Jack (2004) - full transcript
Jack, in full puberty, not only has to deal with his parents' divorce, but also feels his world is falling apart when his dad tells him he is living with a man. He slowly comes to terms with his own feelings when the girl he has a crush on turn out to have a gay dad as well and his best friend's parents end up not having the perfect marriage Jack thought they had.
(upbeat music)
- [Anne] What's this?
- [Paul] I'm putting
in a hoop for Jack.
- [Anne] What's going on here?
- [Paul] What?
- [Anne] What are you doing?
- I'm putting in
a hoop for Jack.
- [Anne] Today?
- [Paul] Yeah, it was the
only day Mike was available.
- It wasn't supposed
to be today.
You have to tell
me these things.
Oh, God, look at it.
Oh, why did you?
- Because this is the
only spot it can go.
- That's not the only spot.
Oh, this is
ridiculous, I mean, oh,
I don't believe it.
- He's gonna love it.
- You know it,
this is it, really.
This is it, the last time.
- But the roses have black
spot already, I'll spray.
- No, not with the, oh,
dammit, leave me alone.
Leave me alone.
- [Jack Voiceover] Do you
ever look at your family
and wonder who they are?
Those are my parents.
- They're not my roses,
they're the house's roses.
- [Jack Voiceover] At
least they used to be.
- How's the boat building?
- [Jack] Are we
going to the movies?
- [Paul] I have to
move some stuff.
- [Jack] But it's Saturday,
and we always go to
the movies on Saturday.
- Jack wants to go to the movie.
I thought I'd drop the stuff
off, then maybe take him.
- You're not taking
him anywhere.
- You're acting extreme, Anne.
- Don't tell me how I'm acting.
- Okay.
Sorry, no movie today, Jack.
- [Jack] Why not?
- Because I say so.
- [Jack] But we always go
to the movies on Saturday.
- Anne.
- [Jack Voiceover] To
be honest, I didn't give
a damn about the movie, but
there was something going on,
and I didn't know what it was,
and I didn't know what to do,
except act normal.
- [Paul] Tell Jack
I'll call him later.
- [Jack Voiceover] It's
like you had a hero,
and all of a sudden he's gone.
When you're a kid and
you've got a father
who reminds you of
Superman, who seems like he
can do anything, a father
who's the kind of guy
that climbs on the roof to
rescue your dweeby G.I. Joe
when it's caught up there
in some idiotic experiment.
And then, one day, he's gone,
disappeared into a
million different
green plastic garbage bags.
No explanations offered.
Nothing anyone says later
makes a bit of difference.
- Shot of the green?
- [Jack] No thanks.
- Listen, I was
thinking, I could just
stay at my place
tonight, if you like.
- Whatever makes you happy.
- Look, if you want
me here, I'm here.
I just never know
what you're thinking.
- Why don't you let
him move in already?
He practically lives here
anyway, so what's the big deal?
Oh come on, he's living
out of a duffel bag.
You should at least
give him a drawer.
- I don't wanna rush things.
It's Wednesday, so don't
forget, dinner with Dad.
- [Jack] Okay.
- [Michael] Want a ride?
- Sure.
- See ya tonight.
Wednesdays are very intense.
- Yeah, it's the dinner
with the dad thing.
You know, when he first left,
I wasn't allowed
to see him at all.
Then she felt guilty,
so she started
the Dinner with Dad program.
You're lucky you missed
the bit where she tried
to be like my replacement dad.
- [Michael] Oh, was that
the basketball stuff?
- Mm-hmm, and she's
actually gotten pretty good.
It's just a little weird.
Especially the time
she tried to take me
to the father-son team dinner.
Yeah, so are your
parents still married?
- Yeah, 43 years.
You know, it's amazing
to think of spending
your whole life
with the one person.
- Yeah, equally amazing to watch
your whole family fall apart.
- For five bucks, name the
guidance counselor I spieed
shoplifting at K-Mart.
- [Student] Wagstaff.
- Laydon, I saw her slip
a stapler into her purse,
and then some Tootsie Rolls.
(dream-like music)
(whistle blowing)
- All right, listen up.
We're gonna start
with some drills.
Four lines, go, go.
One passes to three,
two passes to four.
A braid, you guys, like
a smooth strand of DNA.
From one side of the gym
to the other, let's go.
Come on, synchronize,
guys, synchronize.
Know where the other men are,
anticipate the next move.
You're walking through it, guys,
you look like a buncha
pansies, come on.
(whistle blowing)
(basketball dribbling)
- You know, my dad showed
up again yesterday.
- Oh yeah, what did
you do this time?
- He put a basketball
hoop out front.
- Oh really?
That's great.
- Yeah, except last night,
I kinda lost my mind
and attacked it.
I tried to knock it down,
and now it's just
a wee bit tilted.
- Tilting adds character.
- Maybe.
- [Jack Voiceover] When
Mrs. Burka smiled at me,
I think I turned beet red.
I woulda stared at her, if
only I could've figured out
how to do it without
getting caught.
- You want an apple?
- No thanks.
- Hey, Samster Hamster
boy, how you doing?
- Good.
- Want some milk?
- No, we don't want
milk, all right.
We don't wanna talk, either.
- You staying for
dinner tonight, Jack?
- Not tonight.
- Okay.
I like your mom.
She always wants to
know everything--
- No, my mom needs
to get a life, okay?
Every day I come home, she's
like, do you wanna talk?
She's thoroughly bored.
(explosions)
See what I just did?
So, you gonna drop
a bomb or what?
- No, Max, I outgrew the
impulse to blow things up
about two years ago.
I'm just waiting
for you to catch up.
(explosion)
- Oh, napalm.
- Daddy's home.
Daddy's home, Daddy's home.
- Hey, hey, monster man.
(groaning)
- Hey, hon, how was your day?
- [Steve] Good.
- Yeah?
- [Steve] Good, really good.
I scored a new client today.
It's gonna mean
extra work, but uh,
that's what I'm here for, right?
- Oh, no, here.
Do you wanna beer or something?
- Yes, please.
- Great.
- Thank you.
Maxie, go deep.
- Head's up.
- Honey.
Why are the
trashcans still here?
How many times have I told
you to take them out back?
- I better go, it's
dinner with Dad.
- Yeah, how is your dad,
haven't seen him for a while.
- He's good.
- [Jack Voiceover] What
I didn't tell Mr. B.
is that every Wednesday
night, my father and I
played a weird game where
we got all dressed up
and he took me to some
totally expensive restaurant
and talked to me about
incredibly serious stuff,
like the meaning of life,
while I was busy worrying
about whether I was
using the right fork.
- [Waitress] What can
I get you tonight?
- I'll have the
tuna, rare please.
- [Waitress] Okay, and
what would you like?
- Chicken for me.
And can I get
french fries instead
of scalloped potatoes, please?
- [Waitress] Sure, honey.
- Look, Jack,
I've been spending a lotta time
trying to figure things out.
Now I don't know if this is
gonna make any sense to you, but
you're at an age now, that,
people love to do things, right?
Some people love to read,
some people love to go
to the movies.
Your mom loves
reading the newspaper.
You love basketball.
What I'm trying to
say is that there are
many different kinds of love.
How we love, no,
not how we love.
What we allow ourselves to feel
is very complicated.
And, and,
sometimes love doesn't
has any limits.
What do you think about
when you think about love?
- Nothing.
I think nothing.
- Nothing, you think nothing.
So basically this dinner
was a waste of time?
- Pretty much.
(horn honking)
(soft music)
- [Paul] Do you
remember when we went
on that huge Ferris wheel?
- I think I was three.
- Why is that parents
always do things
with kids when they're
too young to remember?
You enjoyed it very much.
- Look, you're always
asking me to remember.
It's like a constant
walk down Memory Lane.
Do you remember when
everything use to be normal?
Do you remember when you
still lived at our house?
Come on, can we just stay in
the present, here and now.
- I was just thinking
about things.
- Duh.
(soft music)
(horn honking)
- [Paul] Here, try the calamari.
- Tastes like a
deep-friend rubber band.
So what's calamari?
- It's Italian for
deep-fried rubber band.
Squid.
Wanna try the portobello?
- What is it?
- Mushroom.
How about I pick the
restaurant the next time?
- Might be a good idea.
(soft music)
- How was dinner
with your father?
- Good.
- What did you eat?
- Creepy stuff.
- What did you talk about?
- I have no idea.
- Shall we hang this?
- Okay.
- You know, I got a hammer
downstairs, if you need one?
- No, no, it's not a big hole.
- Listen, they're coming
around to collect stuff
for the homeless
shelter tomorrow,
so anything you don't need
would be a bounty for the poor.
- Sure.
- Oh, very nice.
- It's stuff I've been saving.
Historical artifacts
of my entire life,
in case the Smithsonian
ever needs to do
an exhibit on me,
the American boy.
- Ah.
- There are a few key
elements in case I ever get
amnesia and need to be
reminded of who I am.
- Right.
Thank you.
And listen, I meant to ask you.
How would you feel if I built
a Zendo in the backyard?
- What's a Zendo?
- It's like a meditation room.
You could use it too
whenever you need a moment.
- [Anne] It'd be great.
- Our friends thank you.
- [Anne] Shoot a few?
- Mom, you're embarrassing me.
- Oh come on,
You know, I could
get good at this.
Maybe I should join a team.
Oh, come on, try again.
- Okay.
(laughing)
- Come on, be a good
sport, you should be proud.
How many kids can say their
moms can play basketball?
Yes!
It's gonna be okay, you know?
That's it, that's it.
- [Jack] Yeah.
- Oh, come on.
- Come on.
Aren't you excited?
Hi, Mr. Bailey.
- Mrs. Stanford.
- Go on.
Go on.
(dramatic music)
- New drivers pass
through levels.
Each level offers
more responsibility,
freedom from restrictions.
What's this?
- Rear bumper.
- Mm-hmm.
Teenagers pick up their
parents' driving habits.
- Trunk.
- Correct, how do
your parents drive?
Do they put it in reverse
without looking behind?
Do they pull out too fast.
The more crashes the
parents have had,
the greater the likelihood
the teen will crash.
Get in the driver's seat.
Have your parents crashed?
- I don't know,
they're divorced.
- [Mr. Bailey] Put
on your seat belt.
Start her up.
And drive it very, very
slowly down the street.
- [Jack] Okay.
(car starting)
(tires squealing)
Sorry, sorry.
- [Mr. Bailey] I have
only one neck, smoothly.
- [Jack] Sorry.
- Seeing is believing.
Think about your blind spots.
You can't ever forget,
there's always something
you cannot see.
- Yeah, that I know already.
- [Jack Voiceover] Time passed.
It wasn't like I got over
it, but life went on.
Except for now, my mom let my
dad take me on Saturdays too.
I was finally growing more
hair on my legs than my mom,
and things were
pretty much things.
(horn honking)
(birds chirping)
- [Paul] So, what's new?
- [Jack] Not much.
Are you okay?
- Yeah.
- You just have that look.
- What look?
- The one where you're
about to say something
that's gonna make
me lose my lunch.
Or the one where you pause
for a really long time
and you say something
like, Grandma's sick,
which means she's already
dead or something like that.
- Well Grandma's fine.
But we need to talk.
- See?
- Look, Jack, I, I don't
know if you can understand,
but I'm gonna tell you.
I have been running
away from myself,
all these years, and a
person can't do that forever.
It catches up.
A while ago, I realized that,
that I would be happier
if I did not live
with your or your mother.
Hey, I love her.
I always did, I always
will and I still do, but.
Do you remember
Bob, my friend Bob?
- Yeah, the guy you
went on the trip with?
- Mm-hmm.
Bob and I are lovers.
- I wanna go home.
- [Paul] Jack!
Jack.
Jack.
Jack?
- Get in the car,
I'll give you a ride.
- I'll walk, thanks.
- Get in the car, you're
gonna get pneumonia.
- I'll walk.
- Jack, don't do this.
- Do what?
You're the one who's doing it.
- I told you because I
thought you should know.
Nothing has changed, I'm
exactly the same person
I was 20 minutes ago.
Jack, I'm still your father.
- No you're not.
- He never even told you?
Elaine.
Okay, yeah, I'll see
you tomorrow, bye.
What happened?
- Well, other than my father
telling me he was gay,
I sent for a swim.
How can this, I
shoulda seen it coming.
I shoulda been smarter, I
shoulda been paying attention
to what he was trying to tell me
over all that
lobster and calamari.
- Your father loves
you very much.
- He's not my father.
- Yes, he is, he's your
father and you're his son.
- No.
Mom, no, no.
He's a stranger, he's
a person I don't know.
He's got a whole other life.
He's got a boyfriend.
How can this even be happening?
Did you know?
Oh well, how did he tell you?
Did he take you out
in a rowboat too?
- He doesn't like
keeping secrets.
- Well he shoulda kept that one.
- He and Bob are getting
an apartment together.
Did he tell you that?
- No, but he was probably
about to when I jumped.
Mom, I don't wanna
see him anymore.
(footsteps)
(crickets chirping)
- If you wanna
talk, you gotta dig.
- And what's to talk about?
All of a sudden my
father is a fairy queen.
Is that why he left
us, he's a fairy?
- Don't use that word.
- What word should I use?
- Your father and I separated
because we couldn't get along.
We couldn't live together.
You remember how we
were always fighting.
- Yeah, because it turns
out Dad's a big old fag.
How can he be a homo
and have me as his kid.?
Homos don't get married,
and homos don't have kids.
Was he always a homo?
- Your father was always
going through phases.
Gardening, music, car repairs.
It was always something.
I actually thought this
was one of his phases.
- Why is he doing this to me?
- No one is doing
anything to you.
He was telling you who
he was, about his life,
and he wanted to make
you part of his life.
- Well, if he's a homo,
what does that make me?
Am I homo too now?
Because maybe that's
it, maybe I'm a homo
and I don't even know it.
- Jack, you're two
separate people.
He is who he is,
and you're gonna
figure out who you are.
- When he first left, I
thought it was my fault.
