Bruiser (2022) - full transcript

Darious.

Darious.

I'm really gonna miss you.

I'm gonna miss you too.

Darious.

Is that your mom?

Come on, we gotta get home.

Goodbye.

Bye.

I haven't seen you
in three months

and you're still making me wait.



I'm sorry.

Oh, I love your hair.

Thanks, Mom.

Missed you.

Missed you too, Mom.

Why do you always
play this song?

I thought you liked it.

So am I allowed to ask?

No.

Please.

Fine. You get one question.

What's her name?

Mia.

Mia...



and what...
- No, I said one question.

Your dad and I, we love you,

and we're really proud of you.

What'd you do that for?

It's annoying.

We just passed the park.

Oh, so now you
paying attention to me.

Can I?

Careful.

I am.

You miss this, huh?

Beautifully done.

Haven't missed a beat.

- Hey, man. What's up?
- Hey.

- How was traffic?
- Not bad.

I didn't know you were
working from home.

I had to see the champ.

God damn, you're tall.

Wait, let me
see you guys together.

- Monica, please.
- Stand back to back.

Malcom, he's almost
as tall as you.

Yeah, I know,
and he's still growing.

God damn.

Listen, your mom and I
are really happy

that your grades are up.

- Thanks.
- Yeah, of course.

Yeah, no problem.

So Darious, tell us,
how are your friends?

Oh, they're good.

Great, they gonna
come visit anytime soon?

I don't know about that.

Hmm.

Well, at least you got
friends here, right?

That's true.

Hey, come on here, come here.

Glad you're back, man.

It's gonna be fun.

Hey, Mia.

Hi.

What you doing?

I'm at a restaurant
with my family.

Where are you?

I'm at home.

Cool.

Um, so what else are you doing?

Mm, not much.

My mom just told me
we're going to Greece.

Greece. Cool.

Uh, I have to go. Food's here.

Bye.

Bye.

Okay, so what does that
even mean?

That the scholarship
is dissolving?

Like, could you explain that
to me, please?

What does that mean?

- Dad?
- Yeah.

I don't want you to apologize.

I need you to make it work,
all right?

So I look forward to you
giving me a call

when the situation is resolved,
okay?

Bye-bye.

- Dad?
- Yes.

Um, what am I supposed to do?

There's no one here.
My friends are all in the city.

What the hell am I
supposed to do all break?

We don't live there,
uh, Darious, we live here.

So the money that we spend
to send you to St. Andrew

is different from the money
your friends spend.

So the time away from school
is gonna be here

where you have
perfectly good friends.

Anything else?

I need a new bike.

Why?
What's wrong with the old one?

It's rusted.

It's too small for me and the
tires aren't even inflated.

Well, we got a bike pump
in the garage.

Dad, can't I just get a new bike

so I don't have to use this
shitty old one?

Why would we get a new bike

if you can still ride
your old one?

I'll just ask
Uncle Ernest for one.

Don't.

Don't ask your Uncle Ernest
for everything.

Can you please look up at me
while I'm talking to you?

Don't be asking your
Uncle Ernest for everything.

So you're not
gonna buy me a bike.

No.

Asshole.

What's Darious
stomping around for?

What is his deal?

He's been acting like one
of them rich white kids

from his school.

- Come on.
- Aww, what happened?

Your boy just called me
an asshole when I'm over here

breaking my back for him
while he is in his room

- playing "Call of Duty."
- Oh, poor baby.

You look so down.
What's going on?

Nothing.

All right, sexy.

Don't get too stressed out
up here by yourself.

Show me that ass.

Let me see that ass.

Yeah.

Stop. Come on.

All right, you better go
make up with your son.

I have a student coming over,

so it's just you two for dinner.

Yep, like we talked about.
Okay. Okay.

Go ahead.

Hold the bow like this.

Yep. Sit up.

Now try again.

You said you got a canoe, right?

- Yes, sir.
- Go right on top.

Make it perfect for off-road.

I've always wanted a Jeep.

I just have to make sure
Sheila's down.

Ah, why you gotta go
ask Sheila for?

Hey, come on, man.
Don't get me in trouble.

I know, I know, I know.

- Well, tell her I say hi.
- I will.

Well, this is,
uh, the Sheila-mobile

- if she don't like the Jeep.
- Oh, okay.

How's the business?

I mean, it's been...

It's tough recently,
but we steady,

so we'll be fine.

We'll be fine.
- I know you will.

- Thank you.
- Welcome.

I know I never say this enough,
but I'm really proud

of how far you've come, man.

Uh, well,
I appreciate that, man.

No doubt. No doubt.

So are you gonna have that
Jeep in your driveway

tonight or what?

Man, as long as I get
the law enforcement discount.

Hey, listen,
I'll do you one better

and give you the friends
and family discount.

Have you out of here in an hour.

- How about that?
- Sounds good.

Boom. There you go.

Hey, June.

What the hell? You're so tall!

- Your hair's so...
- Hey, guys.

- What's up, bitch?
- Shut up.

Damn, D with the drip.

What's up with your bike, bro?

- What the fuck is that?
- Don't be a dick.

