Original subtitles

[theme music]

Mr. Moore...I need help.

Well, admitting it is the first step on the road to recovery.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look over there.

- 'You know Ron Conco?' - 'Of course.'

If the-the Knicks can hold out till he graduates from college

they could be great again. Ah..

Could I punch in now? Or am I supposed to pay a toll first?

Yeah, well, there is this one little problem.

First, we've gotta get Ron into college.

Well, the place has been swarming

with recruiters all year.

He must have hundreds of offers.

Oh, he does, but colleges have this new rule now for athletes.

Yeah. Proposition 48. You gotta get at least 700 in your SATs.

Ron needs help, now, that's where you

and the IHP come in here.

Well, let me guess.

You want me to get the IHP kids

to help Ron be ready for his SATs.

I know you wouldn't like the idea.

- But if you're going to be un-- - It's a great idea.

I'm presenting Ron

with the Outstanding Student Athlete award

at our next pep rally.

Now, can you imagine how embarrassing

that'll be if he can't pass his SATs?

- I'll do it. - You know, I can order you.

You know, I can order that. In fact, I'll tell you what.

I want you to consider it an order now.

Dr. Samuels, Charlie said it was a great idea.

- He did? - Yeah.

Yes, I did. I'll do it.

Well, I still consider it an order.

Maybe I ought to rethink this thing.

[instrumental music]

Wait a minute, you're telling me all he's gotta get

on his SATs is a combined 700?

There are species of fungus that can get a combined 700.

You should know.

[all laughing]

Okay. Okay. Okay.

Are we gonna be snobs about this

or are we gonna try to help Ron out?

Well, can't we do both?

[all chuckling]

Forget it, guys, you can lead a jock to data

but you can't make him think.

Hey, wait a minute, Dennis. I know him. He's okay.

Look, if I can help him get into college

one day, he might give me some free tickets to the games

and hook me up with some cheerleaders.

Hey, you know, it always helps a politician

to have a famous athlete campaign for him.

- So, I'm in. - Good.

And when he's hot, maybe he'll choose me

to shoot his commercials. I like it, I like it.

[school bell rings]

- Hey, Alex. - Yo, Ronnie. What's up?

Look, um, Mr. Moore, this is my pal Ron Conco.

Oh, hi, good to meet you, Mr. Moore.

- It's good to meet you. - Thanks.

I really appreciate what you're doing.

I just wish there was some way I could pay you back.

Well, just repeat what you did in last year's finals.

You know, when you took that inbound pass from McGregor

and s.. Well, uh.. Good luck.

[chuckles] Thanks.

So, you got a little problem with your SATs, huh?

Well, I'm just lookin' for a little insurance, you know.

Well, if you can get through this, you're gonna do great

on reading comprehension. "A Tale Of Two Cities."

Give it a shot.

Oh, man. Great story. Great story.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

You know it? I just assumed, man, that you know--

What? 'Cause I'm a jock, I don't know anything?

No, no. I mean..

Yeah.

It's cool, man. Hey, it was a great movie too.

Yeah, it was.

Hey, you like those old movies?

- Yeah. - Who's your favorite director?

- Hitchcock. - Oh, man.

Everybody's always talking about Hitchcock.

I mean, what's so great about the guy?

Oh, man, he is the master of suspense.

"Rear Window," Jimmy Stewart stuck in a wheelchair

for the whole movie watching a guy cover up a murder.

What an idea!

Wow, man. I gotta see that movie.

Hey, you know, it's playing down

at the Trans Lux theatre tonight.

- Well, let's go. - Hey, don't tempt me, man.

We got to get your act together.

Yeah, you're right. You're right.

And this book will be here tomorrow, you know.

"Rear Window" could be gone.

- You spring for popcorn? - Deal.

Okay. The SATs are really big on sentence completion.

But it's basically pretty simple. Here.

I'll read the sentence and you choose

the appropriate word from the corresponding group.

