The Upside of Anger

A case in point in anger's

ability to change us

is my mother.

My mother was always

the nicest person I ever knew.

She was the nicest, sweetest woman

than anyone who knew her ever knew.

Then things changed...

then she changed.

She got angry.

Good and angry.

Anger has turned my mother

into a very sad and bitter woman.

If she wasn't my mother,

I'd slap her.

I would.

I'd look her straight in the face and

tell her what I really think of her...

and then I'd run really fast

in the opposite direction.

- Are you eating?

- Yes.

I want you eating.

I mean it.

Okay.

You ladies

are old enough now,

I'm not gonna pull

any punches here.

He took his wallet...

and he left.

When he didn't come home

the other night,

you know,

I thought we got lucky

and he was just

in a car crash,

dead by the side of the road,

but the fact is,

he's run off with his little Swedish

secretary, who, oh, what a coincidence,

mysteriously left work three days ago

and moved back to Sweden!

But where did he go?

Have you spoken to him?

No, I haven't

spoken to him.

There is

very little to say.

He knows that. But I did cut off

all his goddamn credit cards.

Closed his checking

account, yeah.

See how long she sticks

around when he's broke.

Your father is a...

small man.

Very small.

I hope that's not an allusion

to the man's genitals

- 'cause that'd just be gross.

- Aw, dude,

- I was about to eat a string bean.

- Oh, my god...

Excuse me, excuse me.

Everything is not a joke.

I am talking.

And as

a jittery nation worries

about a counterstrike, we'll go to the

scene of the anthrax scare in Florida.

Sheesh.

Hey. Hey, Terry.

What do you want?

Well, I-I...

I wanted to talk

to you and Grey

about them building that

subdivision back there?

- Yeah?

- He's so, um...

He's so damned set

against it,

he hasn't even heard

the proposal.

Grey doesn't

live here anymore, Denny.

He doesn't exist.

Go away.

Officials tell us

that they are worried

about how to manage the fragile US-led

coalition in the days ahead,

but the facts

are already evident

from south Asia, to Africa,

to the Middle East.

Worldwide, thousands

of angry demonstrators

are taking to the streets

to protest US military...

The least he could have done

was taken this stupid jock with him.

There have been plenty

of protests in the world.

And I suspect...

Ugh.

What... what...

what do you mean,

"He doesn't exist"?

Oh.

Are you stoned?

- Yeah.

- Oh... Jesus.

What do you...

what do you mean,

"He... he doesn't exist"?

He's been messing around

with his assistant.

Go talk about it

on the radio.

No, I'm... I'm...

no, I'm-I'm... I'm-I'm be...

I'm being serious.

I need... I need to talk to him.

Um...

He left me.

- He left you?

- Mm. For Danken Shane

or whatever his

secretary's name is,

so Denny you can go ahead

and build your...

damn subdivision

back there...

I don't know,

whatever it is you want.

It was him who had

the problem with it, not me, okay?

- He left you?

- Yes.

- Really?

- Yeah.

Hey, I'm sorry,

Terry.

You know, go ahead and build

your houses back there, Denny.

- He's gone. He won't stop...

- They're not my houses.

They're not.

I'm just, um...

I'm just the front man,

you know,

wave the

World Series ring.

They get the sales,

I'm getting a free lot out of it.

Ooh, a free lot.

- Hmm.

- It's something Shep set up.

He really left?

Really?

This is... true?

Yeah.

Hey, come on.

Just go away.

Hey. Well... ah... look,

let me come in.

Come on, if yo...

if you don't want,

I won't talk. I'll just sit there

and I'll drink with you.

There was a large mob...

of angry demonstrators

here today,

proving that a number

of people are willing to go and fight.

- The feeling is that...

- I got her to school.

Thank you.

You know I'm going back

to school in the morning,

you're gonna get her

yourself tomorrow.

Billy Edwards on my bus says

that when you get really drunk,

you get friendly and you sign baseballs

without bitching about it.

- He does?

- Yeah.

So, you got any

baseballs around?

No.

Why don't you run

down the street to my house.

I got a...

stack of boxes in my garage.

There's a key under my mat.

You grab one of those boxes.

You bring it back here.

One box.

Anything she makes...

I'm gonna split with her.

Buddy, Goddamn you!

Out!

What's the big deal? He wasn't licking

it more than three seconds.

The three second thing is for floors,

not dogs' mouths.

He spends all day

licking other dogs' asses.

Oh, let's just call

for take-out.

It's fine. You guys, it's good chicken.

It's fine.

Like you'd eat it?

It's fine.

You know the Zilwaukees'

Great Dane, "Mo'fo?"

You're licking

his a**hole right now.

You know what,

that's really sick.

How's dinner coming?

Good.

We made your favorite.

- Chicken.

- Thank you.

Um, can you make an extra plate?

Denny's staying for dinner.

That was quick.

What was quick?

What was quick?

Denny?!

Please...

Give me more credit than that, Hadley.

He's a drunk.

You make a nice couple.

My life is falling apart

at this moment.

I expect some compassion

from you.

Now you go back up

to school tomorrow,

come back home

at Christmas break

and bust my hump

if you want to,

but right this minute, I want

the benefit of the doubt at every turn!

Are we clear?

Yes.

Thank you.

Mm, this looks good.

What kind of a dick-head

runs away

with his secretary?

That is lame.

Take a right,

make a left

at pathetic.

I think he's coming

back home.

Maybe not soon,

but... I do.

I think we should

call him.

And say what?

"Hey Dad, how's your

new life going so far?

I got an A

in interpretive dance."

He doesn't care about you, Emily.

Get real.

He lost his job, Hadley.

- What?

- Your father was about to be laid off.

He was told

a few months ago.

He was devastated.

He didn't want you girls to know it.

Okay? I think he

flipped out or something.

I read this article

on the internet.

Apparently, it's common.

They lose their jobs,

and they go nuts.

What do you want

from me?

It's the best

that I can come up with.

I don't want

anything from you.

Well, don't take it out on me, Hadley.

You aren't gonna have to be here.

You aren't gonna know

how empty this house is gonna be.

Well, if it makes you feel

any better, I hate him too.

Oh, does that mean

you hate me?

You are such a mental.

I have to go, okay?

All right.

I'll see you later,

okay?

Terry.

Hey.

Listen to my show

today, okay?

I'll mention you.

I'm gonna bring you up

as a drinking buddy

- I watched the invasion with.

- I don't want you to do that, Denny.

I know, but...

you don't have a choice.

Yeah, I do. I don't want to be

mentioned on the radio.

You don't want

to be mentioned?

- # She cried more, more, more! #

- No.

#With a rebel yell #

- # She cried more, more, more! #

- Okay.

Oh God.

Hey, come on!

Slow down!

- There's children playing here!

- Sorry, sorry, sorry!

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes