

except an after-school
Weight Watchers program,

which I was asked to leave anyway
because they said I wasn't motivated

and because I gained 11 pounds
in three weeks.

But this was different,
because it turned out to be

the most important thing
I ever did.

[CLATTERING]

FINLAYSSON:
Now, here's some advice,
Russell dear.

That nice Mrs. Maretto
is married to a boy

whose father is a pillar of
the Italian-American community,

and if he knew
how you had insulted

his only beloved daughter-in-law,

he would make one phone call

and a man would show up
in the middle of the night
and turn you into a eunuch.

You know what a eunuch is,
Russell? Of course you don't.

But you can find it in the dictionary.

If you don't know how to spell it,
look it up

under "nutless wonders."

So I'm thinking,
there must be some simple way

for you to make it up
to Mrs. Maretto

for your offensive behavior.

What do you think? Hm?

Wow, a eunuch.

♪ Suffer more, somebody still ♪

♪ Found release locked away ♪

♪ Built up high ♪

♪ Right down on you ♪

♪ Wasting away ♪♪

I have to say
that the staff at WWEN

responded with total enthusiasm
to my project

and gave me excellent support

both editorially and technically.

I think they could sense
immediately

that I was onto something important
in a sociological sense.

She must've taped God knows
how many hundreds of hours

with these three dorky kids

who, from what I've seen,
would have a major struggle

just reciting the days of the week
in proper order.

Forget about social insights.

Here, I'll show you.

[CLEAR THROAT]

This is Teens Speak Out project,
tape one, take one.

JIMMY:
No, no, no.

I'm Suzanne Stone
and these are...

All right, now, let's just say
something in general
about ourselves.

LYDIA:
Like what?

Like what do you plan to do
with your future, Lydia?

[RUSSELL HAWKS AND SPITS]

I don't exactly have a plan.

SUZANNE:
Well, you must have
aspirations of some kind.

What?
A dream, a life goal.

RUSSELL:
I can tell you Lydia's big life goal.

Yeah?

It's to fuck
the New Kids on the Block.

That's a dirty lie.
Russell.

I don't wanna hear language
like that. It is offensive,

and it is unsuitable for broadcast
under FCC regulations.

You got that?
Yeah.

LYDIA:
Anyways, it was Mötley Crüe.

All right, Lydia.

LYDIA: Just for your information.
What about you, James?

James?

James.

Huh?

I think you get the point that it's not,
"Mike Wallace, eat your heart out."

But I have to say
I've never seen more persistence.

I, uh... I once said to her...

What about...?
What about we call it a night?

Uh...

Just need to get this reel
cleaned up.

An hour, maybe two.
You go ahead. I'll lock up.

Don't you have that nice husband
waiting at home for you?

Well, he knows how much
this means to me.

He works full-time
at his dad's restaurant,
so he gets home real late.

Well, Suzanne, I sure pity
the person who says no to you.

No one ever does.

[♪♪♪]

Why are you tying her up again?

Why is she tied up again?

WOMAN:
Just leave her alone.

Untie yourself.

Leave her alone.
If she runs away...

MAN [ON TV]:
As Scripture says, God is the light.

JIMMY: Ouch. Fucker.
And that light, friends, is heaven.

Heaven is waiting for you.

SUZANNE:
James?

James.

See, nobody ever
called me that before.

All anyone ever called me was

Jimmy or Jimbo or other stuff.

My mom told me
that I was named Jimmy

after this old movie star
she liked

named Jimmy Dean.

But...

Well, when anyone ever asked me,
I always said that I was named Jim

after Jim Morrison of The Doors,

because, you know,

he had this great kind of life,

like, just traveling around
and writing his songs

and having women beg him
to do it to them,

even to take his, uh...

organ out on-stage.

The kind of life that I always
thought I'd like to have.

RUSSELL:
I bet he jumps her
all the time, you know?

Like after dinner, just bang,
right on the kitchen table.

Fucking during even.

Yeah. Maybe both.

Those skinny bitches,
they can't get enough of it,
you know?

They're always wanting it.
That's a medical fact.

JIMMY:
Yeah.

RUSSELL:
It's because the nerves in their body
are all bunched up in their snatch.

You know what I mean?
They're all right up in there,
so they're all whack.

I don't think that's true.

What are you, a doctor?

She's a perfectly nice person.

You think she's gonna make you
a big movie star, huh, Lydia?

Just to be on TV
will be something nice.

It will be something different.

I got something different
for you right here, all right?

You're a disgusting pig.
Yeah.

[SNORTING]

[GLASS SHATTERING]

You know what we should do?
We should get some money
out of her.

What makes you think she's got any?
What, are you shitting me?

Her husband,
Mr. Fucking-Big-Cock,

owns a fucking guinea restaurant,
all right?

Look at the car she drives.
Look at her fucking fingernails.

Big, red, sculpted, glossy nails.