Hey, you've got that baby bike.

What ya doing?

Cutting this fucking wood.

Wanna try it?

Sure.

- Damn, this man grew.
- He's not that tall.

He's, like, bulky though.

Bulky?

- How's school?
- He's broader.

- It's cool.
- Yeah. You wear a uniform?

Yeah. Sometimes.

What the fuck?

Hate these fucking kids, bro.

Let's go to the Jon House.

Whoo!

You're a dick for that.

Ow!

Ah!

What the fuck, bro?

Yo, chill. Chill.

You're good.

I'll fuck with you
straight, bro.

Stop. Chill, bro.

All right, bro.

- Chill. Chill.
- All right.

- Bro, all right.
- Chill, chill.

Bro.

All right, peace, bro.

Hey, hey, yo.

Ew. Chill.

Oh-oh!

Chill, chill, chill,
chill, chill, chill.

Yo, chill.

Whoa, Jesus, Mike, get off.

Get off.

Mike, get off of him!

Mike, get off!

Get off!

- Darious.
- Hey, hey, you all right?

Darious, you good?

- Where are you going?
- Darious!

Darious, where are you going?

Darious.

Hey, little man.
What are you doing over here?

Pass me that
sweater right there.

Right there.

Did you get into a fight
or something?

Yeah.

Was he older than you?

Yeah.

Did you get yours?

No.

Well, you did something.

That's a start.

Yeah.

Is that your boat?

That's my house, man.

What you doing out here,
little man?

At the Jon House?

What... the what house?

The Jon House.

The old... old man
who killed himself?

Right.

Why you know all that?

My dad used to work there.

What's your daddy name,
little man?

Why do you wanna know that?

'Cause believe or not,

I used to work for the good
Mr. Jon, too, before he passed.

You're Malcolm Garter
little boy?

Yeah.

You guys worked together?

Yeah. Something like that.

What's your name, man?

Darious.

Nice to meet you, Darious.

Nice to meet you too...

Porter.

I'll see you around,
little man, all right?

June called me.

She said you were in a fight.
- I'm fine.

Are you gonna tell me what...

I know you're fine,
but what happened?

He was just being a dick.

You shouldn't hang
with him if he picks on you.

Look, I'm fine.

And he doesn't pick on me.

We just got mad at each other.

Even if he makes you mad
or if he's a dick,

you shouldn't lose control
in situations like that.

June told me you went off
into the woods.

Why is she telling you
all this shit about me?

Because you don't
tell me anything.

You know you can
trust me, right?

I do trust you.

Good.

'Cause I trust you too.

Where we going?

Come on, let's switch.

Okay, seat belts.

Okay.

Okay, good. This is drive.
This is reverse.

Don't worry about
the other ones.

Okay, put it in drive.

Keep your foot on the brake.

So easy.

Okay, give it a little gas.

Okay, you can give
a little more gas.

There you go.

Stay on your side of the road.

Nice.

Just relax, baby.

Look at you. Oh, watch the road.

- Yeah.
- Hey, buddy.

How you doing?

Good. Good.

Your mom spoke
to Mike's mom today

and said that, um,
you thought it was all a joke

and then you shoved him.

What happened?

He started pushing me around,

and I couldn't get him to stop.

You can't lose
your temper like that.

You gotta study hard.

Take your lumps
and go far, right?

I'm not just gonna let someone

push me around
and do nothing, Dad.

You know the story?

So when I was younger, I, uh...
- Yes, Dad.

I know the story.

When I was younger, I used
to get in fights all the time.

And then, you know,
when I got into fights

and got beaten up,
my dad, he would hit me.

And then I got older,
and soon enough,

I hit him back.

It's not good, Darious.

It's not a good way to be.

You gotta take your lumps.

Study far. Go hard.

Got it.

All right.

Okay.

Love you.

Love you too.

Hey, Mon.

Hey, Ernest. We'll move down.

Hey, Darious.

Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Okay.

So what do I do in my situation?

I mean, I don't have the savings

to send Darious to your school,

and I don't know
if I can afford a loan.

So what do people do in,
you know, my situation?

Fucking asshole!

What's up, man?

- Hey, I'm sorry.
- Hold up, hold up.

Sorry. I'm sorry.

You like that? It's my homeboy.

Yeah. It's all right.

"It's a'ight."

What types you like
to listen to, man?

I don't know, Lil Baby.

Lil Baby?

That's my homeboy, man.
I met him out in Vegas.

- You did?
- Yeah, yeah.

I used to work
security out there.

I still got my man on Venmo.

So what can I do you for,
little man?

I, uh, just wanted to learn

how to protect myself.

You asked your daddy?

He's not gonna help me.

Yeah.

You know, me and your dad used
to be boys back in the day.

I only say that to say,

little man, Malcom can be
wrong about shit sometimes.

Yeah, yeah. PORTER: Yeah.

- I know.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right, man.

You right-handed?

Yeah, yeah.

It's right-handed.

This is just
for self-defense, right?

Get your thumbs out.

All right.

Get your thumbs out. Yeah.

You gonna throw
left, left, right.

Left, left, right.

I need you to hit it right here.

