Hope Ranch (2002) - full transcript

(soft music)

(slow western music)

(exciting music)

(mooing)

- Yah.

Yah.

(speaking in foreign language)

(car honking)

(laughing)

- Think he's got our money now?

- I don't know, you have our money?



(groaning)

(whistling)

Ajax.

You're shorter, right?

You're in too deep.

You get us the money, or
drugs, or you're dead.

(coughing)

- Ajax, you okay?

I'm sorry.
- Get off of me!

You're late!

If you'd been on time
they'd never found me.

Come on.

(exciting music)

come on.



(groaning)

come on, help, Cockroach.

Pull!

No!

All right, you're gonna have to do it.

I think he busted some ribs.

- Me?

No way, I only agreed to watch out.

- Oh yeah?

I never agreed to not kicking your butt.

Go!

Come on!

Hurry up!

Come on, in the bag, come on!

Hurry!

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

Yeah, baby, yeah.

(muffled speaking on radio)

(police sirens)

(tires screeching)

- [Officer] Slow down, relax.

On your feet.

(slow western music)

- I mean, is it my time to be in?

I don't know what.

- You must be J.T. Hope.

- Ma'am?

- Sam's expecting you, I'll
take you to your office.

She'll be with you in a moment.

- Morning, Mr. Hope.

- What is this all about?

- It's a department requirement.

Every new program has to be evaluated

by a qualified professional.

- A single mother from out of state?

- She'll be at the ranch
by the time you get back.

- What?

- The department pays her salary,

you'll have to look
after her room and board.

- You load my up with extra costs,

and still you refuse to fund the program?

- We've already discussed this.

- I only applied for my expenses.

- Prove to me that your program works,

and we will revisit
the subject of funding.

- If your approach worked,
I wouldn't be doing this.

- Mr. Hope, if you're so determined

to work with kids, why
don't you reinter the force,

and work the juvenile division?

- Look, let's not start giving

each other career advice, okay?

Now, I have met your requirements,

I'm doing this program,
I came here for my first

three kids and I am not
leaving without 'em.

- Fine.

I'll introduce you.

First, we've got Booker Stokes,

17 year old bipolar bully
moved in the stock market,

also convicted for
possession, assault in bed.

- Sounds like a real charmer.

- No, actually that
would be Ernesto Mendoza,

16 year old tagger, gang
banger and car thief,

who would follow you into a revolving door

and come out ahead of you.

Lastly, Kieth Frasier, 17, we busted him

breaking into a pharmaceutical warehouse.

Ran the cops asses off.

Mother's in jail, no father,

God knows how long he's been using.

He's been here before,
hasn't responded to any

program or treatment yet.

And like the other two,
goes straight to adult court

next time he's picked up.

I wanna see these kids back
here in exactly two weeks.

- Two weeks?

- And when I read June Anderson's report,

I wanna feel as if I am
witnessing a miracle.

- I could hardly learn
their names in two weeks.

- Two weeks, Mr. Hope.

And if I don't like what I see,

they are coming right back
to the detention center.

- Guess you're the Santa
Claus that sprung us out.

- Yeah, that'd be me.

J.T. Hope's the name, nice to meet ya.

First missed opportunity
to behave like men.

Well, don't worry,
there'll be plenty more.

- Yeah, I ain't worried.

Boys, throw your gear in the
back and get in the truck.

(barking)

Come on, Moss, Moss, come here.

Come in here, boy.

- [Ernesto] Smells like
a damn zoo in here.

- Come on, get in.

- I got a year in juvie.

Whether it's here on your damn ranch,

I don't have to take orders from you.

Whoa hey, you can't touch
me, I'm a minor, A-hole.

- No, you're a major A-hole.

- Good luck, you're gonna need it.

(chuckles)

(western music)

- [J.T.] Anyone's gotta
go, now's the time.

- What's this?

An episode of Survivor?

- It's not where we are that's bugging me,

it's Walker Texas Ranger over there.

(dog barking)

- Hey, Moss go get him!

(cheering)

- Go, boy!

- Get up!

You'd have died of dehydration
before you figured out

there's nothing out there for miles!

You find anything interesting
in that glove box, Booker?

- It's none of your damn business.

- [J.T.] Oh?

- Nobody told him this
place was on the moon.

- Take my word for it,
it's not quite that far.

- Might as well be.

- I'll turn around and go back right now

if that's what you want.

That goes for everybody.

Okay then, no more complaining.

- Ernesto's not complaining.

- Get in the truck.

Get in the truck!

Wise guy.

(rock music)

- Yah.

Come on.

Yah.

(mooing)

Yah, come on.

- Did you see that?

I think the marble man just
gave you a wink, homie.

- I could give him smoke.

- Good boy, good boy.

Hey!

(mooing)

Go.

(whistling)

- Well, well.

What the halfwit, this flea bitten dog.

Ain't even six o'clock yet.

- That's 12 head of cattle, Shorty.

You owe me.