She got plenty of money.
That's rich-bitch stuff.

Yeah, maybe.

You think she's some kind
of hot shit, don't you?

She just looks...
What?

Clean.

All right, come on.
They're ready.
Larry, Larry, Larry.

Kids, stop it.

ANGELA:
That's a real pretty outfit, honey.

Thanks.

Hey, Suze. You want one of these?
No, thanks.

No? What about one of these?
You're going in the pool.

No, thanks.
ANGELA: Heh-heh-heh.

Sure is great with those kids.
He's gotta stop eating junk.

He's getting a rubber tire
around him like some old man.

He'll make a wonderful father
someday.

He calls them love handles.
I call them flab.

What about you?
Me? You think I look fat?

No. What about the idea of kids?

That's what I mean.
Well, I love kids.

I absolutely love them,

but a woman in my field with a baby
has two strikes against her.

Say I'm in New York, right...
New York?

Well, for instance.
And I'm suddenly called
on some foreign assignment

like a royal wedding
or a revolution in South America.

You can't run from place
to place with your crew

and conduct serious interviews
with a big, fat stomach.

Or say you've already had the baby,
and you've got this blubber,

these boobs out to here.

Oof. It's just so gross.

[BOY SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

Hey, careful. Hey.

[LARRY BELCHES]

LARRY: Excuse me.
Hm. Nice.

You having a good time?

Well, I want to get out of the sun.

I have to go prepare my show.

I sure would like to
have a couple of them
around the house.

What do you think, Suze?

Suze. What do you think?

I think if you wanted a babysitter,
you should've married Mary Poppins.

[DOOR OPENS]

Hi, Ed. Wake up, George.

Let's hit it.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING ON TV]

Hi, everybody.

This is Suzanne Stone
with your late-night,
sign-off weather report

from the WWEN Weather Center.

I don't think I need to tell you
that today was a hot one.

That old mercury
zoomed on up to 91.

That's a record-breaking temperature
for this date.

Tomorrow promises to be
more of the same,

with relevant numbers
way up in the 90s

humidity to match, and maybe
just a hint of a breeze or two.

[♪♪♪]

Won't be much help with this heat,
the kind of heat

that makes me want to
head for that swimming hole
with my friend James,

strip off everything,
including my panties,

which you can see through
anyway,

poke my soft, pink tongue
in his mouth,

slide my hand way up
the inside of his leg

until he's so hot
that he rolls over on top of me,

and I'm yelling, "James,"
his name.

James.

What are you doing to me

with your big, fat, hard...?

[BEEPING ON TV]

Oh, Jesus.

[GROANS]

Listen to me, Larry. Okay.

[♪♪♪]

So she finishes
her little docudrama,

whatever the fuck it is.
She sends it off to someone
in New York,

and while she's waiting
for an answer,

you should, forgive the expression,
knock her up.

Knock her up and then...

Whoa, whoa. Whoa.
Los Angeles? What does
Los Angeles got to do with it?

A course in what?

Advanced media?

Advanced bullshit, Larry.

Look, I'm sorry.
You're my brother, okay?

I know you love her and
you want her to succeed
and all that,

but sometimes, man,
you just gotta say no.

What do you mean, how?
N-O, that's how.

MAN [ON TV]:
Comes to the right of the key,
throws up a hook shot.

It's good!

And the score is again tied
here in the first half at the Palace.

With the ball, Skeeter Jones
brings the ball to the...

LARRY: Suzanne?
- Bounce pass to Meadows...

Yeah?
Jump shot on the way, bingo!

Unbelievable play.

What are you doing?

Just sitting here,
waiting for you.

Larry, I asked you to please
keep your feet off the coffee table.

We gotta talk about
some things, Suzanne.

What kind of things?

I think you know
what kind of things.

No. No, I don't.

Larry, can't this wait
until tomorrow? I'm really tired.

No.

What?

No, I don't think it can wait. No.

[♪♪♪]

Sit down.
We're gonna talk
about this stuff.

The thing is, I think we got
this great future ahead of us.

I just want to make sure we both
understand what the priorities are.

I think Pop's gonna let me
take over managing the restaurant.

And I got a lot of exciting ideas,

like introducing
some new menu items

and bringing in some
live music on the weekends

and maybe...
Maybe even one night a week,

open house for
local singers and comics,

which you,
with your TV background,
you could help me with.

You know, maybe
shooting the acts

and then maybe
selling the tapes,

which you could edit yourself,
back to the performers.

I talked to my folks about it,
and they thought it'd be a great idea.

Great idea. Really.

And believe me, Suze,
I am not selling short
what you're doing now.

I mean, the weather report stuff,

which you're really good at.

But let's face facts.

It's probably not gonna

lead to any big network offers.

Now, this way,

we could be working together
in both our respective fields,

doing what a family
is supposed to be doing.

A family, that's what
I'm talking about, Suze, huh?