Smack right here.

Left, left.

Left, left, right.

You gotta... you gotta gimme
a little bit more than that.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Give me a little
bit more than that, a'ight?

Left, left, right.
Left, left, right.

Do I need hit you again?

- I mean...
- Okay, okay.

Gonna need a little bit
more than that, all right?

Left, left, right.

Yep.

Shit.

That's the fuck
I'm talking about.

Ah, shit.

My ears still ringing, man.

That's what's up.

The first thing you gotta do
when you are in a fight

is stay calm.

If you're calm and he's crying
and sweating and all that,

you win.

What does that tattoo say?

What? Which one?

It's like fluids.

Precious Bodily Fluids.

You like movies, little man?

Yeah.

You ever see one
called "Dr. Strangelove?"

Ah, man. All right.

So a general of an
American army base

goes completely AWOL, right?

Has his whole battalion,
turn on the rest of the army.

He's played...
You gotta sit down, man.

You're looking weird
standing up there.

Pop a squat, grab a seat, man.

It's, like,
my favorite shit, man.

It's, like, the funniest shit
I ever seen.

Okay, so what is it about?

The end of the world, basically.

You know, mutually
assured destruction.

It may not come in a form
of stealing bodily fluids

or nothing like that,
but you bet your ass

sooner than you think,
they gonna control

everybody you know.

You know, everybody all tapped
in their phones all the time

and stuff.

It's like a form of cancer, man.

Yeah, what's up?

What are you talking about?
- What?

What are you talking about?

You're weird.

- I'm weird?
- Yes.

Mad sus. So you're super...

- You're weird!
- Okay.

All right.

Talking about
tracking the phones

and the end of the world, man.

You're crazy.

My dude.

You all right?

Yeah.

Nah.

Good man.

I got something for you.

You know who this is?

Yeah. Yeah.

It's the Kung Fu dude, right?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Strong young god Bruce Lee.

Wow, he's ripped.

Yeah.

Only 5'8", a buck-forty.

You ain't always
gotta be the biggest.

You just gotta know what
you're doing, you know?

Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

Hello?

Porter called the house today.

Like, Porter Jackson?

He's in town,
and he wants to meet us.

And you said no, right?

Monica.

I think we should.

Why is that?

I'm secure with us, our life.

I'm okay with hearing him.

I think it'll be good
for me to find forgiveness

in my heart for him.

It'd be good for you
to find it too.

You don't owe that man anything.

He left us.

He can't just come back
after all this time.

He don't deserve that.

This grievance and anger
is what I'm talking about.

He's not coming back
into our lives.

Let's just listen to him,

and hopefully,
he'll listen to us

and we move on.

This isn't about him.
This is about us.

Sorry I'm late.

All right.

You wanna... you gonna grab...
All right.

Where should I... um...

Well, I just wanna start
by saying,

I apologize for,
you know, all the stuff

I put us through as kids.

You know, that was all my fault.

I own up to that, you know.

But, um, you know
we're here now.

You know, I'm a a grown man now,

you know, and this is
all about Darious.

So it's real good
to see you, Monica.

You, too, bruh.

Why'd you come back?

I mean, why come back now?

Like, you know, man,
six years in the air force,

little time out in Vegas.

Just trying to find my way.

Everything has just
led me back here, you know?

Led me back home to you guys
and Darious, my family.

Can I get you anything, sir?

I'll take a coffee, man.

Coffee.

It's good to see you, Hector.

Do I know you?

- It is Porter, man, you know.
Porter.

I used to come in here
with Malcolm.

Porter.

Of course,
I didn't recognize you

with your tattoos, your hair.

You got big.

How good to see you.

- Good to see you, man.
- Enjoy.

Surprised the old man
is still working here.

Well, he's a close friend
of ours.

I teach his granddaughter
violin, actually.

I see you're still playing.

Does Darious play?

I tried with him.

He doesn't have the patience.

So, uh, you know,
what does he, uh,

what does he know about me?

Why don't we
keep the conversation

on getting reacquainted for now?

All right, you say that
you're here for Darious.

What does that mean?
Can you explain that?

Meaning that I wanna be
in his life, you know?

I mean, if you guys
let me, of course.

Oh, Porter,
we appreciate your apology.

That means a lot.

But you walked out on us,

and you can't come back
after 12 years

and have it go back to normal.

Yeah, I understand that.

You know, I know it'll
take time to get warm,

but I'm willing to do
whatever it takes.

You know, everything is
on your terms completely.

All right, then.

You know, uh...

I was thinking about this
the other day.

Remember your nickname, Nini?

Yeah.

Yeah, I remember that shit
we used to get into.

Remember that Charger
you used to have, man?

I know you remember.
- Mm-hmm. I sold it.

Remember that time you was
in the front seat with him

and damn near broke your foot

'cause you stepped on the damn
floor 'cause it was all rusty?

Ugh.

I know you remember that.

I know you remember it,
too, why you trying

to hold that laugh, man?

That rusty piece of shit.

- I loved that car.
- Uh-huh.

It was hard for me to part
with it, but I loved it.

I told him there was no way

Darious was riding around in it.

