Mixing Nia (1998) - full transcript
Nia is a successful copy writer at ad agency, and she leads white yuppie life (though her mother is black). She quits the agency when she is ordered to push a new brand of beer to black urban kids and goes searching for her racial identity.
[flames rumbling]
[dramatic orchestral music]
[dramatic orchestral music]
[upbeat jazz music]
[horn honking]
- We all want to feel
like we're somebody.
Always a pleasure to
see you too, Miss.
[upbeat jazz music]
[phone ringing]
- Cheese.
- Cheese.
- Congrats.
- Thank you.
- Very much.
- Hey, Nick.
Hey Charlie, congrats.
Great photo.
- Thank you. Thank you.
- Hey, you won't have
to use the centerfold.
[men laughing]
[guys chuckling]
Those guys could sell an
ice machine to Eskimos.
- Did you read those copy
ideas I faxed you last night?
- Listen, I'm an art
director, I'm not a eunuch.
I was on a date,
which is what you
should have been doing.
- We have a week to pitch
the antacid account.
- You ever try one
of these things?
It's like chewing on
old cigarette butts.
- We don't have to like 'em,
we just have to sell 'em.
[phone ringing]
Hello.
Hi Larry.
We'll be right there.
- I'm gonna take you guys
off the antacid thing,
and give you a chance
to pitch Slam Beer.
- Wow.
- Well, this is definitely big.
- We are talking Super Bowl big.
Slam is the first
piece of Hilkner Beer
to open up in years.
If we get Slam, we're
in a prime position
to pick up the entire
Hilkner account.
- Yeah, we know,
you guys have been working
on this for months.
- Yeah, the client
pitch is in a week
and we're going nowhere.
And I thought you
guys might be able
to breathe some fucking
life into this thing.
- All right, fire at Will.
Slam is Hilkner's
sub premium beer.
High volume, high profit
margin, high alcohol content.
Target audience is
African American males,
emphasis on the youth market.
But these guys at least
gotta look like they're 21.
We're going for something,
you know, street.
You got it?
- Got it
- Got it.
- Good.
And I wanna have
your rough ideas
on Monday at 10:00 a.m. okay?
You'll be competing against
Charlie and Nick on this one.
Don't worry.
Nia, you might have
the edge on this one.
The closest Charlie
and Nick ever came
to the Black experience was
watching a sitcom. [laughing]
- I mean, she's
barely out of college.
The only reason she got on this,
is 'cause she's the
only Black in creative.
- Right.
- Okay, you're living
in a housing project,
and you don't have a job,
or you do have a job,
but it's a dead end job.
You want to.
- Get out.
- Where to?
- To an island
paradise, Saint Bart's.
- Right.
- Well, you're the copywriter.
What are you asking me for?
- Oh, why can I get this?
I should be able to get this.
- You'll get this,
you just gotta relax.
You just gotta, you know,
just breathe, you'll get it.
You should take up yoga.
[slowly exhaling]
- I gotta get outta here.
[horn beeping]
[traffic passing]
[muffled hip hop music]
- [Kid] Come on, put
it up, put it up.
[hip hop music]
♪ In the woods you're smoking
♪ What love got to do
with what you got ♪
♪ No shit, this shit is hot.
♪ Let them not
for [indistinct] ♪
[traffic passing]
[hip hop music]
[crowd cheering]
- [Announcer] After playing
a hard game of one on one,
there's nothing like an icy
cold bottle of Slam Beer.
Slam Beer, it's a slam dunk.
- I'm your target audience,
ages six to 14. [laughing]
- Just tell me
you've got something.
- Don't worry.
It's a slam dunk.
- And then we hire a rap
artist to sing all the lyrics.
Slam.
- The rapper.
Okay.
- And we shoot the
whole thing like a sexy,
but very street smart
hip hoppy music video.
- What do you guys got?
- What do young inner
city Black men want?
They want out.
What's a ticket out?
Basketball.
What makes them feel good?
Shooting hoops with their boys.
And how does Slam
Beer make them feel?
It makes them feel like
they're flying through the air,
doing a slam dunk.
- And the whole thing
has like this, you know,
this sort of slow motion
fantasy kind of feel,
like the Caribbean cruise line.
- You know, I like it so far.
Go on, Nia.
- And, and.
- And?
- But it's not fantasy.
It's real.
- Yeah, it's real.
So we shoot it like
raw and grainy.
- But it's escaping reality.
It's escaping
unemployment, drugs, crime.
- What does this have to do
with the whole basketball thing?
- [Nia] Because they're
looking for opportunity.
- Right, and we shoot it raw,
but we use bright, happy colors.
- But they're not happy.
That's why they're drinking.
- Ha ha.
- Larry, do you think
what we're doing is right?
- You don't have to like it,
Nia, you just have to sell it.
That's all you
guys came up with?
- Yeah.
- Shit, I thought you were
gonna smoke us on this.
- Why, 'cause I'm Black?
- Well, you are, you know.
- Charlie.
- Sorry if I offended you.
- Look Nia, there's no
reason to get defensive,
if you can't get it,
you can't get it.
- Just doesn't feel right
to peddle cheap liquor
to kids and welfare cases.
- Well, look, young lady,
this is an ad agency,
not the fucking NAACP.
And if you got a
problem with that,
you don't belong in
the goddamn business.
Our job is to convince Hilkner
that we can sell their beer,
and we've got less than a week
to do it and we better do it,
or we're gonna see $60 million
walk out the fucking door.
Charlie, Nick,
I want something
more high concept
than that piece of shit
music video by morning.
Matt, Nia, I want
this basketball thing
fleshed out and finished by
this afternoon at 5:30, got it?
- Got it.
- Nia?
Nia?
Well?
- I don't like it. Larry.
Maybe you're right, maybe
I don't belong here.
You know what? I quit.
♪ One day
♪ A day like no other
- Nickel, dime.
We all want to feel
like we're somebody.
♪ One lie
♪ Words just falling
♪ How can my world
just fall apart ♪
♪ This way
♪ One time to heal,
one time to hurt you ♪
♪ And now I can't
even feel you ♪
♪ I had one time
♪ And now's all over one time
♪ One time
♪ And now it's all
over one time ♪
- Ooh.
I got me the invite
to your bridal shower.
It's co-ed.
- I'll see if Ted has
anyone in his office
we can set you up with.
- Yay.
- Oh me, I almost forgot.
The bridesmaids
dresses are ready.
- Good.
- And if you need any help
with the dress or anything.
I know you just quit.
- You're so sweet.
No, Jen, I'm fine, really.
I think this is the best
thing I've done in my life,
because I've been doing
a lot of thinking.
- Yeah?
- And I've decided
to write a novel.
- A novel?
- As in like a book?
- Yeah.
Well, you know how I wanted
to be a writer in college,
You know, and I got those,
I got those poems published
in that literary magazine.
- Yeah, but those were poems.
- And that was college.
- Oh man, come on you guys.
I wrote copy.
How hard can it be
to write a book?
I found some notes on a novel
I was writing about my parents
living in Greenwich
Village in the 60's.
I just need to do
a little research.
What?
Mom, how many times do I
have to tell you I'm fine?
And we don't have to go through
this all over again, do we?
Look, they want me.
- I am tired of hearing
about they this, they that.
You are the only one responsible
for your success, Nia.
- Yeah, but I wanna
do it on my terms.
Look, I let you talk me outta
being a writer in college.
I will not let you do it again.
- Fine.
- Can we please get on
with this interview?
- Fine. It's your life.
- Okay, like I said earlier,
I wanna use yours
and dad's marriage
for material for my book.
So just tell me
whatever thoughts come
into your head, okay?
I already interviewed dad.
- How is he?
- Don't listen to your mother.
You did what was right.
- [Nia] I hope so.
- What are you talking about?
They were asking you to
exploit your own people.
- Yeah, but if this book
thing doesn't work out,
I only have enough money
saved for a couple of months,
if I fast.
- Who said it would
not work out, huh?
You're finally doing
what you wanna do
on a terrific subject.
I wish you could have
lived during the 60's.
I mean, it was a time of
great change in this country.
I think this must be the tape.
- Oh no, Dad, it's fine.
I'm all set up. Can
we just do this?
- I just wanna show you a
little bit of this documentary
on the underground weatherman.
It'll give you a feeling
for the period, huh?
Show you what, oh!
- Dad, I'm blushing.
- I'm sorry.
Shit, wrong tape.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
- Dad's fine.
- What can I say about the 60's?
Things were a mess.
- Oh, it was great.
We were conscious,
we were active.
We were,
we were getting
high and listening
to some of the best
music ever written.
- Your dad and I met at a
civil disobedience workshop.
- We fell in love instantly.
- I had no idea what
the hell I was doing.
I got pregnant.
And you know, I couldn't be
another Black unwed mother.
- We thought our love would
be an example to the world.
- You were a beautiful baby.
You looked like
your grandmother.
- You were gorgeous.
You looked like my Uncle Marty.
Those were the golden days.
Our own little Camelot.
- It was a nightmare.
We had no money.
Harvey was always working
for some lost cause.
I had to drop out of law school.
- While your mother
desired social change,
at heart, she was
very bush bourgeois.
[Mom laughing]
- Now he wanted us to
move to a commune upstate.
You know, I wasn't having
any of that free love crap.
- Your mother was the only
woman I ever truly loved.
- I have no regrets.
I have you.
And hey, who knows?
Maybe you will be a great
writer like Toni Morrison.
- You're gonna be
a great writer.
Like Norman Mailer. [laughing]
Huh?
[buzzing amplifier]
[electric guitar playing]
[electric guitar playing]
[knocking on door]
- Oh, hi.
Was that you dancing?
- I was stomping.
- Well, I was really kind of
grooving on that beat, huh?
- Well, could you just
tone it down a bit please?
- The landlord said I could
play as loud as I want
from 10 to five weekdays.
Listen, did you just,
did you just move in
here or something?
Because I've been
doing this for a while.
- Ah, well, I used to
have a job to go to.
Great, this is a nightmare.
How am I supposed to write?
- What are you writing?
- A novel.
- Cool.
About what?
- About nothing when I'm
being aurically tortured.
It's like you're
strangling barnyard animals
in there or something.
- That's it. Thank you.
Moo.
[electric guitar playing]
- [Renee] Don't see much
future in this room.
Well, that guy's looking at you.
- [Nia] He'd better just
look someplace else.
- I mean, what are two
good-looking sisters like us
hanging out in some workshop
on a beautiful
Saturday afternoon.
You can't tell me you
wouldn't rather be
in the park with a man.
- Well, yes, of course.
But you know,
right now I'm trying
to focus on this book.
The stuff I was writing
about my parents
is lot harder than I thought.
It's weird.
When I was little, when
they were still together,
I never really thought of
them as being so different.
I'll never forget the last time
that we all went to the zoo.