What do you think?

Um...

[♪♪♪]

I'll think about it.

It's true that the road
my husband and I chose to travel on

was paved
with many speed bumps.

Larry said he would never stand
in my way, whatever happened.

But the word "failure"
is not part of my vocabulary.

My commitment to my career
or my marriage, or whatever,

has always been 110 percent.

Regardless of how fast
I was growing in my vocation,
I would never leave Larry behind.

The word "divorce"
was never mentioned.

[♪♪♪]

Ta-da. What do you think?

Oh. Wow.
Like the color?

Yeah.
It doesn't make me look fat?

No.
I think I'm gonna get it.

Oh, Jesus. Heh-heh-heh.
Mr. Maretto is going to...

Mr. Maretto? Pfft. Yeah, right.

Let me tell you something, Lydia.

No. No, you wouldn't understand.
Maybe I would.

[SCOFFS]

Well, you grow up, you know?

You think it's all gonna be
like a fairy tale.

Like you're Sleeping Beauty and
along comes this Prince Charming.

And he looks at you
and it's nighttime.

And he smiles at you
and kisses you.

Yeah, I know that story.

And then...

Then you wake up,

and it's daylight,

and you look at him.

It's just when you work all day,
trying to perfect yourself

and create something meaningful,
you expect support.

Does anyone say,
"Did you have a good shoot?"
Or "How's the editing?"

Or anything of that nature?

I guess not.

No.

I mean, the point is,

Larry is a nice guy, you know,

but he just doesn't know
a thing about television.

Let's get out of here.

Mrs. Maretto bought me
lots of nice stuff,

like this ankle bracelet,
for instance.

And a bottle
of real expensive perfume.

A "scent," she called it,

which I'm saving
for a special occasion.

No one ever really
bought me stuff before

except my mom's boyfriend,
Chester,

who got me for my birthday
when I was 12,

a bottle of something called
Garden of Eden body oil,

which he said would be good
for my skin

and which he wanted
to show me how to use,

which I let him do.

He did other things for a while.

When I was 13,
I got this mild case of T.B.

And he wasn't so interested
anymore.

You just have to block that
out of your memory,

like some scary TV movie
where you change the channel

and you pretend
like it never happened.

The whole thing
will be like a bad dream.

Yeah, anyway, my mom keeps
this gun hidden up in her closet

because of all
the sex-fiend killers around.

And one time, I told him
if he didn't leave me alone,

I'd get it out
and I'd shoot him.

I mean, he didn't give me
any more trouble or anything.

Now I guess I wish
I hadn't told her all that

because maybe it put some ideas
in her mind or something.

I don't know.

I just told her stuff
I'd never told anyone,
because she was my friend.

She was my only real friend.

Where are you going?

Oh, I told you, hon.

Pop and I are going up
to the trade show in Freeport.

We're leaving from the restaurant.
I told you.

Yeah. Right. Right.

Look, are you gonna be okay?
Sure.

Suze, will you think about
what we talked about?

I have been.

That's great, hon,
because I believe

I got something here
that's really gonna work.

And you know who I want
with me by my side, don't you?

Who?
Who? My best girl, that's who.

My beautiful little lady.

Look, I left the phone
number on the fridge.

And don't forget
to lock the garage.

SUZANNE:
Bye.

[DOOR CLOSES]

[♪♪♪]

[CAR ENGINE STARTS]

[CAR DRIVES AWAY]

[MOANS]

[ENGINE RUMBLES]

[DOORBELL RINGS]

Hi.

You know what I'm thinking, Larry?

Why don't we get some artificial
plants for the restaurant?

Good idea.

We don't have to water them.

Exactly.

[STRAWPEOPLE'S
"WINGS OF DESIRE"
PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]

SUZANNE:
Come on, Liddy.

I can't do this, Mrs. Maretto.

Yeah, of course you can.

You just have to let
your natural sense
of rhythm take over.

♪ Nothing is wrong ♪

I don't think I have one of those.

Yeah, she really stinks at this.
SUZANNE: Here.

Watch me. Watch me.

Watch my hips.

You can do that.

Can't you?

[CHUCKLES]

I can't do that.
SUZANNE: Of course you can.

You just have to move.
Move your body.

Come on.

Come on. Relax.

Relax.
You're like a stick.

I can't do this.
Move your hips.

No, I gotta sit down. This is...
This is making me feel all funny.

Come on, James.

Heh.

SUZANNE:
Come on.

Over here.

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪♪

[JIMMY CHUCKLING]

SUZANNE:
Come on, James.

I'm dancing.

SUZANNE:
Liddy?

Yeah?

Would you do me
an enormous favor?

Sure. What?

Walter hasn't been out for hours.

Would you take him
for a walk around the block?

Yeah. Sure.
SUZANNE: I'm gonna go upstairs.

Take my sweater off.

It's really hot in here.
Yeah.

