I Am Sam Page #5

SAM:

No one wanted The Beatles to break up.

But you can hear it on the White Album.

They were going in different directions.

INT. LUCY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

It's bedtime. Sam and Lucy are reading from "STELLALUNA".

LUCY:

How can we be so dif..dif...I don't know

that word.

SAM:

Yes you do. It starts with a "d" --

LUCY:

I'm tired.

SAM:

I don't believe you.

LUCY:

Are you calling me a liar?

SAM:

Yes. Now read the word.

LUCY:

(crying)

No...I'm stupid.

SAM:

No you're not.

LUCY:

I don't want to read it if you can't.

SAM:

It makes me happy. I'm happy hearing

you read it.

He holds the book open for Lucy. Now Lucy, pushing through a

mountain of resistance, reads. And reads beautifully.

LUCY:

"Why are we different and so much

alike?"

INT. SCHOOL HALLOWEEN PARADE - AUDITORIUM - DAY

Two children, dressed as Batman, march followed by

CINDERELLA. We see Lucy dressed in NEWSPAPER - an ORIGAMI

BIRD. And behind her, marching more proudly than any child,

is Sam, dressed as PAUL McCARTNEY, in the black suit era -

with Beatle boots and guitar strapped to his chest. Sam is

the only adult participating in the parade.

Music BLASTS over the loudspeaker. Sam begins to dance with

joyous abandon. Lucy joins him. They dance together

happily.

Suddenly Lucy becomes aware that her classmates are beginning

to laugh. She slows and watches through their eyes Sam pony

around the room. Conner pulls up his pants high on his waist

and begins to imitate Sam. Another kid joins him.

KID:

I'm a Super Freak!

CONNER:

And I thought my dad was a dork.

Lucy's face hardens for the first time. In a corrupt world

the pure can only stay pure for so long.

INT. HAMBURGER HAMLET - EVENING

Sam and Lucy sit in a booth. Lucy's ecstatic. Sam's trying.

LUCY:

They have eleven different kinds of

hamburgers. This is so great.

SAM:

A new place. Your choice. I said we'd

go to a new place. And here we are.

Sam anxiously rearranges the condiments on the table. Lucy

tries to fold a napkin into an Origami bird.

LUCY:

You know what else I want for my

birthday, Daddy? I want a hundred

birds.

SAM:

The napkins are much stiffer at Denny's.

They make better birds. There's not so

much stuff on the tables there either.

Why do they have two kinds of mustard on

every table?

WAITRESS:

Coffee?

SAM:

No, no coffee. Sam's system can't

handle coffee.

WAITRESS:

Okaaay! What can I get you folks?

LUCY:

I'd like the Benito Bandito burger and a

chocolate chip milkshake, please.

SAM:

I'll have the fish special, side of

potatoes, salad with Thousand Island

Dressing, cherry pie, and...

WAITRESS:

I'm sorry, sir. We don't have a fish

special. There's fish and chips. It

comes with a dinner salad.

SAM:

Chips, chips? You mean potato chips? I

don't want potato chips. I want a side

of potatoes.

WAITRESS:

You want french fries?

SAM:

No, a side of potatoes, like at Denny's.

A side of potatoes.

LUCY:

They're little red potatoes.

WAITRESS:

We don't have new potatoes...

SAM:

Denny's has new potatoes. Six new

potatoes parsley garnish parsley

garnish...

ON LUCY:

Her smile fades.

SMASH CUT TO:

INT. DENNY'S - HALF-HOUR LATER

Sam happily eats his fish special with six new potatoes.

Lucy's untouched dinner sits in the middle of the table. She

doodles on the placement - drawing a man sitting with a pile

of new potatoes in front of him; larger than he is.

SAM:

Fish and chips fish and chips. I will

not eat fish and chips.

LUCY:

(exploding)

I will not eat them here or there! I

will not eat them anywhere! I will not

eat green eggs and ham! I will not eat

them, Sam I am!

INT. SAM'S APARTMENT - DAY

Balloons and a banner reading "Happy Birthday, Lucy!" For

Lucy's birthday, Sam has rented a moon bounce - which sits in

the center of the apartment and filling the entire place -

leaving no room for the few kids and their parents. Brad

stands too close to a young attractive mother. Robert shakes

all the presents suspiciously.

SAM:

Now when they come through the door,

everybody yell "Surprise!" Do you want

to rehearse again?

CONNER:

No. I bet she already knows.

ROBERT:

I didn't tell her. Did Brad say I did?

There's a KNOCK at the door.

SAM:

Is that Lucy? Annie's supposed to call

and warn us. Shhhh, everyone.

Brad hits the lights. Sam OPENS THE DOOR and everyone yells

"SURPRISE!" But instead of Lucy, it's the Social Worker.

MARGARET BROWN:

I don't know if you remember me. I'm

Margaret Brown from Children's Social

Services. We met at the police station.

SAM:

Put your present over there - Hurry up!

Lucy might be on her way.

(the phone rings)

Hello? Annie says she's coming up the

stairs. Everyone be quiet. Assume

surprise positions!

(Conner keeps talking)

Be quiet! Assume surprise positions!

CONNER:

Oh brother!

SAM:

Why are you such a party pooper?!

Assume surprise positions!

CONNER:

Make me!

Sam puts a hand over Conner's mouth; Conner struggles against

him.

MR. RHODES

Hey!

SAM:

He's gonna ruin the surprise! He's

gonna ruin the surprise!

CONNER:

He touched me! I've got cooties! I've

got cooties!

MR. RHODES

Get your hands off my boy!

Conner's father hurls Sam across the room - Sam gets tangled

in the MOON BOUNCE! To get attention, Conner bursts into

tears. We hear FOOTSTEPS outside the door - Brad hits the

lights. We hear a CRASH! And in the light, the DOOR SHEDS

as it opens, Lucy and Ifty see - that MOONBOUNCE, swaying.

Then from within the Moonbounce:

SAM:

Surprise! Happy Birthday!

Lucy stands frozen, holding a red balloon.

LUCY:

Daddy?!

CONNER:

You don't have to call him "Daddy".

(in Sam's face)

She says you're not her real father,

anyway. She's adopted!

Humiliated, Lucy RUNS AWAY! The Social Worker watches,

profoundly concerned, and reaches for her cellular phone.

EXT. WALMART - DAY

A police car pulls into the parking lot. Sam and Margaret in

the back. Sam and Margaret see Lucy's little feet dangling

from beneath the curtain of the photo booth.

SAM:

I'll go get her.

MARGARET BROWN:

It would be better if you stay here.

I'm sorry to say this, Mr. Dawson, it's

clear how much you love your daughter,

but we're going to have to remove Lucy

from your home.

Sam's baffled. One cop places his hand on Sam's shoulder,

restraining him. The OTHER heads toward the photo booth.

SAM:

No, no no no. It's her birthday! It's

her birthday!

MARGARET BROWN:

I know how hard this must be...

(cell phone rings)

...Hello, Betsy. I'm scheduled to come

to your apartment at four. No, not five

every two hours. It's two every five

hours. She only weighs thirty pounds

for chrissakes...

(back to Sam)

The city has given me the difficult task

of deciding when to intervene on behalf

of the child. Unfortunately, I've

learned the hard way that it's better

too soon than too late. For now the

court will decide what's in Lucy's best

interest.

Sam watches the cop's legs meet Lucy's under the curtain.

Suddenly, Sam screams from the deepest core of his being.

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