- Yeah, you didn't get
'em in, I got 'em in.

If I hadn't opened this gate,

you'd be chasing bovines
all over the country.

- Don't start with me, old man.

You owe me the money and I won it fair.

- I forgot my pocketbook,
it's in the house.

- Uh-huh.

- Here they come.

How you doin', boss?

- Good.

Shorty.

Come on out, boys.

Line up over here.

Grab your gear, too.

To meet our new friends.

This is Ernesto, Booker, Kieth.

This is Shorty.

Out here our day starts
at six and ends at six.

What you do after that's
entirely up to you.

There's no leaving the
bunkhouse after nine

under any circumstances.

Make sure you take care of
your business before then.

We bought you some new clothes.

I want you to put 'em on.

No more of this, whatever
you call this here.

Get a good night's sleep.

You've got a busy day ahead of you.

Oh, and keep an eye on Kieth here,

seems he's training for
the Olympic track team.

(laughing)

All yours, Shorty.

- Well, this is home, fellers.

Kinda messy, but she cleans up nice.

- It's a dump, man!

- [Booker] Hey, I ain't no animal.

I don't have to stay in no shed!

- No, you ain't an animal,

animals got rights, you're a ranch hand.

This is where ranch hands stay.

- This sucks.

- They got sandwiches from juvie out here.

- This is crap.

- Well, if you hungry, it'll taste good.

I'd pick that up if I was you,

unless you want a visit from the locals.

We got a lot of wildlife around here.

Fox, coyote...

Bear.

- Come on, Moss.

(barking)

- Jim Hope?

June Anderson.

Nice to finally meet you in person.

- Nice to meet you.

Call me J.T.

Well, did Shorty help you settle in okay?

- Fine.

My daughter is so excited
about all the room

she's got for her pets.

- Good.

Would you like a beer?

- No.

- Listen, I wanna tell ya,

I wasn't really expecting this.

I mean you coming here
with your daughter and all.

See, this really isn't a place for...

I mean, we're not really used
to having women around here.

- Oh.

Better get used to it if you
want your program to work.

- I'd like to meet the boys now.

- Yeah, sure.

Follow me.

- Some brooms in there in the kitchen,

in case you wanna sweep this place out.

Any questions?

- Yeah.

Do I have to share a room with the cholo?

- What's up, punk?

- [Booker] Hey you want a piece of me?

(groaning)

- [Ernesto] I'm gon' get you, punk.

- Listen, you little turd.

This whole rehab idea is J.T.'s, not mine,

so don't expect me to put
up with any of your crap.

- Oh, whatever you say, Pecos Bill.

Whatever you say, just don't hurt me.

- You're a wise guy, and a slow learner.

This ain't no summer camp, boy.

You got me?

I've done my time, and I know
how to handle dirt like you.

- Dammit.

- Anybody pulls a knife on anyone again...

You're gonna have an
unfortunate accident with it.

- Yeah, yeah, whatever.

- Some clothes over there.

Find something that fits.

- I aint playing Toy
Story with these jokers.

- [Ernesto] Punk, give me my hat.

- What?

Yeah. (speaking Spanish)

- Oh, there's one thing
I forgot to tell you,

when you're cleaning up around here,

watch out for rattlesnakes.

They like to find little
dark spots to hide.

Goodnight.

- Oh hell.

- Pick some of this stuff up.

- Don't tell me what to do.

- You better hurry up.

Freakin' snakes, man.

I can't handle this crap.

Ernesto can handle rats, man,

rats are no problemo,
but snakes another thing.

- Will you shut up?

I can't hear it rattling with you yapping!

- They're playing you.

There ain't no snakes.

- How the hell do you know?

- Yeah, what are you,
the Crocodile Hunter now,

or something?
- Screw you, Ernesto.

(slow music)

(croaking)

(clucking)

(mooing)

(rattling)

(yelling)

- There's a baby alligator in here, man!

- It's a lizard, man.

(laughing)

- Oh boy, you're lucky
he didn't piss on you.

You bellerin' like a branded calf.

Rise and shine, boys,
we're wastin' daylight.

- Morning.

Sleep okay?

- I'm not used to how
quiet it is out here.

- Ah.

- Molly, this is Mr. Hope.

- Nice to meet you, Molly.

Welcome to Circle Hope Ranch.

- This place is the coolest.

- Yeah, it is.

- I'll be back in a minute.

- Listen, I'm pretty sure
you weren't impressed

with Colt's persuasive style last night.

- It's not what Sam's
looking for in my report.

- Well, I don't suppose you could leave--

- No.

I'm a professional.

My report will include
everything, good and bad.

- You're gonna be telling me how to

run the program, is that right?

- Yours is not the first new idea

to walk through Sam's door.

- Well, I realize that, but
she is doing her damnedest

to kill this before it even gets started.

- You got two weeks.

Why don't you stop
whining, and get started?

- And I can count on you--

- You can count on me to do my job.

- [Shorty] Cows on!