I remember feeling so
happy and safe and secure.
At least that's like how
I'd like to remember it.
The very next day they told me
they were getting a divorce.
- I remember what a sad
little thing you were
when you came to your grandma's.
Took me two weeks to get
you to come out and play.
- Couldn't resist you riding
around on that big wheel.
- You know what?
I'm glad we came.
It's good to see you get in
touch with your identity.
- Please don't start with
that identity crap, okay?
- Come on, you know what I mean?
It's understandable with
your father and everything
you'd be a little disoriented.
- I'm oriented.
Look, I am oriented.
And I came here to
learn about writing
not to have some
self-righteous, self-important
Associate Professor of
African American Studies.
- Excuse me.
- Teach me how to be Black.
- Hey,
I'm Professor Lewis Mercer,
and I will be leading this
workshop today, so welcome.
Historically, whites have
supported the depiction of us
as Aunt Jemimas,
Mandingos,
welfare mothers, and
heartless gun-totin' niggers.
So now, it's up to us
to tell some different
kind of stories.
And often there's
gonna be some stuff
that the whites may
not want to hear.
But if you continue to listen
to the white man's voice
when they tell you,
and he will tell you that
your tone is too angry
or your language is too coarse,
or you're not marketable enough.
Now for those of you
who are suffering
from the delusion of inclusion,
and for those of you who
will walk right out this door
and continue to listen to
the voice of the white man,
I will tell you that you would
never be able to write anything
that truly captures the
essence of who we really are.
Henry Lewis Gates recently
wrote about this brother
who used to be a book critic
down at the New York Times.
This brother thought
he could fool everybody
by passing for white.
He thought that by doing this,
this he would become a writer.
This writer, but
not a Black writer.
Well, the only fool was him.
He ended up writing
nothing at all.
This brilliant, articulate man
suffers writers'
block his whole life,
because he would not and could
not embrace his Blackness.
We must fully
embrace who we are.
We must fully
embrace who we are.
Whether we are high yellow,
blue, Black, red, bone,
chocolate mocha, purple,
Black, pecan,
olive, cafe au lait.
Like it or not,
we are one people.
Any questions?
You're very welcome.
- I just wanted to say how
inspirational your lecture was.
- Yeah, it was
really, really great.
- Thanks.
Are you sisters writers?
- Well.
- Yeah, I'm a writer.
- Oh, what are you working on?
- A novel.
- Oh really, what about?
- It's kind of a a 60's
counterculture kind of thing.
- Oh, huh.
Well, on the Panthers?
- Well.
- What you should read,
Wretched of the Earth.
It's one of the
books I recommended.
- Oh, I read that in college.
It was-
- Well,
the bunch of us are
gonna grab a bite to eat
and continue the discussion
if you want to join us.
- Oh, I'd love to.
- Yeah.
Oh, hi Dave.
- God, it's so good to see you.
How are you?
- I'm okay.
- I'm just killing time before
my African drumming class.
It's got this really great vibe.
It really just releases
all this energy.
I gotta go.
- Oh, well.
- Perhaps another time.
- Yeah, we can
discuss the books.
- So how's that book coming?
Sorry.
- Should have guessed it was
Mr. Put on This Planet to
Make My Life Miserable.
- Inspiration?
- Research.
- You know, you
still haven't told me
what your book's about.
- God, you're annoying.
- Am I annoying?
Let me give you a hand.
- You forgot to pay.
- Oh, well I kinda do
this borrow thing with him
in exchange for playing
at their family events.
I'm a lot cheaper than
a karaoke machine.
- It's one way to make a living.
- Well, it's pretty
much just for kicks.
Actually.
I'm a classical composer.
- Classical?
I never would've figured
you for classical.
- Well, I'm just
finishing this piece
for this composer-in-residence
program in Philly.
- Ah, so you'll be leaving soon.
- I better be, my grant
money's running out.
- I can take those.
- There you go.
- Thanks.
- You know, you
still haven't told me
what your book's about.
I thought maybe you're
just one of those people
who just can't talk
about their work.
- If you really must know,
I'm writing this thing
about the Black Panthers.
- Black Panthers.
- [Nia] Jennifer?
No, no.
Roberta.
Yeah, that's nice and strong.
Roberta basked in the
comfort of their comradery,
in the glow of their optimism
to create a better life
out of the hostile
streets of the ghetto,
in the warmth.
- You all said, be quiet.
- Well, you know, I
always pictured you doing
like a Grisham type thing,
but set in an ad
agency, you know, like,
like sexy female copywriter
has to take on the
corporate giant,
and keep them from brainwashing
the world, kind of thing.
- Okay well,
I just feel it's
really important for me
to write about my experience
as an African-American.
- Yeah, but the
Panthers, I mean,
that's not exactly
your experience.
The only Huey Newton
you grew up on was,
that Huey Newton and
the News guy on MTV.
- Okay, collective experience.
I took this amazing African
American writer's workshop.
The professor was so profound.
He was so inspiring
and include in.
- Oh, I see he made
quite an impact.
- Not like that.
- Oh, no?
- No.
- Well then stop glowing.
People are gonna think
you're a lava lamp.
- I take it you're a regular.
- Hey, I'm just trying
to get us a table.
I'm not the one running
off with my professor.
- Oh God, you never
let up do you?
It's not like I'm even
gonna see the guy again.
- Why don't you call him up?
[laughing] You called him.
- Okay, yeah, I did.
I called him.
He didn't call me back.
- Don't worry, he'll call.
- What? What you looking
at me like that for?
- I was just, I was
just noticing your hair.
It looks great,
I've never seen you wear
it like that before.
- Thanks.
You know, I'm just letting
it go natural, you know.
Part of the new me.
I'm tired of all
this yuppie crap.
- Oh, do you, you want a drink?
- Yeah, what chardonnays
do you have by the glass.
- You wanna try it?
- Uh uh. No.
- Come on, you want,
listen, you want to be a writer,
you gotta experience
things, you know?
I mean, Hemingway smoked cigars,
and Kerouac and those guys,
they smoked anything they
could get their hands on.
I mean, you won't even dance.
- Oh, I'm a terrible dancer.
I quit aerobics cause I
was always that person
going the wrong way.
You try being the only
Black person in class
and going the wrong
way, it's embarrassing.
- You don't need rhythm
to smoke a cigar.
- All right, give it.
- Yeah?
- Yes.
- All right.
- All right, don't
inhale, right?
- No, no, no.
You just want to,
just take the smoke
into your mouth for a second,
savor the flavor, right?
And breathe out.
- It's pretty cool.
I had a lot of fun tonight.
- Yeah.
All this time we
worked together,
we never really
hung out like this.
- Well, working
those insane hours,
it was kind of hard
to have a social life.
- Yeah.
- Although I guess it
never really stopped you.
- Oh, if I knew you
were jealous of my life
of sin and debauchery, I
would've corrupted you sooner.
- Excuse me.
- Sorry.
[soft piano music]
I feel weird.
I'm pretty sure we
shouldn't be doing this.
- I've waited for a
long time for this.
[romantic jazz music]
[traffic passing]
- Goodnight.
- Goodnight.
[soft jazz music]
- [Lewis On Answering Machine]
Hi Nia, it's me, Lewis.
Yeah, I'll be down
to get together.
Call me, peace.
[answering machine beeping]
Hi Nia, it's me Lewis.
Yeah, I'll be down
to get together.
Call me, peace.
[answering machine beeping]
Hi Nia, it's me Lewis.
Yeah, I'll be down
to get together.
Call me, peace.
- Patience waits for
them to cut the budget
when they need to
cut the bullshit.
She's waiting for all the truth
to fly from out the pulpits.
Patience somehow will
be at her wits end,
and still give
motherfuckers some slack.
Well, hey, ain't that
patience over there?
Why is she laying on her back?
She's removed all her clothes
and parks her propped up legs,
and opens her virginal lips
to speak to me, you see.
If patience is to
hope for change,
and to wait for change of mind,
I'm afraid you're out of luck.
'Cause see, my name was
Patience the Virgin,
but now,
I'm fucked.
[Nia clapping]
[audience snapping]
- Oh, I can't believe I clapped,
that was so embarrassing.
And is that some new
thing I don't know about,
snapping instead of clapping?
- No, no, no.
They just do that to
keep the neighbors
from complaining
about the noise.
- Oh.
Oh and Laquisha.
She was so.
- Loquacious.
- Yeah.
- So is this it?
- Yes, I can't believe you
haven't been here before.
You're gonna love it.
I'll have the ribs
with peas and rice,
and the collard greens.
Thank you.
- Well, I, I'll have the house
salad with a small food bowl.
No cottage cheese please.
- So, what are you on a diet?
- No, I'm a vegetarian.
- You should have
said something to me.
- No, it's cool, it's cool.
- Yeah, I don't normally
eat like this, you know,
with all the cholesterol
and everything.
- So, what do you
think of the workshop?
- I thought it was
really inspirational.
- Huh, I'm surprised,
especially after what
you said to your friend.
- Oh, I had a feeling
you may have heard that.
- Yeah, you should have
have seen your face
when I introduced
myself to the class.
It was pretty funny, ma'am.
- Oh, it's just that
my friend Renee's
always giving me shit about
having an identity problem,
and I'm kind of
sensitive to that thing.
My father's white.
- Oh really?
How long has he been that way?
- And, being biracial, you know,
people always wanna put
this zebra Oreo crap on you.
- Yeah.
And shit is bad enough as it is,
without your own
bringing you down, right?
- Yeah.
- I certainly hope you like red.
- Oh, I do.
- Good.
- Man, look at all these books.
And they're all so organized.
I just got all these new books
and they're all over the place.
- Did you get around and reading
any of those books
I recommended?
- Uh huh.
- Uh huh.
Which ones?
All of them.
- All of them.
- Yeah.
- All of them?
So when do you have any time
to write your book on
Black Panthers, right?
- Yeah. Yeah.
I haven't really gotten a feel
for it yet though, you know.
But.
- Well, maybe you
should write something
a little bit more contemporary.
I mean, I'm not
trying to tell you
what to write or anything,
but there are plenty of issues
now that you can address.
- Yeah?
- Oh, yeah.
- Think so?
- Yeah, know so.
As a matter of fact,
you can address
one issue
with me.
[Nia flustered]
- I don't, I don't,
I don't dance.
- Follow.
[romantic jazz music]
Okay.
For someone who says
they can't dance,
you should know
how to move baby.
- I think I must have caught
the spirit or something.
For a while there I think I
was even speaking in tongues.
Oh, I bet I woke your neighbors.
- Trust me, they ain't never
heard nothing like that.
Ever.
- Walk me home.
- Oh, come on baby.
I brought you to this
stop, I'm gonna be late.
- I think the kids deserve
a day off from school.
- I'm gonna be late for work.
[truck engine running]
- I hope this doesn't.