- Okay? - Okay.

"Scientists agreed that travel between galaxies is, blank."

- Dumb. - No.

That's not one of your choices. See.

"Theoretical, probable or proven."

I still say it's dumb.

All that stuff about the ancient astronauts

building the pyramids..

I mean, why would people who could travel in space

teach Egyptians how to build stuff out of rocks?

You know, I mean, why didn't they show 'em how to make..

...I don't know, a car or something?

That's a good point. But, what about all those canals on Mars?

See, now you expect me to believe

that the Martians built those things.

- Morning, everyone. - Hey, Mr. Moore.

Mr. Moore, Ron Conco is great.

We got into financial planning.

I told him about living trusts, uh, pension plans, CDs, TDs.

SATs?

We ran out of time but we'll get to it tonight.

You know, I didn't get a chance to teach him either.

And it's not as if he is dumb.

I mean, he is pretty good in geometry.

You know, he would have done fine on my sample math test.

"Would have?"

Well, I was describing the arc

of a basketball in mathematical terms.

Then we got to talkin' about, you know, hoops.

And then these two cheerleaders walk into the library and..

- Well, the rest is history. - No, you are history.

So, you didn't have a chance to get anything done?

You know, I made him vocabulary flashcards.

He wouldn't look at 'em. He said he'd rather look at me.

So, nobody had a chance to teach him anything

that was applicable to the SATs, huh?

- No. - Not really.

[school bell rings]

You know, I don't get it.

If he wants to play ball in college

all he needs is a 700.

Why's he wasting time?

I mean, come on, we're talking about a guy

who plans to dribble for a living.

Why should he care about school anyway?

Well, Dennis, uh, you know

it may be that Ron is unaccustomed to working

very hard for anything.

Except, perfecting his game.

But you gotta understand, for him taking this test

is like you trying to do a...360 reverse slam dunk.

Mm, which is not a pretty picture.

[indistinct chatter]

So, try to find a way to help him.

Don't give up so easily 'cause he's gonna need help. Okay?

- Yes. - Okay.

[instrumental music]

Now, what they're after is to see

how well you understand

the basic principles of geometry.

Circumferences, pi, bisected angles, triangles--

You know what I like about you?

You're not just cute. You're smart.

I mean, you're really smart, Sarah.

- But you're also really cute. - Well, thank you.

But, um, let's just stick to the geometry.

- That's not geometry. - Chemistry?

I'm sorry. Look, now you're mad at me, aren't you?

Look, Ron, let's just do the problems, okay?

Look, Sarah, I can't do the work if I know you're mad at me.

I don't think you wanna do the work at all.

What does that mean?

It means that I understand

what the other kids were talking about.

You think this is all a big joke.

Well, I've got better things to do, Ron. I'll see you later.

- Hi, Sarah. - Hi, Mr. Moore.

Listen, how's it going with Ron?

M-Mr. Moore, I don't get it.

The clock is ticking, his future's at stake

and Ron is just goofin' off.

Well, don't be afraid to tell him that.

Mr. Moore, I told him.

I don't know, I mean, it's just not sinking in

or maybe Ron is just a jerk.

Sarah.

- Hi, Mr. Moore. - Hi, Ron.

So, listen, uh, I know the kids

are really pleased to be helping out--

I know. I know. I know. I've been a bad boy, right?

But look, I promise. From now on, really.

Oh, good.

[instrumental music]

What happened? Did you forget?

Oh, sorry, Alex. Just couldn't quit till I got this right.

Show off.

Listen, there's only two teams I wanna play for.

The Knicks or The Lakers.

Los Angeles, man, I mean, it's so fantastic.

You know, when I make a basket, I get a smile from Pat Riley

and a hug from Jack Nicholson. And they pay me.

Right, now, just like basketball

you gotta have a game plan for your SATs.

You gotta have a strategy. Here, write this down.

Oh, it's okay, man. I'll remember it.