I was too boring, I wasn't
enough of a movie freak,
I wasn't fast
enough at baseball.
- Life is complicated.
You think I didn't
wonder what happened?
He's your father, but
he was my husband.
(gentle music)
Maybe it was me, Jack.
Maybe it was something I did.
I wasn't a good enough wife.
I wasn't a good enough mother.
I never made breakfast.
I smoke.
I hate cleaning the house.
- No.
No, no, no, it's not you.
It's Dad, it's his fault.
Mom, I hate him.
I hate him, I hate him,
I hate him, I hate him.
- Shh.
(phone ringing)
- [Jack Voiceover] My father
called about 20 times a day
trying to get me to let
him be my father again.
He would drive over
and just sit outside,
not moving, like a statue.
I refused to talk to him,
and even that didn't work.
(fire alarm ringing)
- You ever just
wanna go up to a girl
and plant one on her?
Like, I bet I can get
that girl to kiss me.
- [Max] You don't even know her.
- So?
- What's the deal with you?
Suddenly, you're Mr. Hormonal.
You have to kiss a girl or
you're gonna die or something.
- Okay, just pick
a girl and I bet
I can get her to kiss me.
- Fine.
And what about her?
- [Jack] Can't you at least
pick someone who's human?
Maggie Rogers?
No, the degree of
difficulty on her
is just a big too high.
- Well, you can't just
go up and kiss somebody.
You'll get arrested.
Okay, remember that
kindergartener who got expelled?
You have to ask first.
- [Teacher] Is this where
you're supposed to be?
- Yeah, yeah it
is, for the moment,
this is exactly where
I'm supposed to be.
(dramatic music)
Okay, how did you do that?
Did you give her money?
Did you offer to do
her homework, what?
- No, I just I said I
thought she was really pretty
and that I wanted to kiss her.
I said I felt
compelled to kiss her.
- And that worked?
- Yep.
- Wow, your first kiss.
- Nah, not my first.
Maryann Miller in the
second grade used to kiss me
all the time, and she
was in the third grade.
- An older woman.
- Yeah.
- End of drill.
Come on, everyone back to class.
- Hey.
- [Anne] Hey.
- [Paul] Thanks for meeting me.
- It's fine.
Where's the Bob?
- His name is Bob, not the Bob,
and he had a meeting
at the last minute.
- Oh.
Okay.
- New bookcase?
- Oh yeah, yeah.
Actually, that's
how I met Michael.
I hired him to
build me a bookcase.
- Jack still doesn't
wanna see me?
- No.
He's 15.
He's trying to grow up.
You deserted him in more
ways than one, you know.
- Bob and I being together
doesn't mean I'm deserting Jack.
- Really?
I'll try telling him that.
You were his hero.
Life isn't as simple for
Jack as it is for you.
- Annie, with all due respect,
you have know idea
what's simple for me.
- What do you want?
- For everything to be okay.
- What furniture do you want?
- I'll take the chair.
- What, that chair?
- No, no, no.
- It's my chair.
- No, no, I like that chair.
Jack likes that chair.
Take that chair.
- That chair, I hate that chair.
I've always hated that
chair, you know that.
Couch?
Watch, watch.
- [Anne] I got it,
I got it, I got it.
- Okay?
- [Anne] Here, wait a minute.
- One, two, three.
(sighing)
Okay, here.
- What?
- Come on, it's better
to break up like that.
- Oh please.
- Do you remember how we met?
- Yeah, summer camp, I
was nine, you were seven.
♪ Oh no, not you
♪ How kind you were
- Come on, seriously.
Anne, Annie.
- No, I remember.
Here, here.
You spilled coffee in my
book and lied about it.
- I didn't lie.
It was an accident.
I was nervous.
I was so in love with you.
(gentle music)
- This is yours.
- Annie, I need you
to know something.
This has nothing to do with you.
- This has everything
to do with me.
- It's my life, and
you messed it up.
No, no, no,
no, you don't get to do that.
You don't dump on somebody
and then comfort them.
It's just against the rules.
- Appreciate your
helping out with Jack.
I know it's not easy.
(crying)
- It's worse than that.
I keep defending you,
and all I wanna do
is strangle you.
(door opening)
(crying)
- Hi, Jack.
I came by to pick up a few
things for the apartment.
Look, I know you don't
wanna spend time with me
right now, so,
instead of dinner,
I thought maybe we
could go bowling.
You know, a group
activity might be better.
- No thanks.
- We can bring Max if you want.
There's also somebody I'd
like to introduce you too.
The daughter of a friend
mine, Maggie Rogers.
- The Maggie Rogers?
- Well, I don't know if
it's The Maggie Rogers.
But I think she
goes to your school.
Anyway, I thought we'd
bowl a few rounds.
- Okay.
And it's games, you
bowl games, not rounds.
- [Jack Voiceover] As
much as I hated the idea
of being around my
father and the Bob,
it was Maggie that
made me do it.
- [Maggie] Hey, Jack.
- Hey.
- Max.
Five and a half, please.
- Full sizes only.
- Okay, six.
- No sixes.
Make it a seven.
- [Jack Voiceover] The minute
I saw her, I turned green.
The only thing missing was
the yearbook photographer.
- What size for you?
- Oh, I bowl in socks,
it gives me more slide.
- Right.
- So are you like
alone here or what?
- No, that's my father.
- [Max] Who's the other guy?
- Why did I bring you?
- Because you like me,
you like me very much.
Okay, everyone, let's
take a practice round
and then we'll start.
- Burpa, that's what
they call him, Max Burpa.
(cheering)
- That's my girl.
Go, Maggie, yeah.
- Okay, Jack, you're up.
- Way to go, Jack, make
potholes, confuse everyone.
- Jack, next time try to
keep your wrist straight.
- Bob, no advice, thanks.
- Isn't Maggie great?
- Great is an understatement.
- [Maggie] You've already
had a hot dog, nachos
and a soda, and what else?
- I don't know, some Tootsie
Rolls, if you're counting.
I can definitely
go for ice cream.
Speaking of which,
guess who's here.
- No idea.
- Okay, I'll rephrase.
For $200, guess which
one of our schoolmates
bowls in a league.
- Eddie Hayes?
No way, that's so queer.
He's in a league?
(pins falling)
- Hey, we're going to the opera.
- [Paul] Well, what
are you seeing?
- Carmen.
- Carmen.
- [Bob] How'd you get tickets?
I thought it was sold out.
- It was, but you
know John when he
sets his mind to something.
- Do you have a medical problem?
- Hmm?
- You know, they have drugs
for people who are hyper.
- Yeah, you see, they
thought he was hyper
but the tests came back normal.
- Maybe they should
get him tested again.
- I am taking Jim to
Provincetown for Memorial Day.
- Why?
- He's never been.
- Never?
- [Jack Voiceover] I was
remembering the first time
I met the Bob.
About nine months
after he moved out,
my dad and I were going
on one of our adventures,
a boat trip to St.
Michael's Island,
and my dad asked if he
could bring a friend.
Had I known then what I
know now, I woulda said no.
- Okay, anybody have any
shoes they haven't returned.
- [Jack] Yeah.
- [Maggie] I took
mine back already.
- [Paul] Okay, I'll see
you guys at the car.
- See you, guys.
- See you outside.
(clapping)
- Oh my God.
- Oh, gross.
- Am I seeing what
I think I'm seeing?
- [Maggie] Gross, totally gross.
- Okay, was that artificial
respiration or something?
Was there a reason for
that, can you tell me?
- [Maggie] Shut
up, just shut up.
Can you ever just not talk?
- He kissed the guy
right on the mouth, okay.
Not on the cheek.
- Why do they have to
make out in public?
Do your parents
make out in public?
- No, no, actually my parents
avoid touching at all times.
- [Jack Voiceover] This was
the beginning of the end.
- Look, it's nothing to
go insane about, okay?
- You can use my locker
til it wears off.
- It's goddam
black magic marker.
It's permanent, it
doesn't wear off.
Did you do this?
- No, I didn't do it.
But maybe I accidentally
mentioned a bit about two guys
kissing to a couple people.
Well, it freaked me out, okay?
I'm over it now.
I mean I get it, it's a
disease, okay, like a sickness.
Same as guys who chop people up,
put the pieces outta the house.
- You're completely
mentally ill, you know that?
No!
Don't polish it.
Charming, at this rate,
there will be a whole novel
up there by the end of the year.
- Talk to your
girlfriend, fag baby.
- I don't know who
you think you are.
I go bowling with you and
your rodent friend as a favor,
and this is what happens?
- What is what happens?
I mean, I stupidly agree
to go bowling with you
and your queer bait
father, and they write
fag baby on my locker.
- Look, this is my life,
and you and your friend
are like kamikazes.
- I have no idea what
you're talking about.
- Ask the rodent.
- Okay, Maggie won't speak to
me and she says you know why.
- There's been a small
letter-writing accident, okay.
- What are you talking about?
- Someone circulated
like a chain letter
to the whole school
about the bowling alley.
- Someone other than you?
- Yeah.
- Eddie Hayes?
Okay, show me.
$25 to the one who
first identifies
which beautiful babe and
star of the basketball court
I spotted last night
at a homosexual soiree
at the local 10-pin Lanes.
Post your answers on the
bulletin board in hall.
Name names, and receive money.
- Look, it'll be fine.
Okay, no one's
gonna post anything.
- They wrote fag
baby on my locker.
You don't think they'll
write a name for money?
- Yeah, well, they
should've written it
on Maggie's locker, right,
because her dad's
one of the fags.
But she's too cool.
- Oh, yeah, that makes
me feel a lot better
except for one little thing.
Turns out my dad's a fag too.
- What?
- Shut up, shut up.
I feel sick.
- Don't worry, okay,
it's the tater tots.
They're hard to digest.
How do you know your dad is,
you know, a fagola?
- He told me, okay, in a canoe.
And don't call him that.
And if you tell anyone,
I'm gonna torture you,
starting with your fingernails.
- Okay, all right.
- I have to go home.
- You have a fever?
You gonna faint?
- No, I just, I've
had this before.
I just need to call my mom.
- Okay.
(dial tone)
(phone dialing)
- [Anne] Hello.
- Mrs. Stanford,
this is Miss Morgan.
I'm the school nurse
at Rolling Hills.
I have Jack here in the office,
and he's not feeling well.
- Dizzy and nauseated.
- [Anne] Is he okay?
- Shall I put him on?
- You have to pick me up.
- [Anne] Are you really sick?
- Right now, Mom, you
have to pick me up.
- [Anne] Jack?
- So shall we call this
a mental health moment?
- Call it whatever you want.
- I hate children.
- Look, you can't
go home, all right.
Don't leave me
alone in this place.
- Yeah, you're right, I
don't need to go home.
I can move, like
to another country.
(birds chirping)
- So what if your dad's queer?
I don't care.
- He sleeps with Bob.
They're lovers.
- So?
I sleep with my dog.
- It's not the same thing.
- Can I ask you a question?
- No.
- What do you think they do?
- Look, I don't know
and I don't wanna know.
- Look, maybe it's
just a phase, okay.
He hasn't tried to
make you queer, has he?
- Max, it's not a phase, okay.
And you can't make
a person queer.
They either are or they aren't.
(door opening)
- What's going on here?
- I'm waiting for my mom.
- And you?
- Waiting for his mom.
He's sick, I didn't
wanna leave him alone.
In case he loses consciousness.
- Five minutes from now, I
don't wanna see you here.
- You all right?
You got a sore throat?
Did something happen?
Your father called this morning.
Next Wednesday, instead
of going out to dinner,
he wants you to come
to the apartment.
- No.
- [Anne] I told him you would.
- Mom, I've had enough
of the whole Dad thing.
I'm about two minutes
away from losing my mind
because they wrote
fag baby on my locker.
- Kids are idiots.
Boy, you need a haircut.
- Both hands on
the wheel please.
- You have hair just
like your father's.
No matter what you do to it,
it wants to do something else.
- No, Mom, I am
not like my father.
There is nothing about me
that is like my father.
I don't wanna have
dinner with him,
or see his apartment,
or spend quality time
with his boyfriend.
Got it?
- Maggie's gonna be there.
- We're not speaking.
- Jack, I know the
situation isn't easy.
Sometimes you have to
wrestle with things
to make them fit.
Your father is not
something to be ashamed of.
He realized things
weren't working out,
and he did what he had to do.
Sometimes people spend
their whole lives
trying to figure out
what makes them happy.
- So are you happy?
- I might not be happy
even if I were happy.
He took a risk.
Maybe you should
be proud of him.
- Oh come on, you don't even
believe what you just said.
He wrecked everything.
It's not okay.
- I know.
What do you say we
get some Ring Dings?
- [Jack] Hit her?
- [Anne] What?
- [Jack] Hit her.
- [Anne] Stop that.
- I'm not talking to you.
- Hi, I'm Anne, Jack's mom.
- Hi, Maggie, Maggie Rogers.
- Come on in.
- Mom, hello?
- I'm sorry I was harsh before.
Max is a total rodent,
but, about the other stuff,
the letters and the
locker, I'm sorry.
- But why me, it was your
father that was kissing the guy.
- I know, I overreacted
and I'm sorry.
- Unfortunately, I'm sorry
doesn't remove magic marker.
- I can't control everything.
- So do your friends
know about your dad?
Did he take you out in a
rowboat and confess too?
- Nope.
One day, there was just
some guy sleeping over.
- Yeah, my dad moved
into the guestroom,
and then he moved out.
And I thought it was insomnia,
because he always had insomnia.
But one Saturday morning,
he just took all this stuff
and started packing
it in Hefty bags.
And all I kept saying was,
Are we going to the movies?
Are we going to the movies?
Because we always used to go
to the movies on Saturday.
And I knew something
horrible was happening.
I just didn't know what.
- So, uh,
is this gonna be
something special?
- Yeah, it's gonna be a Zendo.
- Cool, Zendo,
I've never seen one
in someone's backyard before.
- [Jack] You don't even
know what a Zendo is.
- Yes I do.
It's a place where people.
It's a place where people, like,
Jack, what do people
do in a Zendo?