Nope, Nia, don't gimme the
let's be friends routine, okay?
I wrote the book on that.
I should have thrown it out.
[phone ringing]
Hey.
Yeah, I don't know, the
thing starts at nine.
Oh, you should go,
it's for a good cause.
It's save the whales.
No, it save the children,
save the children, yeah.
It's whatever, we're
saving somebody, right?
Okay. I'll see you.
- [Nia] At last I don't
have to worry about you
sitting at home alone.
- So,
so you're happy with
this guy, right?
- Yeah.
- All right, then be happy.
Look, I knew what I
was getting myself into
when I used my powers
of charm and persuasion
to take advantage of you in
a weakened jobless state.
- God.
- But that doesn't mean
I can't be jealous.
[pop music]
- You will come with me to
Jen's shower, won't you?
- I'll try.
- You will.
[Lewis laughing]
- Okay, I will.
I will, but you know,
it's tough to get me
to go to the shower.
I think I might,
kind of, you know.
- What?
- I think I kind of like you.
- Well, I think I
kinda like you, too.
[group laughing]
- Oh, glasses.
- Look inside.
You stick those in the
freezer and use them as ice.
Isn't that great?
- Nancy, they're great.
[laughing]
- [Speaker] Only one.
[acoustic guitar music]
[group murmuring]
- Baby, I gotta go.
My friend Malik's got some,
some things he wants
me to look over.
- Okay.
- Thanks.
Goodbye, Jen.
- Hey?
- What?
What, he can't go help a friend?
You helped me today.
- She's got a point.
- I still can't believe he left.
- I didn't even get a
chance to talk to him,
but he seems
absolutely adorable.
- Jen, do you think I could
bring him to the wedding?
- He barely lasted an
hour at the shower.
- Don't you think it's
a little bit soon?
I mean, what if
you guys break up
and then there's some
guy I barely even know
in my wedding photographs.
- You'll get to know
him and he's wonderful.
You know what he
did this morning?
He brought me buckwheat
pancakes in bed. [laughing]
- That is sweet.
Isn't that sweet?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Okay, he can come.
- Thank you.
And the guy from Ted's
office, he'll be here.
I still can't believe
he didn't come.
- So how's the Panther
thing coming along?
- You know, I've
decided to do something
a little bit more
contemporary, you know,
something closer to home
that I can really relate to.
It's about a woman who reclaims
her power from the street.
Soquisha.
[hip hop music]
No, Shoquisha.
No, I got it, Shokay.
Shokay.
Walks to the beat of the music
blaring from car stereos,
to the beat of the subway
roaring under her own feet,
to the beat of the shrill siren
shrieking in the distance.
Every step bringing her closer,
closer to the motherfucker
that had gunned down
her man on the street.
You.
Yeah, I said you.
- What the fuck you
want, huh bitch? Huh?
What the fuck you roll
up in my game for, huh?
- Uh, I'm sorry.
Thought you were somebody else.
- [Lewis] Nia.
- I'll be right there.
[drumming]
At least one of us can work.
- Tada.
- Looks great.
- Not bad, huh?
- Thank you, baby.
- God, how can you write
with all this noise?
- I'm getting used to it.
Would you spell motherfucker
with an A or AH at the end.
- With an A.
You wanna get rid of
some of these albums?
This,
Grateful Dead?
- No.
Wait a minute,
what are you doing?
Why are you putting
Brooks after Baldwin?
What about Beauvoir or Becket?
- They go with the non-African
American literature.
- You're segregating my books?
- Yeah, it's easier to find shit
if you keep all that other
stuff on a separate shelf.
- Wait, stuff?
Stuff, you're calling
Dostoevsky, stuff?
I'm sorry, last time I checked
he had written a
masterpiece or two.
- Well, personally,
I've read enough of that
white male canon Catcher in the
Rye bullshit in high school.
I mean, what does
Holden Caulfield's
rich teen angst have to do
with our experience anyway?
I mean, there's nothing
phony about dodging bullets.
- Our experience?
I grew up in the suburbs.
We only had serial
killers and date rapists.
- Why are you taking this?
Why are you making
this such a big deal?
- I do not want to
separate my books.
For years they've been
getting along just fine.
Oh, no, no.
[women laughing]
- I'll get the car.
- Okay.
Lewis is quite a catch.
- Well, he's not a tuna.
- Oh, he's articulate.
He's handsome.
He's on the tenure
track at City College.
- Okay, he's great.
He's not perfect.
He has issues.
- Lewis is a fine
young man, dear.
Well, Renee definitely
seems to think so.
- Nothing major.
He can be a little
close minded sometimes.
I dunno.
I'll get him to change, open
him up to new experiences.
- The only thing you can
change about a man baby
is his shoes,
and that's only if you are
putting them on for him.
- Dad!
- Hi.
- Where is your father
with that damn car?
- It's nice to finally
meet you, Lewis.
- And you.
- This is such a coincidence.
- I'm sorry, I've
really gotta go.
- Bye mom.
- All right.
Goodbye.
- It's really nice to see you.
- Okay, Harvey.
- [Speaker] Hey Harvey.
- Hey, hey, how are you?
- [Speaker] Great.
- God, your mother
just looks great.
She really never seems to age.
- She has that lovely dark skin.
You too.
I love your hair.
- Yeah, it's really
nice like that.
- Thanks.
- Hey, why don't you kids
come over to the apartment?
We can order from that
chicken place you like.
- Lewis and I are vegetarians.
- When did you
become a vegetarian?
Okay, we'll do Chinese.
- Okay.
You're coming, Renee?
- Yeah, if you want me to.
- For weeks I've been trying
to get together with you.
I said please bring
around your new boyfriend.
- Come on, Dad.
This is the first time I
met your new girlfriend.
- I just met her Tuesday.
- What happened to
Juanita, or Yolanda?
What do you do, lurk
around the United Nations?
- Now now, just be
happy your poor father
can still get it up.
Oh, come on.
You know, I've never
let my sex life
come between the two of us.
- Dad, I've just been really
busy trying to write the book.
- Yeah, but you have time to
bring him up to your mom's.
Don't tell me he
hasn't been up there.
- It was her birthday.
- All I'm saying is, you have
time to bring him up there,
you have time to
bring him over here.
Look, look, for God's sake,
he's a Professor of
African American studies.
I'm a civil rights attorney.
I have more in common
with him than your mom
sitting up there in Westchester
with her fancy house,
her garden club.
- Okay okay, dad dad dad, okay.
How's this?
I saw mom twice.
I'll see you twice.
That fair?
It's ridiculous, I'm measuring
out my love in visits.
- I,
I just want to
see you more, Nia.
I don't know, maybe it's me,
but I get the feeling
that you're gravitating
more to your mom.
- No, no, no.
That's not true.
- Well I, i feel left out and
I just miss you.
- Okay.
If it'll make you
feel any better, I'll
see you three times.
- Okay.
Just don't tell your
mom. [chuckling]
Let's go back.
- Race, race, Americans
are obsessed with race.
In France, we don't
have these problems.
- Oh, come on.
- Yeah, what about the Arabs?
- [Harvey] Now
let's not digress.
- Here we go again.
- How can you say that Blacks
were better off
during segregation?
- Well, for one, many of
us had our own businesses,
our own institutions.
We were discoverers
of cities, inventors.
And look at what we have now.
War zones littered
with fast food joints,
corner liquor stores,
discount food chains,
and crack addiction,
all in what were once
thriving communities.
- Yeah well, you
just don't know.
You weren't there,
you can't remember.
You're living in
a fantasy world.
I mean, you, you
couldn't even choose
where to take a piss back then.
And if you could, it was
at the back of the bus.
And until people, Black
and White, including me,
fought for civil rights
in this country, choice.
Choice is power.
- Well, sir, with
all due respect
to your contributions
to the 60's,
Black people have been
contributing things on their own
to this world for a long
time, like civilization.
And I think at this time
that we've had our
own institutions,
our own economy, our own art,
our own university,
for us, by us,
instead of eating the scraps
off of White America's table.
- We live in a
country, not a vacuum.
We'd only become
more marginalized.
- This, this young lady.
This is what you should
be writing about.
- Can't be any more
marginalized than we are now.
- So you're trying to tell me
that all our efforts
were in vain.
- No, all I am saying is that
integration hasn't worked.
Oh, well, maybe for a few
who've managed to slip
through the cracks,
but not for the many.
[bluegrass music]
- Hey, get the hell
away from there, huh?
Can't you read?
It says whites only.
You best get to that nigger
station three miles back.
- Look here you piece
of trailer park trash.
I'm going in there, and
nothing's gonna stop me.
Oh, you're supposed to
stand up to him, you idiot.
[mournful orchestral music]
- Nia.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- It's beautiful, Joe.
Is it finished?
- Yeah.
Pizza.
There you go.
- We're gonna have
to go celebrate.
- Maybe we should wait till I
hear back from that program.
- Oh, come on, you
should be psyched.
- It's part of the process.
So how's your writing?
- I'm probably gonna have
to go back into advertising.
- No way.
- Yeah, way.
I can't write.
I've gone through like
four different topics
and I can't seem to get
a feel for anything.
- You gotta go with
it, you gotta feel it.
- All I feel is confusion.
- Well, that's great Nia,
now just go with that.
- I mean, I've got all this
Black-White crap to deal with.
- What the hell's being biracial
have to do with anything?
- I don't know a goddamn thing
about the Black experience
and I'm Black.
- Well, why don't
you write about that.
You feel that.
Write about your alienation.
Nia, it doesn't
matter what you write,
just as long as you feel it.
- It's easy for
you to say, you're.
- I'm adopted.
Listen to me, you just have to
forget about all that stuff,
and you have to listen
to your own voice,
because if you don't, you're
gonna make yourself miserable.
Everybody has their
own voice, Nia,
just like every instrument
has its own sound.
Tambourine.
Tambourine is a different
sound than tambora.
- Yeah, well Joe, I wish
it were that simple.
- Close your eyes.
- Why?
- I want you to,
I want you to listen to the
sound of these instruments,
and I want you to tell me
which one you think
sounds like you.
[Nia laughing]
- What?
- [Joe] Close your eyes.
- Oh fine.
- Ready?
- Thanks.
Yeah. that sounds like me.
- I'm just kidding.
- No, it's got too much
of a beat thing happening.
[flute music]
No, that's too sedate.
If you haven't noticed,
I'm pretty high strung.
[eastern music]
That's not bad.
[acoustic guitar music]
Yeah, I like that.
It's graceful.
Still upbeat though.
Sweet.
A little complicated.
Sounds almost Celtic.
Yeah.
Okay, I'd say that's me.
What is it?
- It's a Kora.
It's from Senegal.
Wanna try it?
- Well, I warn you,
I'm not very musical.
- Let me show you.
- What do I do?
- You gotta a pluck the strings.
