American Beauty Page #2

---

BRAD:

(startled)

That's unsubstantiated gossip.

LESTER:

That's fifty thousand dollars. That's

somebody's salary. That's somebody

who's gonna get fired because Craig

has to pay women to f*** him!

BRAD:

Jesus. Calm down. Nobody's getting

fired yet. That's why we're having

everyone write out a job description,

mapping out in detail how they

contribute. That way, management can

assess who's valuable and--

LESTER:

Who's expendable.

BRAD:

It's just business.

LESTER:

(angry)

I've been writing for this magazine

for fourteen years, Brad. You've

been here how long, a whole month?

BRAD:

(frank)

I'm one of the good guys, Les. I'm

trying to level with you. This is

your one chance to save your job.

Lester stares at him, powerless.

EXT. BURNHAM HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON

A MOVING VAN is parked in front of the COLONIAL HOUSE next

door to the Burnhams'. Movers carry furniture toward the

house.

The Mercedes-Benz pulls into the Burnham driveway. Carolyn

drives, Lester is in the passenger seat.

CAROLYN:

--there is no decision, you just

write the damn thing!

LESTER:

You don't think it's weird and kinda

fascist?

CAROLYN:

Possibly. But you don't want to be

unemployed.

LESTER:

Oh, well, let's just all sell our

souls and work for Satan, because

it's more convenient that way.

CAROLYN:

Could you be just a little bit more

dramatic, please, huh?

As they get out of the car, Carolyn scopes out the MOVERS

next door.

CAROLYN:

So we've finally got new neighbors.

You know, if the Lomans had let me

represent them, instead of--

(heavy disdain)

--"The Real Estate King," that house

would never have sat on the market

for six months.

She heads into the house, followed by Lester.

LESTER:

Well, they were still mad at you for

cutting down their sycamore.

CAROLYN:

Their sycamore? C'mon! A substantial

portion of the root structure was on

our property. You know that. How can

you call it their sycamore? I wouldn't

have the heart to just cut down

something if it wasn't partially

mine, which of course it was.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - DINING ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT

We HEAR EASY-LISTENING MUSIC.

Lester, Carolyn and Jane are eating dinner by CANDLELIGHT.

RED ROSES are bunched in a vase at the center of the table.

Nobody makes eye contact, or even seems aware of anybody

else's presence, until...

JANE:

Mom, do we always have to listen to

this elevator music?

CAROLYN:

(considers)

No. No, we don't. As soon as you've

prepared a nutritious yet savory

meal that I'm about to eat, you can

listen to whatever you like.

A long beat. Lester suddenly turns to Jane.

LESTER:

So Janie, how was school?

JANE:

(suspicious)

It was okay.

LESTER:

Just okay?

JANE:

No, Dad. It was spec-tac-ular.

A beat.

LESTER:

Well, you want to know how things

went at my job today?

Now she looks at him as if he's lost his mind.

LESTER:

They've hired this efficiency expert,

this really friendly guy named Brad,

how perfect is that? And he's

basically there to make it seem like

they're justified in firing somebody,

because they couldn't just come right

out and say that, could they? No,

no, that would be too... honest. And

so they've asked us--

(off her look)

--you couldn't possibly care any

less, could you?

Carolyn is watching this closely.

JANE:

(uncomfortable)

Well, what do you expect? You can't

all of a sudden be my best friend,

just because you had a bad day.

She gets up and heads toward the kitchen.

JANE:

I mean, hello. You've barely even

spoken to me for months.

She's gone. Lester notices Carolyn looking at him critically.

LESTER:

Oh, what, you're mother-of-the-year?

You treat her like an employee.

CAROLYN:

(taken aback)

What?!

Lester is quiet, staring at his plate.

CAROLYN:

(more authority)

What?

Lester gets up and starts after Jane, taking his plate with

him.

LESTER:

I'm going to get some ice cream.

Carolyn watches him go, irritated.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Jane stands at the sink, rinsing off her plate. Lester enters.

LESTER:

Honey, I'm sorry. I...

Jane turns and stares at him, waiting for him to finish.

LESTER:

I'm sorry I haven't been more

available, I just... I'm...

He's looking to her for a little help here, but she's too

uncomfortable with this sudden intimacy to give him any.

LESTER:

(finally)

You know, you don't always have to

wait for me to come to you...

JANE:

Oh, great. So now it's my fault?

LESTER:

I didn't say that. It's nobody's

fault. Janie, what happened? You and

I used to be pals.

EXT. BURNHAM HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

On VIDEO:
We're looking through GREENHOUSE WINDOWS at Lester

and Jane in the kitchen We can't hear what they're saying,

but it's obvious it's not going well.

Jane puts her plate in the dishwasher and leaves. We FOLLOW

HER out the door, then the camera JERKS back to Lester calling

after her.

CLOSE on the face of RICKY FITTS, illuminated by the screen

of his DIGICAM as he videotapes. Ricky is eighteen, but his

eyes are much older. Beneath his Zen-like tranquillity lurks

something wounded... and dangerous.

His POV, on VIDEO: Through the kitchen window, we see Lester

at the sink, rinsing off his plate, muttering to himself.

His head suddenly jerks up and he looks at us, as if he

realizes he's being watched.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

Lester's POV:
We're looking out through the kitchen window

at the point where Ricky was just standing, but he's no longer

there.

Lester turns off the faucet, dries his hands, then tosses

the towel on the counter on his way out, where it lands next

to a framed PHOTOGRAPH of Lester, Carolyn, and a much-younger

Jane, taken several years earlier at an amusement park.

It's startling how happy they look.

EXT. SALE HOUSE - DAY

CLOSE on a wooden SIGN that reads:

OPEN HOUSE TODAY

BURNHAM & ASSOCIATES REALTY 555-0195

Carolyn Burnham

The sign is planted in front of a RUN-DOWN HOME in a run-

down neighborhood. The Mercedes is parked in front of the

house. Carolyn, wearing a smart business suit, is unloading

a box of cleaning supplies and a BOOMBOX from the back of

the Mercedes when something across the street catches her

eye.

Her POV:
In front of a different house with much more curb

appeal is another SIGN, featuring a picture of a handsome

silver-haired MAN. It reads:

Another One SOLD

By Buddy Kane

The Real Estate King

555-0100

Carolyn frowns and slams the back of the Mercedes shut.

INT. SALE HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

The interior of this house is ugly, oppressive and tasteless.

Carolyn opens the front door, breathes deeply and solemnly

announces:

CAROLYN:

I will sell this house today.

She neatly arranges her sales materials on a desk, then strips

down to her undergarments.

MONTAGE:

We see Carolyn, working with fierce concentration as she:

Cleans glass doors that overlook the patio and pool; Doggedly

scrubs countertops in the kitchen; Perches on a stepladder

to dust a cheap-looking ceiling fan in the master bedroom;

And vacuums a dirty carpet that will never be clean.

Throughout all this, she keeps repeating to herself:

Rate this script:3.7 / 3 votes