Boyhood Page #23

DAD:

Oh, uh... Alright, uh, well... Mason,

I'll make a toast to the future. To

your future. You know, it's been a

little sketchy this... end of the

school year here, trying to figure

out what school to go to. Mason

told me that, uh, he wanted...to get

as far away from home as possible.

But still honor our agreement that

we pay in-state tuition, which I do

appreciate. He's a prudent man, and

uh, he's going to have a great future.

So, here's to you buddy.

GUESTS:

(reacting)

Whoo! Future!

DAD:

Congratulations.

UNCLE STEVE:

Mason Junior! High school graduate,

eighteen and straight! Ha-ha-ha!

Dad subtly puts his hand over his brother's mouth and pats

his chest.

DAD:

Alright, that's enough. Just ignore

him. My brother needs to learn to

pace himself.

MR. WOOD

Well, I've not known you as long as

everybody here, but uh, since I have

known you, you've grown a lot. And

uh, I don't know, I'm proud of you.

So if this photography thing doesn't

work out, you know you always got a

job. Lose that earring. But, uh,

you know, maybe I can get you in

front of house. Alright, to you

buddy!

161.

MOM:

Sam, say something!

DAD (O.S.)

Come on, Samantha.

GRANDMA:

Come on, darlin'.

SAMANTHA:

(hesitating)

Good luck?

Mom and Mason embrace. A little later, Professor Douglas has

Mason cornered.

PROFESSOR DOUGLAS

So you broke up with your girlfriend?

MASON:

Yeah, yeah, just recently.

PROFESSOR DOUGLAS

What was her name?

MASON:

Sheena.

PROFESSOR DOUGLAS

Sheena. She's... gonna go to college

with you?

MASON:

No.

PROFESSOR DOUGLAS

No, oh.

MASON:

She's staying in this part of Texas.

PROFESSOR DOUGLAS

Oh, okay. You need a ride to college?

INT. LIVING ROOM - GRADUATION PARTY - CONTINUOUS

Dad and Annie talk to Grandma.

GRANDMA:

I just wanted to say hello before

you got out of here. I haven't gotten

a chance -

162.

DAD:

You guys met before, haven't you?

Annie, Catherine...

ANNIE:

Yeah, yeah, we met at uh-

GRANDMA:

Sam's graduation.

DAD:

Oh yeah.

ANNIE:

Yes, that's right.

GRANDMA:

And with your little one. Where is

he?

ANNIE:

Oh, he's at home.

DAD:

Yeah, yeah. Remember, he was such a

pain at Sam's thing that, you know...

GRANDMA:

Oh, I would love to see him.

ANNIE:

Well, we have a special weekend this

weekend, so...

GRANDMA:

I'm so glad you found her. I really

am.

(to Annie)

You, you've got him at a good time,

I think.

ANNIE:

I think so, too.

GRANDMA:

Yeah. It's good to see you two.

DAD:

Nice to see you, too, Catherine.

GRANDMA:

I'm so proud of your boy.

DAD:

Yeah, yeah we all are.

163.

Grandma walks off. Dad whispers to Annie.

DAD (CONT'D)

If you think she's a b*tch now, you

should have seen her f***ing twenty

years ago.

They laugh.

INT. DEN - GRADUATION PARTY - CONTINUOUS

Later, Uncle Steve, Dad, and Mason have a manly discussion.

UNCLE STEVE:

You got to remember, you're going to

college, though, alright? And if

you're anything like me or your old

man, you're gonna be pulling down

some serious wool. You're gonna be

tapping some masterful gap.

DAD:

Steven...

UNCLE STEVE:

You're gonna be doing some good work

out there. Think about it, awful

lot of flowers in that bouquet.

But, you gotta do me a favor. You're

going to be vulnerable this summer,

alright. Remember to use protection

during breakup sex.

He puts his hand on Dad.

UNCLE STEVE (CONT'D)

This guy knows exactly of which I

speak. Look what happened to him.

Viola'.

Uncle Steve gestures to Mason.

DAD:

Steven...

UNCLE STEVE:

(laughing)

Cheers.

DAD:

It's not that simple.

164.

UNCLE STEVE:

(chanting)

Four more years. Four more years.

I'm just saying.

INT. KITCHEN - GRADUATION PARTY - CONTINUOUS

Later Dad enters the kitchen where Mom happens to be.

DAD:

Do y'all recycle? Should I -

MOM:

I have one started there.

DAD:

Oh, yeah, right. Okay, great. Okay.

Am I, uh, am I your only ex at this

party?

MOM:

Yes, but I'm not your only wife here,

though.

DAD:

Yeah.

MOM:

Can you believe they're both out of

high school?

DAD:

No. No, I can't.

(a beat)

You did a great job with both of

them, by the way.

MOM:

Thanks for saying that. I never

thought I'd hear you say that.

DAD:

Well, it's true. Thank you.

MOM:

And you're doing it all over again,

huh?

DAD:

I know, I know, right? It's gonna be

uh, fifteen years till I have an

empty nest. But hey, I'd love to

pitch in, help with this, if I could.

(MORE)

165.

DAD (CONT'D)

I mean, it's so great that you did

this. I was just going to give you

a little. I'd appreciate it if I

could.

He pulls out his wallet.

MOM:

Sure. Yeah.

DAD:

Yeah. But I don't have any cash.

It's in Annie's purse. I'll be right

back.

INT. ANTONE'S - EVENING

Mason and Dad are wandering through the green room area while

the band is doing a sound check.

DAD:

...So it sucks. I mean, the guy's a

college lacrosse player. I mean,

what are you gonna do?

MASON:

She didn't even like sports.

An iced-down bucket of drinks beckons.

DAD:

You want a beer?

MASON:

No, that's alright.

DAD:

You can have one.

MASON:

It's okay.

They continue their conversation out of the green room to a

little area overlooking the stage.

DAD:

Yeah, well, for what it's worth,

we've all been through the exact

same thing, at one point or another.

MASON:

It's not the same, though. I mean,

you never got to know her.

166.

DAD:

No, I know, I know. It's not the

same.

MASON:

I just don't know what I did wrong.

At this point Dad yells down to Jimmy, his roommate from

years before, briefly interrupting the sound check.

DAD:

Hey, Jimmy. Hey, man. Hey -

JIMMY:

Hey, Mason.

DAD:

We're up here raiding the green room.

Hope that's okay.

JIMMY:

That's totally cool.

DAD:

Alright.

JIMMY:

Wow! Is that M.J.?

DAD:

Uh-huh. Right?

JIMMY:

Unbelievable.

DAD:

Well, we just decided to come a little

early, check you out.

JIMMY:

That's cool man, let me finish up,

I'll be up in a minute.

DAD:

Alright, alright.

He and Mason slowly start to drift around the venue.

DAD (CONT'D)

(back to Mason)

I guarantee you, you didn't do

anything wrong. These high school

love things, they never work out.

Here, come here.

(MORE)

167.

DAD (CONT'D)

I mean, everyone's just changing so

much. The odds of two young people

staying on the same wavelength are...

MASON:

Yeah, but still -

DAD:

Look, and I also guarantee you that

every day of your life that you spend

crying over some silly girl is a

complete waste of time.

MASON:

She wasn't a silly girl, though. I

mean, she's a serious person. I

really thought we were -

DAD:

What?

MASON:

I don't know.

DAD:

Here's the truth. Women are never

satisfied. Ok? They're always

looking to potentially trade up and

that's, I'm sorry to say, what I

think has happened to you my fine

feathered friend.

Rate this script:3.8 / 4 votes