Alright, first, you answer all the easy questions

because you could waste time on the hard ones

and blow the whole thing, but don't rush--

Listen...Alex..

I mean, you're a smart guy, right?

You could probably pull this off.

- Pull what off? - Well..

Man, I mean, think about it.

When Patrick Ewing's waiting for me to dish in the ball

he's not gonna care about how I did in my SATs, right?

Yeah, so?

So, what I'm contemplating..

Is there some way you could go in there

and take those tests for me?

[both laughing]

Y-you're kidding, right? Right?

No.

I mean it.

You can't ask me to do that.

Hey, man, you can pull this off.

Look, I scored 14-1500 easy.

All you gotta get is half of that.

So, what're you saying, I'm half as smart as you?

No, no. I'm saying, you're a gym rat.

I'm a book rat. A-and I'm just trying to help.

Man, I showed you a way to help.

And what do you do? You tell me I'm dumb.

Well, geez, thanks, friend.

Look, I'll see you around.

"Thanks, friend?" You got a lot of nerve.

I mean, you're gonna get a free ride to a big time college. Why?

Because you can stuff a ball through a hoop.

Well, what about me?

I mean, if I'm lucky, I'll get a part-scholarship

a-a-and a job in the college cafeteria.

And I gotta hit the books three hours a night.

I mean, and what do you study? The history of lawn bowling?

It's all a big joke to you.

And you want me to take your test for you...as a friend?

Look, I'd give anything if I can learn something in college..

Sure, tell me about it.

You think I wanna be just another dumb jock?

Well, you're off to a great start.

Man, I can't do it.

Hey, I understand.

I mean, you've got a choice to make.

An education, or a couple of million a year?

I mean, if I were you, I would do the same thing.

But don't ask me to cheat for you.

Listen, Alex, if I take that test, man, I'm history.

Yeah, because you're too lazy to do the work.

- I'm not lazy. - Alright.

Then you're too stupid to do it.

Alex, don't you get it?

I can't read.

[instrumental music]

[indistinct chatter]

No way. Now, just wait a minute.

How can anybody in this day and age

not know how to read?

- Yeah. - Exactly.

Look, he fell behind when he was a kid

and he never caught up.

Oh, come on, Alex.

Surely, someone must have realized it.

Hey, when you are a jock, nobody expects you to be very smart.

I mean, it's a great cover.

- No. - I don't buy that.

No, no, no. Alex is right.

I mean, when you're more on the intellectual side

no one expects you to be any good at sports.

T-that's why to this day I can't play baseball.

I still don't buy it.

How could he have gotten through four years of high school

without being able to read?

(all) Yeah.

- You wanna know how. - 'Yeah.'

The answer's right up there on the board.

What? "Nixon's visit to China, 1972."

What does that have to do with any of this?

See, I just got you to read it for me.

And you wanna know how he could quote

from "A Tale Of Two Cities" a-and "Moby Dick?"

He didn't read the books. He watched the movies.

I mean, that's how he faked his way through all his classes.

What a conman? He distracted me by flirting with me.

I was very upset...at first.

Ron has got a real problem.

Yeah, you guys. T.J. is right.

I mean, maybe we should tell Mr. Moore.

Maybe he can actually help Ron.

No, if we tell Mr. Moore

he's gonna want us to be honest about this.

Next thing you know, he's gonna want us to do the right thing

and tell Dr. Samuels. And then it's out of our hands.

- 'Yeah.' - Well, hey, wait a minute.

Why don't we teach him how to read?

That way he'll do the SAT and no one will ever know.

- 'Yes!' - Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Teach him how to read in time for the SATs?

- Yeah. - No way.

- 'Impossible.' - Oh! Oh, yeah. Come on.

Just enough to squeak him through. I mean, he is smart.

That's right. He is smart and we can do this. What do you say?

(all) 'Let's do it.'

[bell rings]

- Alright. Yeah. - Whoo!