SUZANNE:
When you come back,
I'll fix us something to eat.

Okay.

Oh, and, Liddy?

Don't let him come back until
he's done his business, okay?

Like a good little boy.

[JIMMY CHUCKLES]

[SUZANNE GIGGLES]

I'm back.

[LYDIA RHODES' "LIVE IT COOL"
PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS
IN DISTANCE]

Hello?

I have to use the bathroom.

[SUZANNE CHUCKLES]

♪ I like this groove
I like this groove ♪

♪ I like this groove ♪

♪ Mm, mm, mm ♪

♪ It's kind of funky ♪

♪ I like this groove
I like this groove ♪

♪ Think I'm gonna dance
Let's do it ♪

♪ Fabulous ♪

♪ Let's do it ♪

[SUZANNE PANTING]

♪ Go on, go on, go on ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

[JIMMY MOANS]

♪ Be cool, be cool ♪

♪ Gotta play it by the rules ♪

[SUZANNE MOANING]

♪ Play it right ♪♪

[JIMMY PANTING]

SUZANNE:
Oh, yeah.

It was like I was
in one of those...

Okay, you know
those great movies

where everyone is coming out
of their graves?

With, like,
half their faces missing

and their eyes hanging out
and their lips falling off?

You know those?

JIMMY:
I think I'll get sick.

And they're all walking around,

like, real slow like this.

They're all walking like this
and kind of grunting.

[CHATTERING]

MAN:
Come on, now.

SUZANNE:
Oh, this will be great.

And they're all looking
for the same thing.

For regular live people,
to eat their flesh

and drink their blood and all.

Come on, James.
Smile. Smile.

[LAUGHING]

And they can't help themselves

because they're dead

and that's just what happens.

That's what I felt like.

[SUZANNE SOBBING]

You gotta tell me
what's wrong, please.

[♪♪♪]

James, do you think about me
when we're not together?

All I do is think about you.

When I'm not with you,
I'm not alive.

Mrs. Maretto,

you're the best thing
that ever happened to me.

I can't do this anymore.
What?

I can't go home every night
and have him try to touch me.

And all the time
I'm just thinking about you.

About us.

And when I push him away,
he has this temper.

What do you mean?

Does he hurt you?

Oh.

There were these women,
you know,

on The Sally Jesse Raphael Show
the other day.

They were all wearing disguises
so their husbands couldn't find them.

They were living in shelters, and
I thought I could live in one of them.

If they let me bring Walter with me,
I could live in one of them.

Someplace in another state
where no one even knows who I am.

Look. Couldn't you
just get a divorce?

And then...
But then he would get the condo.

And he'd get the car.
And he'd take Walter from me.

He'd take Walter.
Listen.

I know you think
I'm just a kid, but...

I could never do
anything bad to you

or ever hurt you.

A guy that does that
to someone like you

doesn't deserve to live.

That's the truth.
He doesn't deserve to live.

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

No. I suppose you're right.

He doesn't.

[LYNYRD SKYNYRD'S
"SWEET HOME ALABAMA"
PLAYING ON RADIO]

Oh, fuck! I love this song!

Don't you love this song?

I don't know.

Whoo!

♪ Big wheels keep on turnin' ♪

♪ Carry me home to see my kin ♪

♪ Singin' songs
About the Southland ♪

♪ I miss Alabamy once again
And I think it's a sin, yes ♪

♪ Sweet home Alabama ♪

♪ Where the skies are so blue ♪♪

[♪♪♪]

Mrs. Maretto used to let me
drive around in her car

even though I didn't even have
a learner's permit.

Because she said when
she'd be living in California

and doing her TV shows,
she'd make me her assistant,

and I'd have to drive her
around places

and help her answer
her personal fan mail.

I guess this is the
most exciting time of my life.

It was like living
in a really great movie,

except it was kind of X-rated

on account of all the sex stuff,
you know?

Hey. Oh. Don't stop.

You didn't answer my question.

What question was that?

Did you talk to Russell?

Uh... Yeah, I did.

Well, what did he say?

He wants a thousand dollars.

Is that all?
And some CDs.

[JIMMY PANTING]

Oh, come on.
Did you get the gun?

No, not yet.

Why not?

I don't know. I guess I thought
you'd ask Lydia or...

I can't ask Liddy.
You have to ask Liddy.

Don't you understand?

I guess so, but I thought...

Do you want me to keep
doing what I was doing?

Yeah, please.
Okay.

Then you have to do
what you have to do.

JIMMY:
Oh, God.

So when will it happen?
Ow. Oh, come on. Please don't...

I just want to know when.
Let's just do this.

I don't know.

Whenever. Jesus.
Oh.

Look, if you don't know,
I guess I'll have to find
somebody who does.

Oh. Mrs. Maretto,
you have to understand. This...

No. I think I do understand.

Obviously you're not
the mature individual
that I thought you were.