- You look like one of the Village People.

(speaking Spanish)

- Morning, Shorty.

- Good morning, Hope.

- Ernesto, how's it fit?

- It's perfecto, man.

Like pants on J.Lo.

- You can put a silk bow on a hog,

but you still got a hog.

- Kieth, Booker.

You understand English, right?

- Si.
- Si.

Well, you wanna eat, you
go put on the clothes

that we gave you, or you'll be wearing

that jumpsuit they gave you at juvie.

Now!

(chuckling)

This ranch is 2,000 acres.

We have to take care of all of them.

Got a dozen horses, 400 head of cattle.

You'd better show 'em all respect.

You will learn to ride
a horse, work cattle,

and you stay out of trouble,

'cause you'll be too damn tired to try.

You'll be given chores to do,

and I expect 'em to get done.

You're here to learn
and be part of a team.

Refusal to participate is
not an option, gentlemen.

This is the cattle pen.

Now, the dozen that Colt brought in

are here for inoculations, shots.

The rest are still out on the range.

- Crap.

- No, that's a cow pie.

It's a smell you're gonna learn to love.

- Now, the next few weeks,

we're bringing in 35 head of ropers

to lease to the rodeo.

I'll expect you to have learned enough

to be useful to us.

You are our new ranch hands,

and we're counting on you, each of you,

to do your part.

Here, you're on the honor system,

any of you lie, steal, or betray a trust,

that's it, you are gone.

You'll be shipped back to juvie

so that three other more
willing participants

can be sprung from that hell hole

to enjoy the wonders that
Mother Nature has provided,

which includes that deadly plant

you are currently fondling, son.

When we're done here,
you go wash your hands,

and next time...

Next time you ask before you
start shredding the greenery.

- Why are you doing this, man?

- 'Cause I'm tired of seeing kids your age

not growing up to become guys my age.

All right.

Button up those shirts, tuck 'em in,

and roll down those sleeves.

(speaking Spanish)

That's good, that's good, Ernesto,

that's really good.

His name is Ranger.

That's good, talking to your horse,

it helps form a critical bond.

Now mount up.

- Aren't you gonna make me button up, too?

- That's right.

- Button that shirt up, tuck it in,

and roll down those sleeves.

- Hold still, dammit!

- Hey.

Booker.

Booker, how'd you like if I
put a metal bar in your mouth,

pulled it to the back of your teeth,

and started yanking it around?

- Well the damn thing won't listen to me,

what the hell am I supposed to do?

- You're a big man, right?

You demand respect?

Well so does he.

Step back here, and show him some.

Come on.

All right, Shorty.

- [Shorty] Take this
saddle and throw it on 'em.

- Well, Kieth, you've got two choices.

You're either gonna get on
this horse properly saddled,

or you're gonna go bareback.

Now, what's it gonna be?

Hmm?

- I ain't gettin' on it.

- You are.

Get up there.

Swing your leg around.

Now, sit up and look like a man.

- All right, gentlemen.

Let's see how tough you really are.

You're gonna be using muscles
you've never thought you had.

Move out.

On my lead.

- (speaking Spanish) What the hell

is going on with this horse?

- [Colt] Let's go, come on, tighten up.

Stay right behind me.

- That's about the sorriest
crew I've ever seen.

Bouncing like rubber balls,
ain't even in a trot yet.

(laughing)

You Mexican, ain't you?

(speaking Spanish)

- Don't be a smart aleck, boy.

(speaking Spanish)

Mexican vaqueros, they
taught us old cowboys

everything we know about horsebackin',

and how to work the cows.

Well, they have a holiday there for it.

Call it Charro Day, you ever hear of it?

- No.
- You didn't?

Well, you ought to, it's in your blood.

Them cows there, they're Mexican.

Corrientes.

And we're gonna vaccinate
them with four way.

Pay attention here and learn something.

(whistling)

Come here and hold this rope.

Get that leg up like that,
and it can't go anywhere.

Give me that gun.

That's good.

All right, there you go.

Now then.

Go on.

- Looks like it doesn't hurt him none.

- Don't hurt him at all.

You know, these ropes...

Were given to us by the Mexicans too.

They call them la reata,

that's where we got the name lariat.

We just knocked off the A on the end.

Watch yourself, watch yourself.

There we go.

All right, all yours.

- What?

I.

- Go get it.

Go down there are get it.

That's it, that's it, get that leg.

You got it, okay, here we go.

Give him the shot.

That does it, that does it.

All right, let him out.

- Yeah, if the homies could see me now!

Ernesto!

- Good job, son.

That was a good job.

(laughing)

♪ I woke up in a one man cell ♪

♪ Lyin' on a prison gate ♪

- You really like this crap?

- There's two kinds of music, Booker.

Country, and western.

- Yeah, well, in my clubs
there are two kinds of music,

hip, and hop.

♪ About the tears runnin' down her face ♪

- You're pretty tough, right?

- Yeah.

- I bet you I can pull
this wire tighter than you.