[instrumental music]

"Little Miss Muffet sat on a.."

- Tuffet? - Right.

"Eating her curds and.."

- Whey? - Good.

- "Along came a.." - Spider?

"Who sat down beside her and frightened Miss Muffet a.."

- Lot? - A lot?

Simone, I've known this since I was two. I'm not a moron.

I just can't read.

[music continues]

[sighs]

Uh..

"In this box."

"In this...box, box.."

Come on, man. I gave you that much.

This is crazy. I'm never gonna learn to read.

Yeah, with an attitude like that.

Ah, sorry, fellas, uh.. Forgot my lesson plan book.

That's okay, Mr. Moore. We're done here anyway.

Later, man.

"Dr. Seuss," huh.

One of my favorite authors.

Well, you know the SATs they cover

a wide range of literature.

I just want Ron to be ready for anything, you know.

Yeah, you can't be too careful.

Yeah.

[instrumental music]

(Charlie) Since you do have essays due in three weeks

on contemporary social problems, I thought today

we could discuss one that you might be thinking about.

Illiteracy. Now, I did some research here.

'A recent congressional committee estimates'

that in the United States, there are as many as

twenty three million people who are functionally illiterate.

What does that mean? Means they can't read street signs.

'They can't even read medicine labels.'

'They can't fill out a job application.'

And additionally, there are 35 million more adults

who read at a level which is less than they need

to compete in society.

Which category would you say Ron Conco belongs to?

- You knew Ron couldn't read? - Yeah.

I also know you've been trying to teach him.

- But it's not going to work. - Oh, come on, Mr. Moore.

I mean, we still got a little bit of time

left before the SATs.

(all) Yes.

An-and he's pretty good in math.

If he just sticks with numbers and symbols

he'll s-score as high as 450.

A-and then he only needs 250 on the verbal part.

And he gets 200 for just completing the form.

- I mean, he can do that, right? - Yeah.

If we can just get him to read well enough

to get the extra 50, 700.

- Yes, that's right. - Exactly.

- How's he doing? - Uh..

See, I'm not questioning, uh...your motives.

Mr. Moore, we gotta do something.

(Charlie) 'Well, let's start by looking'

beyond short-term solutions, okay?

I mean, Ron has come this far without knowing how to read.

But what's going to happen, a few years from now

when his athletic career is over and he still can't read.

Or worst yet, what's gonna happen

if he has no athletic career at all?

[instrumental music]

Hey, Ron. I thought I'd find you here.

Thought? I spend half of my life in here.

Listen, I got something that needs your signature, here.

Oh, sure. What is it?

Well, it's, uh, just a memo

so the IHP kids can get credit for tutoring you.

- Oh, yeah. - You might wanna read it over.

Alright.

[sighs] Looks good to me.

- Okay. - Here?

Yeah.

Thank you, Ron. Thank you very much.

Thank you very, very, very much.

- No big deal. - No, this is a big deal.

This is a very big deal, my friend.

You have just given me financial security

for the rest of my life

and that is a big deal for a teacher.

- Excuse me? - Ron..

[chuckles] I'm your new manager.

This entitles me to 50 percent of your earnings

for the remainder of your career.

We're not just talking basketball, son.

We're talking commercials. We're talking endorsements.

The whole schmear. Now, you've been very generous with me, Ron.

So I want you to know I'll do my best for you.

Trust me on this, okay.

You have no idea what I can do with two million a year.

- Wait, you can't do that. - Ron, I just did it.

- I own you. - Well, I'll get a lawyer.

Well, you do that.

And he'll tell you that this is not a contract.

This is a letter for my medical health plan.

You don't need a lawyer, Ron. You need to learn to read.

- Alex told you. - Uh-huh.

"Cat In The Hat" was a tip.

Look, Ron, I can't imagine what it's like not to read

but, uh, you're gonna be dealing with some very complex affairs.

Business deals and contracts, taxes.