There you go.
[both chuckling]
[person laughing]
[rap music]
[Lewis laughing]
[rap music]
- Let me get you a quick.
What's up girl? [laughing]
- Hey, you made it.
- How you doing?
Hey, let let me introduce
you to my lady, Nia.
Nia, this is Loquesha.
- Hi.
I saw your show,
really powerful.
- Thanks. I try to tell
it like it is, right?
Listen,
did I tell you that BET
wants me to put something
together for them?
- Oh, get out of here, girl.
- Yeah.
- Right, my gracious.
You know, Nia's writing a book.
- Really?
- Maybe you should let Loquesha
look at some of your stuff.
She can help you.
She definitely know
what's going on.
- Well.
- All right, hey hey, come on.
♪ Skelly in the streets
with the rest of the kids ♪
♪ Now we're grown
- Are you trying to say I
don't know what's going on?
- Huh?
- I know what's going on.
- What?
- I know what's going on.
♪ Well with the
plot in the shade ♪
♪ But Allah smiled
- What do you think?
- You look great.
- I look terrible.
- You look beautiful.
[Jen crying]
- I'm fat. [crying]
I'm gonna look like a giant
moray floating down the aisle.
I could be in the
Macy's Day Parade.
- Come on, you look gorgeous.
Ted is gonna faint when
he sees you in that dress.
- [indistinct] You
just kinda sat there.
- I was overcome by
how beautiful you look.
- You think I'm making
the wrong decision.
Maybe I am making the
wrong decision. [crying]
I love him.
- You're not making
wrong decision.
You two are perfect
for each other.
You think?
- I know.
You're gonna have a very,
very happy life together.
- What's the matter with you?
You look kind of
drawn and,
and thin.
- It's nothing.
- Something's wrong.
Come on.
It's like you never even
confide in me anymore.
- Jen, I don't wanna bother you.
You have the wedding.
- Bother me.
It's like I hardly
ever see you anymore.
I miss you.
- I miss you, too.
It's just that I'm,
I'm having trouble
with my writing.
I don't know, Lewis.
I don't know, I feel like
I'm getting so caught up
in trying to be what
he wants me to be,
that I'm losing sight
of who I am, you know.
I'm never gonna be a Renee.
I think that's what he wants.
- He doesn't want Renee.
He wants you.
- I don't know.
I think Renee likes him.
- Renee is lonely.
You need to set her
up with someone.
- This pork chop is great.
Here, you gotta
try some of this.
- [Renee] Good.
- [Matt] How are those
grilled vegetable plates?
- [Nia] Great.
- Oh, so
Lewis, Nia tells me that you're,
you're a professor
at City College?
- Yeah, I'm up for
tenure next year.
- Wow.
I mean, you're young.
- Well, I did my master's
and doctoral studies
in three years.
- That fast?
Where'd you go to school?
- Howard.
- Oh man, great school.
I know tons of people
who went to Harvard.
- No, No.
I said Howard.
Know anybody there?
- No, I don't think so.
- Now listen, so if you
guys aren't too tired,
I got us on the guest
list over at Metro.
- Really?
This saw a picture
of David Bowie
admiring that place
in New York Magazine.
- Oh yeah?
- Yeah.
- I think it could
be a lot of fun.
- I have never met anyone who
has so much fun in my life.
He always seems to
be having a blast.
Awesome time or something.
Just one okay time,
he'll probably be so bummed
out he'll fall to pieces,
commit suicide.
- Would you just
lighten up please?
- Can we go home now?
- We can't just go.
I don't think they'll miss us.
- You have a car?
- Yeah.
- What kind?
- A Saab convertible.
I mean it's, you know.
- That's yuppie.
- Yeah.
- You think Renee liked him?
- No, I get the
feeling that you do.
- Yeah, as a friend.
- Look, Nia, you are the one
with the thing for
white boys, all right?
- What?
Listen, I judge people by the
content of their character.
- Yeah, mm-hm, like
the little drummer boy
that I met after the workshop
with all the energy
and the vibes and shit.
- You mean Dave?
- Yeah Dave, you gonna
lay here and tell me
there was nothing going
on between you two? Huh?
You didn't.
You didn't.
- What?
- Not with that little nasty,
touchy feely motherfucker
with the Birkenstocks?
He probably walk some
road less traveled,
to run with the
wolves and shit, Nia.
- It was in college.
Will you bring your
Black ass back to bed?
- No, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no.
How you expect me
to get it up now?
I cannot get it up now, Nia.
No.
No no.
- What's up girl?
- Hey.
- Well you're upright and early.
So, how did the
rest of the date go?
- She is just dying to know.
- You better get ready for this.
So, we're on our way to Metro,
and he's going on about
some trip to Nepal.
I mean, this guy can talk.
All of a sudden I notice
people staring at us,
wondering, girl, what you
doing with that white guy?
All of a sudden I start to
feel really self-conscious.
And then later he's
smoking this cigar,
and I'm looking at his hands,
and they're small with
these short fingers.
And you know what they say
about white men
with short fingers.
And then I saw him dance,
and that was it. [laughing]
So I just left.
- You just left?
- It was so funny, he was.
- He would've never been able
to satisfy his sister
like you anyway.
- Right?
Bottom line is, I'm not
attracted to white men.
- But you didn't have to blow
him off like that, Renee.
He's my friend.
- Just relax.
She just did to him
what white people
been doing to us for years?
See and flee, come on.
- But what has he ever
personally done to you?
That's ridiculous.
- Don't entertain that,
she wouldn't understand.
- Why wouldn't I understand?
What, am I not Black
enough or some bullshit?
- Look,
I better go.
- Yeah, I think you better.
- All right, Renee.
- You know, maybe
you should go off
and be with a real
Black woman like Renee
since you two seem to
understand each other so well.
Next thing you know,
you'll have some
secret handshake
or some bullshit like that.
- You know, you got some
nerve to be jealous of Renee,
after the way you were
leering at Matt last night.
- I was not leering.
- I mean if he's so nice,
why the hell don't you
go out and be with him,
instead of siccing him
on poor little Renee?
You're the one with the
thing with white boys.
- Why does everything have to
come down to race with you?
Why can't people just be
people you know, like humanity?
- Well, the day white people
fully embrace the humanity of
Black people in this country,
race won't matter to me.
We're lucky to be alive, we're
not doing life in prison.
- Oh God.
The only thing
you'll get for life
is tenure at City College.
- Well, the only thing
you know about being Black
is what you've read
in a damn book.
It's no wonder you can't write.
- What?
- You heard me.
- That's it.
- Oh, well take your
cute little running shoes
and leave then.
But I suggest you take off
those white-colored glasses
and face the truth.
- Truth?
You couldn't see the truth
unless it came wrapped
to you in a Kinte cloth.
You're so busy
being condescending
with all your Marcus Garvey,
back to Africa, bullshit.
You know what though?
You wouldn't last
a week in Africa.
There's no tofu or
buckwheat pasta.
You'd be eating hyena.
- You know what your problem is?
I'll tell you what
your problem is.
- I'm sure you will.
Yeah, I know, I'm gonna tell
you what your problem is.
Your problem is,
is you can't handle being
with a real brother.
- Lewis, you're gonna
have to give it up.
'Cause I know why you're
with me and not Renee.
- Oh.
- I looked through
your photo albums.
You only date light
skinned women.
[somber instrumental music]
Got an interview at
Match and Marlowe,
Wood and Walker Tompkins.
Let's face it though,
I mean it's really,
I think it's really the
best move for me, you know?
I was a better copywriter
than I was a writer writer.
- And Lewis?
- We haven't spoken
in two weeks.
- Yes!
[Nia laughing]
She's back.
Hey, hey, I'm
canceling all my plans.
I want to take you out.
Where do you wanna go?
Where do you wanna go?
- I don't know.
- Where do you wanna go?
You name it.
- What you say.
This is great.
- You haven't touched
your asparagus.
- Mm.
- Have a bit of this.
- If I ever eat another
vegetable, I will scream.
- This is a perfect haven for
the carnivorously indulgent.
- Mm-hm.
- Yeah, I think yours
is still kicking.
- Don't, you'll
make me feel guilty.
[romantic piano music]
- I'm really glad they
built this bridge.
- It's really
beautiful, isn't it?
- You know, a hundred
and something years ago,
I would've had to row you home.
- A hundred and
something years ago,
I would've had to row you home.
- I would've stolen your oars.
- Then we would've
been stranded.
- That's the whole idea.
[late night jazz]
- This is quite an
impressive resume.
- Thank you.
- May I ask you why you
left your former employer?
- I had a problem.
Well, not really a problem,
it was more of a difference
of opinion in the way
certain accounts
were being handled.
It was not a big deal.
- No big deal.
It indicates on your resume
that you have been out
of work for three months.
- Yeah, I took some time
off to write a novel.
- [Interviewer] I see.
- It's something I've
always wanted to do.
- [Interviewer] And why do you
want to get back
into advertising?
- Just not very creative,
in that way.
My mind just ran a blank.
I mean, I tried a number
of different things
and nothing felt right.
Well, at least I know now
what I don't want to write.
I guess that's kind of a step.
Maybe if I eliminated
all of the things
that I don't wanna write,
I'd find out what I could write.
But who has that kind of time?
Bottom line is I'm dying to
get back into advertising.
- Thank you, thank
you for coming in.
[knocking on door]
- It's open.
- Nia?
- [Nia] I'll be right out.
- Jesus.
So where have you been
this last couple of days?
What are you up to tonight?
- I got a party.
- [Joe] Change your
plans, I got in.
- You got in. That's great!
- Not only that,
but also I got a job
doing a score for a film.
Just a little momentary
case of the jitters
when I thought I
wouldn't get the grant.
Come on, let's celebrate.
- Sorry Joe, but I can't.
- [Joe] Okay, what
about tomorrow?
- I have my friend's
wedding tomorrow.
[horn honking]
- I see.
- I gotta go.
Okay?
- You look beautiful.
- Thanks.
We're not really gonna ride
with the top down, are we?
- Huh?
- I mean, my hair, the wind.
- It's gonna be
fine, it'll be fine.
- I told you to put the
top up, look at my hair.
- Look.
Oh, I think it
looks really cool.
I like it.
- Cool?
- Yeah.
Are you crazy?
I look like I've been
struck by lightning.
- No, you're gonna, listen,
you're gonna be the most
beautiful woman at the party.
Come on, let's go in.
- No, like this? No way.
- Okay, well I think if
you want, I have some,
I have some twine.
If you wanna, you
could tie it up.
- Well, I was writing a book,
but now I'm getting
back into advertising.
- You were writing a book?
You have any representation
for the book at all?
- No, I don't.
- Really? 'Cause I'm
looking for film material.
Black women's films are doing
big money at the box office.
- Oh, well, I only have
a couple of rough ideas.