I win, country stays on.

You win...

You get to choose any station you want.

- You're on.

♪ And I got nobody to call my bail ♪

- Come on, can't you pull
any tighter than that?

(yelling)

- Dammit!

- You okay?

Come over here.

I just took a couple of wraps
around the shovel, all right?

Just get it tight...

Then you nail it in.

Do the honors?

- Do I have a choice?

(hammering)

- Use your head, and you
won't hurt your hands.

I hope you like country.

Let's move to the next session.

♪ I had to let her go ♪

- We muck out the
stalls, it doesn't stink.

But more importantly, the
horse's feet don't stay damp.

An important thing to keep
healthy, is the horse's feet.

- I ain't shoveling that.

- You just fill that
wheelbarrow with more manure

and I'll get you some fresh shavings.

- Guess you didn't hear me.

(slow western music)

- Guess you didn't hear me,
I said muck out the stalls.

- This place is a joke, man.

- How so?

- Are you kidding?

You dress us up like a bunch of idiots,

and tell us to go ride a horse.

How the hell is that
supposed to help anybody?

- Would you mind then if
I asked you a question?

- It's a free country.

- Would you rather be here
doing an honest day's work,

or back at juvie?

- Here, there, what's the difference?

Anywhere I go, it's the exact same thing.

A bunch of people shoving me around,

telling me what to do,
telling me how bad I am.

- I never said that.

- Come on, man.

I ain't here 'cause I'm good.

(thundering)

- Ernesto is not sleeping by the window

with all these reptiles around here.

- Hey.

Amigo.

What the hell you doing?

This is my wall.

- You're not the landlord, sucker.

- Oh yeah?

You got something to say?

- I've got something to say!

- Yeah, say it, punk!

- Leave it alone, you two!

- Hey, what'd you say?

What'd you say, punk?

- Booker, back off.

I already talked to you about
dancing with anyone but me.

I'm fixing to go to bed
now, right out there.

And I'm an awful light sleeper.

(thundering)

- Up yours, Colt.

- You know, I'm gonna turn
up my radio real loud,

that'll give you some
music to go to sleep by.

- Yeah, you do that.

- Not that different from
juvie, if you ask me.

Anyway.

You shoulda seen what
Ernesto was doing today.

Ernesto roped himself a calf,

and shot him with some drugs. (laughing)

- Will you shut up?

I'm trying to get some sleep.

- Man, you have a bad
attitude, I oughta rope you.

- Welcome to Circle Hope Ranch.

(thundering)

- [June] How'd it go today?

- Good.

- Talked to Shorty about
what he's feeding these kids.

- And?

- And, I think he could
increase the vegetables,

and a little more fruit
would be advisable.

- I don't believe it.

- I talked to all three of the boys today.

Kieth didn't have much
to say about anything,

and Ernesto said there are
rattlesnakes in the bunk house.

(laughing)

Tell me that's not true.

- Well of course it's not true.

That's just Shorty's way
of welcoming the boys,

you know, having a little fun with them.

- And I understand Booker
cut his hand on barbed wire.

- Yeah.

- Well, fortunately
he's current on tetanus,

or that could have been a real problem.

- Look, they're just kids,

they get bumps and they get bruises.

Of course you're gonna put that all

in your little file, anyway.

- Look, I want you--

- I know, I know, you're
just trying to do your job.

- J.T., I really do support
what you're trying to do here.

- Look, I just know from my years as a cop

that the paperwork never reflects

what's really going on.

The suits only wanna
know what's on the paper.

- That's right.

And all those years on the force,

you never learned how to use the system.

- I've never been any good at politics.

Guess I'm...

Just not the diplomatic type.

(slow western music)

(thundering)

(country music)

(door slamming)

- Ernesto and Booker
will actually be easier.

The mouthy ones let slip
a lot of information

you can use to help them.

You may need to forget
about Kieth, though.

(horse neighing)

- Shh, shh.

(beeping)

- What do you wanna watch, Zoe?

(phone ringing)

Yeah?

- [Kieth] Ajax, it's me.

- Cockroach, it's just you?

- Yeah, and you gotta get me out of here.

- I don't gotta do nothing.

You're the jerk that got himself caught.

And thanks to you, I got bigger problems

since you dropped the stuff.

- I'm not in juvie, I'm
in some dude's ranch

out in the middle of nowhere.

- Come on, be realistic.

With a lot of hard work,
and a lot of prayin',

you might be able to
dig enough improvement

our of Ernesto and Booker
to give the program a shot.

- They got stuff here.

I got vials of ketamine
spilling out of my pockets.

You can make a ton of K.

- Keep talking, Cockroach.

- There's no security, you
could have me out of here

in like, two seconds.

- It's about time you
did something useful.

All right, little brother, where you at?

- The guy's name is J.T. Hope,

Circle Hope Ranch, it's a
couple of hours, it'll be fine.

If you leave now, I can
meet you down at the road.

- No, no, I can't make it tonight.