And-and you're gonna try to buy a home

or even rent an apartment.

How're you gonna do that if you can't read?

Well, see. I get people I trust to read things to me.

Oh, well, that's how I've done it so far.

Mr. Moore, all I need to do is to be able to play ball.

But what happens when you blow a knee out on the court?

Or you fall down some stairs, or-or you're in an auto wreck?

Man, don't talk to me about those kind of things.

What, you don't wanna think about 'em

until they actually happen?

Well, what am I supposed to do?

I'm trapped.

People are pressuring me to go to college.

I got those damn SATs next week.

Okay, so I can't read.

Right now, I just wanna play

you know, an-and take care of everything else later.

Okay. So, well, let's look at the options.

You, uh, try to go pro now, assuming you're good enough.

Or, you somehow fake your way through the SATs and then

you try to fake your way through four years of college.

- Or.. - Or? I got another choice?

Yeah. You take a year off, you get yourself tested.

Make sure that you don't have a reading disability

and you'll learn to read.

Uh, Ron, your basketball skills aren't gonna just evaporate.

I mean, you would have control over some area of your life

besides this court.

Yeah. But that means I'd have to admit it.

Well, I'm not gonna do that, man.

Forget it. No way.

Okay. It's your life. Good luck with it.

Mr. Moore..

All I've got to make it in this world is my talent.

Now, you said yourself, turn pro if I'm good enough.

Well, I think I'm good enough.

Well, it looks like we'll find out.

[instrumental music]

This is embarrassing.

We're giving the guy a scholar-athlete award

and he can't even read.

I'd call it off but I don't wanna humiliate him

or the school, or me.

♪ Okay ♪

♪ Crush 'em stomp 'em just like ants ♪

♪ Be the pants.. ♪

♪ Go Fillmore ♪♪

[all cheering]

- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. - Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!

That's the school spirit.

Now let's all be there and cheer our guys on to victory tonight.

And remember, I don't want a repeat of last year's incident.

Chaining the, uh, Simonson mascot to my desk

was not amusing.

Neither for me or the guy in the gorilla suit.

And now, it's time for me to present the award

for Fillmore's Outstanding Scholar-Athlete.

- Miss Meara. - Thank you.

It's no surprise to find this young man's name on the award.

He's the backbone of Team Fillmore. Ron Conco.

[cheering]

Uh, thank you.

You know, I'm sure your classmates

would like you to read the inscription.

Oh, no, Miss Meara, really, if it says

what I think it says, I'd feel silly.

Oh, well.. May I read that?

"To Ron Conco, Fillmore's Outstanding Student-Athlete.

"Dedicated to the spirit of athletic

and academic excellence."

Here you go.

Uh, thank you, Miss Meara. Dr. Samuels.

Thank you, everybody.

There's a..

There's a little announcement of my own I'd like to make.

It's something I've been thinking about for a while now.

Uh, I'm not going to college next year.

- 'Oh.' - 'What do you mean?'

I'm not going anywhere.

See, I'm gonna be right here

trying to learn something very important.

How to read.

[indistinct chatter]

I've been faking people up since I was a kid.

See, like I just did with Ms. Meara.

And now, only now I'm starting to realize that there is

a lot of things in life that I'm missing out on.

And I just don't wanna go through life

being less than what I could be.

And I'm not the only kid in this school that can't read.

I mean, I know because I tried to copy off

a lot of you guys' papers and, uh, they were blank too.

And I know that you might think that

you are getting away with something..

...but you're not.

So, if you are smart..

...you'll do what I'm doing.

Only, don't wait until the last minute.

Here, Dr. Samuels.

I don't think I deserve this

'till I can read it.

But maybe next year.

[applause]

[instrumental music]

[instrumental music]

- Ron, is this from you? - Just read the note.

It's only one word but I wrote it myself.

"Thanks." It's perfect.

[music continues]

[theme music]

[music continues]