American Beauty Page #11

---

LESTER:

I'm sick and tired of being treated

like I don't exist. You two do

whatever you want to do whenever you

want to do it and I don't complain.

All I want is the same courtesy--

CAROLYN:

(overlapping)

Oh, you don't complain? Oh, excuse

me. Excuse me. I must be psychotic

then, if you don't complain. What is

this?! Am I locked away in a padded

cell somewhere, hallucinating? That's

the only explanation I can think of--

Lester hurls the plate of asparagus against the wall with

such force it SHATTERS, frightening Carolyn and Jane.

LESTER:

(casual)

Don't interrupt me, honey.

He goes back to eating his meal, as if nothing unusual has

happened.

Carolyn sits in her chair, shivering with rage. Jane just

stares at the plate in front of her.

LESTER:

Oh, and another thing. From now on,

we're going to alternate our dinner

music. Because frankly, and I don't

think I'm alone here, I'm really

tired of this Lawrence Welk sh*t.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - JANE'S BEDROOM - THAT NIGHT

Jane is sitting on her bed. There is a KNOCK at the door.

JANE:

Go. Away.

CAROLYN (O.S.)

Honey, please let me in.

Jane rolls her eyes, crosses to the door and lets Carolyn

in.

CAROLYN:

I wish that you hadn't witnessed

that awful scene tonight. But in a

way, I'm glad.

JANE:

Why, so I could see what freaks you

and Dad really are?

CAROLYN:

Me?

She stares at Jane, then starts to cry.

JANE:

Aw, Christ, Mom.

CAROLYN:

(tearful)

No, I'm glad because you're old enough

now to learn the most important lesson

in life:
you cannot count on anyone

except yourself.

(sighs)

You cannot count on anyone except

yourself. It's sad, but true, and

the sooner you learn it, the better.

JANE:

Look, Mom, I really don't feel like

having a Kodak moment here, okay?

Carolyn suddenly SLAPS Jane, hard.

CAROLYN:

You ungrateful little brat. Just

look at everything you have. When I

was your age, I lived in a duplex.

We didn't even have our own house.

Embarrassed, she quickly leaves. Jane looks in a mirror and

rubs her cheek, then crosses to the window and looks out.

EXT. FITTS HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Jane's POV:
We're across from Ricky's room, looking in. He

stands at the window with his DIGICAM, videotaping us. On

the WIDE-SCREEN TV behind him, we see Jane standing in her

window as she looks across at him. She waves.

Ricky just keeps videotaping. A beat, then she starts to

take off her shirt.

INT. FITTS HOUSE - RICKY'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

We're behind Ricky as he videotapes Jane in her window. She

has now removed her shirt. She stands there in her bra, then

reaches behind her back to unhook the bra.

On VIDEO:
We ZOOM toward her as she takes off her bra

clumsily. She's obviously embarrassed, but she's gone this

far and there's no turning back. She stands there with her

breasts exposed, trying to look defiant, but she's achingly

vulnerable...

Suddenly, the door is thrown open and the Colonel enters,

incensed.

Startled, Ricky turns around. As soon as his eyes meet his

father's, he knows what's up.

COLONEL:

You little bastard--

Ricky scrambles to dodge his father, but the Colonel is too

fast; he punches Ricky in the face, knocking him to the floor.

COLONEL:

How did you get in there?

EXT. BURNHAM HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

From her window, Jane watches, pulling the drapes in front

of her.

EXT. FITTS HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Jane's POV:
In the WINDOW across from us, the Colonel proceeds

to give Ricky a serious beating, punching his face.

INT. FITTS HOUSE - RICKY'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Ricky's lip is bleeding, but he maintains a steady gaze at

his father during this violence.

COLONEL:

(unnerved)

How!? How?! C'mon, get up! Fight

back, you little p*ssy!

RICKY:

No, sir. I won't fight you.

The Colonel grabs him by the collar.

COLONEL:

How did you get in there?

RICKY:

I picked the lock, sir.

COLONEL:

What were you looking for? Money?

Are you on dope again?

RICKY:

No, sir. I wanted to show my

girlfriend your Nazi plate.

A beat.

COLONEL:

Girlfriend?

RICKY:

Yes, sir. She lives next door.

The Colonel glances toward the window.

His POV:
in the window across from us, Jane peeks out from

behind the drape. She quickly pulls it shut.

RICKY:

Her name's Jane.

A beat. The Colonel is suddenly, deeply shamed.

COLONEL:

This is for your own good, boy. You

have no respect for other people's

things, for authority, for...

RICKY:

Sir, I'm sorry.

COLONEL:

You can't just go around doing

whatever you feel like, you can't--

there are rules in life--

RICKY:

Yes, sir.

COLONEL:

You need structure, you need

discipline--

RICKY:

(simultaneous)

Discipline. Yes, sir, thank you for

trying to teach me. Don't give up on

me, Dad.

The Colonel stands, still breathing heavily. Tenderness fills

his face, and he reaches out to touch Ricky's cheek.

COLONEL:

Oh, Ricky...

But something keeps him from doing it.

COLONEL:

You stay out of there.

He leaves. Ricky gets up and goes to his bureau. He looks at

his reflection in the mirror, calmly takes a cloth and starts

to wipe the blood from his face.

FADE TO BLACK:

In darkness, we HEAR repetitive GUNSHOTS.

FADE IN:

INT. INDOOR FIRING RANGE - ONE MONTH LATER

Carolyn, wearing PROTECTIVE HEADGEAR, is holding a GLOCK 19

AUTOMATIC REVOLVER with both hands, FIRING it directly at

us.

She empties a round and stands there, exhilarated. An

ATTENDANT approaches with a new round of ammunition.

ATTENDANT:

(loading gun)

I gotta say, Mrs. Burnham, when you

first came here I thought you would

be hopeless. But you're a natural.

CAROLYN:

Well, all I know is... I love shooting

this gun!

And she starts FIRING again.

INT. MERCEDES-BENZ ML320 - LATER

Bobby Darin sings "DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE" on the RADIO.

Carolyn SINGS along as she drives. Her face has lost its

usual resolute determination; she's actually enjoying herself

spontaneously, and the lack of her usual self-consciousness

allows us to see just how beautiful she is.

ANGLE ON the GLOCK 19 sitting on the passenger seat amidst

some CDs.

Carolyn takes the gun and holds it at arm's length, admiring

it as she continues to SING.

EXT. ROBIN HOOD TRAIL - CONTINUOUS

The Mercedes turns onto Robin Hood Trail.

INT. MERCEDES-BENZ ML320 - CONTINUOUS

Carolyn's POV:
We turn into the Burnham driveway. A 1970

PONTIAC FIREBIRD with racing stripes blocks our access to

the garage.

CLOSE on Carolyn: She doesn't like having things in her way.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - FAMILY ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Lester's REMOTE-CONTROLLED MODEL JEEP is zooming across the

floor of the family room, expertly maneuvering corners and

narrowly avoiding crashing.

Lester is sprawled on the couch in his underwear, drinking a

BEER and controlling the car. His working out is beginning

to produce results. The room, too, seems changed: sloppier,

more lived in.

Carolyn enters through the kitchen, flushed and angry. She

just stands there, staring at Lester. After a moment, he

looks up at her.

Rate this script:3.7 / 3 votes