- Really?
Well listen, as long
as you have something
more than 50 words,
we can turn it
into a screenplay.
Do me a favor, call me.
I can make it happen.
Money.
- 50 words, why
not one word? Shit.
I've been recycling that
in movies for years.
- Hey, isn't this a great party?
- Great.
- Hey, Nia, will you cheer up?
You're gonna get another job.
Oh, I want to introduce
you to Katrina.
- I was wondering when you were
going to say hello, darling.
- Hello.
- Katrina, this is Nia.
- I love your hairpiece.
Is it Prada?
- No. [laughing]
- This is, this is
Katrina's work on the walls.
- It's part of my new series,
I call it body fluids.
- Aren't they great?
- Yeah. Yeah.
They've got a real
aquatic feeling to them.
- I mix my piss, shit,
and blood into the paint
to celebrate my rage.
- Hey hey buddy, buddy.
How you doing?
Hey Nia, I hear you two
guys are an item now, huh?
- Hey Charlie, I thought
you were on vacation.
- I'm on vacation,
but I'm in the city.
I'm taking off
tomorrow for Taos.
Just came over to say hello
to my new art director.
[Charlie and Matt laughing]
- Charlie's been assigned
my new copywriter.
Nia.
Nia?
- I can't believe you would
work with that asshole.
- Nia, you left.
And then Nick took a job
at Sherman and Shoal,
what was I supposed to do?
- Oh what, do you
only have morals
when it doesn't interfere
with you having a good time?
- I was gonna tell you.
- When, when you guys
open up your own agency?
- We're not friends,
we're not pals.
We're just, we're
just working together.
- Yeah, but with that guy, Matt?
He completely offended me.
He's a racist.
- Look, Charlie's just
an asshole, period, okay?
You're blowing this out
of proportion, okay?
We're just working together,
it's just business.
I mean, you gotta
understand that,
you're going back
into advertising.
- Oh no, I'm not, not anymore.
I can't believe I
even considered it.
- Nia.
- Fuck you, Matt.
- Nia.
[classical music]
[phone ringing]
- [Speaker] Hello?
- Hi, is Lewis there?
- [Speaker] Yeah, just,
yeah, just a second.
He's here.
- Renee?
[knocking on door]
- [Lewis] Nia, come on.
Look, I can explain everything.
Come on, open up Nia.
I took a cab,
came all the way over here
because you wouldn't
answer the phone.
Least you could do
is answer the door.
- How generous of you.
I know you think taxis are a
ridiculous waste of resources.
- There's absolutely
nothing going on
between me and Renee, all right?
Actually, all we were doing
was sitting there
talking about you.
- Right.
- The only reason she
picked up my phone
is because she paged
one of her girlfriends.
- I just shouldn't have called
in the first place, okay?
- But you did,
and I'm glad you called.
I missed you.
I miss what we had, don't you?
- Everything's all screwed up.
- Why'd you call?
Hmm?
- Remember that guy that you
talked about in your workshop?
- So you're telling me
that's what you called about?
- Maybe I'm like him.
Maybe that's why I can't write.
- Nigger, he was
passing for white.
You're not doing that.
- Maybe not exactly passing,
but maybe there are sides of
myself that I'm afraid to see,
and maybe that's
why I can't write.
- Wait a second.
I thought you were going
back into advertising.
What happened to that?
- Where'd you hear that? Renee?
- God damn it,
forget about Renee.
I came all the way over here
to be with you, all
right, with you.
- I don't know.
- You don't know.
What you don't know?
Nia, you are a strong, beautiful
Black woman, all right?
My grand Nubian princess, baby.
Come on, don't
you remember that?
Don't know?
Come on.
Come on.
[Lewis whistling]
- Oh, there's my queen.
- Good morning.
- Sleep okay?
- Mm-hm.
- Good.
There you are.
- Oh, you didn't
have to do that.
- Oh, yes I did.
Here you go.
- Thank you.
- Watch it, it's hot.
- I got it.
- So what time
is this wedding?
- Four o'clock.
- Four o'clock?
I'll tell you what,
I'll meet you there.
- Oh, you don't have to go.
- No no, I insist.
Hm.
So I gotta go, I want to go.
I have to go.
With you.
Just give me a minute,
to pick up something nice.
Don't be late.
[phone ringing]
- Hello? Matt.
Matt, I can't talk right now.
You told Larry, what?
- Yeah, I told him,
I told him I couldn't
work with Charlie anymore,
and if he had a
problem with that,
he could take his
job and shove it.
So he told me to shove it.
Are you there?
- Yeah.
- I know you're still
mad at me, but listen, I,
Nia, I need to see you.
- Yeah, but Matt, I
can't see you right now.
I've gotta go to the wedding.
- Okay, I'll meet you
there, and no buts,
I just lost my job for you.
- Matt.
- I'll see you there, bye.
- Matt!
[church bell ringing]
- Jen, I'm sorry I'm late.
- It's fine. Just get in line.
- You're back here.
- You can't get behind
me, I'm maid of honor.
[muffled speaking]
[wedding processional]
- I can take over now.
Thank you.
- Great.
- What's she doing here?
- What do you mean,
what am I doing here?
Who invited you?
- She did.
- You did?
- I did.
- Why didn't,
why didn't you tell me you're
back together with this guy.
- Back, what?
What, you seeing this guy too?
- Kind of.
- [Matt And Lewis] Kind of?
- What, after all this
shit you told me about him.
- Yeah, all right,
so I was wrong,
but I, I just quit
my job for her.
What have you ever
done for her, man?
- What have I done?
What have I done?
I've helped her come to
terms with her Blackness,
which is something you
could never do, Matt.
I mean, how do you expect
your unemployed ass
to provide for her anyway?
You don't even have a job.
- I'll get another job.
- Oh yeah, just
like that, right?
- Yeah, just like that.
- Man, what do you know what
it's like being Black, Matt?
Let alone understand
a Black woman.
- And you do?
Jesus, man, you're
like, everything you
speak is in slogans.
This is just a woman, all right?
This is not a
treatise on the plight
of African American
women in this society.
But you think you understand
her better than me,
just because you share
the same color skin?
That's bullshit.
I've known her longer
than you, Lewis.
I've known her for five years.
I've seen her smile.
I've seen her eyes when
she got her first account.
I've seen her cry
when her mother said
that she had to put
her dog to sleep,
so don't tell me I
don't understand her.
In fact, she told
me that she'd like
to take your pseudo
Afrocentric bullshit
and shove it up your ass.
- Pseudo?
Come on Nia, pseudo?
- Matt.
- Nia.
- I can't go with you.
- What?
- Whoo, you heard her white boy.
Come on baby, let's go.
- Lewis,
I can't go with you either.
- Excuse me?
- I'm sorry.
- What, you're sorry, that's it?
- You know this is
fucked up, right?
- I know, I know.
I didn't mean to hurt
anyone, okay, I didn't.
Just if you could please
try to understand.
- I did try near, Nia.
Yeah, I guess I am lucky I
can get another job, right?
- Maybe you're right.
Maybe I should be with,
with someone like Renee.
- Come on Nia, we gotta go.
We gotta go.
- I'm sorry about what happened
in front of the church.
- I know.
It's okay.
- No, it's not today.
It was supposed to be your day.
I should have been
there for you.
- I just want you to be happy.
[soft jazz music]
[crowd murmuring]
[drum roll]
[group screaming]
[group applauding]
[group cheering]
- Congratulations.
- I'm sorry.
No,
I'm sorry.
I was wrong to side with Lewis.
I should have never let a man
get in the way of
our friendship.
Now you know that nothing,
nothing happened
between us, okay?
- Okay.
Let's go get a
drink or something.
- Ooh, you remember that guy,
the one that Jen's been
trying to set me up with?
We've been talking all night.
He's amazing.
We're going for a drink
at the Saint Regents.
- Oh, okay.
- Yeah, you wanna go?
- Oh, no, no.
Go have fun.
- Okay, bye.
Bye bye, Nia.
[somber orchestral music]
[thunder rumbling]
[rain falling]
[solemn orchestral music]
- Joe!
Joe!
- Oh, he's gone.
- Gone, gone where?
- He left tonight for Los
Angeles to do some film gig.
I'm subletting his
apartment for six months.
- Six months?
- [Subletter] I can
give him a message.
- No, thanks.
I'm Nia, If you need
anything, I'm right upstairs.
- Oh, you're Nia. Hold on.
Here, Joe left this for you.
I'm Connie.
- Thanks.
- [Joe] Nia,
I hope you find your voice.
Love, Joe.
[sad orchestral music]
[plucking the kora]
[sad orchestral music]
- Looking back,
how could I have known
as I stood waiting
to cut across the
street at Times Square
that I had arrived
at the crossroad.
The world to me then
was nothing as delicious
as a melting pot
or a salad bowl.
More like a TV dinner
with everything sticking to
its own little compartment
and me being the gravy
oozing down the sides.
But now with my
feet planted firmly
toward the direction
of my chosen fate,
I see in the faces
of passing people
my maternal ancestors
bound in shackles,
standing on the shore,
weeping for the
freedom they've lost.
My paternal ancestors
weeping for the freedom
they have gained.
And as I catch my reflection
in the glass of a storefront,
it's like I'm seeing
myself for the first time.
And what I see, I like.
The end.
[audience snapping]
[audience clapping]
[light instrumental music]
[singing in foreign language]
[dramatic orchestral music]
[dramatic orchestral music]
[upbeat jazz music]
[horn honking]
- We all want to feel
like we're somebody.
Always a pleasure to
see you too, Miss.
[upbeat jazz music]
[phone ringing]
- Cheese.
- Cheese.
- Congrats.
- Thank you.
- Very much.
- Hey, Nick.
Hey Charlie, congrats.
Great photo.
- Thank you. Thank you.
- Hey, you won't have
to use the centerfold.
[men laughing]
[guys chuckling]
Those guys could sell an
ice machine to Eskimos.
- Did you read those copy
ideas I faxed you last night?
- Listen, I'm an art
director, I'm not a eunuch.
I was on a date,
which is what you
should have been doing.
- We have a week to pitch
the antacid account.
- You ever try one
of these things?
It's like chewing on
old cigarette butts.
- We don't have to like 'em,
we just have to sell 'em.
[phone ringing]
Hello.
Hi Larry.
We'll be right there.
- I'm gonna take you guys
off the antacid thing,
and give you a chance
to pitch Slam Beer.
- Wow.
- Well, this is definitely big.
- We are talking Super Bowl big.
Slam is the first
piece of Hilkner Beer
to open up in years.
If we get Slam, we're
in a prime position
to pick up the entire
Hilkner account.
- Yeah, we know,
you guys have been working
on this for months.
- Yeah, the client
pitch is in a week
and we're going nowhere.
And I thought you
guys might be able
to breathe some fucking
life into this thing.