No.

Actually, I just had a thought.

Maybe a better way to go
on the whole thing.

What's that?

Russell.

What about him?

Russell's enough of a man
to take charge of the situation.

Well...
He looks at me in a certain way.

I think he'd be very appreciative
of what I could do for him.

What do you think?

I think we could probably do it
next week.

Is that soon enough?

Would you really do that for me,
James?

Anything.

And then we can be together.

And you can sleep over.

And we could do
anything we wanna do.

Anything?
Yeah.

[CHUCKLING]

[MOANS]

Anything.

[♪♪♪]

Got it?
Yeah, Angela, stand back.

Tell me if it's straight.

Oh. It looks great.

[LARRY WHISTLES]

LARRY:
Hey, Walter.

Five.

[♪♪♪]

Walter.

Four.

Come on, boy.

Let's go for a walk.

Three.

[LARRY KISSING]

Walter.

Two.

One.

[LARRY GRUNTING]

Hi, everybody.

This is Suzanne Stone, live.
LARRY: What do you want?

Don't fucking move.

LARRY:
Just take whatever you want
and get out.

Come on, Jimmy. Now.
Wait.

[WALTER BARKING]

Just wait.

Okay, take the watch. It's a Rolex.
I know it's a fucking Rolex.

Think it's the first time
I've seen a Rolex?
Give me your fucking chain.

Hey.
Give me your chain.

[SUZANNE MOANING]

SUZANNE:
You've probably noticed
it's been another beautiful evening

with a slight chill in the air

and those autumn temperatures
right about where they should be.

Now, Jim. Now. Do it.

No, no. No, please.
No, wait. Give me your ring.

My ring?
RUSSELL: Give it to me.

LARRY:
Look, man, I can't give you my ring.

My wife will kill me, man.

She'd kill you?
Suzanne would kill you?

Hey, you know my wife?

SUZANNE:
The good news is...

Oh!
RUSSELL: Jimmy, now. Do it.

Now. Fucking now, asshole. Do it.

God, forgive me.

So for the next few days,
it should be just about perfect

for boat season weather.

Well, that's about it for tonight.
I'm Suzanne Stone saying...

I'll see you tomorrow, rain or shine.

[♪♪♪]

And if you'll allow me,
just a personal note.

Um, a special greeting
to my husband, Larry,

on this, our first anniversary.

Good night, honey.

Come on.

[PHONE RINGS]

ANGELA:
Hello.

[ANGELA SCREAMS]

Oh, God!

MAN:
Folks, that's it.

[CROWD CHATTERING]

[PHONE RINGING]

Hello.

Anything?

BEN:
We got a little dirt.
Who knows?

And this.
What?

I don't know.

Feels like pieces of shell.

MAN: Janice Maretto?
Yeah, that's me.

Telephone call at the desk.
Oh, okay.

[CHATTERING]

Hello.

What?

Oh.

Thank you.

[RECEIVER CLATTERS]

[WHIMPERING]

MAN [ON TV]:
Hey, wake up.

We're open right now.

All Saturday night
around the clock.

Was there an incident
at the restaurant?

Some guy came in
and drink too much

or said something to him?
No.

MAN:
Five-piece, all-wood dinettes
in Colonial, oak and white.

Your choice, 297.

WOMAN:
Complete king bed set:
Mattress, box, frame, 297.

MAN: That's Tom Peterson.
WOMAN: And Gloria too.

ANNOUNCER:
And that concludes
our broadcast day at WWEN.

Your community access station
serving Little Hope

and the greater
Hope County area.

["THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER"
PLAYING ON TV]

You don't have to
talk to those people
if you don't want to.

[♪♪♪]

[CHURCH BELLS TOLLING]

[PRIEST SPEAKING IN LATIN]

That's what surprised me.

That he didn't put up
much of a fight.

I mean, for a guy
with such a mean temper.

When I was standing in the hall

with the gun,

I was trying to keep
from being too nervous

by thinking about Mrs. Maretto

and how we'd be together
for the rest of our lives.

[SCOFFS]

PRIEST:
Let us take leave of our brother.

JIMMY:
Living in California,
Florida, somewhere,

lying around on beaches
where everyone goes topless

and working on her TV show.

PRIEST:
When the love of Christ,
which conquers all things,

destroys even death itself.

Amen.

[ERIC CARMEN'S
"ALL BY MYSELF"
PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]

♪ All by myself ♪

♪ Don't wanna be ♪

♪ All by myself ♪

♪ Anymore ♪

♪ All by myself ♪

♪ Don't wanna live ♪

♪ All by... ♪♪

I just knew.

I don't know why I knew.
I just... I just knew.

It was like a light just went off
in my head, and I knew she'd...

I knew she just got rid of him.

Just got in her way.

[SNIFFLING]

Anyway, um...

So, um...

Yeah, and then I didn't see her again.
That was the last time I saw her.