I'll be there tomorrow.

Don't worry, Cockroach.

I'll find you.

- You'll waste your energy on Kieth?

In my professional opinion,

he is as close to hopeless as there is.

You risk the other two, and
you don't have a program.

- So two days in and I'm
supposed to be writing kids off.

- Don't get self righteous on me.

Two out of three would be
awesome in this business.

You know that.

- Where you been, lone ranger?

- What are you, my mama, boy?

- Well I ain't your pop either,

but you barely listen to us anyway, punk.

- Where you been, man?

Huh?

We're in this thing, too.

- I don't think so.

- You don't think so, huh?

Then think on this, fool, yo.

You keep this up, you'll screw
it up for all of us, punk.

- You listen to me.

I may not like it here,

but I'm not getting sent
back to juvie because of you.

- This is for me too.

Finally this on Ernesto's time, not yours.

- Screw you.

I'm gonna disappear, you
won't even know I'm gone.

(groaning)

- It's getting late, boys.

Time you got some sleep, huh?

Goodnight.

Look, if you're gonna run away,

you gotta come up with
a better plan than this.

I'm not going without you.

Why not make this easy
on the both of us, huh?

Come on.

Gotta admit, got a hell of a
lot further than I expected.

- Boys, this here's a rope.

This is the way we catch
things around here.

You're gonna have to learn to use it,

if you're gonna make a hand around here.

- If I wanna get something,
I'll just go out and get it.

- You just go out and get it, huh?

- Yeah.

- Go out there and grab
that 1,200 pound steer

by the tail and drag him over here to me.

Huh?

Go on over there.

(laughing)

well, dandy.

Good job.

- Oh man, look at you.

What?

(laughing)

- Boy, that is a tree brewer.

- I'll show you how to do this right.

- Uh-huh.

(laughing)

well, boys, playing with a rope ain't bad.

Long as your neck ain't in it.

And yours was. (laughing)

(groaning)

- That's not too bad.

Why don't you come on down and
I'll show you how to do it.

- It's all in this leg,
straight up, and over, oaky?

- Man, if you can do
it, Ernesto can do it.

- Yeah, let's see.

- All right, hold this.

Straight up, straight up.

- Let me give you a hand.

- Okay, here we go.

Whoa!

- You okay?

I guess you didn't need that much help.

- Bring on the cattle!

Whoa.

Whoa.

Slow.

Whoa!

Whoa!

Whoa!

Oh!

(exciting music)

- [Colt] Yah!

Get on in there.

Hey!

(laughing)

yeah.

- Whoa, your mom lets you keep all these?

- June's my foster mom.

- Oh, I thought that--

- But she's trying to adopt me, though.

- Where are your parents?

- My dad's in New Zealand, he's remarried,

and has a family of his own.

And my mom she's around, somewhere.

They took me away from
her when I was four.

- No, no, no, I've seen too
many of those in my life.

- Oh, but she's really nice.

She won't bite you, I promise.

- How about I get you more food?

- See you in the morning, boss.

- Colt's a good guy.

- Yeah, works hard, plays hard.

Sometimes too hard.

- You're lucky to have him.

- He's proof that this program can work.

I busted him when I was
a cop in another life.

- Really?

- Yeah.

We kept in touch while he was doing time.

Came to the ranch on probation.

He loves it here.

- You know, Brooks gave
you the toughest cases

she could scrounge up.

- Yeah, that's my bet.

She's setting me up to fail, isn't she?

It's not gonna happen.

- May I?
- Please.

Next thing you know, you'll want a beer.

- A real cold one would be great.

- Okay.

(slow music)

well, there's some warm
blood in those veins.

- Hey listen, this wasn't my first choice.

The outreach program in Vale was full.

- I sure hope you come to like this place.

It's nice having you here.

You bring a.

- Woman's touch?

- Yeah.

(engine revving)

- What the hell are
you wearing, Cockroach?

- Don't bust my chops, man.

Here.

- Oh yeah, good job, little brother.

- Whoa, whoa.

You're not going anywhere.

You consider this a little down payment

on what you cost me at that
last job you screwed up.

- I didn't do anything
wrong and you know it!

- Hey, I got serious
problems that you made worse.

You get me some more of this stuff

and I'll be back to
collect what you owe me.

- You promised you'd take me!

(slow music)

- Hey, Kieth.

You okay?

Seems like something's been eating at you.

- Give it up man.

Go win your Nobel Peace
Prize somewhere else.

- Is that what you think I'm doing here?

Trying to win some kind of prize?

- I don't know what you're trying to do!

I don't know who you are, or
why I'm here, or anything!

One little misunderstanding
with the police,

and I'm cuffed and stuffed
and shipped off to Ponderosa.

- Well, I guess breaking into a pharmacy

might cause a little misunderstanding.

- Hey, I was only supposed to look out.

My brother was--

- Your brother?

- It didn't say anything about a brother

being involved in the police file.

- He wasn't, forget about it.