Yeah, and I got rid of it,
thank you very much.

Actually, uh, since we're being

all open and honest
and everything,

I want to, uh...

I met Darious.

You know, it was...
It was a complete accident.

He just... he just
came by where I stay.

Excuse me?

Yeah, it was a couple of days
ago out by Jon's old place

and, like, he got
beat up by a kid

or something, all blooded up.

Did you tell him who you were?

When I introduced myself,

it didn't seem like
he knew who I was.

I told him my name and he...

I don't know why the fuck
you think he'd know your name.

You're irrelevant,
and I guess that's

for Nini to decide, right?

It was my decision to make.

He knows I didn't
have him with Malcolm,

and I didn't tell him about you,

and I'm sorry about that.

You don't gotta
apologize to him.

He wasn't here.

Did you tell him who you were?

No, I promise.

And I don't know
how the fuck you think

he'd know who you are.

Don't know why the fuck you
let my kid get his ass beat...

It ain't got nothing to do
with you in the first place.

And the fact that
you think it does...

- Of course, it does.
Bruh, that's my son.

What you mean, man?
- He's your kid.

- That's my son.
- You believe that?

Is that what you think?

Okay, stop. Please stop it.

I'm sorry.

I just wanna meet Darious.

You know,
I just wanna meet my son.

Well, unfortunately...

We would need
to discuss it together

between the two of us.

Look, I get the hostility, man.

I really do.

But I'm reformed, bro.

I ain't that little boy
you used to know.

I can promise you that.

I understand,
but you need to trust us

that we listened to you
and we need to go

and talk about it together.

Okay?

Yeah, I appreciate that.

Okay.

Okay.

I don't think
this is a good idea.

I really don't think
we should let him in.

There's so much pain
in the world.

Let's just be good to Porter,

and the Lord will be good to us.

So he's my real father.

He is not your real dad.

Malcolm raised you.
Malcolm's your father.

Porter is the man I had
you with when I was young.

So why didn't you stay with him?

We were too young and he
wasn't ready to raise you.

Why?

Why wasn't he ready?

Because...

Because some people,
they run from their problems.

- I was a problem?
- No, honey, of course not.

No, no, no, of course not. No.

That's just how Porter
saw you, saw the situ...

Do you even want to see him?

Yeah, he's cool.

Okay. Okay.

Well, in that case, we all
need to be there as a family

because your dad and I,
we're still

getting reacquainted with him.

And I don't think we're ready
for all that yet.

And I know your mother and I
still gotta talk about

if we want to let you
around Porter.

I thought we talked about it.

And I think that we are not
ready for that yet, Monica.

What is there
left to talk about?

We don't know yet,
but when we decide,

we will let you know.

Okay? Is that okay with you?

Sure.

Okay.

Family hug. Come on.

I love you.

Check this out.

Boom.

- Oh.
- Pure muscle.

Yep. Okay.

Yeah, okay.
- Yeah...

- You look frail.
- Wha...

June? You ready to start?

Coming.

What happened?

Darious, leave her alone.

He thinks he's so funny.

Dad!

Mom! Dad!

Dad!

Help! Help!

Darious?

Darious!

Hey, I got you.
I got you, I got you.

- What happened?
- Nothing.

Darious, are you okay?

Everything is all right.

You can go back downstairs
and finish your lesson.

Are you sure?

It's fine.

Okay.

What the fuck
were you thinking, boy?

Listen, if you want to learn
how to do stuff like that,

all you gotta do is ask, okay?

I can teach you. I can show you.

Shut up.

- What'd you just...
- Just shut up.

Don't you fucking
talk to me like that.

Hey, Nini.

Nah, he all right.

Nah, no, I heard he and
Malcolm got in a little fight.

So he came over to see me.

Yeah.

Right, you know
what we should do?

We should take
little man to the fair.

We could all meet
by that ugly-ass statue

we used to meet at.

What you say?

Nah, this could be a good thing.

Come on, are you joking?

Let me do something nice
for y'all.

Oh, I bet.

Come on, son.

All right, you wanna go
play some games, man?

I thought we were
waiting on my parents.

Oh, you right.
You right. Check with it.

You the boss.

Hey, that's good, man.
You a very obedient kid.

That's cool.

That's real cool,
I'm just saying.

Not really.

All right.

Just more obedient than me.
That's all, you know.

I'm not obedient.

All right.

Hey man, where you going?

To play some games.

Ah, that boy got big balls.

Ooh. First try.

Let's see what you got.

I can do it, though.
I can do it.

Look. Closed.
Right now. Right now.

Eyes closed.

Oh-ho-ho!

Eyes closed!

- You didn't do that.
- I did that. Oh, my God.

- All right, come here.
Come here.

You ever come here before?

Yeah. Yeah.

I used to be up here
all summer with Malcolm, man.

Find little tickets on the floor

and hop on the rides with it.

- Really?
- Best shit ever.

Yeah, really.

Oh, that's my dad.

- Speak of the devil.
- Hello?

- All right, lemme...
Lemme talk to him.

Lemme talk to him.

Lemme talk to him.

Hey, man.
It's Porter, where y'all at?