Suzanne.

I'm sorry. Could we...?

Could we stop for a second?

[DOORBELL RINGS]

[SUZANNE SIGHS]

What do you want, Liddy?
Just to talk.

Look, I'm really busy right now.
What do you want to talk about?

What we're gonna do.
We?

You and me and Jimmy.

I'm scared.
There's nothing to be scared about.

You and I and Jimmy are gonna
stay miles away from each other.

That's what we're gonna do.
Well, he's here.

Here? Shit, where?

Across the street.

Jesus Christ. Get in here.

Get in here quick.

Now, you listen to me.
You tell James to stay away,
all right?

What is the matter with you people?
Don't you watch Mystery Theater?

He says that he needs to see you
and that he's dying of love.

[SIGHS]

Tell him to call a doctor.

And Russell wants
his money and his CDs.

Oh. Really? You tell Russell
if he doesn't keep his mouth shut,

he's gonna be playing his CDs
in the gas chamber.

Suzanne.
What else? What do you want?

Just to be like before,
like we were.

Lydia, we can't be
like we were.

We have to forget
we ever knew each other.

Go on, get out of here.

What about the TV show
in California and everything?

Oh. Jesus, Liddy. Get real.

God.

[WHISPERING]
What happened?
What did she say?

[JIMMY & LYDIA SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY]

Did you tell her I love her?
Yes, I did.

She said you were sick
and you needed to see a doctor.

[JIMMY GROANS]

[CAR HORN HONKING]

Ed. Ed.

Hello, Suzanne.

Look...
How's it going?

Ed, I'm real unhappy
I haven't been able to give you
an exclusive on everything.

Pardon?
I mean...

There's all these news markets
just clamoring for attention

and I have to consider
future possibilities.

Of course. You know,
I understand absolutely.

Good. Good.
Ed, I need to collect my tapes.

With the publicity, I've decided
to finish my documentary...

Well, there's gonna be
a slight problem.

Problem?
The cops took them.

What do you mean?
They came and they took them away.

Why would they do that?

They said it was standard procedure.
But those tapes belong to me!

Well, technically speaking, Suzanne,
those tapes actually belong to us.

I mean, to the station,
until such time...

I'll show you the section that
piqued the cops' interest,
you might say.

SUZANNE:
Today we're talking about
sexually transmitted diseases

and teenage attitudes
toward them.

Would anyone like to start it off?

Personally, I'm against them.

[STUDENTS LAUGHING]

Let's see if we can be
more specific.

What do you think of
when I say the word "AIDS"?

BOY 1: Queers.
BOY 2: Perversion.

The old Hershey highway.

[STUDENTS LAUGHING]

Settle down, children.

What about you, Liddy?

Supposing you were in a sexual
relationship with a student.

Would you expect that person
to wear a condom?

LYDIA:
I don't know. I mean...

I guess it would depend on,
you know, what kind of person
he was.

Yeah, a blind person.

[CLEARS THROAT]

How about you, James?

Are you personally concerned
about AIDS?

Oh, um...

Well, in my present situation...

Well, in the relationship
I got going,

I don't worry
about that type of thing.

She's not that kind of person.

She's very clean.

[STUDENTS MURMURING]

That's the piece Geraldo used
with some minor editing.

And itwas on First Edition
and American Justice.

We made a few bucks on this one,
and got a nice credit.

MAN [ON TV]:
- In the Holy Spirit,
I want you to bow down...

BEN:
Arms straight up.

Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you for my life.

Think a little bit about your life.
Think about what you can part with.

A dollar? Ten dollars?
A hundred dollars?

How important is Jesus
in your life?

[♪♪♪]

As you can imagine,

I was shocked
beyond comprehension.

I mean, to think that these
disadvantaged youngsters

who I had taken under my wing
and spent my time with

and who would only stand
to ultimately benefit

from my media savvy...

To think that they might be
responsible for this heinous crime?

It simply boggles one
with disbelief.

Of course, I realized,

and I hope
this doesn't sound callous,

that the upside to all this,
assuming justice prevailed,

is that I would have
an extremely marketable commodity.

Something that even PBS
would take an interest in.

Which would mean
a smaller audience,

but a much larger prestige factor.

MIKE: Want to tell us about it?
JIMMY: I got nothing to tell.

MIKE: Your friend
Russell told us plenty.

Like what?

He said your dick
was bigger than your brain.

Heh, heh. Oh, yeah?
He really said that?

BEN:
I don't think he meant it
as a compliment.

MIKE:
Fucking amateurs.

Who?
Listen, as career criminals,

you guys flunk out of kindergarten.

Your prints are on the gun.

Your pal left a trail of clam shells
all over the murder scene.

BEN:
You boys did everything
but leave a business card.

MIKE:
There's Larry Maretto's blood
all over those shoes you wore.

Yeah.
And pieces of Larry's brains.