- All right, fire at Will.
Slam is Hilkner's
sub premium beer.
High volume, high profit
margin, high alcohol content.
Target audience is
African American males,
emphasis on the youth market.
But these guys at least
gotta look like they're 21.
We're going for something,
you know, street.
You got it?
- Got it
- Got it.
- Good.
And I wanna have
your rough ideas
on Monday at 10:00 a.m. okay?
You'll be competing against
Charlie and Nick on this one.
Don't worry.
Nia, you might have
the edge on this one.
The closest Charlie
and Nick ever came
to the Black experience was
watching a sitcom. [laughing]
- I mean, she's
barely out of college.
The only reason she got on this,
is 'cause she's the
only Black in creative.
- Right.
- Okay, you're living
in a housing project,
and you don't have a job,
or you do have a job,
but it's a dead end job.
You want to.
- Get out.
- Where to?
- To an island
paradise, Saint Bart's.
- Right.
- Well, you're the copywriter.
What are you asking me for?
- Oh, why can I get this?
I should be able to get this.
- You'll get this,
you just gotta relax.
You just gotta, you know,
just breathe, you'll get it.
You should take up yoga.
[slowly exhaling]
- I gotta get outta here.
[horn beeping]
[traffic passing]
[muffled hip hop music]
- [Kid] Come on, put
it up, put it up.
[hip hop music]
♪ In the woods you're smoking
♪ What love got to do
with what you got ♪
♪ No shit, this shit is hot.
♪ Let them not
for [indistinct] ♪
[traffic passing]
[hip hop music]
[crowd cheering]
- [Announcer] After playing
a hard game of one on one,
there's nothing like an icy
cold bottle of Slam Beer.
Slam Beer, it's a slam dunk.
- I'm your target audience,
ages six to 14. [laughing]
- Just tell me
you've got something.
- Don't worry.
It's a slam dunk.
- And then we hire a rap
artist to sing all the lyrics.
Slam.
- The rapper.
Okay.
- And we shoot the
whole thing like a sexy,
but very street smart
hip hoppy music video.
- What do you guys got?
- What do young inner
city Black men want?
They want out.
What's a ticket out?
Basketball.
What makes them feel good?
Shooting hoops with their boys.
And how does Slam
Beer make them feel?
It makes them feel like
they're flying through the air,
doing a slam dunk.
- And the whole thing
has like this, you know,
this sort of slow motion
fantasy kind of feel,
like the Caribbean cruise line.
- You know, I like it so far.
Go on, Nia.
- And, and.
- And?
- But it's not fantasy.
It's real.
- Yeah, it's real.
So we shoot it like
raw and grainy.
- But it's escaping reality.
It's escaping
unemployment, drugs, crime.
- What does this have to do
with the whole basketball thing?
- [Nia] Because they're
looking for opportunity.
- Right, and we shoot it raw,
but we use bright, happy colors.
- But they're not happy.
That's why they're drinking.
- Ha ha.
- Larry, do you think
what we're doing is right?
- You don't have to like it,
Nia, you just have to sell it.
That's all you
guys came up with?
- Yeah.
- Shit, I thought you were
gonna smoke us on this.
- Why, 'cause I'm Black?
- Well, you are, you know.
- Charlie.
- Sorry if I offended you.
- Look Nia, there's no
reason to get defensive,
if you can't get it,
you can't get it.
- Just doesn't feel right
to peddle cheap liquor
to kids and welfare cases.
- Well, look, young lady,
this is an ad agency,
not the fucking NAACP.
And if you got a
problem with that,
you don't belong in
the goddamn business.
Our job is to convince Hilkner
that we can sell their beer,
and we've got less than a week
to do it and we better do it,
or we're gonna see $60 million
walk out the fucking door.
Charlie, Nick,
I want something
more high concept
than that piece of shit
music video by morning.
Matt, Nia, I want
this basketball thing
fleshed out and finished by
this afternoon at 5:30, got it?
- Got it.
- Nia?
Nia?
Well?
- I don't like it. Larry.
Maybe you're right, maybe
I don't belong here.
You know what? I quit.
♪ One day
♪ A day like no other
- Nickel, dime.
We all want to feel
like we're somebody.
♪ One lie
♪ Words just falling
♪ How can my world
just fall apart ♪
♪ This way
♪ One time to heal,
one time to hurt you ♪
♪ And now I can't
even feel you ♪
♪ I had one time
♪ And now's all over one time
♪ One time
♪ And now it's all
over one time ♪
- Ooh.
I got me the invite
to your bridal shower.
It's co-ed.
- I'll see if Ted has
anyone in his office
we can set you up with.
- Yay.
- Oh me, I almost forgot.
The bridesmaids
dresses are ready.
- Good.
- And if you need any help
with the dress or anything.
I know you just quit.
- You're so sweet.
No, Jen, I'm fine, really.
I think this is the best
thing I've done in my life,
because I've been doing
a lot of thinking.
- Yeah?
- And I've decided
to write a novel.
- A novel?
- As in like a book?
- Yeah.
Well, you know how I wanted
to be a writer in college,
You know, and I got those,
I got those poems published
in that literary magazine.
- Yeah, but those were poems.
- And that was college.
- Oh man, come on you guys.
I wrote copy.
How hard can it be
to write a book?
I found some notes on a novel
I was writing about my parents
living in Greenwich
Village in the 60's.
I just need to do
a little research.
What?
Mom, how many times do I
have to tell you I'm fine?
And we don't have to go through
this all over again, do we?
Look, they want me.
- I am tired of hearing
about they this, they that.
You are the only one responsible
for your success, Nia.
- Yeah, but I wanna
do it on my terms.
Look, I let you talk me outta
being a writer in college.
I will not let you do it again.
- Fine.
- Can we please get on
with this interview?
- Fine. It's your life.
- Okay, like I said earlier,
I wanna use yours
and dad's marriage
for material for my book.
So just tell me
whatever thoughts come
into your head, okay?
I already interviewed dad.
- How is he?
- Don't listen to your mother.
You did what was right.
- [Nia] I hope so.
- What are you talking about?
They were asking you to
exploit your own people.
- Yeah, but if this book
thing doesn't work out,
I only have enough money
saved for a couple of months,
if I fast.
- Who said it would
not work out, huh?
You're finally doing
what you wanna do
on a terrific subject.
I wish you could have
lived during the 60's.
I mean, it was a time of
great change in this country.
I think this must be the tape.
- Oh no, Dad, it's fine.
I'm all set up. Can
we just do this?
- I just wanna show you a
little bit of this documentary
on the underground weatherman.
It'll give you a feeling
for the period, huh?
Show you what, oh!
- Dad, I'm blushing.
- I'm sorry.
Shit, wrong tape.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
- Dad's fine.
- What can I say about the 60's?
Things were a mess.
- Oh, it was great.
We were conscious,
we were active.
We were,
we were getting
high and listening
to some of the best
music ever written.
- Your dad and I met at a
civil disobedience workshop.
- We fell in love instantly.
- I had no idea what
the hell I was doing.
I got pregnant.
And you know, I couldn't be
another Black unwed mother.
- We thought our love would
be an example to the world.
- You were a beautiful baby.
You looked like
your grandmother.
- You were gorgeous.
You looked like my Uncle Marty.
Those were the golden days.
Our own little Camelot.
- It was a nightmare.
We had no money.
Harvey was always working
for some lost cause.
I had to drop out of law school.
- While your mother
desired social change,
at heart, she was
very bush bourgeois.
[Mom laughing]
- Now he wanted us to
move to a commune upstate.
You know, I wasn't having
any of that free love crap.
- Your mother was the only
woman I ever truly loved.
- I have no regrets.
I have you.
And hey, who knows?
Maybe you will be a great
writer like Toni Morrison.
- You're gonna be
a great writer.
Like Norman Mailer. [laughing]
Huh?
[buzzing amplifier]
[electric guitar playing]
[electric guitar playing]
[knocking on door]
- Oh, hi.
Was that you dancing?
- I was stomping.
- Well, I was really kind of
grooving on that beat, huh?
- Well, could you just
tone it down a bit please?
- The landlord said I could
play as loud as I want
from 10 to five weekdays.
Listen, did you just,
did you just move in
here or something?
Because I've been
doing this for a while.
- Ah, well, I used to
have a job to go to.
Great, this is a nightmare.
How am I supposed to write?
- What are you writing?
- A novel.
- Cool.
About what?
- About nothing when I'm
being aurically tortured.
It's like you're
strangling barnyard animals
in there or something.
- That's it. Thank you.
Moo.
[electric guitar playing]
- [Renee] Don't see much
future in this room.
Well, that guy's looking at you.
- [Nia] He'd better just
look someplace else.
- I mean, what are two
good-looking sisters like us
hanging out in some workshop
on a beautiful
Saturday afternoon.
You can't tell me you
wouldn't rather be
in the park with a man.
- Well, yes, of course.
But you know,
right now I'm trying
to focus on this book.
The stuff I was writing
about my parents
is lot harder than I thought.
It's weird.
When I was little, when
they were still together,
I never really thought of
them as being so different.
I'll never forget the last time
that we all went to the zoo.
I remember feeling so
happy and safe and secure.
At least that's like how
I'd like to remember it.
The very next day they told me
they were getting a divorce.
- I remember what a sad
little thing you were
when you came to your grandma's.
Took me two weeks to get
you to come out and play.
- Couldn't resist you riding
around on that big wheel.
- You know what?
I'm glad we came.
It's good to see you get in
touch with your identity.
- Please don't start with
that identity crap, okay?
- Come on, you know what I mean?
It's understandable with
your father and everything
you'd be a little disoriented.
- I'm oriented.
Look, I am oriented.
And I came here to
learn about writing
not to have some
self-righteous, self-important
Associate Professor of
African American Studies.
- Excuse me.
- Teach me how to be Black.
- Hey,
I'm Professor Lewis Mercer,
and I will be leading this
workshop today, so welcome.
Historically, whites have
supported the depiction of us
as Aunt Jemimas,
Mandingos,
welfare mothers, and
heartless gun-totin' niggers.
So now, it's up to us
to tell some different
kind of stories.
And often there's
gonna be some stuff
that the whites may
not want to hear.
But if you continue to listen
to the white man's voice
when they tell you,
and he will tell you that
your tone is too angry
or your language is too coarse,
or you're not marketable enough.
Now for those of you
who are suffering
from the delusion of inclusion,
and for those of you who
will walk right out this door
and continue to listen to
the voice of the white man,
I will tell you that you would
never be able to write anything
that truly captures the
essence of who we really are.
Henry Lewis Gates recently
wrote about this brother
who used to be a book critic
down at the New York Times.
This brother thought
he could fool everybody
by passing for white.
He thought that by doing this,
this he would become a writer.
This writer, but
not a Black writer.
Well, the only fool was him.