- They meditate.
Yeah, it's a place
where people meditate.
- [Maggie] Cool.
- Yeah.
So are you like the poster child
for the well-adjusted
gay dad club?
- It's not really
like I have a choice.
Are you going to your dad's
house for dinner next week?
- I don't know.
- I'll go if you go.
- Okay.
Sure.
- Do you wanna go to a movie?
- Now?
- No, like on
Friday or something.
- Um, sure.
Yeah, okay, I guess I could go.
Do we dare be seen in public?
- Don't worry, I'll protect you.
Jack, you'll get used to it.
I did.
- No, I don't think I will.
(gentle music)
- [Anne] Elaine, look,
can I call you back?
Great, bye-bye.
- I'm going, but
I'm not gonna eat.
- Is that what you're wearing?
- It's what I wear to school.
- Don't you wanna get dressed up
for your father and Maggie?
- Maggie, yes, my father, no.
- Hey, what about
meeting the Bob?
- Mom, I already met the
Bob when we went bowling
and once a long time ago.
- When a long time ago?
- When we went to St.
Michael's Island with Dad.
Bob came along.
- Really, Bob was there?
I thought they just met.
- No, he's known
him for a while.
So do I have to change?
- I don't care, wear
whatever you want.
- [Jack Voiceover] I
was at his apartment,
and all I kept thinking
about was him being gay
and this being the place that he
and the Bob lived in together.
I wanted to puke.
That is, until I
thought about Maggie.
(door buzzing)
- Hey, hi ya.
Welcome.
Dining room, Bob, Jack's here.
That's the kitchen.
Let me show you this room.
With a view.
Sofa looks pretty
good here, doesn't it?
- Yeah, is that the
chair that used to be
in the living room?
- That's the chair that used
to be in the living room.
That's the coffee
table that I built you
when you were little.
You've heard that story before.
- Hi, Jack.
- Nice slippers.
- Oh, thanks, I picked
them up at an antique fair.
I think they may have
belonged to Greta Garbo.
At least that's what
the guy told me.
I'll go check the oven.
- Come on, I wanna
show you the view.
Not bad, huh?
Listen, Jack, I
was hoping I could
come to your game,
if that's okay.
- Okay, where's Maggie?
- She should be here any minute.
(door buzzing)
There you go.
- Hi, hi, hi.
Come on in, Maggie.
You look wonderful, John.
Nice to see you.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Jack, we'll only be
able to stay a minute.
- Hey, how are you?
Hello, dear, how are you?
Come in, come.
- [Bob] Dinner's just
about ready, guys.
- Okay.
- I'm not hungry,
I'd like to go home.
- Bob worked very
hard on this dinner.
You'll hurt his feelings.
- I don't care
about his feelings.
I don't even know him.
I mean, shouldn't you care more
about my feelings than his?
Didn't I come first?
- You know I care
about your feelings.
Then why are you
doing this to me?
- I'm not doing anything to you.
- Well then who are
you doing it to?
- Jack, who I am,
and who I love
is about me.
It is not about you.
- Well then how come they
call me fag baby at school?
- Do you want me
to talk to them?
- Like what, have
a school assembly?
Okay, everybody, Jack's
father is here to talk about
homosexuality and why we
shouldn't call his son fag baby.
Come on.
- Okay, you're right.
You have every
right to be upset.
Is there anything
I can do to help?
- You can help me
by not being gay.
- I wish I could do that, but I,
you know, it would make
my life easier too.
- Well then just do
it, do it for me.
- I can't do that, Jack.
- Then I'd like to go home.
- Hey, dinner's ready.
- Bob, Jack's not
feeling that well.
I'm gonna drive him home.
- Oh.
- I feel fine.
I just don't wanna be
here with the two of you.
- You were incredibly
rude to Bob tonight.
You know better than that.
Wasn't right.
- You go and do this thing
of yours, you find yourself
or whatever, and then, you
expect everybody to knock
themselves out understanding it.
None of that is right.
- Jack.
Jack.
- [Anne] What happened?
- He's mad about me,
he's mad about Bob.
I don't know what to do.
- Can you blame him?
- What happened to
my great defender?
- She quit.
(cheerleaders cheering)
- Hey, hi guys, where's Steve?
- He's working late, new client.
Hi, Michael, how's it going?
- Oh, it goes and I go with it.
- Why do I think
everyone's looking at me?
- You may think that they
are all looking at you,
but they are not.
- I know, I know.
Oh my God, he showed up.
Hi.
They're not gonna sit
with us, are they?
- No, they're not
gonna sit with us.
(cheering and booing)
(cheering)
(dramatic music)
(whistle blowing)
(upbeat music)
(cheering)
(cheering)
(upbeat music)
(cheering and booing)
(upbeat music)
(whistle blowing)
(cheerleaders cheering)
- [Coach] It's your foot?
- Yeah.
- [Coach] Do you think
you can stand on it?
- [Jack] I'm not sure.
- [Coach] I'll have
to take a look.
- Ow, ow.
(applause)
(whistle blowing)
- [Jack Voiceover]
Life is funny.
One minute, I was running
to the cheers of the crowd,
and the next I was being
wheeled down a hall
on a gurney by my parents
and their boyfriends.
- You were playing beautifully.
- Who belongs to who?
We can't have a thousand
people back here,
immediate family only.
- We're the parents.
- Pick any two, the rest can
stay in the waiting room.
- Who's in charge here?
Well, there's, uh,
nothing broken,
but you do have a
very bad sprain.
I'd like to have an air
cast and crutches, please.
Now, I'd like you to keep
this elevated tonight
and all day tomorrow.
I want you to have ice on it
30 minutes out of every hour.
Any problems, give me a call.
- What about basketball?
- Well, I think you better
learn to walk before you run.
- Maybe we shouldn't have
all gone to the game.
Maybe it ruined
your concentration.
- It's not your fault.
My leg just got tangled with
the other guy's, that's it.
- Hey, kiddo, you got messages.
Your coach, Maggie, and Elaine.
She said she'll come over
during the day tomorrow
and hang out with you
while everyone's at work.
- Oh that's so nice.
She adores you.
She thinks you're very special.
- I am very special.
- I know, but it's nice when
someone else agrees with you.
- Mom?
- Mm?
- What's it mean when your
father picks a boring boyfriend?
- That he had a lapse
in judgment after us.
- That's what I thought.
- Enough?
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
(birds chirping)
- You look very pale.
- I feel very pale.
- Do you want another pill?
- No thanks.
- [Jack Voiceover] If she
hadn't been Mrs. Burka,
Max's mother, I would
have asked her to do that
to my whole body
for hours on end.
I wondered if she knew how
she was making me feel.
- That feels good.
- Well, I better run.
I told Steve I'd be
home, and you know how
he gets if everything
isn't perfect.
You rest a while longer, okay?
Your mom's gonna be home soon.
(birds chirping)
- Oh, hey.
- So, are you like down
for the count or what?
- Down, but not out
- Hey, well, I
brought you a present.
- Yeah, what, homework?
- Ta-da.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- I hope you're not out.
I'm really looking
forward to Friday.
I assume you're still free?
- Free but crippled.
- Well, what's happening Friday?
- We have a date.
- Really?
Well, uh, can I come?
- No, Max, because then
it wouldn't be a date.
- Anyways, I'm gonna be
late, piano lesson day.
(soft music)
- Did you see that?
She just kissed you.
That's like the second
time in recent history.
Well this is better than TV.
I'm watching you
go through puberty.
- So, uh, what do
you do in a Zendo?
Just sit and wait?
- No waiting, just sitting.
- And then what?
- Nothing.
- I don't get it.
- Well there's nothing
to get, nothing happens.
But if you do it enough,
you get yourself.
- Okay.
(soft music)
- [Jack] So how many times
have you seen that film?
- Like two million.
- Yeah.
My dad used to take me to
the movies every Saturday.
- Mine did too, maybe it's like
a gay dad thing or something.
I'm kidding.
- So is it better or
worse to be a girl
or a guy with a gay dad?
- I think it's worse for a guy.
It's more threatening or
something, I don't know.
- Yeah, I have to say,
when he first told me,
I kept thinking, Does
that mean I'm gay too?
- And now?
- Oh, now I'm sure I'm not gay.
So how come you never
talk about your mom?
- Because she's not around.
- Is she dead?
- No, she lives in Virginia.
Three years ago, she invited
me to come and visit,
and I remember I spent the
whole summer baby-sitting
her two new kids while she
went off with her friends
and got her nails done.
She's got a new
life, a new husband,
and as far as she's concerned,
my dad and I are just
mistakes she made
a long time ago.
- But she's your mom, right?
- Yeah.
Then she got annoyed about
something, threw her stuff
in the back of a car and,
never came back.
- How old were you?
- Six.
And I remember, I
thought it was my fault,
like I thought I had
done something wrong.
- Yeah, I thought
I was too boring.
Good night.
- Can you get out?
- I can try.
(giggling)
- Thank you.
- Welcome.
- [Michael] Hey.
- Sorry about that, we
just started talking.
- Oh, that's all right.
So you want me to drive
you guys somewhere
where you can make
out or something?
- Michael, it's our
first date, okay?
- Geez, kids today,
you're damned if you do,
damned if you don't.
- Sorry about that.
- Thank you.
(car starting)
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- So, um, I guess I'll
phone you tomorrow.
- Okay.
- [Maggie] Okay, thank you.
- Bye.
- [Maggie] Bye.
- So?
- Well, if I'd known
dating was that easy,
I woulda started
when I was like two.
We watched the film,
I held her hand,
and her hand was sweaty,
and my hand was sweaty,
and our sweat just
kind of mixed.
And then we had ice cream,
and the vanilla melted
with the chocolate, and,
it was all just
kind of fantastic.
- Yeah, I'll bet it was.
(car starting)
- You got enough warm clothes?
- Yeah.
- You got money?
- Yep.
- It was very nice of
Elaine to invite you.
- Yeah, I know, I'm
Max's entertainment.
- Have a good time.
- [Jack] Bye.
- Bye.
(tires squealing)
(horn honking)
- If someone could
read the signs,
we'd know where to get off.
- Steve, this is not my
fault, you're driving the car.
- That's what you say.
- [Jack Voiceover] Something
about Mr. Burka swerving
made me think of Mr. Bailey.
Swerving on a highway
was definitely not
a Mr. Bailey thing to do.
Made me think of him asking,
Had my parents crashed?
- [Elaine] Dinner with
Uncle Morris and Aunt Mary
is 7:30, and they're looking
forward to seeing you.
- [Steve] Did they write
seeing you or soaking you?
Every time we go out
to dinner with them,
I have to pay the check.
- [Elaine] So just decide
that this time you won't.
- [Steve] I grew
up on this lake.
I bet you didn't
know that, Jack.
Almost drowned in
this bad boy once.
- [Max] Every year,
he tells us about
how he almost drowned.
- [Steve] You know,
it means something
to have a place to come back to
- People always feel the
need to confess on a lake.
I myself don't
like lakes anymore.
They're overrated.
- Boy, this is the life, huh?
Million miles away
from everything.
- Million years away.
- No littering please.
- Feeding the fish.
- Hey, Captain,
toss me those chips.
- [Sam] What's a
lake made out of?
- [Elaine] Oh, a lake's
like a really big puddle.
- [Sam] Well, what's a
mountain made out of?
- [Elaine] Mountain's
like a big rock.
- [Sam] Do rocks grow?
- [Max] Only in your head.
- [Elaine] Max.
(murmuring)
- Uh, could I have
some more ketchup?
(murmuring)
- Hey, Honey, can I get
a refill here, thanks?
- Any time of day.
We've called him on emergencies.
- So, how goes it in the market?
Any tips?
- No tips.
Only top-secret insight
I'm not privy to share.
What do I owe you
for Mary and myself?
- It's okay, Morris,
we'll split it 50-50.
- But they've got
three extra people.
- In the morning, I want you
all to come down to the house,
and I'll make you up
a nice big breakfast.
- You know, I got this.
Whole, half, what's
the difference?
- What pleases you
pleases the court.
- Maybe next time, Morris.
- Sweetie, thank
you for everything.
- [Jack] It's very
old-fashioned.
- [Max] Yeah, like prison.
- [Jack] No, I like it.
(door opening)
- [Elaine] Well you
boys sleep well.
Is everything okay?
- [Max] Mm-hmm.
- [Elaine] Good night, Jack.
- [Jack] Love you.
- What was that, I love you?
- I don't know, it
just kinda slipped out.
- [Steve] Only top-secret
insight I am not privy to.
What an ass.
- [Elaine] Honey, you
could have split the check.
- [Steve] What are
you always on me for?
This is my vacation.
Why can't I relax
for 10 seconds?
So what if I pick up the check?
- [Elaine] Well you're
the one who said
you always getting soaked.
- [Steve] Can't I complain
without you throwing it my face?
You know what,
no, you know what?
Maybe the problem is you.
- We should get pneumonia
not to hear them?
- Is this normal?
- It may not be normal, but
they do it all the time.
- [Steve] I am so sick
of being criticized.
Not one thing I do is
right, according to you.
No no, shut up,
Elaine, just shut up!
- We can hear you!
- [Jack Voiceover] Even
the clanking of the fan
couldn't get their
voices outta my head.
I closed my eyes, trying
to think of something else,
anything else.
(Steve yelling)
- [Sam] I told you
he was sleeping.
- Pack up, we're outta here.
We're leaving, get up.
- Where are we going?
- Home.
My father beat up my mom, okay.
He hauled off and slugged her.
Well, my dad once threw a
box of donuts at my mom,
and they went flying everywhere.
- Pack, you idiot.
- [Sam] Where's Dad?
- What an asshole.
This isn't the first
time, you know.
- [Sam] I want my dad.
(door opening)
- Okay, so we have everything?
- Where's my dad?
- He went for a walk
with your uncle.
- I'll put the stuff in the car.
- Okay.
- [Jack Voiceover] It was
nothing like when my dad
threw the donuts, it
was 1,000 times worse.