He used to beat her up all the time.
MIKE: Uh-huh.

He said he was gonna kill her.
I'm sure he did.

We were going to California
because

she said I had real potential
in TV because of my voice.

Doing what with your voice?
JIMMY: Sports.

Like being a sports announcer.

So when did you
start banging her?

It wasn't like that.
MIKE: What was it like?

It was just...

We were...

BEN:
You were what?

In love.

[CRYING]

[♪♪♪]

We were in love.

MIKE:
How many times? How many times
did you do it, you and Mrs. Maretto?

I don't know.

Lots, I guess.
BEN: Where?

In her bed?
In her and her dead husband's bed?

Yeah, sometimes.

MIKE:
Where else?

In her car.

In her car?
Yeah.

And once at school.

Jesus Christ. At school, huh?

JIMMY:
Yeah. In the back of the gym.

And once late at night at the station
where she does her weather reports.

And twice at the motel
on Piedmont.

Oh, and the back of
Russell's truck. Heh.

And the movie theater
on Hayworth.

Oh, a couple times
at her parents' house

when they were away
on some vacation or something.

And...

Also in the field
behind the gas station.

But, uh...

Probably where you get your
doughnuts and coffee and stuff.

It's close.

Suzanne?

Hi, Liddy.

Is it my imagination,
or is that diet working, huh?

You lost a few pounds
in there? Ha-ha-ha.

I don't know. I haven't
been eating much lately.

What's this
about talking to the police?

I just figured that Russell
would tell them everything, so...

SUZANNE [OVER HEADPHONES]:
Look. No one's gonna believe
anything Russell or Jimmy say.

They're just a couple of punks.

They wouldn't be in this deep shit
if they kept their mouths shut.

There's no evidence
that we're involved.

I wasn't anywhere
near the house.

And if they did find out anything,
you know who'd be in trouble,
don't you?

You would. Heh, heh.
What do you mean?

If you hadn't gotten
your mother's gun,

Larry would still be alive,
wouldn't he?

But you asked me to.
No, I didn't.

No. Jimmy did.
Don't you remember that?

But you asked Jimmy,
and you told Russell
that you'd pay.

No, I don't think so.

SUZANNE:
Now, you listen to me.

I never gave Russell any money.
Do you understand?

The way I remember,
it was your plan all along.
You and Jimmy.

You had this fixation about me,
and you were getting a kick out it,

like people with your
sexual problems tend to do.

Russell went along with you
because Russell is basically
an evil, little fucking scumbag

who, I'll bet, you were having
some kind of sex with in spite
of your lesbian tendencies.

Wait a minute!
Wait for what?

I thought we were friends.

[CRYING]

Well, okay, then.

Hm?

Can you take some advice
from a friend?

You keep your fucking mouth shut.

[CHUCKLING]

It's their word against mine.
Who are they?

A bunch of 16-year-old losers
who grew up in trailers

whose parents sit around drinking
and screwing their cousins.

[CHUCKLING]

I'm a professional person,
for chrissake.

I come from a good home.

Who do you think
a jury would believe?

LAWYER:
Thank God we still have
legal procedures in this country.

The court has wisely ruled this is
a clear case of police entrapment.

The tapes were found to be
inadmissible evidence
in the courtroom.

[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]

My client was granted bail
in the amount of $200,000,

which was steep, but at least
she will be able to assist us

in the preparation of her defense.

[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]

REPORTER 1:
Do you have a statement? You have
something you'd like to say?

REPORTER 2:
Suzanne. Suzanne,
please say something.

I just wanna say...

It's nice to live in a country

where life, liberty

and all the rest of it
still stand for something.

Thank you.
What are you gonna do now?

I'm gonna go home
and walk my dog. Thank you.

REPORTER 3:
How are you gonna
address the questions?

Will you take the stand
in your defense?

Suzanne, did you get those kids
to kill your husband?

I loved Larry Maretto

with all my heart.

But the fact is...

my husband had
a serious cocaine problem.

There.

I've said it.

I finally said it.

I believe that while
I was making my documentary

Teens Speak Out,

James and Russell
became acquainted

with my husband
without me knowing

and got him addicted to drugs

and became his main supplier.

[ON TV]
And when he tried
to break free of them,

or maybe when he told them

that he was thinking
of turning them in to the law...

they killed him.

I had no intention
of revealing this dark side

of my late husband's character

because I wanted to spare
his parents the pain.

But I just don't have a choice
anymore.

I have to defend myself
with the truth.

[♪♪♪]

There were times when...

[SUZANNE SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY ON TV]

SUZANNE:
And I know someday
when my fight is over,

I will be joining my husband

in the heaven that
he so fervently believed in.

And that was the last time that we...

The last time we saw her.
SUZANNE: And that...

That pretty well brings us
up to date.