- No, tell me about him.

- Nothing to tell.

- Is he playing you?

- I already told you, the
only one playing me is me.

My brother is...

Just my brother.

He's gonna do what he wants.

- And that includes telling
you what to do, doesn't it?

- He tells everybody what to do.

- What happens when you say no?

- You don't say no to Ajax.

- Get your horses moving,
boys, get 'em moving, okay?

16 horses, pull up on the reigns.

That's it, pull up on the reigns.

You guys stick together, okay?

Nice and easy load, okay?

For a trot, let's do a trot, right now.

60% of your weight.

- Listen to what Colt's telling you.

Heels down.

- Keep 'em in a trot.

- Let go of that horn, Kieth.

Sit up.

- Can't get milk out of there, boy.

- Good seat boys, good seat.

Heels down, come on, listen to him.

Keep trotting.

(beeping)

(phone ringing)

- Hello?

- [Sam] Hey June, it's Sam.

- Ms. Brooks, how are you?

- I'm fine, thanks.

More importantly, how's
it going out there?

Kids kill any animals yet?

- Only if you burn cats,
but who's counting, right?

- So everything's going well?

(horse neighing)

- Well, last week was little bumpy,

but this week they're doing just fine.

- Uh-huh.

Well if we wants to keep that program,

things had better be more than just fine

when I see those boys.

Bye.

- Buh-bye.

- Pretty good job today, son.

- How long you known J.T.?

- Oh, I've known J.T.
since he was a nubbin.

I worked for his pappy here
and halfway raised him.

- You guys never leave the ranch, huh?

- No.

Oh, well, J.T., he left
the ranch when he was 19.

He joined the Marine Corps
and became a police officer.

- I knew it.

I could smell a cop a mile away.

Man, they're all the same, all them piss--

- Now you cut J.T. some
slack there, sonny boy.

I've known him since he was in diapers.

No finer man ever made his shadow.

You live long enough and
get a little bit smart

you might be able to figure
out what he's doing for you.

Ain't gonna happen.

(slow music)

- These guys are freaking
crazy man, they will kill me.

You said that you will
have the money today.

(knocking)

Get lost!

You better get that money for me.

(knocking)

Dammit.

What?

(yelling)

- [Waxy] Did you miss me?

- Waxy.

Wait.

- Looks like you smoked
all your profits, Ajax.

- I'm getting the money,
I was just on the phone

with the guy, his friend's,
they were too large.

- Shh, shh, shh, I know.

That being said and all,

it'd be safe for me to
assume that you're broke.

- No, no, I got some money.

(coughing)

- 17 bucks, he's big time.

- Big time.

Buy a pizza or something.

(whistling)

- [Ajax] Wait.

(punching)

I'll get the money, I promise.

- Looks like you're out
of time, and out of luck.

I come back again...

You're dead.

(crying)

- Come on, baby, don't
make me late tonight.

(laughing)

- Did you lock your keys
in the car, partner?

- Oh, shove it.

- Oh.

Feels so good.

Don't say I never did
nothing for you, homie.

- Hey.

You gotta show me that trick.

- Say the word, Amigo.

It's Ernesto.

Ernesto.

- Ernesto.

- Thank you, Ernesto, baby.

- Hey, yo.

Look what I lifted from Pecos Bill.

- You stole Colt's wallet?

- It's just a joke.

I figure he should be back right about...

Now.

- All right.

Which one of you
greenhorns took my wallet?

- Took you long enough, man.

- Another trick.

- That's for helping me
with the horse, amigo.

Giddy up, arriba.

- You're playing with fire, man.

- No, man, he's cool.

I'm dirty, don't be flushing any toilets,

I'm gonna go take a shower.

Hey, June.

- What do you need, Ernesto?

- Clean towels, please.

- No one brought up the dirty ones,

so there are none.

Let me see.

Looks like that's Kieth's chore.

Sorry about that.

- Get off the bed, punk.

- What the hell are doing, man?

- You never took up laundry
like you were supposed to,

so Ernesto don't got no clean towels.

Now get off the bed.

So freakin' sick and tired of you, punk.

Moping around here like
you live on your own.

Man, we got 10 year olds in
my gang more useful than you.

You don't even deserve
to be called a homie,

'cause homies are always
there for each other.

You're not even there
for your own sorry self,

you little punk.

- Get your crap together, man.

(groaning)

- [Booker] Get!

Get off me!

- What the hell's going on?

- Appear to be having a party in there.

(punching)

- I got you, man!

- Hey, hold him, hold him!

you like that?

Yeah!

- Sit down!

Knock it off, you boneheads!

You wanna get hurt, there's plenty of

opportunity on this ranch.

(rattling)

- Don't you be afraid of snakes boy,

you'd be afraid of me.

Now get some sleep.

- That's good, Booker,
you're lookin' good.

Sit up a little straighter,
put your heels down.

- Well, it looks like Ms.
Brooks just might witness

her miracle tomorrow.