Everything that had
happened to my family
and everything that I'd
ever felt about the Burkas
or anyone else was spilling
out all over the place,
and I didn't know
how to stop it.
(gentle music)
- Here, you boys go and get
yourself something, okay?
- [Jack Voiceover] I
had this image of myself
as a grown-up, sitting
in the car with her,
while the kids
were in the store.
I guess I just didn't
think she should be alone.
I guess I wanted to protect her.
- Why don't you go on onside,
see if something
catches your eye?
- I don't know what to say.
- You don't have
to say anything.
(door closing)
(crying)
(dial tone)
(phone ringing)
- [Recording] To place a
collect call, press two.
Please state your name.
- [Jack] Jack.
(phone ringing)
- [Anne On Answering Machine]
We're not home right now,
but leave your name and
number, we'll call you back.
- [Recording] Will
you accept charges?
(dial tone)
(phone dialing)
- [Record] To place a
collect call, press two.
Please state your name.
- [Jack] Jack.
(phone ringing)
- [Recording] You have a
collect call from Jack.
Will you accept
charges, press one.
- [Paul] Jack?
- Yeah, Dad, press one.
(beeping)
- [Paul] Jack, hello.
- Dad?
- [Paul] Jack?
Is everything all right?
- Mr. Burka hit Mrs. Burka.
- [Paul] What do you mean, Jack?
- Hit her, you know, hit her,
like in a boxing match
only without a ring.
- [Paul] Oh, is
Elaine all right?
- [Jack] No, I mean,
she's driving but her face
looks like a hamburger.
- [Paul] I'll meet
you at the Burkas.
Just keep it together
until you get there, okay?
- Okay.
Dad?
- [Paul] Yeah, yeah.
- Promise you'll pick me up.
- [Paul] I promise,
I'll be there.
- [Jack Voiceover] I
realized at that moment
that there were only
three people in the world
that I could turn to.
Mrs. Burka, who couldn't
help anyone right now.
My mother, who wasn't home.
And my father, who was.
- Hey.
Did you guys get
everything you wanted?
- Yeah, yeah, we're
fine, let's just go.
- I got you a present.
- Thank you, Jack.
(car starting)
(gentle music)
- [Max] How come he's here?
- [Jack] Because I called him.
- [Max] What did you
do, send smoke signals?
- [Paul] Are you all right?
- Yeah, I'm okay.
- [Anne] Did you
call the police?
- He didn't mean it,
he just, he gets angry.
- Help them out with the bags.
Are you expecting him
back today or not?
- I don't know, I
think he's gonna stay
with his family for a few days.
- Come on, boys,
come on, come on.
- Come on, let's put
some ice on that.
Do you think anything's broken?
- No, it's.
- Are you sure?
- It's fine, it's
bruised, not broken.
- Listen, if you mention
one word of this to anyone,
I will have you taken care of.
- Taken care of?
- Yeah, I will kill you,
okay, I will have you killed.
- Max, hello, it's me, Jack.
Jack, your best friend.
Okay, first of all,
you're scaring me.
Second of all, you're
acting demented.
And third of all, if you
don't start acting nicer
to your own mom
I'm gonna kill you.
(birds chirping)
- I keep trying to imagine
Mr. Burka hitting Mrs. Burka.
And every time I come close
to the moment when something
bad happens, my
mind just freezes.
Mr. B hitting Mrs. B.
- Pretty scary.
- I imagine myself
older, bigger,
blocking at Mr. Burka's
punch with one arm,
knocking him out with the other.
- Hey, Max.
- [Max] Hey.
- How's your mom doing?
- She looks like she got
her face put in a Cuisinart.
- Look, Bob and I are having
some people over next Saturday
for brunch, why
don't you two come?
- Look, I may have called you,
but I still don't wanna
hang out with you.
- Oh, I know you don't
wanna hang out with me.
But Maggie Rogers
was coming, so.
- Sure, for how
long, five minutes?
- No, for the whole thing.
- That's not fair.
Come on, that's
flat-out bribery.
You know I'm weak
when it comes to her.
- So, are you coming or not?
- Yeah.
- Good.
Max, you, little football?
Come on, here we go.
- No, my leg, can't.
- Okay, come on.
Gannon, to Rice.
(crying)
- What am I gonna do?
- You're gonna take care
of yourself for once.
That's what you're gonna do.
- What about the kids?
- The kids don't wanna
see you get hit anymore.
(crying)
- Jack gave me this.
He just.
(crying)
Anne, I'm so scared.
(soft music)
(crying)
(Paul yelling)
(upbeat music)
- You must be Jack.
You look just like your father.
How's school? I hear
so much about you.
- Um, actually I'm Max.
That's Jack right there.
- [Maggie] Let's go.
I think that woman who
cornered Max is Bob's shrink.
- I didn't know that
Bob had a shrink.
- Yeah, my Dad took me to
see him a couple times.
Did I mention that I
hate my dad's boyfriend?
Okay, he clips his toenails
and then he eats the pieces.
I caught him doing it when he
thought no one was looking.
Isn't that disgusting?
- Yeah.
- Ugh.
- Don't you wish your dad
would just find some girl,
get married and then
all this would stop?
- No, I'd be totally jealous.
- Oh.
So, can I kiss you?
- No.
- Why not?
- Because you kiss everyone.
- I do not.
- Come on, I saw you with Jenny.
- Yeah, but that was different.
- Oh.
- It was.
And besides, you kissed
me the other day,
so that's where I got the idea.
- Yeah, but you were injured.
And you've gotta wait
til you earn my trust,
and then you can kiss me.
- Okay.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
- Hey, do you think Max is okay?
- No.
(giggling)
(retching)
- [Jack] Max?
Max!
- What?
- Ew, are you stuck?
- [Max] No.
- Hey, are you okay?
Why are you throwing
up into a trash chute
into a restroom like
a normal person?
- Um, can we get you some
seltzer or something?
- Yeah, that'd be great.
Why don't you go get it?
- Okay.
- What is wrong with you?
Okay, why do I feel like I'm
seeing tomorrow's headlines,
teenager dies at
homosexual brunch?
This is totally pathetic, Max.
Oh, what are you gonna
do, you're gonna hit me?
- Look, just leave
me alone, okay.
I'm not doing anything,
it's none of your business.
- Oh, it's none of my
business, and that's why
you're doing it at
my dad's apartment
instead of your
own goddam house.
- There's no one at my
house, asshole, remember?
- You're driving me crazy, Max.
- No, no no no, you're
driving me crazy.
- Okay, look, your
life is a complete mess
but you don't have to
make it a bigger drama
than it already is.
- Look who's talking,
okay, you have no idea.
Have you ever seen
your parents fight?
Huh?
Literally haul off
and punch each other?
If you ever heard the kinds
of things my parents say
to each other, you'd die.
I mean, they hate
each other, okay.
And right now, I
hate both of them.
How do you think
that makes me feel?
- Look, Max, you're
not your father.
You're not your
mother, you're you.
And you have to take
care of yourself,
and you have to
protect yourself,
and you have to find
a way through this.
And, okay, you can't fix
it, but it doesn't mean
you should wreck
your own life either.
- This coming from someone
who hates his own father.
I'd trade my dad with
yours in a second.
- No, Max, you can't do that.
You don't trade one set
of problems for another.
- Who says?
What are you, the
pope or something?
- Okay, I don't know what to do.
Max, I don't know what to do.
Nothing I say is
the right thing,
and you're scaring me, okay.
I mean, I already watched
my whole family fall apart,
and the truth is is that
I thought your family
was the perfect family.
Now look,
both our families are nuts.
(retching)
God, it stinks in here.
- Sorry.
- Um, this is all I could find.
- He's completely drunk.
- Okay, Max, let's
take a little walk.
(dial tone)
(phone dialing)
(phone ringing)
- [Anne] Hello.
- Hi, Mom.
- [Anne] Jack?
- Um, Max went a little
crazy at dad's party today.
I mean, everything's fine,
everything's under control.
But I think Max and I are
gonna stay here tonight.
- [Anne] Do you want
me to come and get you?
I can be there in two minutes.
You sure you're not
being held hostage?
- No, Mom, everything's okay,
there's no hostage situation.
- [Anne] Okay, bye.
- Bye.
- You know, Max is really
lucky to have you as a friend.
I spoke with Elaine.
She said Steve is getting help,
and they're going to therapy.
- Is he gonna move back in?
- Uh, don't know, but it is
never over until it is over.
- That's true.
Hey, Dad.
- Yeah.
- Do you remember when we went
to St. Michael's with Bob?
- Mm-hmm.
- Well, were you and
him together then?
- No, we were just friends then.
- Yeah, that's what I thought.
- We'll come back for that.
(upbeat music)
- Okay, let's try it
again, be careful.
- You know, we don't have
to do this in the rain.
I can wait and get my
license when I'm 30.
It's no problem.
- Okay great, come on,
let's go, cut the wheel.
Come on.
Cut.
Cut a little more.
Cut it more.
Look, you're doing fine.
(banging)
- [Jack] What happened?
- Did you do that on purpose?
- No, are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine.
Why don't we call it
a day today, okay?
- A car is not a
car, it's a machine.
- When you're ready,
I'd like to take you
for your driver's test.
- It's okay, Michael
said he would.
- I know, but I'd like
to, if you don't mind.
- Yeah, sure.
- Are you gonna hate me forever?
- I don't know.
- Hard to believe.
You are turning 16.
- Yeah, it kinda
creeps up on you.
- Yeah.
Maybe we should do
something special.
Do you remember when
we went to the circus?
- Yeah, I was six.
You took 10 of my friends,
we had front-row seats,
and then the lion bit
the head off the monkey,
and we all had nightmares
for about a week.
Well, Mom's baking a cake.
I think that should
be good enough.
- Okay.
(car starting)
- [Jack Voiceover] When
you're a kid, everyone makes
a big deal outta your birthday.
You get presents, your mom
brings cupcakes to your school.
It's like a national holiday.
The fact is, when you're
16, you're not 15 anymore.
You wake up, you look at
yourself, and there you are.
Your hopes, dreams and
fantasies starting right at you.
At a certain point, you stop
waiting for your life to begin.
You realize this is your
life, right here, right now.
Make of it what you
will, what you can.
- [Max] Hey.
- So what, when I graduate
is somebody gonna write
fag baby grows up in big
letters on the school roof?
- Maybe?
Happy birthday.
- Thanks.
What is it, a pipe bomb, a gun?
- No.
- Okay.
Condoms?
You got me condoms
for my birthday?
- [Max] Yeah.
- Okay, well thanks
for thinking of me
in such a weirdly personal way.
I'll treasure them.
And then I'll use
them when I'm like 50
and married or something.
(school bell ringing)
- [Teacher] So, your
papers are due next week.
And all papers are
due, no exceptions.
- [Jack Voiceover]
The thing about people
is that they're human.
As obvious as that is,
we have to remember it.
People are who they are.
And once you realize that,
you'll end up less disappointed.
And then sometimes
they'll surprise you.
- Jack, Jack?
Are you with us?
- Not really.
- So, uh, see your cake?
- Yeah, it's fantastic.
- I got these guys, but, uh,
I thought I better
ask you first.
- Do we actually have
to put them on the cake?
I just think I'm a little
too old for decorations.
- I think you're right.
- What is that?
- It's a Zendo.
- A Zendo.
- Yeah, a long story.
- It's a Zendo.
So, this is where
I had my garden.
And this is where I
used to play with Jack.
- It's not a historical
landmark, we still live here.
- I know, I know, I'm
just showing Bob around.
- Okay.
- Is Mom feeding the holly?
- [Jack] I don't know.
- Anne.
- [Anne] What?
- [Paul] Are you
feeding the holly?
- Am I feeding the hungry?
- The holly.
- The holly, uh, yeah,
go ahead and do what you want.
Feed the holly,
clip the forsythia,
deadhead the roses, be my guest.
- She's not feeding the holly.
(doors closing)
- Oh, who wants sprouts?
- Yes, please.
- Hi, Jack, sorry I'm late.
- Hi, Maggie.
- [Jack Voiceover]
That Maggie did that,
in front of everyone,
was rather impressive.
I was also hoping Mrs. Burka
was just a teeny bit jealous.
- [Paul] Mom and I worked
together on that one.
- Thank you.
- Oh, it's beautiful.
Did you make that?
- I did.
- I bet you did.
- Thank you.
- [Elaine] Oh you're
welcome, I hope it fits.
- I have one, it'll fit.
(laughing)
- [Elaine] There we go.
- Here, open mine next.
(soft music)
That's my favorite.
- See?
Now I Know.
Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- [Jack Voiceover] I
wanted to thank everyone,
but really I didn't.
Because thank you is
such an overused word.
It means too many things,
and at the same time,
it means nothing.
But one thing I did know
was that I wanted to
sit there until I became
old enough to
understand my life.
(soft music)
- Well, I think
that went very well.
- Yes, well, nothing fell on
any one and no one choked,
so they all seemed
to have a good time.
- My baby's 16 years old.
16, that makes me an old woman.
- Can I go for a walk?
- Go, go, go.
Watch the leg.
- Who says you're old?
- I do.
So are you.
- [Jack Voiceover] I walked
through the night alone,
Jack singular.
I'd always be my mother's
Jack, and my father's Jack,
and the Jack with
the gay dad and Bob,
and Michael and Max and Mrs. B.
I'd always be all that, but
more than that, I was myself.
Jack, no strings attached.
Whatever my family was or wasn't
seemed to be getting
less important.
My life was my own now,
and my job was to make it
what I wanted it to be.
I only wished I'd known
that a couple of years ago.
I was Jack, plain Jack, Jack
out there all by myself.
(dramatic music)
Jack takes the pass,
the announcer's voice
boomed in my head.
I ran unevenly across the court,
wondering if my leg would
ever be normal again.
Or if my life would
ever be normal again.
Fast Jack is coming in low.
I crouched down,
dancing in and out.
My leg felt like I was
stepping on pushpins.
(dramatic music)
He's up, Fast Jack is up.
I pushed through the pain.