Until your phone call,

which I must say
wasn't entirely unexpected,

since in the last few days a number
of interesting offers for my story

have been literally pouring in
from the networks

and some major movie studios.

I totally understand why we'll be
keeping this meeting confidential

until such time as we may come
to a mutually beneficial agreement.

And I have to admit,

that I really do enjoy

this spy-story aspect
of our first rendezvous,
if I may call it that.

Because I think that being
a good investigative reporter

is very much like
being a kind of secret agent.

I hope you enjoy
viewing this document,

which I believe could serve
as the first draft

that you Hollywood people
are so richly rewarded for.

Well, I guess that's a wrap.

[CHUCKLES]

[♪♪♪]

Come on, Walter.

MAN: Suzanne?
Yes.

Finally. The famous
Suzanne Maretto.

Oh.
How nice to meet you.

[JOINTS CRACK]

Ow. Heh.

Did you come all the way
from Hollywood?

I came a long distance to see you.

Who's this?

Oh.

This is Walter.

Walter. Hi, Walter.

[GIGGLING]

I don't know why,
but I thought that you'd be older,

running a big studio
and everything.

Well, I am older.

[♪♪♪]

Come on out. I want to
show you something.

Okay.

I brought my tape.

MAN:
Let's go. Let's go
for a walk. Come on.

[SUZANNE GIGGLING]

Whoa.

Where are we going?

To show you.

What?

Whoa.

It has to do with your story.
It is so funny.

SUZANNE:
I don't see why
we have to go here.

Yeah.

[♪♪♪]

And this is for you.
Thank you very much.

You're welcome.
It looks good. Thanks, Mrs. Maretto.

[PHONE RINGS]

Maretto's.

[SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]

I understand.

Thank you.

[♪♪♪]

JIMMY:
I'll be here

every day for life.

Plus 30 years, if I live that long.

Russell copped a plea
and got only 16 years.

I miss him.

He was my friend.

And Lydia too. She was okay.

Mostly Mrs. Maretto.

And the weird thing is

now it's hard for me to even
remember what she looked like.

You know?

Except when I dream about her,

which I do every night.

I dream I'm at a baseball game,

and I'm way up
in the broadcasting booth.

And I'm calling all the plays.

And she's sitting right next to me

with her hand on my leg,
feeling me up.

I can hardly wait
to get to sleep at night.

Suzanne used to say that you're
not really anybody in America

unless you're on TV.

Because what's the point
of doing anything worthwhile

if there's nobody watching?

So when people are watching,
it makes you a better person.

So if everybody was on TV
all the time,

everybody would be better people.

But if everybody was on TV
all the time,

there wouldn't be
anybody left to watch.

That's where I get confused.

Anyhow, they're flying me
to go on Oprah next weekend.

I hope she's gonna give me
some diet tips.

And Phil Donahue called too.

To tell you the truth,
I'm kind of nervous about that one,

because I honestly can't follow
what he's saying most of the time.

There's some others too
that I can't really remember offhand.

But it's really something
when you think that I'm the one
who's gonna be famous.

Suzanne would die if she knew.

WOMAN:
End sticks.

[CLAPBOARD CLICKS]

[DONOVAN'S "SEASON
OF THE WITCH" PLAYING]

♪ When I look out my window ♪

♪ Many sights to see ♪

♪ And when I look in my window ♪

♪ So many different people to be ♪

♪ Then it's strange ♪

♪ So strange ♪

♪ You got to pick up every stitch ♪

♪ Must be the season
Of the witch ♪

♪ Must be the season
Of the witch, yeah ♪

♪ Must be the season
Of the witch ♪

♪ Oh, when I look
Over my shoulder ♪

♪ What do you think I see? ♪

♪ Some other cat lookin' over ♪

♪ His shoulder at me ♪

♪ And he's strange ♪

♪ Sure is strange ♪

♪ You got to pick up every stitch ♪

♪ You got to pick up
Every stitch, yeah ♪

♪ Beatniks are out to make it rich ♪

♪ Oh, no ♪

♪ Must be the season
Of the witch ♪

♪ Must be the season
Of the witch, yeah ♪

♪ Must be the season
Of the witch ♪

♪ You got to pick up every stitch ♪

♪ The rabbits runnin' in the ditch ♪

♪ Beatniks are out to make it rich ♪

♪ Oh, no ♪

♪ Must be the season
Of the witch ♪

♪ When I go ♪

♪ When I look out my window ♪

♪ What do you think I see? ♪

♪ And when I look in my window ♪

♪ So many different people to be ♪

♪ It's strange ♪

♪ Sure is strange ♪

♪ You got to pick up every stitch ♪

♪ The rabbit's runnin' in the ditch ♪

♪ Oh, no ♪

♪ Must be the season
Of the witch ♪

♪ Must be the season
Of the witch, yeah ♪

♪ Must be the season
Of the witch ♪

♪ When I go ♪

♪ When I go ♪♪