- I've never seen anything like it,

I can promise you that.

No Kieth?

- No, he's in the barn, hasn't
finished his chores as usual.

(slow music)

- Two out of three,
J.T., it's good enough.

- Not for me, it isn't.

- You have to be in Sam's
office tomorrow morning,

you have no choice.

Tell 'em he's beyond your help,

they won't hold it against you.

My report'll back you up.

- I can't do that.

- J.T., listen to me.

Nothing'll sink you faster than letting

the department think that you will

tackle cases that are beyond your scope.

Play the system.

- That's the tractor, what the hell?

Hey, get off!

Shut it off!

- Molly!

Molly, get out of the way!

- Hold it, shut off!

Hold until it shuts off!

- [June] Molly, get out of the way!

Molly!

- Hey, shut it off!

- [June] Molly!

- Turn that key off!

Shut it off!

Turn the key off!

Get out of the way!

You stupid son of a bitch!

You almost killed Molly, and me, too!

Why didn't you stop it when I told you to?

- I was trying to, I panicked.

- What the hell were you
thinking, driving it anyway?

- I was trying to do it better.

- Cut the crap.

You haven't lifted a damn
finger since you got here.

I should have never trusted you!

You son of a.

You.

It's over.

Go on, get out of my sight.

Go on.

All right, both of you.

Start packing your bags,

you're going back to juvie tomorrow.

And you can thank your...

Your friend Kieth there.

You ain't comin' back.

(doors creaking)

(slow music)

- It's okay, Kieth.

I'm not hurt.

I know you didn't mean it.

- Molly, I want you to
go back up to the house.

I wanna talk to Kieth.

- See ya later, Kieth.

- It's okay, honey.

I know you didn't mean to do that.

Everything's gonna be all right.

- Molly doing okay?

- I think she's more worried
about Kieth, to be honest.

- You were right.

I'll never reach him.

- Why are you doing this, J.T.?

- When I was on the force...

There was this kid.

About the same age as the boys.

It was...

Dark.

My partner and I were taking fire...

We returned fire.

This kid, he died of...

Gunshot wounds from my weapon.

Found out later, he was unarmed.

Don't think I'll ever forget him.

- And this is some kind of absolution?

- Just, think it's a
better use of my time.

- Except you didn't count on a Kieth.

- He's turning into another ghost.

That's what I think I lost about him.

- June Anderson has written
some very detailed reports.

They indicate that Booker and Ernesto

are making real progress.

I'm glad to see it.

Mr. Hope, you and I have
very different approaches,

but we both wanna see these kids helped.

You've proven you can help.

- Real glad you see it that way.

- [Sam] As a result,
I'm authorizing funding

for an extended trial
period of six months.

- [J.T.] That is great.

- [Sam] But, Kieth will
have to be replaced.

He's obviously not responding.

- Look, I realize that...

Okay, Kieth is not lookin'
real good on paper right now.

He's pretty much a general, all around,

pain in my backside, but...

You know, that's not the
real problem out there.

The real problem out there has been me.

I gotta start all over with
Kieth, and I want that chance.

See, he should not be
punished for my failure.

- I appreciate and
applaud your sentiments,

but from what I've read,
it's not at all clear

whether Kieth would even
be willing to go back.

- Just give me--
- Wait.

You boys wanna come in?

What the hell'd you do?

Beat the crap out of 'em?

- No, I didn't beat the crap out of them.

- How you doin, Booker?

- It's all good.

- [Sam] What about you, Ernesto?

- Ernesto's fine, ma'am.

- And you, Kieth?

- I wanna go back.

- Well, I'll be damned.

(upbeat western music)

- Cheers.

- All right, what are you two up to, huh?

- What's lookin' good for you, honey?

You want that one right there?

- [Molly] Thank you.

- Okay, it needs a
little bit more cookin'.

- You look very pretty, mommy.

- Thank you, honey.

- Whoa.

- Listen, I wanna welcome you all

to this very special barbecue

being put on, by the way,
by our new cook team,

Shorty and Julie.

(applause)

I wanna say something to you guys.

You had me worried for a while there,

but you pulled it off.

So for all that hard work,

we're goin' on our
first round up tomorrow.

- That's what I'm talkin' about.

- Bring it on.

(barking)

- Let's go.

- Hold on, guys, wait.

Honey?

- We usually hold hands during grace.

- [Colt] Ernesto, give me
your hand, for Pete's sake.

- Bread is a lovely thing to eat.

God bless the barley and the wheat.

A lovely thing to breathe this air,

God bless the sunshine everywhere.

The Earth is a lovely place to know,

God bless the folk who come and go.

Alive is a lovely thing to be,

giver of life, our thanks to thee.

Amen.

- [June] Amen.

- [J.T.] Amen.

- Amen.

All right, let's dig in.

I got the meat on the grill over here.

- I am hungry.

- [Colt] The burgers are over here.

- Any of you want a bun?

- [Colt] Give me some chicken.

- Where are the buns at?