Relax, bro.

Bro, relax, y'all was late, man.

We're just...

All right.

You bet.

Meet y'all at the front.

We'll meet y'all
in, like, two minutes.

All right.

Pop up on the Ferris wheel
for a minute?

What about my parents?

- They made us wait, man.
They can wait a little bit.

Come on, man.

It'll just be a minute.

Just gonna be a minute.

What? Hey.

Oh, watch this, watch this.

Hey!

What grade you in, man?

Eighth.

Well, seventh going into eighth.

Eighth grade, smart.

- Oh, yeah.
- Yeah, you know.

It's my dad.

Just call them back.
They'll find us.

Um, yeah.

Yeah, I go to a boarding school.

Boarding school.

Your boy fancy.

You like it there?

Yeah, it's cool.

I like my friends.

You got a girlfriend?

Yeah...

Why you say it like that?

Well, I don't think
she really likes me anymore.

Why not?

Well, we used to talk a lot,

but now it's like
we rarely ever do.

She's hanging out
with other friends.

So listen, just make sure
you know your own worth.

Make sure you know
that you're special

and if she don't
see that, fuck her.

You feel me?
- Yeah. Yeah.

Talked to Malcolm about her?

No, no, he wouldn't
be much help anyway.

How was he?

What you mean?

Like, when you guys were
younger, what was he like?

Malcom?

He was like my brother, man.

Like my little brother.

He was childish.

We grew up together, you know,
fucked around, broke shit.

He used to overreact when we
were kids all the time too.

Boy used to have
a temper on him.

Really?

You know, that's
probably why he reacts

the way he does when you're just

trying to defend yourself.

That reminds him
of how he used to be.

Probably just don't want
all that rubbing off you.

What'd he do?

He didn't tell you
about none of that?

How he used to be?

How he used to just
send cats to the hospital

for looking at him all wrong?

And his pops, man.

His pops used to push him
around a bit.

And then one time,

Malcolm just snapped,
damn near killed him.

Almost broke his neck.

He almost killed him?

Like I said, man,
that's... that's not...

I wanna know about you.
That's what we here for.

I'm here to learn about you.

What you wanna be when you get
older, what you want to do?

I don't know.

You don't know.

No, I wish I was
grown up now so I could

do whatever the fuck I want.

What would you do?

What would you do?

I'd probably get a tattoo.

- Oh, yeah. Like what?
What would you get?

Mm, probably something
like this one.

Hmm, a blind snake.

It's blind?

I got it
when I left the air force.

Blind snakes live underground.

So why did you get it?

- Well, you know...
You know what a drone is, yeah?

Yeah, my friend from school
has one.

Okay.

So I used to be a drone pilot

when I was in the air force,
right?

They wanted me to fly blind,
fly without my eyes,

without my soul.

Just fly, pull a trigger,
hit a target.

A blind snake comes from below,
I came from the top,

and we do about the same thing.

All those people who
had me doing that, bruh,

the motherfuckers is evil,
man, they're inhumane.

So the tat is to remind me
of what I'm not.

It's to remind me
that I'm not evil.

If I'ma hurt somebody,
I'ma have a reason.

I'ma look 'em in their
fucking face, you dig?

Yeah.

Yeah.

But that's just
my life philosophy.

Everybody got one,
and you will too one day.

Look, Darious, you...

You're clearly
a very bright young boy.

I know by now you've
realized that I'm your dad.

Now, I don't know what you would

want our relationship to be.

I think you're cool.

Cool.

You know, I like
spending time with you.

I just... I want you to know me.

I want you to know who I am.

You know, obviously
I want to know

everything I can about you.
- I get it.

So I'm cool, huh?

You're okay.

Oh, just okay.

Okay, you're pretty okay.

Oh, shit.

Darious.

What the hell were you thinking?

- All right.
- What is wrong with you?

You know we were
waiting over there.

Right. My bad.

Why aren't you picking up
our phone calls?

I didn't see them.

We were having fun,
playing games and stuff.

Yeah, we're just chilling.

That's not okay.

Why would you think that's okay?

- Come on. Let's go. Let's go.
- Let's go, Darious.

- Man, stand up, come on.
- Dad, come on.

You ain't gotta grab him.

Come on, stand up.
Come on. Shut up. Let's go.

- Everybody, relax.
We can go kick it.

We can go play some games,
ain't no thing.

Listen, I'm telling
you this right now.

This is never fucking
happening again, okay?

What you mean?
Hey, Darious, you...

- No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Do not talk to him.

Don't talk to him.
- I can't talk to my boy?

Don't do that.
Let's go to the car.

- Bro, you ain't his dad, bro.
- Come on, Malcom.

Why don't you shut the fuck up

and stay the fuck out
of my business, okay?

- Go back... just go to the car.
- You need to relax, bro.

Hey, relax, bro, all right?
You're pretending, stop.

- You're not his dad.
- Hey.

Say something again.
Say it again.

Say some more shit. Say, say,
say it again.

Speak about...

Yeah?

Could you come downstairs,
please?

Why?

Family meeting.

I've always felt like your
father, and in my heart,

I've always been your father.