As the crowd roared,
my leg didn't hurt.
Nothing hurt, my
mind was flowing.
I was Fast Jack, and
I knew I would make it
and that everything
would be okay.
(upbeat music)
- [Anne] What's this?
- [Paul] I'm putting
in a hoop for Jack.
- [Anne] What's going on here?
- [Paul] What?
- [Anne] What are you doing?
- I'm putting in
a hoop for Jack.
- [Anne] Today?
- [Paul] Yeah, it was the
only day Mike was available.
- It wasn't supposed
to be today.
You have to tell
me these things.
Oh, God, look at it.
Oh, why did you?
- Because this is the
only spot it can go.
- That's not the only spot.
Oh, this is
ridiculous, I mean, oh,
I don't believe it.
- He's gonna love it.
- You know it,
this is it, really.
This is it, the last time.
- But the roses have black
spot already, I'll spray.
- No, not with the, oh,
dammit, leave me alone.
Leave me alone.
- [Jack Voiceover] Do you
ever look at your family
and wonder who they are?
Those are my parents.
- They're not my roses,
they're the house's roses.
- [Jack Voiceover] At
least they used to be.
- How's the boat building?
- [Jack] Are we
going to the movies?
- [Paul] I have to
move some stuff.
- [Jack] But it's Saturday,
and we always go to
the movies on Saturday.
- Jack wants to go to the movie.
I thought I'd drop the stuff
off, then maybe take him.
- You're not taking
him anywhere.
- You're acting extreme, Anne.
- Don't tell me how I'm acting.
- Okay.
Sorry, no movie today, Jack.
- [Jack] Why not?
- Because I say so.
- [Jack] But we always go
to the movies on Saturday.
- Anne.
- [Jack Voiceover] To
be honest, I didn't give
a damn about the movie, but
there was something going on,
and I didn't know what it was,
and I didn't know what to do,
except act normal.
- [Paul] Tell Jack
I'll call him later.
- [Jack Voiceover] It's
like you had a hero,
and all of a sudden he's gone.
When you're a kid and
you've got a father
who reminds you of
Superman, who seems like he
can do anything, a father
who's the kind of guy
that climbs on the roof to
rescue your dweeby G.I. Joe
when it's caught up there
in some idiotic experiment.
And then, one day, he's gone,
disappeared into a
million different
green plastic garbage bags.
No explanations offered.
Nothing anyone says later
makes a bit of difference.
- Shot of the green?
- [Jack] No thanks.
- Listen, I was
thinking, I could just
stay at my place
tonight, if you like.
- Whatever makes you happy.
- Look, if you want
me here, I'm here.
I just never know
what you're thinking.
- Why don't you let
him move in already?
He practically lives here
anyway, so what's the big deal?
Oh come on, he's living
out of a duffel bag.
You should at least
give him a drawer.
- I don't wanna rush things.
It's Wednesday, so don't
forget, dinner with Dad.
- [Jack] Okay.
- [Michael] Want a ride?
- Sure.
- See ya tonight.
Wednesdays are very intense.
- Yeah, it's the dinner
with the dad thing.
You know, when he first left,
I wasn't allowed
to see him at all.
Then she felt guilty,
so she started
the Dinner with Dad program.
You're lucky you missed
the bit where she tried
to be like my replacement dad.
- [Michael] Oh, was that
the basketball stuff?
- Mm-hmm, and she's
actually gotten pretty good.
It's just a little weird.
Especially the time
she tried to take me
to the father-son team dinner.
Yeah, so are your
parents still married?
- Yeah, 43 years.
You know, it's amazing
to think of spending
your whole life
with the one person.
- Yeah, equally amazing to watch
your whole family fall apart.
- For five bucks, name the
guidance counselor I spieed
shoplifting at K-Mart.
- [Student] Wagstaff.
- Laydon, I saw her slip
a stapler into her purse,
and then some Tootsie Rolls.
(dream-like music)
(whistle blowing)
- All right, listen up.
We're gonna start
with some drills.
Four lines, go, go.
One passes to three,
two passes to four.
A braid, you guys, like
a smooth strand of DNA.
From one side of the gym
to the other, let's go.
Come on, synchronize,
guys, synchronize.
Know where the other men are,
anticipate the next move.
You're walking through it, guys,
you look like a buncha
pansies, come on.
(whistle blowing)
(basketball dribbling)
- You know, my dad showed
up again yesterday.
- Oh yeah, what did
you do this time?
- He put a basketball
hoop out front.
- Oh really?
That's great.
- Yeah, except last night,
I kinda lost my mind
and attacked it.
I tried to knock it down,
and now it's just
a wee bit tilted.
- Tilting adds character.
- Maybe.
- [Jack Voiceover] When
Mrs. Burka smiled at me,
I think I turned beet red.
I woulda stared at her, if
only I could've figured out
how to do it without
getting caught.
- You want an apple?
- No thanks.
- Hey, Samster Hamster
boy, how you doing?
- Good.
- Want some milk?
- No, we don't want
milk, all right.
We don't wanna talk, either.
- You staying for
dinner tonight, Jack?
- Not tonight.
- Okay.
I like your mom.
She always wants to
know everything--
- No, my mom needs
to get a life, okay?
Every day I come home, she's
like, do you wanna talk?
She's thoroughly bored.
(explosions)
See what I just did?
So, you gonna drop
a bomb or what?
- No, Max, I outgrew the
impulse to blow things up
about two years ago.
I'm just waiting
for you to catch up.
(explosion)
- Oh, napalm.
- Daddy's home.
Daddy's home, Daddy's home.
- Hey, hey, monster man.
(groaning)
- Hey, hon, how was your day?
- [Steve] Good.
- Yeah?
- [Steve] Good, really good.
I scored a new client today.
It's gonna mean
extra work, but uh,
that's what I'm here for, right?
- Oh, no, here.
Do you wanna beer or something?
- Yes, please.
- Great.
- Thank you.
Maxie, go deep.
- Head's up.
- Honey.
Why are the
trashcans still here?
How many times have I told
you to take them out back?
- I better go, it's
dinner with Dad.
- Yeah, how is your dad,
haven't seen him for a while.
- He's good.
- [Jack Voiceover] What
I didn't tell Mr. B.
is that every Wednesday
night, my father and I
played a weird game where
we got all dressed up
and he took me to some
totally expensive restaurant
and talked to me about
incredibly serious stuff,
like the meaning of life,
while I was busy worrying
about whether I was
using the right fork.
- [Waitress] What can
I get you tonight?
- I'll have the
tuna, rare please.
- [Waitress] Okay, and
what would you like?
- Chicken for me.
And can I get
french fries instead
of scalloped potatoes, please?
- [Waitress] Sure, honey.
- Look, Jack,
I've been spending a lotta time
trying to figure things out.
Now I don't know if this is
gonna make any sense to you, but
you're at an age now, that,
people love to do things, right?
Some people love to read,
some people love to go
to the movies.
Your mom loves
reading the newspaper.
You love basketball.
What I'm trying to
say is that there are
many different kinds of love.
How we love, no,
not how we love.
What we allow ourselves to feel
is very complicated.
And, and,
sometimes love doesn't
has any limits.
What do you think about
when you think about love?
- Nothing.
I think nothing.
- Nothing, you think nothing.
So basically this dinner
was a waste of time?
- Pretty much.
(horn honking)
(soft music)
- [Paul] Do you
remember when we went
on that huge Ferris wheel?
- I think I was three.
- Why is that parents
always do things
with kids when they're
too young to remember?
You enjoyed it very much.
- Look, you're always
asking me to remember.
It's like a constant
walk down Memory Lane.
Do you remember when
everything use to be normal?
Do you remember when you
still lived at our house?
Come on, can we just stay in
the present, here and now.
- I was just thinking
about things.
- Duh.
(soft music)
(horn honking)
- [Paul] Here, try the calamari.
- Tastes like a
deep-friend rubber band.
So what's calamari?
- It's Italian for
deep-fried rubber band.
Squid.
Wanna try the portobello?
- What is it?
- Mushroom.
How about I pick the
restaurant the next time?
- Might be a good idea.
(soft music)
- How was dinner
with your father?
- Good.
- What did you eat?
- Creepy stuff.
- What did you talk about?
- I have no idea.
- Shall we hang this?
- Okay.
- You know, I got a hammer
downstairs, if you need one?
- No, no, it's not a big hole.
- Listen, they're coming
around to collect stuff
for the homeless
shelter tomorrow,
so anything you don't need
would be a bounty for the poor.
- Sure.
- Oh, very nice.
- It's stuff I've been saving.
Historical artifacts
of my entire life,
in case the Smithsonian
ever needs to do
an exhibit on me,
the American boy.
- Ah.
- There are a few key
elements in case I ever get
amnesia and need to be
reminded of who I am.
- Right.
Thank you.
And listen, I meant to ask you.
How would you feel if I built
a Zendo in the backyard?
- What's a Zendo?
- It's like a meditation room.
You could use it too
whenever you need a moment.
- [Anne] It'd be great.
- Our friends thank you.
- [Anne] Shoot a few?
- Mom, you're embarrassing me.
- Oh come on,
You know, I could
get good at this.
Maybe I should join a team.
Oh, come on, try again.
- Okay.
(laughing)
- Come on, be a good
sport, you should be proud.
How many kids can say their
moms can play basketball?
Yes!
It's gonna be okay, you know?
That's it, that's it.
- [Jack] Yeah.
- Oh, come on.
- Come on.
Aren't you excited?
Hi, Mr. Bailey.
- Mrs. Stanford.
- Go on.
Go on.
(dramatic music)
- New drivers pass
through levels.
Each level offers
more responsibility,
freedom from restrictions.
What's this?
- Rear bumper.
- Mm-hmm.
Teenagers pick up their
parents' driving habits.
- Trunk.
- Correct, how do
your parents drive?
Do they put it in reverse
without looking behind?
Do they pull out too fast.
The more crashes the
parents have had,
the greater the likelihood
the teen will crash.
Get in the driver's seat.
Have your parents crashed?
- I don't know,
they're divorced.
- [Mr. Bailey] Put
on your seat belt.
Start her up.
And drive it very, very
slowly down the street.
- [Jack] Okay.
(car starting)
(tires squealing)
Sorry, sorry.
- [Mr. Bailey] I have
only one neck, smoothly.
- [Jack] Sorry.
- Seeing is believing.
Think about your blind spots.
You can't ever forget,
there's always something
you cannot see.
- Yeah, that I know already.
- [Jack Voiceover] Time passed.
It wasn't like I got over
it, but life went on.
Except for now, my mom let my
dad take me on Saturdays too.
I was finally growing more
hair on my legs than my mom,
and things were
pretty much things.
(horn honking)
(birds chirping)
- [Paul] So, what's new?
- [Jack] Not much.
Are you okay?
- Yeah.
- You just have that look.
- What look?
- The one where you're
about to say something
that's gonna make
me lose my lunch.
Or the one where you pause
for a really long time
and you say something
like, Grandma's sick,
which means she's already
dead or something like that.
- Well Grandma's fine.
But we need to talk.
- See?
- Look, Jack, I, I don't
know if you can understand,
but I'm gonna tell you.
I have been running
away from myself,
all these years, and a
person can't do that forever.
It catches up.
A while ago, I realized that,
that I would be happier
if I did not live
with your or your mother.
Hey, I love her.
I always did, I always
will and I still do, but.
Do you remember
Bob, my friend Bob?
- Yeah, the guy you
went on the trip with?
- Mm-hmm.
Bob and I are lovers.
- I wanna go home.
- [Paul] Jack!
Jack.
Jack.
Jack?
- Get in the car,
I'll give you a ride.
- I'll walk, thanks.
- Get in the car, you're
gonna get pneumonia.
- I'll walk.
- Jack, don't do this.
- Do what?
You're the one who's doing it.
- I told you because I
thought you should know.
Nothing has changed, I'm
exactly the same person
I was 20 minutes ago.
Jack, I'm still your father.
- No you're not.
- He never even told you?
Elaine.
Okay, yeah, I'll see
you tomorrow, bye.
What happened?
- Well, other than my father
telling me he was gay,
I sent for a swim.
How can this, I
shoulda seen it coming.
I shoulda been smarter, I
shoulda been paying attention
to what he was trying to tell me
over all that
lobster and calamari.
- Your father loves
you very much.
- He's not my father.
- Yes, he is, he's your
father and you're his son.
- No.
Mom, no, no.
He's a stranger, he's
a person I don't know.
He's got a whole other life.
He's got a boyfriend.
How can this even be happening?
Did you know?
Oh well, how did he tell you?
Did he take you out
in a rowboat too?
- He doesn't like
keeping secrets.
- Well he shoulda kept that one.
- He and Bob are getting
an apartment together.
Did he tell you that?
- No, but he was probably
about to when I jumped.
Mom, I don't wanna
see him anymore.
(footsteps)
(crickets chirping)
- If you wanna
talk, you gotta dig.
- And what's to talk about?
All of a sudden my
father is a fairy queen.
Is that why he left
us, he's a fairy?
- Don't use that word.
- What word should I use?
- Your father and I separated
because we couldn't get along.
We couldn't live together.
You remember how we
were always fighting.
- Yeah, because it turns
out Dad's a big old fag.
How can he be a homo
and have me as his kid.?
Homos don't get married,
and homos don't have kids.
Was he always a homo?
- Your father was always
going through phases.
Gardening, music, car repairs.
It was always something.
I actually thought this
was one of his phases.
- Why is he doing this to me?
- No one is doing
anything to you.
He was telling you who
he was, about his life,
and he wanted to make
you part of his life.
- Well, if he's a homo,
what does that make me?
Am I homo too now?
Because maybe that's
it, maybe I'm a homo
and I don't even know it.
- Jack, you're two
separate people.
He is who he is,
and you're gonna
figure out who you are.
- When he first left, I
thought it was my fault.
I was too boring, I wasn't
enough of a movie freak,
I wasn't fast
enough at baseball.
- Life is complicated.
You think I didn't
wonder what happened?
He's your father, but
he was my husband.