He ended up writing
nothing at all.
This brilliant, articulate man
suffers writers'
block his whole life,
because he would not and could
not embrace his Blackness.
We must fully
embrace who we are.
We must fully
embrace who we are.
Whether we are high yellow,
blue, Black, red, bone,
chocolate mocha, purple,
Black, pecan,
olive, cafe au lait.
Like it or not,
we are one people.
Any questions?
You're very welcome.
- I just wanted to say how
inspirational your lecture was.
- Yeah, it was
really, really great.
- Thanks.
Are you sisters writers?
- Well.
- Yeah, I'm a writer.
- Oh, what are you working on?
- A novel.
- Oh really, what about?
- It's kind of a a 60's
counterculture kind of thing.
- Oh, huh.
Well, on the Panthers?
- Well.
- What you should read,
Wretched of the Earth.
It's one of the
books I recommended.
- Oh, I read that in college.
It was-
- Well,
the bunch of us are
gonna grab a bite to eat
and continue the discussion
if you want to join us.
- Oh, I'd love to.
- Yeah.
Oh, hi Dave.
- God, it's so good to see you.
How are you?
- I'm okay.
- I'm just killing time before
my African drumming class.
It's got this really great vibe.
It really just releases
all this energy.
I gotta go.
- Oh, well.
- Perhaps another time.
- Yeah, we can
discuss the books.
- So how's that book coming?
Sorry.
- Should have guessed it was
Mr. Put on This Planet to
Make My Life Miserable.
- Inspiration?
- Research.
- You know, you
still haven't told me
what your book's about.
- God, you're annoying.
- Am I annoying?
Let me give you a hand.
- You forgot to pay.
- Oh, well I kinda do
this borrow thing with him
in exchange for playing
at their family events.
I'm a lot cheaper than
a karaoke machine.
- It's one way to make a living.
- Well, it's pretty
much just for kicks.
Actually.
I'm a classical composer.
- Classical?
I never would've figured
you for classical.
- Well, I'm just
finishing this piece
for this composer-in-residence
program in Philly.
- Ah, so you'll be leaving soon.
- I better be, my grant
money's running out.
- I can take those.
- There you go.
- Thanks.
- You know, you
still haven't told me
what your book's about.
I thought maybe you're
just one of those people
who just can't talk
about their work.
- If you really must know,
I'm writing this thing
about the Black Panthers.
- Black Panthers.
- [Nia] Jennifer?
No, no.
Roberta.
Yeah, that's nice and strong.
Roberta basked in the
comfort of their comradery,
in the glow of their optimism
to create a better life
out of the hostile
streets of the ghetto,
in the warmth.
- You all said, be quiet.
- Well, you know, I
always pictured you doing
like a Grisham type thing,
but set in an ad
agency, you know, like,
like sexy female copywriter
has to take on the
corporate giant,
and keep them from brainwashing
the world, kind of thing.
- Okay well,
I just feel it's
really important for me
to write about my experience
as an African-American.
- Yeah, but the
Panthers, I mean,
that's not exactly
your experience.
The only Huey Newton
you grew up on was,
that Huey Newton and
the News guy on MTV.
- Okay, collective experience.
I took this amazing African
American writer's workshop.
The professor was so profound.
He was so inspiring
and include in.
- Oh, I see he made
quite an impact.
- Not like that.
- Oh, no?
- No.
- Well then stop glowing.
People are gonna think
you're a lava lamp.
- I take it you're a regular.
- Hey, I'm just trying
to get us a table.
I'm not the one running
off with my professor.
- Oh God, you never
let up do you?
It's not like I'm even
gonna see the guy again.
- Why don't you call him up?
[laughing] You called him.
- Okay, yeah, I did.
I called him.
He didn't call me back.
- Don't worry, he'll call.
- What? What you looking
at me like that for?
- I was just, I was
just noticing your hair.
It looks great,
I've never seen you wear
it like that before.
- Thanks.
You know, I'm just letting
it go natural, you know.
Part of the new me.
I'm tired of all
this yuppie crap.
- Oh, do you, you want a drink?
- Yeah, what chardonnays
do you have by the glass.
- You wanna try it?
- Uh uh. No.
- Come on, you want,
listen, you want to be a writer,
you gotta experience
things, you know?
I mean, Hemingway smoked cigars,
and Kerouac and those guys,
they smoked anything they
could get their hands on.
I mean, you won't even dance.
- Oh, I'm a terrible dancer.
I quit aerobics cause I
was always that person
going the wrong way.
You try being the only
Black person in class
and going the wrong
way, it's embarrassing.
- You don't need rhythm
to smoke a cigar.
- All right, give it.
- Yeah?
- Yes.
- All right.
- All right, don't
inhale, right?
- No, no, no.
You just want to,
just take the smoke
into your mouth for a second,
savor the flavor, right?
And breathe out.
- It's pretty cool.
I had a lot of fun tonight.
- Yeah.
All this time we
worked together,
we never really
hung out like this.
- Well, working
those insane hours,
it was kind of hard
to have a social life.
- Yeah.
- Although I guess it
never really stopped you.
- Oh, if I knew you
were jealous of my life
of sin and debauchery, I
would've corrupted you sooner.
- Excuse me.
- Sorry.
[soft piano music]
I feel weird.
I'm pretty sure we
shouldn't be doing this.
- I've waited for a
long time for this.
[romantic jazz music]
[traffic passing]
- Goodnight.
- Goodnight.
[soft jazz music]
- [Lewis On Answering Machine]
Hi Nia, it's me, Lewis.
Yeah, I'll be down
to get together.
Call me, peace.
[answering machine beeping]
Hi Nia, it's me Lewis.
Yeah, I'll be down
to get together.
Call me, peace.
[answering machine beeping]
Hi Nia, it's me Lewis.
Yeah, I'll be down
to get together.
Call me, peace.
- Patience waits for
them to cut the budget
when they need to
cut the bullshit.
She's waiting for all the truth
to fly from out the pulpits.
Patience somehow will
be at her wits end,
and still give
motherfuckers some slack.
Well, hey, ain't that
patience over there?
Why is she laying on her back?
She's removed all her clothes
and parks her propped up legs,
and opens her virginal lips
to speak to me, you see.
If patience is to
hope for change,
and to wait for change of mind,
I'm afraid you're out of luck.
'Cause see, my name was
Patience the Virgin,
but now,
I'm fucked.
[Nia clapping]
[audience snapping]
- Oh, I can't believe I clapped,
that was so embarrassing.
And is that some new
thing I don't know about,
snapping instead of clapping?
- No, no, no.
They just do that to
keep the neighbors
from complaining
about the noise.
- Oh.
Oh and Laquisha.
She was so.
- Loquacious.
- Yeah.
- So is this it?
- Yes, I can't believe you
haven't been here before.
You're gonna love it.
I'll have the ribs
with peas and rice,
and the collard greens.
Thank you.
- Well, I, I'll have the house
salad with a small food bowl.
No cottage cheese please.
- So, what are you on a diet?
- No, I'm a vegetarian.
- You should have
said something to me.
- No, it's cool, it's cool.
- Yeah, I don't normally
eat like this, you know,
with all the cholesterol
and everything.
- So, what do you
think of the workshop?
- I thought it was
really inspirational.
- Huh, I'm surprised,
especially after what
you said to your friend.
- Oh, I had a feeling
you may have heard that.
- Yeah, you should have
have seen your face
when I introduced
myself to the class.
It was pretty funny, ma'am.
- Oh, it's just that
my friend Renee's
always giving me shit about
having an identity problem,
and I'm kind of
sensitive to that thing.
My father's white.
- Oh really?
How long has he been that way?
- And, being biracial, you know,
people always wanna put
this zebra Oreo crap on you.
- Yeah.
And shit is bad enough as it is,
without your own
bringing you down, right?
- Yeah.
- I certainly hope you like red.
- Oh, I do.
- Good.
- Man, look at all these books.
And they're all so organized.
I just got all these new books
and they're all over the place.
- Did you get around and reading
any of those books
I recommended?
- Uh huh.
- Uh huh.
Which ones?
All of them.
- All of them.
- Yeah.
- All of them?
So when do you have any time
to write your book on
Black Panthers, right?
- Yeah. Yeah.
I haven't really gotten a feel
for it yet though, you know.
But.
- Well, maybe you
should write something
a little bit more contemporary.
I mean, I'm not
trying to tell you
what to write or anything,
but there are plenty of issues
now that you can address.
- Yeah?
- Oh, yeah.
- Think so?
- Yeah, know so.
As a matter of fact,
you can address
one issue
with me.
[Nia flustered]
- I don't, I don't,
I don't dance.
- Follow.
[romantic jazz music]
Okay.
For someone who says
they can't dance,
you should know
how to move baby.
- I think I must have caught
the spirit or something.
For a while there I think I
was even speaking in tongues.
Oh, I bet I woke your neighbors.
- Trust me, they ain't never
heard nothing like that.
Ever.
- Walk me home.
- Oh, come on baby.
I brought you to this
stop, I'm gonna be late.
- I think the kids deserve
a day off from school.
- I'm gonna be late for work.
[truck engine running]
- I hope this doesn't.
Nope, Nia, don't gimme the
let's be friends routine, okay?
I wrote the book on that.
I should have thrown it out.
[phone ringing]
Hey.
Yeah, I don't know, the
thing starts at nine.
Oh, you should go,
it's for a good cause.
It's save the whales.
No, it save the children,
save the children, yeah.
It's whatever, we're
saving somebody, right?
Okay. I'll see you.
- [Nia] At last I don't
have to worry about you
sitting at home alone.
- So,
so you're happy with
this guy, right?
- Yeah.
- All right, then be happy.
Look, I knew what I
was getting myself into
when I used my powers
of charm and persuasion
to take advantage of you in
a weakened jobless state.
- God.
- But that doesn't mean
I can't be jealous.
[pop music]
- You will come with me to
Jen's shower, won't you?
- I'll try.
- You will.
[Lewis laughing]
- Okay, I will.
I will, but you know,
it's tough to get me
to go to the shower.
I think I might,
kind of, you know.
- What?
- I think I kind of like you.
- Well, I think I
kinda like you, too.
[group laughing]
- Oh, glasses.
- Look inside.
You stick those in the
freezer and use them as ice.
Isn't that great?
- Nancy, they're great.
[laughing]
- [Speaker] Only one.
[acoustic guitar music]
[group murmuring]
- Baby, I gotta go.
My friend Malik's got some,
some things he wants
me to look over.
- Okay.
- Thanks.
Goodbye, Jen.
- Hey?
- What?
What, he can't go help a friend?
You helped me today.
- She's got a point.
- I still can't believe he left.
- I didn't even get a
chance to talk to him,
but he seems
absolutely adorable.
- Jen, do you think I could
bring him to the wedding?
- He barely lasted an
hour at the shower.
