American Beauty Page #12

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LESTER:

What?

CAROLYN:

Ah, whose car is that out front?

LESTER:

Mine. 1970 Pontiac Firebird. The car

I always wanted and now I have it. I

rule!

CAROLYN:

Where's the Camry?

LESTER:

I traded it in.

CAROLYN:

Shouldn't you have consulted me first?

LESTER:

Hmm, let me think... No. You never

drove it.

(then)

Have you done something different?

You look great.

CAROLYN:

(brusque)

Where's Jane?

LESTER:

Jane not home. We have the whole

house to ourselves.

He smiles at her playfully. She stares back, annoyed. It's

the same look she had at the beginning, when he dropped his

briefcase, but whatever power that look had is gone. Lester

just LAUGHS.

LESTER:

Christ, Carolyn. When did you become

so... joyless?

CAROLYN:

(taken aback)

Joyless?! I am not joyless! There

happens to be a lot about me that

you don't know, mister smarty man.

There is plenty of joy in my life.

LESTER:

(leaning toward her)

Whatever happened to that girl who

used to fake seizures at frat parties

when she got bored? And who used to

run up to the roof of our first

apartment building to flash the

traffic helicopters? Have you totally

forgotten about her? Because I

haven't.

His face is close to hers, and suddenly the atmosphere is

charged. She pulls back automatically, but it's clear she's

drawn to him. He smiles, and moves even closer, holding his

beer loosely balanced. Then, just before their lips meet...

CAROLYN:

(barely audible)

Lester. You're going to spill beer

on the couch.

She's immediately sorry she said it, but it's too late. His

smile fades, and the moment is gone.

LESTER:

So what? It's just a couch.

CAROLYN:

This is a four thousand dollar sofa

upholstered in Italian silk. This is

not "just a couch."

LESTER:

It's just a couch!

He stands and gestures toward all the things in the room.

LESTER:

This isn't life. This is just stuff.

And it's become more important to

you than living. Well, honey, that's

just nuts.

Carolyn stares at him, on the verge of tears, then turns and

walks out of the room before he can see her cry.

LESTER:

(calls after her)

I'm only trying to help you.

INT. FITTS HOUSE - RICKY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

On VIDEO:
Jane lays in Ricky's bed, wearing a tank top. She

glances at us.

JANE:

(shy)

Don't.

We're watching the WIDE-SCREEN TV in Ricky's room.

A CORD leads from the TV to Ricky's DIGICAM. Ricky holds the

camera, sitting naked in a chair. It's been almost a month

since his father beat him up, and there are still slight

SCARS on his face. He's aiming his camera at Jane.

RICKY:

Why?

JANE:

(re:
image on TV)

It's weird, watching myself. I don't

like how I look.

RICKY:

I can't believe you don't know how

beautiful you are.

JANE:

I'm not going to sit here for that

sh*t.

She gets out of bed, takes his Digicam and focuses it on

him. We see his image on the TV as she videotapes.

JANE:

Ha. How does it feel now?

RICKY:

Fine.

JANE:

You don't feel naked?

RICKY:

I am naked.

JANE:

You know what I mean.

Jane ZOOMS in on his face, which remains placid.

JANE:

Tell me about being in the hospital.

Ricky smiles.

RICKY:

When I was fifteen, my dad caught me

smoking dope. He totally freaked and

decided to send me to military school.

I told you his whole thing about

structure and discipline, right?

(laughs)

Well, of course, I got kicked out.

Dad and I had this huge fight, and

he hit me... and then the next day

at school, some kid made a crack

about my haircut, and... I just

snapped. I wanted to kill him. And I

would have. Killed him. If they hadn't

pulled me off.

(then)

That's when my dad put me in the

hospital. Then they drugged me up

and left me in there for two years.

JANE:

Wow. You must really hate him.

RICKY:

He's not a bad man.

He grabs a half-smoked JOINT from an ashtray and lights it.

JANE:

Well... you better believe I'd hate

my father if he did something like

that to me.

(laughs)

Wait. I do hate my father.

RICKY:

Why?

He passes her the joint, then takes the Digicam and focuses

it on her. We see her image on the TV as he videotapes.

JANE:

He's a total a**hole and he's got

this crush on my friend Angela and

it's disgusting.

RICKY:

You'd rather he had the crush on

you?

JANE:

Gross, no! But it'd be nice if I was

anywhere near as important to him as

she is.

(then)

I know you think my dad's harmless,

but you're wrong. He's doing massive

psychological damage to me.

RICKY:

How?

Jane looks into the camera, a loopy, stoned grin on her face.

JANE:

Well, now, I too need structure. A

little f***ing discipline.

They LAUGH. She lays back on the bed.

JANE:

I'm serious, though. How could he

not be damaging me? I need a father

who's a role model, not some horny

geek-boy who's gonna spray his shorts

whenever I bring a girlfriend home

from school.

(snorts)

What a lame-o. Somebody really should

put him out of his misery.

Her mind wanders for a beat.

RICKY:

Want me to kill him for you?

Jane looks at him and sits up.

JANE:

Yeah, would you?

RICKY:

(smiles)

It'll cost you.

JANE:

Well, I've been baby-sitting since I

was about ten. I've got almost three

thousand dollars. 'Course, I was

saving it up for a boob job.

She stands and sticks out her breasts, then falls back on

the bed, LAUGHING.

JANE:

But my tits can wait, huh?

RICKY:

You know, that's not a very nice

thing to do, hiring somebody to kill

your dad.

JANE:

Well, I guess I'm just not a very

nice girl, then, am I?

She smiles dreamily at him. He turns the Digicam off and the

TV screen goes BLUE. He lowers the camera and looks at her

intently.

JANE:

(suddenly nervous)

You know I'm not serious, right?

RICKY:

Of course.

He puts the Digicam down and joins Jane on the bed. A long

moment where neither of them speaks. He caresses her hair,

gazing into her eyes.

RICKY:

Do you know how lucky we are to have

found each other?

FADE TO BLACK:

FADE IN:

EXT. ROBIN HOOD TRAIL - EARLY MORNING

We're FLYING above Robin Hood Trail. We see the BURNHAM'S

HOUSE below us as we APPROACH it steadily.

LESTER (V.O.)

Remember those posters that said,

"Today is the first day of the rest

of your life?" Well, that's true of

every day except one.

(a beat)

The day you die.

We're almost on top of the Burnham house now, as Lester,

wearing sweatpants and running shoes, bursts out of the front

door and dashes up the driveway.

EXT. ROBIN HOOD TRAIL - A SHORT TIME LATER

We're now at street level, as Lester runs toward us. He

carries a WALKMAN and wears EARPHONES, and we HEAR ROCK MUSIC

as he runs. The endorphins have kicked in, and Lester grins,

reveling in the sheer physical pleasure of his body.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - KITCHEN - A SHORT TIME LATER

The blender GRINDS as Lester, still in his sweatpants, makes

himself a high-protein shake. He's in excellent shape; even

his posture has changed, and he moves with the confident,

easy swagger of an athlete. Jane watches him blankly from

the kitchen table.

Carolyn enters. Lester leans against the counter, drinking

his shake directly from the blender pitcher, eyeing her.

He's got a newfound sexual energy that makes her

uncomfortable, and he knows it. Carolyn quickly rinses off

her coffee cup, avoiding his eyes, and starts out.

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