Pleasantville Page #5

BETTY:

(big smile)

Oh nonsense young lady. You're going to

start your day with a nice big breakfast.

She takes Jennifer by the shoulders and "guides" her into the

chair. Jennifer looks down at a huge plate of GRAY WAFFLES.

BETTY (CONT)

(oppressively chipper)

Here. Why don't you have some waffle

cakes.

(beat)

And there's sausage and eggs and some

good crisp bacon ...

(beat)

... And a ham steak.

Betty drenches the waffles in syrup and slathers on a huge

slab of butter.

BETTY (CONT)

... And of course, a nice big bowl of

oatmeal.

Jennifer hesitates then glances over at her "mother" who

looks at her expectantly. She glances at David who just looks

stunned. Jennifer pauses then reaches down and takes a

forkful of the oozing mess ...

CUT TO:

FULL SHOT. PAT BOONE.

He stands facing the CAMERA in an actual Kinescope from 1958.

The backdrop is a painted pastoral landscape and the

background singers are all white debutantes. He wears a

letterman's sweater and button down shirt ...

PAT BOONE:

"... Tooty fruity--oh rooty. Tooty Fruity

... Oh rooty."

He CONTINUES his homogenized version of Little Richard's

nasty hit, (all the nastiness gone). It becomes a slow and

lilting melody ...

PAT BOONE (CONT)

"... Tooty fruity--oh rooty ..."

SERIES OF SHOTS. PLEASANTVILLE.

The MUSIC CONTINUES as the CAMERA CUTS TO image after image

of this strange "Utopia." The effect is a weird, sanitizied

version of MTV--as if Ronald Reagan had shot a music video.

There are men tipping their hats and women walking their

dogs; cheery gas station attendants and smiling policemen.

PAT BOONE (VO)

(slowly ...)

"... A wap bop a loo bop--a wap barn boom."

Pruned hedges. Twin beds. BIG houses. The CAMERA CRANES DOWN

in the middle of a beautiful tree lined street to find David

and Jennifer walking up the sidewalk, holding their stomachs.

JENNIFER:

I'm gonna hurl, David. I swear to God.

DAVID:

Just take deep breaths.

JENNIFER:

All that animal fat. I feel it in my

pores or something.

Jennifer clutches her stomach, but David's glance darts from

side to side--totally absorbed.

JENNIFER (CONT)

I still don't see why we're doing this.

DAVID:

We're supposed to be in school.

JENNIFER:

We're supposed to be at home David! We're

supposed to be in color!

(wailing)

Oh God ...

A man calls out from across the street.

MR. SIMPSON

Hello Bud.

DAVID:

Hello Mr. Simpson.

MR. SIMPSON

Hear your Dad got a new car.

DAVID:

Oh yeah. A Buick. It's swell.

JENNIFER:

You know him?

DAVID:

Owns the hardware store.

JENNIFER:

Okay, now you listen to me! I don't know

what's going on but you'd better fix it!

I had a date with Mark Davis and I even

bought new UNDERWEAR!

DAVID:

We just gotta play along for a little

while ... till that guy shows up again.

Then I'll talk to him and ...

JENNIFER:

Play along?

DAVID:

Well, yeah. I'm ... Bud Parker and

you're ... um--Mary Sue.

JENNIFER:

(ripping the barette from her hair)

No! I'm not gonna do it! If I don't

dress like this for Mom I'm sure as hell

not going to do it for you!

DAVID:

We don't have a choice Jen. We're stuck

until he comes back.

JENNIFER:

Why can't we just EXPLAIN IT?

DAVID:

To who?

Jen looks around this cheery little street, and the horror

starts to dawn on her. At that moment, they hear a screaming

SIREN and a bright GRAY FIRE ENGINE comes racing up the

block.

WIDER.

Jennifer and David step back on the curb as the firemen come

flying out of the truck, grabbing the ladder on the back.

DIFFERENT ANGLE. (FOLLOWING THE FIREMEN)

They work in perfect precision. Two firemen grab the base of

the ladder while a third takes the front. They go tearing

across one of the lawns, in full "emergency response"

anchoring the ladder into the ground and winging it up into a

tree.

FIREMAN:

C'mere, kitty ...

He emerges a moment later with the cat who was stuck in the

tree. Jennifer sinks to the curb as he carries the kitten by

them, petting it gently as he goes.

JENNIFER:

Oh God, we are. We're stuck in like

"Nerdville".

(shakes her head)

I always knew you'd pay a price for

this. I knew you couldn't be hopelessly

geekridden for this long without

suffering some like, really tragic

consequences.

(voice wavering)

... But it's just not fair. I mean--I'm

starting to get really--popular. Debbi

Russell transferred to another school

and my skin's been great since March and

Mark Davis is starting to come around

and ...

BOY'S VOICE (OS)

Hello Mary Sue.

Jennifer turns to see a strapping blonde seventeen year old

driving by in his convertible. He is extremely handsome with

Jack Armstrong features and a Letterman's sweater. Despite

her crisis, Jennifer's jaw drops open as he slows to a crawl.

Biff Martin flashes a huge Pepsodent smile. The guy is a

"dreamboat".

BIFF (CONT)

What's all the commotion? Where's the

cat?

JENNIFER:

Um ... It's ...

Biff turns to see the fireman climb into the truck, with the

kitty in his arms.

BIFF:

Ah, right ...

(smiling at her again)

Well--guess I'll see ya later Mary Sue.

He takes off down the street with the sun glinting on his

really keen convertible. Jennifer gapes as he disappears

around the corner.

JENNIFER:

Who's that?

DAVID:

Biff Martin. Captain of the basketball

team.

JENNIFER:

(still gaping)

Does he--you know--like "me"?

DAVID:

As a matter of fact he does.

JENNIFER:

(flicking her hair)

Hunh.

CUT TO:

EXT. PLEASANTVILLE HIGH SCHOOL. DAY.

Streams of impeccably kept youngsters file through the double

doors. All cheery and very pleasant looking. It looks like a

Leni Riefenstahl movie.

ANGLE. FROM ACROSS THE STREET.

David stands beside Jennifer looking at the entrance to the

school. Three girls huddle together by the front steps.

JENNIFER:

Those are my friends.

DAVID:

Peggy Jane, Lisa Anne and Betty Jean.

JENNIFER:

(staring at them)

Can we do any better?

DAVID:

I don't think so.

LISA ANNE:

(seeing her)

Mary Sue. You're gonna be late for

Geography.

JENNIFER:

Okay ...

She flicks her hair back--cops a first day of school

attitude, and heads across the street like she owns the

place.

CUT TO:

INT. GEOGRAPHY CLASS. LATER ...

It looks like a propaganda film from the Eisenhower

Administration. The boys all wear crew cuts and short sleeve

button down shirts. The girls all have lacy dresses buttoned

to the neck. Everyone stares straight ahead at the

blackboard.

ANGLE. FRONT OF THE ROOM. TEACHER.

Miss Peters stands in front of the class with a pointer in

her hand. She indicates a diagram that spans the length of

the blackboard.

MISS PETERS:

Last week Class, we discussed the

geography of Main Street. This week,

we're going to be talking about Elm

Street. Can anyone tell me one of the

differences between Elm Street and Main

Street?

(pointing)

Tommy.

TOMMY:

It's not as long?

Jennifer looks stunned as several students nod.

MISS PETERS:

That's right, Tommy. It's not as long.

Also, it only has houses. So the

geography of Main Street is different

than the geography of Elm Street.

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