So when I saw him tonight
laughing and smiling with you,

it made me fucking sick

to my stomach,

knowing who he is
and what's in his head.

Is this your way of apologizing?

Monica, I don't know if
I'm apologizing right now.

Maybe it's merited,
maybe it's not.

He was giving me advice.

He was helping me.

When you were born,
he looked at you,

and he hated you.

He didn't want
to hold you, Darious.

I did.

He was gone for weeks, drunk.

Your mother, Monica, didn't even

wanna leave you with him
because she thought

he'd accidentally
kill you or something.

But I was there
for you, not him.

But that doesn't mean you're
the only one who can change.

But I can see what
he was capable of.

I saw that.

I saw what he was capable of.

When we were younger,
he almost beat a kid to death

in the bathroom at a bar.

And I came in too late
to stop him.

Just 'cause the kid
disrespected him or something.

There was a mass of flesh
on the floor.

That kid couldn't see...
- Malcom, stop.

- Stop.
- He couldn't speak.

He could only moan because
he kept hitting him.

Horrible.

He gave that kid brain damage.

That's what Porter's capable of.

And that is what
comes to my mind

when you guys bring up his name,

and that is why
I did what did today.

And, Darious, I can't
have you around that.

Darious, go to bed right now.

Because when I look at him,
I can tell you for certain...

Go.

That Porter has
not changed, Darious.

Monica, he has not changed.

Uh, Nini.

I, uh, you know, I want to...

I wanna apologize
about yesterday.

You know, I didn't
mean for things

to blow up the way they did.

You know,
it's just we was waiting,

and the little man wanted
to play some games.

You can't come in and start
doing what you should have

been doing the past 13 years.

Right.

It's just, you know,
it's crazy seeing him

all growed up like that,
you know?

You know, actually, I got
this thing I wanna ask you.

I had this trip that
I kind of wanted...

No, not right now.

Maybe when he is older,
but this isn't working.

You should go back to Vegas.
- What you mean?

That's my little...
That's my little boy.

We could work something out.
I mean, I'd hate to...

You're gonna stay away.

What the fuck you mean? I'm...

That's it. Stay away.

Okay. Okay. Slow way down.

We're good. We're good.

Where's all this
confidence coming from?

Put both hands on the wheel.

But you drive with one hand.

I've been driving for 15 years.

You've been driving for zero.

Okay, now you drifting.
- Chill.

Okay. Stay within the lines.

- I am.
- Okay. Okay.

All right.

Stop here for a second.

I need you
to promise me something.

You're gonna tell me not
to hang out with Porter.

I know he's new and you feel
like he understands you.

He's just nice to me.

He doesn't know you.

It's not hard to be nice, honey.

That doesn't mean anything.

It means something to me.

I know you're
pissed at your dad.

I'm pissed at him too.

And I'm having words with him
as soon as we get home.

But I promise you
with total certainty

between him and Porter,
he's the one that cares.

He's always gonna
be there for you.

So I don't want you
to talk to him.

I'm being really serious.

I need to know you understand.

Fine.

You can drive now.

You're quiet.

So?

So it's weird when you're quiet.

I'm thinking.

So think out loud.

Are you depressed?

What are you thinking about?

Nothing. I'm just thinking.

Stop.

Sorry about the Porter guy.

My mom told me about it.

Stop.

Do you wanna hug?

No.

Are you sure?

Yes.

I mean, it's weird
that this is happening

and you said you
didn't want a hug.

Okay. Okay. Thank you.

Oh, shit!

Darious, there's no way
this is your dad.

June, you have to see this.

- Turn it off.
- Come look at this.

Mike, turn it off.

That's it.
It's not fucking funny.

- Cut it out.
- It's hilarious to me.

Fucking God, it's good.

Turn it off. Turn it off.

Stay the fuck
out of my business.

Yo, Darious, you see this?

Dude, your dad's
a one-punch legend.

Oh, my God.

Say something again.
Say it again.

Oh, my God.

Oh, oh, oh, oh!

Oh, shit! Darious!

Chill, chill, chill, chill!

Stop!

Darious, stop!

Motherfucker!

What the hell, get off!

Darious?

Darious.

Darious.

Darious.

Open this door now.

I'm on the phone
with Mike's mom.

She said you really hurt him.

What did you do?

Answer me.

Coming in.
- Get the fuck out.

Darious!

You have to talk to her.

You have to handle this
yourself.

You know better
than this, Darious.

Shut the fuck up!

I'm so sorry.

I appreciate that, Catherine.

But it's no excuse
for his behavior.

Hey!

Relax, bro.
You have to stop pretending.

You're not his... Hey.

Say something again.
Say some more shit.

Say, say, say it again.

Why don't you shut the fuck up?

Stay the fuck out
of my business.

- Hello.
- Hey, little man.

How you doing?

Porter?

I want to talk to you.

I heard you got
in a little trouble today.

How'd you know about that?

You think I don't
keep tabs on my little boy?

Come by the window.

Ah, good to see you, man.

I miss you.

How you feeling? You all right?

Yeah.

Just, uh, just a little shitty.

Mike might have to get stitches.

Ah, come on, man.