(gentle music)
Maybe it was me, Jack.
Maybe it was something I did.
I wasn't a good enough wife.
I wasn't a good enough mother.
I never made breakfast.
I smoke.
I hate cleaning the house.
- No.
No, no, no, it's not you.
It's Dad, it's his fault.
Mom, I hate him.
I hate him, I hate him,
I hate him, I hate him.
- Shh.
(phone ringing)
- [Jack Voiceover] My father
called about 20 times a day
trying to get me to let
him be my father again.
He would drive over
and just sit outside,
not moving, like a statue.
I refused to talk to him,
and even that didn't work.
(fire alarm ringing)
- You ever just
wanna go up to a girl
and plant one on her?
Like, I bet I can get
that girl to kiss me.
- [Max] You don't even know her.
- So?
- What's the deal with you?
Suddenly, you're Mr. Hormonal.
You have to kiss a girl or
you're gonna die or something.
- Okay, just pick
a girl and I bet
I can get her to kiss me.
- Fine.
And what about her?
- [Jack] Can't you at least
pick someone who's human?
Maggie Rogers?
No, the degree of
difficulty on her
is just a big too high.
- Well, you can't just
go up and kiss somebody.
You'll get arrested.
Okay, remember that
kindergartener who got expelled?
You have to ask first.
- [Teacher] Is this where
you're supposed to be?
- Yeah, yeah it
is, for the moment,
this is exactly where
I'm supposed to be.
(dramatic music)
Okay, how did you do that?
Did you give her money?
Did you offer to do
her homework, what?
- No, I just I said I
thought she was really pretty
and that I wanted to kiss her.
I said I felt
compelled to kiss her.
- And that worked?
- Yep.
- Wow, your first kiss.
- Nah, not my first.
Maryann Miller in the
second grade used to kiss me
all the time, and she
was in the third grade.
- An older woman.
- Yeah.
- End of drill.
Come on, everyone back to class.
- Hey.
- [Anne] Hey.
- [Paul] Thanks for meeting me.
- It's fine.
Where's the Bob?
- His name is Bob, not the Bob,
and he had a meeting
at the last minute.
- Oh.
Okay.
- New bookcase?
- Oh yeah, yeah.
Actually, that's
how I met Michael.
I hired him to
build me a bookcase.
- Jack still doesn't
wanna see me?
- No.
He's 15.
He's trying to grow up.
You deserted him in more
ways than one, you know.
- Bob and I being together
doesn't mean I'm deserting Jack.
- Really?
I'll try telling him that.
You were his hero.
Life isn't as simple for
Jack as it is for you.
- Annie, with all due respect,
you have know idea
what's simple for me.
- What do you want?
- For everything to be okay.
- What furniture do you want?
- I'll take the chair.
- What, that chair?
- No, no, no.
- It's my chair.
- No, no, I like that chair.
Jack likes that chair.
Take that chair.
- That chair, I hate that chair.
I've always hated that
chair, you know that.
Couch?
Watch, watch.
- [Anne] I got it,
I got it, I got it.
- Okay?
- [Anne] Here, wait a minute.
- One, two, three.
(sighing)
Okay, here.
- What?
- Come on, it's better
to break up like that.
- Oh please.
- Do you remember how we met?
- Yeah, summer camp, I
was nine, you were seven.
♪ Oh no, not you
♪ How kind you were
- Come on, seriously.
Anne, Annie.
- No, I remember.
Here, here.
You spilled coffee in my
book and lied about it.
- I didn't lie.
It was an accident.
I was nervous.
I was so in love with you.
(gentle music)
- This is yours.
- Annie, I need you
to know something.
This has nothing to do with you.
- This has everything
to do with me.
- It's my life, and
you messed it up.
No, no, no,
no, you don't get to do that.
You don't dump on somebody
and then comfort them.
It's just against the rules.
- Appreciate your
helping out with Jack.
I know it's not easy.
(crying)
- It's worse than that.
I keep defending you,
and all I wanna do
is strangle you.
(door opening)
(crying)
- Hi, Jack.
I came by to pick up a few
things for the apartment.
Look, I know you don't
wanna spend time with me
right now, so,
instead of dinner,
I thought maybe we
could go bowling.
You know, a group
activity might be better.
- No thanks.
- We can bring Max if you want.
There's also somebody I'd
like to introduce you too.
The daughter of a friend
mine, Maggie Rogers.
- The Maggie Rogers?
- Well, I don't know if
it's The Maggie Rogers.
But I think she
goes to your school.
Anyway, I thought we'd
bowl a few rounds.
- Okay.
And it's games, you
bowl games, not rounds.
- [Jack Voiceover] As
much as I hated the idea
of being around my
father and the Bob,
it was Maggie that
made me do it.
- [Maggie] Hey, Jack.
- Hey.
- Max.
Five and a half, please.
- Full sizes only.
- Okay, six.
- No sixes.
Make it a seven.
- [Jack Voiceover] The minute
I saw her, I turned green.
The only thing missing was
the yearbook photographer.
- What size for you?
- Oh, I bowl in socks,
it gives me more slide.
- Right.
- So are you like
alone here or what?
- No, that's my father.
- [Max] Who's the other guy?
- Why did I bring you?
- Because you like me,
you like me very much.
Okay, everyone, let's
take a practice round
and then we'll start.
- Burpa, that's what
they call him, Max Burpa.
(cheering)
- That's my girl.
Go, Maggie, yeah.
- Okay, Jack, you're up.
- Way to go, Jack, make
potholes, confuse everyone.
- Jack, next time try to
keep your wrist straight.
- Bob, no advice, thanks.
- Isn't Maggie great?
- Great is an understatement.
- [Maggie] You've already
had a hot dog, nachos
and a soda, and what else?
- I don't know, some Tootsie
Rolls, if you're counting.
I can definitely
go for ice cream.
Speaking of which,
guess who's here.
- No idea.
- Okay, I'll rephrase.
For $200, guess which
one of our schoolmates
bowls in a league.
- Eddie Hayes?
No way, that's so queer.
He's in a league?
(pins falling)
- Hey, we're going to the opera.
- [Paul] Well, what
are you seeing?
- Carmen.
- Carmen.
- [Bob] How'd you get tickets?
I thought it was sold out.
- It was, but you
know John when he
sets his mind to something.
- Do you have a medical problem?
- Hmm?
- You know, they have drugs
for people who are hyper.
- Yeah, you see, they
thought he was hyper
but the tests came back normal.
- Maybe they should
get him tested again.
- I am taking Jim to
Provincetown for Memorial Day.
- Why?
- He's never been.
- Never?
- [Jack Voiceover] I was
remembering the first time
I met the Bob.
About nine months
after he moved out,
my dad and I were going
on one of our adventures,
a boat trip to St.
Michael's Island,
and my dad asked if he
could bring a friend.
Had I known then what I
know now, I woulda said no.
- Okay, anybody have any
shoes they haven't returned.
- [Jack] Yeah.
- [Maggie] I took
mine back already.
- [Paul] Okay, I'll see
you guys at the car.
- See you, guys.
- See you outside.
(clapping)
- Oh my God.
- Oh, gross.
- Am I seeing what
I think I'm seeing?
- [Maggie] Gross, totally gross.
- Okay, was that artificial
respiration or something?
Was there a reason for
that, can you tell me?
- [Maggie] Shut
up, just shut up.
Can you ever just not talk?
- He kissed the guy
right on the mouth, okay.
Not on the cheek.
- Why do they have to
make out in public?
Do your parents
make out in public?
- No, no, actually my parents
avoid touching at all times.
- [Jack Voiceover] This was
the beginning of the end.
- Look, it's nothing to
go insane about, okay?
- You can use my locker
til it wears off.
- It's goddam
black magic marker.
It's permanent, it
doesn't wear off.
Did you do this?
- No, I didn't do it.
But maybe I accidentally
mentioned a bit about two guys
kissing to a couple people.
Well, it freaked me out, okay?
I'm over it now.
I mean I get it, it's a
disease, okay, like a sickness.
Same as guys who chop people up,
put the pieces outta the house.
- You're completely
mentally ill, you know that?
No!
Don't polish it.
Charming, at this rate,
there will be a whole novel
up there by the end of the year.
- Talk to your
girlfriend, fag baby.
- I don't know who
you think you are.
I go bowling with you and
your rodent friend as a favor,
and this is what happens?
- What is what happens?
I mean, I stupidly agree
to go bowling with you
and your queer bait
father, and they write
fag baby on my locker.
- Look, this is my life,
and you and your friend
are like kamikazes.
- I have no idea what
you're talking about.
- Ask the rodent.
- Okay, Maggie won't speak to
me and she says you know why.
- There's been a small
letter-writing accident, okay.
- What are you talking about?
- Someone circulated
like a chain letter
to the whole school
about the bowling alley.
- Someone other than you?
- Yeah.
- Eddie Hayes?
Okay, show me.
$25 to the one who
first identifies
which beautiful babe and
star of the basketball court
I spotted last night
at a homosexual soiree
at the local 10-pin Lanes.
Post your answers on the
bulletin board in hall.
Name names, and receive money.
- Look, it'll be fine.
Okay, no one's
gonna post anything.
- They wrote fag
baby on my locker.
You don't think they'll
write a name for money?
- Yeah, well, they
should've written it
on Maggie's locker, right,
because her dad's
one of the fags.
But she's too cool.
- Oh, yeah, that makes
me feel a lot better
except for one little thing.
Turns out my dad's a fag too.
- What?
- Shut up, shut up.
I feel sick.
- Don't worry, okay,
it's the tater tots.
They're hard to digest.
How do you know your dad is,
you know, a fagola?
- He told me, okay, in a canoe.
And don't call him that.
And if you tell anyone,
I'm gonna torture you,
starting with your fingernails.
- Okay, all right.
- I have to go home.
- You have a fever?
You gonna faint?
- No, I just, I've
had this before.
I just need to call my mom.
- Okay.
(dial tone)
(phone dialing)
- [Anne] Hello.
- Mrs. Stanford,
this is Miss Morgan.
I'm the school nurse
at Rolling Hills.
I have Jack here in the office,
and he's not feeling well.
- Dizzy and nauseated.
- [Anne] Is he okay?
- Shall I put him on?
- You have to pick me up.
- [Anne] Are you really sick?
- Right now, Mom, you
have to pick me up.
- [Anne] Jack?
- So shall we call this
a mental health moment?
- Call it whatever you want.
- I hate children.
- Look, you can't
go home, all right.
Don't leave me
alone in this place.
- Yeah, you're right, I
don't need to go home.
I can move, like
to another country.
(birds chirping)
- So what if your dad's queer?
I don't care.
- He sleeps with Bob.
They're lovers.
- So?
I sleep with my dog.
- It's not the same thing.
- Can I ask you a question?
- No.
- What do you think they do?
- Look, I don't know
and I don't wanna know.
- Look, maybe it's
just a phase, okay.
He hasn't tried to
make you queer, has he?
- Max, it's not a phase, okay.
And you can't make
a person queer.
They either are or they aren't.
(door opening)
- What's going on here?
- I'm waiting for my mom.
- And you?
- Waiting for his mom.
He's sick, I didn't
wanna leave him alone.
In case he loses consciousness.
- Five minutes from now, I
don't wanna see you here.
- You all right?
You got a sore throat?
Did something happen?
Your father called this morning.
Next Wednesday, instead
of going out to dinner,
he wants you to come
to the apartment.
- No.
- [Anne] I told him you would.
- Mom, I've had enough
of the whole Dad thing.
I'm about two minutes
away from losing my mind
because they wrote
fag baby on my locker.
- Kids are idiots.
Boy, you need a haircut.
- Both hands on
the wheel please.
- You have hair just
like your father's.
No matter what you do to it,
it wants to do something else.
- No, Mom, I am
not like my father.
There is nothing about me
that is like my father.
I don't wanna have
dinner with him,
or see his apartment,
or spend quality time
with his boyfriend.
Got it?
- Maggie's gonna be there.
- We're not speaking.
- Jack, I know the
situation isn't easy.
Sometimes you have to
wrestle with things
to make them fit.
Your father is not
something to be ashamed of.
He realized things
weren't working out,
and he did what he had to do.
Sometimes people spend
their whole lives
trying to figure out
what makes them happy.
- So are you happy?
- I might not be happy
even if I were happy.
He took a risk.
Maybe you should
be proud of him.
- Oh come on, you don't even
believe what you just said.
He wrecked everything.
It's not okay.
- I know.
What do you say we
get some Ring Dings?
- [Jack] Hit her?
- [Anne] What?
- [Jack] Hit her.
- [Anne] Stop that.
- I'm not talking to you.
- Hi, I'm Anne, Jack's mom.
- Hi, Maggie, Maggie Rogers.
- Come on in.
- Mom, hello?
- I'm sorry I was harsh before.
Max is a total rodent,
but, about the other stuff,
the letters and the
locker, I'm sorry.
- But why me, it was your
father that was kissing the guy.
- I know, I overreacted
and I'm sorry.
- Unfortunately, I'm sorry
doesn't remove magic marker.
- I can't control everything.
- So do your friends
know about your dad?
Did he take you out in a
rowboat and confess too?
- Nope.
One day, there was just
some guy sleeping over.
- Yeah, my dad moved
into the guestroom,
and then he moved out.
And I thought it was insomnia,
because he always had insomnia.
But one Saturday morning,
he just took all this stuff
and started packing
it in Hefty bags.
And all I kept saying was,
Are we going to the movies?
Are we going to the movies?
Because we always used to go
to the movies on Saturday.
And I knew something
horrible was happening.
I just didn't know what.
- So, uh,
is this gonna be
something special?
- Yeah, it's gonna be a Zendo.
- Cool, Zendo,
I've never seen one
in someone's backyard before.
- [Jack] You don't even
know what a Zendo is.
- Yes I do.
It's a place where people.
It's a place where people, like,
Jack, what do people
do in a Zendo?
- They meditate.
Yeah, it's a place
where people meditate.
- [Maggie] Cool.
- Yeah.
So are you like the poster child
for the well-adjusted
gay dad club?