Good boy, yes.

- [Colt] Hand me a piece of chicken.

- Fellers come get it
before I throw it out.

(slow jazzy music)

- Thanks.

I'd love a beer.

So...

Is today the day you're gonna die?

- I don't have the cash.

Wait, wait, wait, my brother.

He's at this rehab ranch, it
has a ton of ketamine for K.

- So what?

We just walk right in
there and pick it up?

- I've already done it.

- There's no security.

You gotta believe me.

- I guess you'll live another day.

- June, we should be
back around supper time.

Let's go.

(speaking Spanish)

- Buh-bye.

- Bye, girls.

- It's not fair, I wanna go.

- I know you do, but this
one's just for the boys.

Come on.

- [Colt] Good, keep movin'.

(barking)

(laughing)

- Well, Shorty, once
again, damn good grub.

- Thank you, boss.

- Yeah, and Ernesto thinks so.

Hey, J.T.

- Hmm?

- It's all right.

- Yeah.

Thank you.

- It's all good.

- Yes, it is.

But we got some cows to move,

come on, let's go.

Go.

(dog growling)

(laughing)

- Shh.

- (laughing) Not this time.

(barking)

- Kill it, kill it!

- Stay calm, don't move.

- Kill it, man.

(barking)

why didn't you kill it, man?

- I didn't kill it, because a rattlesnake

take care of gophers and
other vermin around here.

Everything in the world has a place, boys.

Even snakes.

- Let's go, boys, come on, saddle up.

Kieth, Booker, Ernesto...

I just wanna say, you've
shown a lot of progress

in the last few weeks.

You're no longer those wise-ass
punks I hauled out of juvie.

I'm proud of you.

You know, it's been
said that the best thing

for the inside of a man,
is the outside of a horse.

Let's bring these cows home, huh?

- I don't have to do what you say.

(laughing)

- No problemo, Juan Wayne.

- Let's get 'em back to Circle Hope Ranch.

(laughing)

- Let's go!

- They're still wise-asses.

- Yeah, so are you.

(laughing)

(fast western music)

whoa!

Yah!

Go, go, go, go, go.

Go, go.

- Come on!

Yah!

- Molly, put your rabbit
away, it's lunchtime.

- Okay, mom.

(whistling)

- All this space gives me the creeps.

- Let's just find the stuff,

and get the hell out of here.

(ominous music)

Hey!

What's your name, little girl?

- Ain't nobody here.

- It's weird.

- Hey.

Look what I found.

- Molly?

- Let's go check the place.

- Who are you, and what
the hell do you want?

- Mommy!

- Hey, hey, stay.

Wait, wait, lady!

- Hey!

- Hold her, hold her!

Stay right there!

- Look lady, my brother
Kieth, the little cockroach,

he says you guys keep a lot
of drugs up in this joint.

I want you to show me where they are

and no one's gonna get hurt.

- Let's go.

- What's in here?

- It's a tack room, saddles and reigns.

- I don't want a lesson in horse riding!

Are there drugs in there or not?

- They're in the refrigerator.

- Where are the keys.

(yelling)

(screaming)

- Molly!

- I'll get the kid, get the drugs!

- Get in there!

(fast western music)

(yelling)

- [J.T.] Hey.

(whistling)

- Where are they!

- It's in there, in there!

- Yeah, yeah!

- Yeah!

- All right, Cockroach.

Hey, find me something
to put the stuff in.

Oh baby, oh baby.

That's what I'm talkin' about.

(yelling)

Get her!

(whistling)

(frantic music)

- Who the hell's that?

- Dammit, it's Ajax.

- We got trouble, boys!

Bring the cattle up, fast!

- Got you, kitty cat!

(screaming)

- Hey!

Let her go.

- Yah!

Get away from that car!

- Molly?

(punching)

- I got him, Shorty, I got him!

(yelling)

- Hey!

- I'll get you!

(groaning)

- Colt!

- Get up.

Go get a piggin' string, let's
tie this son of a buck up.

- Thanks, Booker.

- Get up.

Hold on, hold on.

- You son of a.

Come on, come on.

Come on, man.

Help me man, I'm your brother!

(groaning)

Son of a.

- You don't even know what a brother is.

(slow western music)

- Would you like to stay
here a while, Molly?

- Can we?

- Well, J.T.'s offering
me a permanent job,

and as long as the department pays.

- Oh, that would be so cool.

- Boys, come on out here
so I can introduce ya.

Well, we got Sean here,

that's Time, and there's Sal.

- Hey guys.

- Boys, I need to introduce
you to Ms. June Anderson,

and her daughter, Molly.

- Hello.

- What's up, guys?

Welcome to Circle Hope Ranch.

Follow me.

Let's go.

Your day starts at six
a.m. and ends at six p.m.,

we have 2,000 acres here,

all of which we are responsible for.

You'll be given chores that'll
be expected to be done.

- I can't wait to get
them pirates horseback.

(laughing)

(upbeat music)