Look at me.

Everything gonna be all right.

It ain't no thing, all right?

Malcolm, my dad,

he told us something about you,
and it was weird.

Oh, yeah. What'd he say?

You ask me anything,
I'd tell you.

He said that when
you were younger,

you got into a fight with
some guy at a bar or something

and he had brain damage from it.

There are some things

that are pretty shitty
about my past.

That's one of them.

But I've tried to make
myself better since,

and I hope you can
appreciate that about me.

He ain't say
nothing else about that?

That's all he said about that?

What do you mean?

He was beating up
on that little boy too.

Actually, he was going so hard,

I had to pull him off of him.

Really?

Yeah, man.
I wouldn't lie to you.

You're my little boy.

Look, I've come
to terms with my truth.

Clearly, Malcolm hasn't.

I've never seen him
that angry before.

If he ever scares you,

if you ever feel unsafe
in there,

you come to me, all right?

Okay.

Talk soon, little man.

Bye.

Bye, man.

There's a man
named Porter Jackson

who's been hassling my son

and also trespassing
on our property.

I know he is living illegally
in one of them houseboats

on the old Galo property.

Hassling your son?

Well, I mean...

I'm not sure, but I've asked
him to stay away from Darious,

and I keep seeing him
in the neighborhood.

Monica and Darious would feel
a lot safer if he was gone.

Is there a problem now?

Nice boat.

I appreciate that.

Mia?

Hi, Darious.

- Are you Porter Jackson?
- I am.

How you doing?

I hate to be a prick.

It's the worst part of my day,
but it comes with the terrain.

What's the problem, officer?

- You're trespassing.
- Okay.

We ran you through our system.

You got priors in Vegas,

possession and distribution
of cocaine.

We don't exactly send out
the welcome wagon

for that type of person.
- Man, I'm sorry.

Y'all just decided
to run me on a whim?

But you really don't
have to call that much.

We can just talk back at school.

Okay. Cool.

This is
the safest car in the lot.

I mean, you can pass it online,

look around,
you know what I mean?

Sir, your nose is bleeding.

Hmm?

Your nose is bleeding.

We're gonna come back tomorrow.

You better be gone.

I hope that's clear enough.

I'm sorry, who the fuck
told y'all to come here?

Malcolm Garter, Garter Motors.

Hi, Malcolm.
This is Samantha Walters.

Hi, I'm with a customer
right now.

May I call you back?

Well, I'm from
the Office of Financial Aid

at St. Andrews.

I have to deeply apologize

for all the stress we put
you through,

but we finally have
some good news.

All right. What's the news?

One of our donors reached out.

Mm-hmm.

And she just
loved Darious's story.

And she's willing to provide
Darious's scholarship

for this next year with us.

And then he should qualify

for the high school program
here as well.

I knew it.

I knew if I kept pushing y'all,
y'all gonna make it work.

This is really
gonna make his day.

This is really
gonna make his day.

Well, we'll
send over all the paperwork.

- Thank you.
- Of course.

All right. Take care.

You too.

Sorry I'm late. Hi.

- It's all right.
- Happy birthday.

- Aw, Malcom.
These are beautiful.

We have beers in the fridge
if you want.

Thank you. Where's Darious?

I think he's outside.

Okay.

You ready?

You sure?

All right.

Ho, ho, ho, ho, here it is.

Wow.

I knew you wanted one.

Yeah, yeah. Thank you.

Yeah, you like it?

I love it.

I got the wrong one, huh?

No, no. I said I love it.

I know it doesn't seem
like it all the time,

but I'm really
trying here, Darious.

I want to give you
everything that I am.

I really do.

I know.

And I feel like I'm just
always getting it wrong.

Oh, look,
I said I liked the bike.

Look, I could have
taught you to drive, man.

Why didn't you ask me?

Just didn't want
to get yelled at.

I can't do it perfect.

- You gotta go. Come on.
- I gotta see my son.

You called the cops
on me, my nigga?

No, no, you have to go.

No, I'm calling the police.

- I gotta get this off. All I...
- Darious, go upstairs.

Porter, please, leave.
- I have been nothing but

open and honest with both
of y'all about my intentions.

You look really stupid, man.

You're embarrassing yourself.

But you ass sitting here
lying about old shit.

What are you talking about?

That shit from 15 years ago.

This nigga helped me
beat that little boy ass.

- Look, man.
- Go wait outside.

That's my little boy.
How is he better than me?

That's my boy.

He didn't run away.

Right. You're right.

Look, I just wanna love my son.

I just want to love my son.

- Porter...
- That's it.

I just wanna love my son.
- Please, just go.

- Get out of my house.
- Go.

I just wanna love my son.

The police are on their way.

Get the fuck out of my house.

You got a disease
in your heart, bro.

It's killing your family.

Was Porter telling the truth?

It's a total blatant lie,

and it's fucked up that
you're even asking me that.

You know,
that's exactly what he wants.

To tear us apart.

- Stop, stop, please stop.
- Just tell the truth.

I am telling the truth.

Okay, fine.

I think you're lying.

You know I saved
your ass today, right?