- It's not really
like I have a choice.
Are you going to your dad's
house for dinner next week?
- I don't know.
- I'll go if you go.
- Okay.
Sure.
- Do you wanna go to a movie?
- Now?
- No, like on
Friday or something.
- Um, sure.
Yeah, okay, I guess I could go.
Do we dare be seen in public?
- Don't worry, I'll protect you.
Jack, you'll get used to it.
I did.
- No, I don't think I will.
(gentle music)
- [Anne] Elaine, look,
can I call you back?
Great, bye-bye.
- I'm going, but
I'm not gonna eat.
- Is that what you're wearing?
- It's what I wear to school.
- Don't you wanna get dressed up
for your father and Maggie?
- Maggie, yes, my father, no.
- Hey, what about
meeting the Bob?
- Mom, I already met the
Bob when we went bowling
and once a long time ago.
- When a long time ago?
- When we went to St.
Michael's Island with Dad.
Bob came along.
- Really, Bob was there?
I thought they just met.
- No, he's known
him for a while.
So do I have to change?
- I don't care, wear
whatever you want.
- [Jack Voiceover] I
was at his apartment,
and all I kept thinking
about was him being gay
and this being the place that he
and the Bob lived in together.
I wanted to puke.
That is, until I
thought about Maggie.
(door buzzing)
- Hey, hi ya.
Welcome.
Dining room, Bob, Jack's here.
That's the kitchen.
Let me show you this room.
With a view.
Sofa looks pretty
good here, doesn't it?
- Yeah, is that the
chair that used to be
in the living room?
- That's the chair that used
to be in the living room.
That's the coffee
table that I built you
when you were little.
You've heard that story before.
- Hi, Jack.
- Nice slippers.
- Oh, thanks, I picked
them up at an antique fair.
I think they may have
belonged to Greta Garbo.
At least that's what
the guy told me.
I'll go check the oven.
- Come on, I wanna
show you the view.
Not bad, huh?
Listen, Jack, I
was hoping I could
come to your game,
if that's okay.
- Okay, where's Maggie?
- She should be here any minute.
(door buzzing)
There you go.
- Hi, hi, hi.
Come on in, Maggie.
You look wonderful, John.
Nice to see you.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Jack, we'll only be
able to stay a minute.
- Hey, how are you?
Hello, dear, how are you?
Come in, come.
- [Bob] Dinner's just
about ready, guys.
- Okay.
- I'm not hungry,
I'd like to go home.
- Bob worked very
hard on this dinner.
You'll hurt his feelings.
- I don't care
about his feelings.
I don't even know him.
I mean, shouldn't you care more
about my feelings than his?
Didn't I come first?
- You know I care
about your feelings.
Then why are you
doing this to me?
- I'm not doing anything to you.
- Well then who are
you doing it to?
- Jack, who I am,
and who I love
is about me.
It is not about you.
- Well then how come they
call me fag baby at school?
- Do you want me
to talk to them?
- Like what, have
a school assembly?
Okay, everybody, Jack's
father is here to talk about
homosexuality and why we
shouldn't call his son fag baby.
Come on.
- Okay, you're right.
You have every
right to be upset.
Is there anything
I can do to help?
- You can help me
by not being gay.
- I wish I could do that, but I,
you know, it would make
my life easier too.
- Well then just do
it, do it for me.
- I can't do that, Jack.
- Then I'd like to go home.
- Hey, dinner's ready.
- Bob, Jack's not
feeling that well.
I'm gonna drive him home.
- Oh.
- I feel fine.
I just don't wanna be
here with the two of you.
- You were incredibly
rude to Bob tonight.
You know better than that.
Wasn't right.
- You go and do this thing
of yours, you find yourself
or whatever, and then, you
expect everybody to knock
themselves out understanding it.
None of that is right.
- Jack.
Jack.
- [Anne] What happened?
- He's mad about me,
he's mad about Bob.
I don't know what to do.
- Can you blame him?
- What happened to
my great defender?
- She quit.
(cheerleaders cheering)
- Hey, hi guys, where's Steve?
- He's working late, new client.
Hi, Michael, how's it going?
- Oh, it goes and I go with it.
- Why do I think
everyone's looking at me?
- You may think that they
are all looking at you,
but they are not.
- I know, I know.
Oh my God, he showed up.
Hi.
They're not gonna sit
with us, are they?
- No, they're not
gonna sit with us.
(cheering and booing)
(cheering)
(dramatic music)
(whistle blowing)
(upbeat music)
(cheering)
(cheering)
(upbeat music)
(cheering and booing)
(upbeat music)
(whistle blowing)
(cheerleaders cheering)
- [Coach] It's your foot?
- Yeah.
- [Coach] Do you think
you can stand on it?
- [Jack] I'm not sure.
- [Coach] I'll have
to take a look.
- Ow, ow.
(applause)
(whistle blowing)
- [Jack Voiceover]
Life is funny.
One minute, I was running
to the cheers of the crowd,
and the next I was being
wheeled down a hall
on a gurney by my parents
and their boyfriends.
- You were playing beautifully.
- Who belongs to who?
We can't have a thousand
people back here,
immediate family only.
- We're the parents.
- Pick any two, the rest can
stay in the waiting room.
- Who's in charge here?
Well, there's, uh,
nothing broken,
but you do have a
very bad sprain.
I'd like to have an air
cast and crutches, please.
Now, I'd like you to keep
this elevated tonight
and all day tomorrow.
I want you to have ice on it
30 minutes out of every hour.
Any problems, give me a call.
- What about basketball?
- Well, I think you better
learn to walk before you run.
- Maybe we shouldn't have
all gone to the game.
Maybe it ruined
your concentration.
- It's not your fault.
My leg just got tangled with
the other guy's, that's it.
- Hey, kiddo, you got messages.
Your coach, Maggie, and Elaine.
She said she'll come over
during the day tomorrow
and hang out with you
while everyone's at work.
- Oh that's so nice.
She adores you.
She thinks you're very special.
- I am very special.
- I know, but it's nice when
someone else agrees with you.
- Mom?
- Mm?
- What's it mean when your
father picks a boring boyfriend?
- That he had a lapse
in judgment after us.
- That's what I thought.
- Enough?
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
(birds chirping)
- You look very pale.
- I feel very pale.
- Do you want another pill?
- No thanks.
- [Jack Voiceover] If she
hadn't been Mrs. Burka,
Max's mother, I would
have asked her to do that
to my whole body
for hours on end.
I wondered if she knew how
she was making me feel.
- That feels good.
- Well, I better run.
I told Steve I'd be
home, and you know how
he gets if everything
isn't perfect.
You rest a while longer, okay?
Your mom's gonna be home soon.
(birds chirping)
- Oh, hey.
- So, are you like down
for the count or what?
- Down, but not out
- Hey, well, I
brought you a present.
- Yeah, what, homework?
- Ta-da.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- I hope you're not out.
I'm really looking
forward to Friday.
I assume you're still free?
- Free but crippled.
- Well, what's happening Friday?
- We have a date.
- Really?
Well, uh, can I come?
- No, Max, because then
it wouldn't be a date.
- Anyways, I'm gonna be
late, piano lesson day.
(soft music)
- Did you see that?
She just kissed you.
That's like the second
time in recent history.
Well this is better than TV.
I'm watching you
go through puberty.
- So, uh, what do
you do in a Zendo?
Just sit and wait?
- No waiting, just sitting.
- And then what?
- Nothing.
- I don't get it.
- Well there's nothing
to get, nothing happens.
But if you do it enough,
you get yourself.
- Okay.
(soft music)
- [Jack] So how many times
have you seen that film?
- Like two million.
- Yeah.
My dad used to take me to
the movies every Saturday.
- Mine did too, maybe it's like
a gay dad thing or something.
I'm kidding.
- So is it better or
worse to be a girl
or a guy with a gay dad?
- I think it's worse for a guy.
It's more threatening or
something, I don't know.
- Yeah, I have to say,
when he first told me,
I kept thinking, Does
that mean I'm gay too?
- And now?
- Oh, now I'm sure I'm not gay.
So how come you never
talk about your mom?
- Because she's not around.
- Is she dead?
- No, she lives in Virginia.
Three years ago, she invited
me to come and visit,
and I remember I spent the
whole summer baby-sitting
her two new kids while she
went off with her friends
and got her nails done.
She's got a new
life, a new husband,
and as far as she's concerned,
my dad and I are just
mistakes she made
a long time ago.
- But she's your mom, right?
- Yeah.
Then she got annoyed about
something, threw her stuff
in the back of a car and,
never came back.
- How old were you?
- Six.
And I remember, I
thought it was my fault,
like I thought I had
done something wrong.
- Yeah, I thought
I was too boring.
Good night.
- Can you get out?
- I can try.
(giggling)
- Thank you.
- Welcome.
- [Michael] Hey.
- Sorry about that, we
just started talking.
- Oh, that's all right.
So you want me to drive
you guys somewhere
where you can make
out or something?
- Michael, it's our
first date, okay?
- Geez, kids today,
you're damned if you do,
damned if you don't.
- Sorry about that.
- Thank you.
(car starting)
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- So, um, I guess I'll
phone you tomorrow.
- Okay.
- [Maggie] Okay, thank you.
- Bye.
- [Maggie] Bye.
- So?
- Well, if I'd known
dating was that easy,
I woulda started
when I was like two.
We watched the film,
I held her hand,
and her hand was sweaty,
and my hand was sweaty,
and our sweat just
kind of mixed.
And then we had ice cream,
and the vanilla melted
with the chocolate, and,
it was all just
kind of fantastic.
- Yeah, I'll bet it was.
(car starting)
- You got enough warm clothes?
- Yeah.
- You got money?
- Yep.
- It was very nice of
Elaine to invite you.
- Yeah, I know, I'm
Max's entertainment.
- Have a good time.
- [Jack] Bye.
- Bye.
(tires squealing)
(horn honking)
- If someone could
read the signs,
we'd know where to get off.
- Steve, this is not my
fault, you're driving the car.
- That's what you say.
- [Jack Voiceover] Something
about Mr. Burka swerving
made me think of Mr. Bailey.
Swerving on a highway
was definitely not
a Mr. Bailey thing to do.
Made me think of him asking,
Had my parents crashed?
- [Elaine] Dinner with
Uncle Morris and Aunt Mary
is 7:30, and they're looking
forward to seeing you.
- [Steve] Did they write
seeing you or soaking you?
Every time we go out
to dinner with them,
I have to pay the check.
- [Elaine] So just decide
that this time you won't.
- [Steve] I grew
up on this lake.
I bet you didn't
know that, Jack.
Almost drowned in
this bad boy once.
- [Max] Every year,
he tells us about
how he almost drowned.
- [Steve] You know,
it means something
to have a place to come back to
- People always feel the
need to confess on a lake.
I myself don't
like lakes anymore.
They're overrated.
- Boy, this is the life, huh?
Million miles away
from everything.
- Million years away.
- No littering please.
- Feeding the fish.
- Hey, Captain,
toss me those chips.
- [Sam] What's a
lake made out of?
- [Elaine] Oh, a lake's
like a really big puddle.
- [Sam] Well, what's a
mountain made out of?
- [Elaine] Mountain's
like a big rock.
- [Sam] Do rocks grow?
- [Max] Only in your head.
- [Elaine] Max.
(murmuring)
- Uh, could I have
some more ketchup?
(murmuring)
- Hey, Honey, can I get
a refill here, thanks?
- Any time of day.
We've called him on emergencies.
- So, how goes it in the market?
Any tips?
- No tips.
Only top-secret insight
I'm not privy to share.
What do I owe you
for Mary and myself?
- It's okay, Morris,
we'll split it 50-50.
- But they've got
three extra people.
- In the morning, I want you
all to come down to the house,
and I'll make you up
a nice big breakfast.
- You know, I got this.
Whole, half, what's
the difference?
- What pleases you
pleases the court.
- Maybe next time, Morris.
- Sweetie, thank
you for everything.
- [Jack] It's very
old-fashioned.
- [Max] Yeah, like prison.
- [Jack] No, I like it.
(door opening)
- [Elaine] Well you
boys sleep well.
Is everything okay?
- [Max] Mm-hmm.
- [Elaine] Good night, Jack.
- [Jack] Love you.
- What was that, I love you?
- I don't know, it
just kinda slipped out.
- [Steve] Only top-secret
insight I am not privy to.
What an ass.
- [Elaine] Honey, you
could have split the check.
- [Steve] What are
you always on me for?
This is my vacation.
Why can't I relax
for 10 seconds?
So what if I pick up the check?
- [Elaine] Well you're
the one who said
you always getting soaked.
- [Steve] Can't I complain
without you throwing it my face?
You know what,
no, you know what?
Maybe the problem is you.
- We should get pneumonia
not to hear them?
- Is this normal?
- It may not be normal, but
they do it all the time.
- [Steve] I am so sick
of being criticized.
Not one thing I do is
right, according to you.
No no, shut up,
Elaine, just shut up!
- We can hear you!
- [Jack Voiceover] Even
the clanking of the fan
couldn't get their
voices outta my head.
I closed my eyes, trying
to think of something else,
anything else.
(Steve yelling)
- [Sam] I told you
he was sleeping.
- Pack up, we're outta here.
We're leaving, get up.
- Where are we going?
- Home.
My father beat up my mom, okay.
He hauled off and slugged her.
Well, my dad once threw a
box of donuts at my mom,
and they went flying everywhere.
- Pack, you idiot.
- [Sam] Where's Dad?
- What an asshole.
This isn't the first
time, you know.
- [Sam] I want my dad.
(door opening)
- Okay, so we have everything?
- Where's my dad?
- He went for a walk
with your uncle.
- I'll put the stuff in the car.
- Okay.
- [Jack Voiceover] It was
nothing like when my dad
threw the donuts, it
was 1,000 times worse.
Everything that had
happened to my family
and everything that I'd
ever felt about the Burkas
or anyone else was spilling
out all over the place,
and I didn't know
how to stop it.
(gentle music)
- Here, you boys go and get
yourself something, okay?
