Pleasantville Page #9

He looks at David with pride then suddenly shifts his glance

behind him.

MR. JOHNSON (CONT)

Oh, hello Betty.

BETTY:

Hello Bill.

Neither one says anything but neither one has to. David looks

on in horror as his mother locks eyes with Mr. Johnson and

his new found virility.

DAVID:

(quickly)

Well, look, thanks for coming by. I ...

really appreciate it.

He turns and starts hustling him down the walk just as Biff's

convertible pulls up at the curb.

INT. CAR. CLOSE UP. JENNIFER.

She looks sweetly over at the driver's side of the car (OUT

OF FRAME).

JENNIFER:

Well gee thanks Biff. I had a really

wonderful time.

ANGLE. BIFF. OTHER SIDE OF CAR.

He sits behind the wheel with a totally dazed look on his

face. Biff stares stunned at Jennifer, like he just got hit

with a couple of thousand volts.

BIFF:

... Me too.

She leans over and kisses him on the cheek ... Then she bites

his ear lobe, gently, and flashes him a big smile. Biff

smiles back.

EXT. CAR.

She climbs out and shuts the door. Jennifer nods to Mr.

Johnson as she heads up the walk.

JENNIFER:

(sweetly)

Hello Mr. Johnson.

MR. JOHNSON

Oh, hello Mary Sue.

She is wearing a big smile by the time she reaches the porch.

David grabs her arm.

DAVID:

(urgent whisper)

What did you do to him?

JENNIFER:

(innocently)

Nothing.

She starts up the staircase. David follows her and the CAMERA

follows them both.

DAVID:

What do you mean "nothing?" That's not

nothing. That's ...

She reaches the top of the stairs and turns to him.

JENNIFER:

Relax "Bud." We had a really nice time.

(mock YAWN)

... Now I'm really tired and we gotta

get up early for school in the morning

so ...

She flashes her brother an evil grin.

JENNIFER (CONT)

'Night.

She shuts the door softly in his face. David stairs at the

gray wood in front of him.

EXT. ELM STREET. NIGHT.

Biff pulls up at an intersection with the same dazed look in

his eye. The car rumbles at the stoplight for a moment or

two, before he glances over to his right.

CLOSE UP. BIFF.

The stunned look turns to one of sheer amazement:

BIFF'S POV. ROSE.

There, against a gray picket fence, on a black and white

street in a black and white neighborhood, A SINGLE RED ROSE

IS BLOOMING.

CUT TO:

AERIAL SHOT. PLEASANTVILLE. MORNING

It would be a stunning vista if it wasn't in black and white.

The church steeple gleams in the sunlight. The perfect little

houses look like a row of pretty toys ...

INT. PARKER LIVING ROOM. DAY.

David sits parked in front of the TV furtively turning

through the channels. He flips the dial frantically. No sign

of Dick Van Dyke.

BETTY (OS)

Bud. It's 7:
30 in the morning. Are you

watching television?

He gives her a sheepish grin and sighs ...

CUT TO:

INT. SCHOOL GYM. DAY.

It is the same configuration as earlier. Everyone wears their

Pleasantville "Lions" jerseys, white sneakers and black

socks. David enters the Gym a little groggy. He hasn't had

much sleep.

CLOSER.

He looks up and stops. David c*cks his head to the side,

staring across the gym.

HIS POV. BIFF AND OTHER BOYS.

They are huddled at the far end, each holding a basketball

under his arm. Biff is in the center of the group, animatedly

describing something that is holding their RAPT ATTENTION.

WIDER ANGLE. INCLUDING DAVID.

DAVID:

(quietly)

Oh no ...

Biff continues his story while they stare at him with their

mouths open. The Coach blows his whistle.

COACH:

Come on men. Let's go. Big game next

week.

The huddle breaks up as the basketball players all wander

toward the hoop. Ten shots go up at once but NOT ONE COMES

EVEN CLOSE. Several clang off the rim, a couple hit the edge

of the backboard. One slams into the side of the gym.

Everyone stares in disbelief.

DAVID:

Oh my God ...

CUT TO:

INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR. DAY.

David stands face to face with his sister in mid

conversation.

DAVID:

You can't do this, Jennifer. I WARNED

you.

JENNIFER:

So what's the big deal. Oh. Okay.

They're like not good at basketball

anymore. Like--omigod, what a tragedy.

DAVID:

You don't understand. You're messing

with their UNIVERSE.

JENNIFER:

Well maybe it needs to be messed with.

Did that ever like--occur to you?

(beat)

You know, they don't want to be like

this, it's just that nobody ever helped

them before.

PEGGY JANE:

(walking past)

"MS". How you doin'?

JENNIFER:

Kewl "PJ". How you doin'?

PEGGY JANE:

(relishing her new word)

"Kewl."

Jennifer smiles at her friend as she goes by.

DAVID:

You have no right to do this.

JENNIFER:

Well if I don't who will?

DAVID:

They're happy like this.

JENNIFER:

David, nobody's happy in a Poodle skirt

and a sweater set.

(pause ...)

You like all this don't you?

David recoils slightly.

JENNIFER (CONT)

I mean, you don't think it's just like

dorky or funny or something ... you

really like it.

(shudders)

Oh God! I am just so personally

horrified right now ...

DAVID:

I just don't think we have the right

to ...

JENNIFER:

David, let me tell you something. These

people don't want to be geeks. They want

to be "attractive." They've got a lot of

potential, they just don't know any

better.

DAVID:

They don't have that kind of potential.

JENNIFER:

Um--hello? You want to like take a look?

Jennifer motions behind her to a boy and girt who are locked

in an intimate conversation. The girl wears bobby socks and

the boy wears a letterman's sweater, but the conversation is

sexually charged. They speak to one another in a close

whisper--their faces inches apart. All at once the girt gets

shy and glances away. She blows a big bubble with her gum,

but the BUBBLE IS BRIGHT PINK IN AN OTHERWISE GRAY FRAME.

BOY:

Wow. What kind of gum is that?

CLOSE. DAVID AND JENNIFER.

He looks over in shock as she sucks the BRIGHTLY COLORED

BUBBLE GUM back into her mouth. Jennifer flicks her hair.

JENNIFER:

I gotta go. I'm meeting Biff at the

flagpole.

EXT. LOVER'S LANE. NIGHT.

It is the exact same shot as before: The CAMERA STARTS ITS

LONG SLOW TRACK behind the vehicles, except this time ALL OF

THEM ARE ROCKING. Various limbs and articles of clothing hang

out the open windows. MOANS of pleasure waft out over Lover's

Lane as the pond glistens in the distance ...

CUT TO:

INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE. DAY.

It is a typical '50s family practice right out of Norman

Rockwell. There is a jar of tongue depressors on the counter

and a jar of lollipops beside them. Lisa Anne (Mary Sue's

best friend) is being examined by Dr. Henderson. Her mother

sits at her side.

DR. HENDERSON

Let me see it again.

Lisa Anne opens her mouth and sticks out a BRIGHT RED TONGUE.

Everything else in the frame is Black and White, but her

tongue literally gleams with color.

DR. HENDERSON (CONT)

(examining it)

Well ... I don't think it's anything to

worry about ... It'll probably just

clear up by itself.

(to Lisa Anne)

Cut down on greasy foods and chocolate.

No french fries, that kind of thing.

(aside/

to the Mother)

It's just a "teenage" thing.

EXT. LOVER'S LANE. NIGHT.

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