The scholarship
at your fancy-ass school

fell through days ago.

And I was the one
that got on the phone.

I put it together
so you can keep going.

Is Porter gonna do something
like that for you?

At least he doesn't lie to me.

Really?
He lied about everything.

You're just too stupid
to realize, okay?

Mm-hmm. Sit down.

Don't be a pussy 'cause
the conversation's too hard.

Sit down. Sit down.

- Malcom. Malcom!
- Darious, sit down!

Sit down, Darious.

Get off!

Stop. Stop.

Darious, stop.

Stop. Okay, baby.

Look at me. Look at me.
Look at me.

Calm down.

Breathe, baby.

Breathe, breathe.

Breathe.

Monica.

Darious.

Whoo-hoo!

Yeah!

There we go.

There you go, I'd be right back.

What the fuck
you laughing at, little boy?

You.

The way you're looking at that,
you look like an old-ass man.

- Get the fuck outta here.
You look like an old-ass man.

Okay, my bad.
I guess I struck a nerve.

Appreciate you.

All right, well,
what can I get you boys?

Whatever you want, man.

Um, may I get the steak, please?

- How do you want that?
- Medium.

- Uh, two of those.
One medium, one rare.

I'll take a beer too.

Will do.
Hector will get right on that.

I like your shirt.

Thanks.

You're welcome.

Thanks.

Is she cute?

All right, man.

So what's up, man?

Nah, bruh, don't gimme that.

You know I'm risking
going to jail for this.

My neck is way on the line.

I really wanna know
what's going on, Darious.

My dad... I mean, Malcolm...

Is always lying to us.

And my mom,
she keeps falling for it

and it just
pisses me off so much.

Like, he won't be real
for one second.

He's always pretending to be
this person I know he's not.

It's like, what else
is he lying about, you know?

- Yeah, nah, yeah.
I know how that feels.

I grew up with him.

Hey, Darious,
what are you doing here?

Hey, we were just
getting dinner.

This is Porter.

- Hi.
- Hi.

Um, so what are you doing here?

It's late.

Oh, I'm just helping out,

and my grandpa's gonna
give me a ride home.

Cool. Cool.

Yeah, is everything okay?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Okay. Yeah. Cool.

That's your friend?

Yeah, it's June.

I like her.

Hello.

- Where are you going?
- I'm getting Darious.

What are you talking about?

Malcolm.

Malcom!

- He grabbed your arm.
Did he hit you?

No.

No, he just got really mad
and grabbed me.

He's calling.
- Fuck that. Don't answer that.

Fuck that.

Hey. Hey, look at me.

What if he gets mad
and hits you next time?

You need a break
from all this, little man.

I guess.

Hey, you know, I was, uh,

I was thinking, man,
what if we, uh,

you know, we went somewhere?

What if we did something
for a week or so?

Did what?

Pop out to Miami or something.

I got some people
out there we could stay with,

hit the beach,
grab a concert or something.

That sound fun or what?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

Uh, but what about my parents?

What about 'em?

You need a break
from all that anyway.

Uh, what about my clothes?

We can get all-new everything.

I'll get you everything
new when we get there.

Don't worry about it.
Pick a place.

I can't just pick
a random place.

Well, you can.

As long as we together, we good.

Where you wanna go?

Pick.

We... we shouldn't.

We should get the food, right?

Hey, Hector, man.
It's been, like, an hour.

Where the steaks at?

Man, they're coming.
They're coming.

What's going on, man?

How is that
when everybody out here?

Hey, Darious, you wanna come

sit over here with me and June
for a little?

Why would he wanna do that?

Are we gonna have a problem?

Just gonna talk a little bit.

Yeah, you should go with them.

Hey, hey, you don't
have to touch him.

- Come with me, Darious.
- You should go.

- Hey, you can talk to me, man.
Don't touch him.

- Come on.
- No, yeah, it'll be fine.

He's fine.
You... hey, don't touch him.

Are we gonna have
a problem with you?

- Relax, bro.
Relax, bro. We good.

Hey, come on.

Don't... hey,
don't touch my kid.

You can go, and he's gonna stay.

- You ready?
I think we should go.

- Please go.
- What did I say?

Don't fucking touch him.
Get the fuck.

Don't touch my fucking kid!

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.

What is wrong with you?

- We're okay. We're okay.
We're okay.

Shit.

I shouldn't have did that shit.

I just hate when folks
stick their nose in stuff

that don't belong to them.

Where we going?

No, don't answer that.
You don't need to talk to them.

Don't answer that.

Anywhere. Uh, Miami.

We can go to Miami.
Like I said, I'm...

What the fuck?

I'll get you another one.

Don't worry about it.
- Stop the car.

Just pull over for a second.

Stop the car.

I need my phone.

Dad, please.

Please, pull over.

Let's just sit for a second
and think about this,

all right? Listen... Darious.

Hey, Darious.

Come on, man. I'm sorry.

Darious.

Hey, it's too dark, man.
We're not gonna find it.

Hey, I'll get you a...

Darious.

Hey, I've been calling you.

It's okay, it's okay.

He wanted to see me.

He wanted my help.

Dad!

Stop!