- [Jack Voiceover] I
had this image of myself
as a grown-up, sitting
in the car with her,
while the kids
were in the store.
I guess I just didn't
think she should be alone.
I guess I wanted to protect her.
- Why don't you go on onside,
see if something
catches your eye?
- I don't know what to say.
- You don't have
to say anything.
(door closing)
(crying)
(dial tone)
(phone ringing)
- [Recording] To place a
collect call, press two.
Please state your name.
- [Jack] Jack.
(phone ringing)
- [Anne On Answering Machine]
We're not home right now,
but leave your name and
number, we'll call you back.
- [Recording] Will
you accept charges?
(dial tone)
(phone dialing)
- [Record] To place a
collect call, press two.
Please state your name.
- [Jack] Jack.
(phone ringing)
- [Recording] You have a
collect call from Jack.
Will you accept
charges, press one.
- [Paul] Jack?
- Yeah, Dad, press one.
(beeping)
- [Paul] Jack, hello.
- Dad?
- [Paul] Jack?
Is everything all right?
- Mr. Burka hit Mrs. Burka.
- [Paul] What do you mean, Jack?
- Hit her, you know, hit her,
like in a boxing match
only without a ring.
- [Paul] Oh, is
Elaine all right?
- [Jack] No, I mean,
she's driving but her face
looks like a hamburger.
- [Paul] I'll meet
you at the Burkas.
Just keep it together
until you get there, okay?
- Okay.
Dad?
- [Paul] Yeah, yeah.
- Promise you'll pick me up.
- [Paul] I promise,
I'll be there.
- [Jack Voiceover] I
realized at that moment
that there were only
three people in the world
that I could turn to.
Mrs. Burka, who couldn't
help anyone right now.
My mother, who wasn't home.
And my father, who was.
- Hey.
Did you guys get
everything you wanted?
- Yeah, yeah, we're
fine, let's just go.
- I got you a present.
- Thank you, Jack.
(car starting)
(gentle music)
- [Max] How come he's here?
- [Jack] Because I called him.
- [Max] What did you
do, send smoke signals?
- [Paul] Are you all right?
- Yeah, I'm okay.
- [Anne] Did you
call the police?
- He didn't mean it,
he just, he gets angry.
- Help them out with the bags.
Are you expecting him
back today or not?
- I don't know, I
think he's gonna stay
with his family for a few days.
- Come on, boys,
come on, come on.
- Come on, let's put
some ice on that.
Do you think anything's broken?
- No, it's.
- Are you sure?
- It's fine, it's
bruised, not broken.
- Listen, if you mention
one word of this to anyone,
I will have you taken care of.
- Taken care of?
- Yeah, I will kill you,
okay, I will have you killed.
- Max, hello, it's me, Jack.
Jack, your best friend.
Okay, first of all,
you're scaring me.
Second of all, you're
acting demented.
And third of all, if you
don't start acting nicer
to your own mom
I'm gonna kill you.
(birds chirping)
- I keep trying to imagine
Mr. Burka hitting Mrs. Burka.
And every time I come close
to the moment when something
bad happens, my
mind just freezes.
Mr. B hitting Mrs. B.
- Pretty scary.
- I imagine myself
older, bigger,
blocking at Mr. Burka's
punch with one arm,
knocking him out with the other.
- Hey, Max.
- [Max] Hey.
- How's your mom doing?
- She looks like she got
her face put in a Cuisinart.
- Look, Bob and I are having
some people over next Saturday
for brunch, why
don't you two come?
- Look, I may have called you,
but I still don't wanna
hang out with you.
- Oh, I know you don't
wanna hang out with me.
But Maggie Rogers
was coming, so.
- Sure, for how
long, five minutes?
- No, for the whole thing.
- That's not fair.
Come on, that's
flat-out bribery.
You know I'm weak
when it comes to her.
- So, are you coming or not?
- Yeah.
- Good.
Max, you, little football?
Come on, here we go.
- No, my leg, can't.
- Okay, come on.
Gannon, to Rice.
(crying)
- What am I gonna do?
- You're gonna take care
of yourself for once.
That's what you're gonna do.
- What about the kids?
- The kids don't wanna
see you get hit anymore.
(crying)
- Jack gave me this.
He just.
(crying)
Anne, I'm so scared.
(soft music)
(crying)
(Paul yelling)
(upbeat music)
- You must be Jack.
You look just like your father.
How's school? I hear
so much about you.
- Um, actually I'm Max.
That's Jack right there.
- [Maggie] Let's go.
I think that woman who
cornered Max is Bob's shrink.
- I didn't know that
Bob had a shrink.
- Yeah, my Dad took me to
see him a couple times.
Did I mention that I
hate my dad's boyfriend?
Okay, he clips his toenails
and then he eats the pieces.
I caught him doing it when he
thought no one was looking.
Isn't that disgusting?
- Yeah.
- Ugh.
- Don't you wish your dad
would just find some girl,
get married and then
all this would stop?
- No, I'd be totally jealous.
- Oh.
So, can I kiss you?
- No.
- Why not?
- Because you kiss everyone.
- I do not.
- Come on, I saw you with Jenny.
- Yeah, but that was different.
- Oh.
- It was.
And besides, you kissed
me the other day,
so that's where I got the idea.
- Yeah, but you were injured.
And you've gotta wait
til you earn my trust,
and then you can kiss me.
- Okay.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
- Hey, do you think Max is okay?
- No.
(giggling)
(retching)
- [Jack] Max?
Max!
- What?
- Ew, are you stuck?
- [Max] No.
- Hey, are you okay?
Why are you throwing
up into a trash chute
into a restroom like
a normal person?
- Um, can we get you some
seltzer or something?
- Yeah, that'd be great.
Why don't you go get it?
- Okay.
- What is wrong with you?
Okay, why do I feel like I'm
seeing tomorrow's headlines,
teenager dies at
homosexual brunch?
This is totally pathetic, Max.
Oh, what are you gonna
do, you're gonna hit me?
- Look, just leave
me alone, okay.
I'm not doing anything,
it's none of your business.
- Oh, it's none of my
business, and that's why
you're doing it at
my dad's apartment
instead of your
own goddam house.
- There's no one at my
house, asshole, remember?
- You're driving me crazy, Max.
- No, no no no, you're
driving me crazy.
- Okay, look, your
life is a complete mess
but you don't have to
make it a bigger drama
than it already is.
- Look who's talking,
okay, you have no idea.
Have you ever seen
your parents fight?
Huh?
Literally haul off
and punch each other?
If you ever heard the kinds
of things my parents say
to each other, you'd die.
I mean, they hate
each other, okay.
And right now, I
hate both of them.
How do you think
that makes me feel?
- Look, Max, you're
not your father.
You're not your
mother, you're you.
And you have to take
care of yourself,
and you have to
protect yourself,
and you have to find
a way through this.
And, okay, you can't fix
it, but it doesn't mean
you should wreck
your own life either.
- This coming from someone
who hates his own father.
I'd trade my dad with
yours in a second.
- No, Max, you can't do that.
You don't trade one set
of problems for another.
- Who says?
What are you, the
pope or something?
- Okay, I don't know what to do.
Max, I don't know what to do.
Nothing I say is
the right thing,
and you're scaring me, okay.
I mean, I already watched
my whole family fall apart,
and the truth is is that
I thought your family
was the perfect family.
Now look,
both our families are nuts.
(retching)
God, it stinks in here.
- Sorry.
- Um, this is all I could find.
- He's completely drunk.
- Okay, Max, let's
take a little walk.
(dial tone)
(phone dialing)
(phone ringing)
- [Anne] Hello.
- Hi, Mom.
- [Anne] Jack?
- Um, Max went a little
crazy at dad's party today.
I mean, everything's fine,
everything's under control.
But I think Max and I are
gonna stay here tonight.
- [Anne] Do you want
me to come and get you?
I can be there in two minutes.
You sure you're not
being held hostage?
- No, Mom, everything's okay,
there's no hostage situation.
- [Anne] Okay, bye.
- Bye.
- You know, Max is really
lucky to have you as a friend.
I spoke with Elaine.
She said Steve is getting help,
and they're going to therapy.
- Is he gonna move back in?
- Uh, don't know, but it is
never over until it is over.
- That's true.
Hey, Dad.
- Yeah.
- Do you remember when we went
to St. Michael's with Bob?
- Mm-hmm.
- Well, were you and
him together then?
- No, we were just friends then.
- Yeah, that's what I thought.
- We'll come back for that.
(upbeat music)
- Okay, let's try it
again, be careful.
- You know, we don't have
to do this in the rain.
I can wait and get my
license when I'm 30.
It's no problem.
- Okay great, come on,
let's go, cut the wheel.
Come on.
Cut.
Cut a little more.
Cut it more.
Look, you're doing fine.
(banging)
- [Jack] What happened?
- Did you do that on purpose?
- No, are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine.
Why don't we call it
a day today, okay?
- A car is not a
car, it's a machine.
- When you're ready,
I'd like to take you
for your driver's test.
- It's okay, Michael
said he would.
- I know, but I'd like
to, if you don't mind.
- Yeah, sure.
- Are you gonna hate me forever?
- I don't know.
- Hard to believe.
You are turning 16.
- Yeah, it kinda
creeps up on you.
- Yeah.
Maybe we should do
something special.
Do you remember when
we went to the circus?
- Yeah, I was six.
You took 10 of my friends,
we had front-row seats,
and then the lion bit
the head off the monkey,
and we all had nightmares
for about a week.
Well, Mom's baking a cake.
I think that should
be good enough.
- Okay.
(car starting)
- [Jack Voiceover] When
you're a kid, everyone makes
a big deal outta your birthday.
You get presents, your mom
brings cupcakes to your school.
It's like a national holiday.
The fact is, when you're
16, you're not 15 anymore.
You wake up, you look at
yourself, and there you are.
Your hopes, dreams and
fantasies starting right at you.
At a certain point, you stop
waiting for your life to begin.
You realize this is your
life, right here, right now.
Make of it what you
will, what you can.
- [Max] Hey.
- So what, when I graduate
is somebody gonna write
fag baby grows up in big
letters on the school roof?
- Maybe?
Happy birthday.
- Thanks.
What is it, a pipe bomb, a gun?
- No.
- Okay.
Condoms?
You got me condoms
for my birthday?
- [Max] Yeah.
- Okay, well thanks
for thinking of me
in such a weirdly personal way.
I'll treasure them.
And then I'll use
them when I'm like 50
and married or something.
(school bell ringing)
- [Teacher] So, your
papers are due next week.
And all papers are
due, no exceptions.
- [Jack Voiceover]
The thing about people
is that they're human.
As obvious as that is,
we have to remember it.
People are who they are.
And once you realize that,
you'll end up less disappointed.
And then sometimes
they'll surprise you.
- Jack, Jack?
Are you with us?
- Not really.
- So, uh, see your cake?
- Yeah, it's fantastic.
- I got these guys, but, uh,
I thought I better
ask you first.
- Do we actually have
to put them on the cake?
I just think I'm a little
too old for decorations.
- I think you're right.
- What is that?
- It's a Zendo.
- A Zendo.
- Yeah, a long story.
- It's a Zendo.
So, this is where
I had my garden.
And this is where I
used to play with Jack.
- It's not a historical
landmark, we still live here.
- I know, I know, I'm
just showing Bob around.
- Okay.
- Is Mom feeding the holly?
- [Jack] I don't know.
- Anne.
- [Anne] What?
- [Paul] Are you
feeding the holly?
- Am I feeding the hungry?
- The holly.
- The holly, uh, yeah,
go ahead and do what you want.
Feed the holly,
clip the forsythia,
deadhead the roses, be my guest.
- She's not feeding the holly.
(doors closing)
- Oh, who wants sprouts?
- Yes, please.
- Hi, Jack, sorry I'm late.
- Hi, Maggie.
- [Jack Voiceover]
That Maggie did that,
in front of everyone,
was rather impressive.
I was also hoping Mrs. Burka
was just a teeny bit jealous.
- [Paul] Mom and I worked
together on that one.
- Thank you.
- Oh, it's beautiful.
Did you make that?
- I did.
- I bet you did.
- Thank you.
- [Elaine] Oh you're
welcome, I hope it fits.
- I have one, it'll fit.
(laughing)
- [Elaine] There we go.
- Here, open mine next.
(soft music)
That's my favorite.
- See?
Now I Know.
Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- [Jack Voiceover] I
wanted to thank everyone,
but really I didn't.
Because thank you is
such an overused word.
It means too many things,
and at the same time,
it means nothing.
But one thing I did know
was that I wanted to
sit there until I became
old enough to
understand my life.
(soft music)
- Well, I think
that went very well.
- Yes, well, nothing fell on
any one and no one choked,
so they all seemed
to have a good time.
- My baby's 16 years old.
16, that makes me an old woman.
- Can I go for a walk?
- Go, go, go.
Watch the leg.
- Who says you're old?
- I do.
So are you.
- [Jack Voiceover] I walked
through the night alone,
Jack singular.
I'd always be my mother's
Jack, and my father's Jack,
and the Jack with
the gay dad and Bob,
and Michael and Max and Mrs. B.
I'd always be all that, but
more than that, I was myself.
Jack, no strings attached.
Whatever my family was or wasn't
seemed to be getting
less important.
My life was my own now,
and my job was to make it
what I wanted it to be.
I only wished I'd known
that a couple of years ago.
I was Jack, plain Jack, Jack
out there all by myself.
(dramatic music)
Jack takes the pass,
the announcer's voice
boomed in my head.
I ran unevenly across the court,
wondering if my leg would
ever be normal again.
Or if my life would
ever be normal again.
Fast Jack is coming in low.
I crouched down,
dancing in and out.
My leg felt like I was
stepping on pushpins.
(dramatic music)
He's up, Fast Jack is up.
I pushed through the pain.
As the crowd roared,
my leg didn't hurt.
Nothing hurt, my
mind was flowing.
I was Fast Jack, and
I knew I would make it
and that everything
would be okay.
(upbeat music)