- Don't you think it's
a little bit soon?
I mean, what if
you guys break up
and then there's some
guy I barely even know
in my wedding photographs.
- You'll get to know
him and he's wonderful.
You know what he
did this morning?
He brought me buckwheat
pancakes in bed. [laughing]
- That is sweet.
Isn't that sweet?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Okay, he can come.
- Thank you.
And the guy from Ted's
office, he'll be here.
I still can't believe
he didn't come.
- So how's the Panther
thing coming along?
- You know, I've
decided to do something
a little bit more
contemporary, you know,
something closer to home
that I can really relate to.
It's about a woman who reclaims
her power from the street.
Soquisha.
[hip hop music]
No, Shoquisha.
No, I got it, Shokay.
Shokay.
Walks to the beat of the music
blaring from car stereos,
to the beat of the subway
roaring under her own feet,
to the beat of the shrill siren
shrieking in the distance.
Every step bringing her closer,
closer to the motherfucker
that had gunned down
her man on the street.
You.
Yeah, I said you.
- What the fuck you
want, huh bitch? Huh?
What the fuck you roll
up in my game for, huh?
- Uh, I'm sorry.
Thought you were somebody else.
- [Lewis] Nia.
- I'll be right there.
[drumming]
At least one of us can work.
- Tada.
- Looks great.
- Not bad, huh?
- Thank you, baby.
- God, how can you write
with all this noise?
- I'm getting used to it.
Would you spell motherfucker
with an A or AH at the end.
- With an A.
You wanna get rid of
some of these albums?
This,
Grateful Dead?
- No.
Wait a minute,
what are you doing?
Why are you putting
Brooks after Baldwin?
What about Beauvoir or Becket?
- They go with the non-African
American literature.
- You're segregating my books?
- Yeah, it's easier to find shit
if you keep all that other
stuff on a separate shelf.
- Wait, stuff?
Stuff, you're calling
Dostoevsky, stuff?
I'm sorry, last time I checked
he had written a
masterpiece or two.
- Well, personally,
I've read enough of that
white male canon Catcher in the
Rye bullshit in high school.
I mean, what does
Holden Caulfield's
rich teen angst have to do
with our experience anyway?
I mean, there's nothing
phony about dodging bullets.
- Our experience?
I grew up in the suburbs.
We only had serial
killers and date rapists.
- Why are you taking this?
Why are you making
this such a big deal?
- I do not want to
separate my books.
For years they've been
getting along just fine.
Oh, no, no.
[women laughing]
- I'll get the car.
- Okay.
Lewis is quite a catch.
- Well, he's not a tuna.
- Oh, he's articulate.
He's handsome.
He's on the tenure
track at City College.
- Okay, he's great.
He's not perfect.
He has issues.
- Lewis is a fine
young man, dear.
Well, Renee definitely
seems to think so.
- Nothing major.
He can be a little
close minded sometimes.
I dunno.
I'll get him to change, open
him up to new experiences.
- The only thing you can
change about a man baby
is his shoes,
and that's only if you are
putting them on for him.
- Dad!
- Hi.
- Where is your father
with that damn car?
- It's nice to finally
meet you, Lewis.
- And you.
- This is such a coincidence.
- I'm sorry, I've
really gotta go.
- Bye mom.
- All right.
Goodbye.
- It's really nice to see you.
- Okay, Harvey.
- [Speaker] Hey Harvey.
- Hey, hey, how are you?
- [Speaker] Great.
- God, your mother
just looks great.
She really never seems to age.
- She has that lovely dark skin.
You too.
I love your hair.
- Yeah, it's really
nice like that.
- Thanks.
- Hey, why don't you kids
come over to the apartment?
We can order from that
chicken place you like.
- Lewis and I are vegetarians.
- When did you
become a vegetarian?
Okay, we'll do Chinese.
- Okay.
You're coming, Renee?
- Yeah, if you want me to.
- For weeks I've been trying
to get together with you.
I said please bring
around your new boyfriend.
- Come on, Dad.
This is the first time I
met your new girlfriend.
- I just met her Tuesday.
- What happened to
Juanita, or Yolanda?
What do you do, lurk
around the United Nations?
- Now now, just be
happy your poor father
can still get it up.
Oh, come on.
You know, I've never
let my sex life
come between the two of us.
- Dad, I've just been really
busy trying to write the book.
- Yeah, but you have time to
bring him up to your mom's.
Don't tell me he
hasn't been up there.
- It was her birthday.
- All I'm saying is, you have
time to bring him up there,
you have time to
bring him over here.
Look, look, for God's sake,
he's a Professor of
African American studies.
I'm a civil rights attorney.
I have more in common
with him than your mom
sitting up there in Westchester
with her fancy house,
her garden club.
- Okay okay, dad dad dad, okay.
How's this?
I saw mom twice.
I'll see you twice.
That fair?
It's ridiculous, I'm measuring
out my love in visits.
- I,
I just want to
see you more, Nia.
I don't know, maybe it's me,
but I get the feeling
that you're gravitating
more to your mom.
- No, no, no.
That's not true.
- Well I, i feel left out and
I just miss you.
- Okay.
If it'll make you
feel any better, I'll
see you three times.
- Okay.
Just don't tell your
mom. [chuckling]
Let's go back.
- Race, race, Americans
are obsessed with race.
In France, we don't
have these problems.
- Oh, come on.
- Yeah, what about the Arabs?
- [Harvey] Now
let's not digress.
- Here we go again.
- How can you say that Blacks
were better off
during segregation?
- Well, for one, many of
us had our own businesses,
our own institutions.
We were discoverers
of cities, inventors.
And look at what we have now.
War zones littered
with fast food joints,
corner liquor stores,
discount food chains,
and crack addiction,
all in what were once
thriving communities.
- Yeah well, you
just don't know.
You weren't there,
you can't remember.
You're living in
a fantasy world.
I mean, you, you
couldn't even choose
where to take a piss back then.
And if you could, it was
at the back of the bus.
And until people, Black
and White, including me,
fought for civil rights
in this country, choice.
Choice is power.
- Well, sir, with
all due respect
to your contributions
to the 60's,
Black people have been
contributing things on their own
to this world for a long
time, like civilization.
And I think at this time
that we've had our
own institutions,
our own economy, our own art,
our own university,
for us, by us,
instead of eating the scraps
off of White America's table.
- We live in a
country, not a vacuum.
We'd only become
more marginalized.
- This, this young lady.
This is what you should
be writing about.
- Can't be any more
marginalized than we are now.
- So you're trying to tell me
that all our efforts
were in vain.
- No, all I am saying is that
integration hasn't worked.
Oh, well, maybe for a few
who've managed to slip
through the cracks,
but not for the many.
[bluegrass music]
- Hey, get the hell
away from there, huh?
Can't you read?
It says whites only.
You best get to that nigger
station three miles back.
- Look here you piece
of trailer park trash.
I'm going in there, and
nothing's gonna stop me.
Oh, you're supposed to
stand up to him, you idiot.
[mournful orchestral music]
- Nia.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- It's beautiful, Joe.
Is it finished?
- Yeah.
Pizza.
There you go.
- We're gonna have
to go celebrate.
- Maybe we should wait till I
hear back from that program.
- Oh, come on, you
should be psyched.
- It's part of the process.
So how's your writing?
- I'm probably gonna have
to go back into advertising.
- No way.
- Yeah, way.
I can't write.
I've gone through like
four different topics
and I can't seem to get
a feel for anything.
- You gotta go with
it, you gotta feel it.
- All I feel is confusion.
- Well, that's great Nia,
now just go with that.
- I mean, I've got all this
Black-White crap to deal with.
- What the hell's being biracial
have to do with anything?
- I don't know a goddamn thing
about the Black experience
and I'm Black.
- Well, why don't
you write about that.
You feel that.
Write about your alienation.
Nia, it doesn't
matter what you write,
just as long as you feel it.
- It's easy for
you to say, you're.
- I'm adopted.
Listen to me, you just have to
forget about all that stuff,
and you have to listen
to your own voice,
because if you don't, you're
gonna make yourself miserable.
Everybody has their
own voice, Nia,
just like every instrument
has its own sound.
Tambourine.
Tambourine is a different
sound than tambora.
- Yeah, well Joe, I wish
it were that simple.
- Close your eyes.
- Why?
- I want you to,
I want you to listen to the
sound of these instruments,
and I want you to tell me
which one you think
sounds like you.
[Nia laughing]
- What?
- [Joe] Close your eyes.
- Oh fine.
- Ready?
- Thanks.
Yeah. that sounds like me.
- I'm just kidding.
- No, it's got too much
of a beat thing happening.
[flute music]
No, that's too sedate.
If you haven't noticed,
I'm pretty high strung.
[eastern music]
That's not bad.
[acoustic guitar music]
Yeah, I like that.
It's graceful.
Still upbeat though.
Sweet.
A little complicated.
Sounds almost Celtic.
Yeah.
Okay, I'd say that's me.
What is it?
- It's a Kora.
It's from Senegal.
Wanna try it?
- Well, I warn you,
I'm not very musical.
- Let me show you.
- What do I do?
- You gotta a pluck the strings.
There you go.
[both chuckling]
[person laughing]
[rap music]
[Lewis laughing]
[rap music]
- Let me get you a quick.
What's up girl? [laughing]
- Hey, you made it.
- How you doing?
Hey, let let me introduce
you to my lady, Nia.
Nia, this is Loquesha.
- Hi.
I saw your show,
really powerful.
- Thanks. I try to tell
it like it is, right?
Listen,
did I tell you that BET
wants me to put something
together for them?
- Oh, get out of here, girl.
- Yeah.
- Right, my gracious.
You know, Nia's writing a book.
- Really?
- Maybe you should let Loquesha
look at some of your stuff.
She can help you.
She definitely know
what's going on.
- Well.
- All right, hey hey, come on.
♪ Skelly in the streets
with the rest of the kids ♪
♪ Now we're grown
- Are you trying to say I
don't know what's going on?
- Huh?
- I know what's going on.
- What?
- I know what's going on.
♪ Well with the
plot in the shade ♪
♪ But Allah smiled
- What do you think?
- You look great.
- I look terrible.
- You look beautiful.
[Jen crying]
- I'm fat. [crying]
I'm gonna look like a giant
moray floating down the aisle.
I could be in the
Macy's Day Parade.
- Come on, you look gorgeous.
Ted is gonna faint when
he sees you in that dress.
- [indistinct] You
just kinda sat there.
- I was overcome by
how beautiful you look.
- You think I'm making
the wrong decision.
Maybe I am making the
wrong decision. [crying]
I love him.
- You're not making
wrong decision.
You two are perfect
for each other.
You think?
- I know.
You're gonna have a very,
very happy life together.
- What's the matter with you?
You look kind of
drawn and,
and thin.
- It's nothing.
- Something's wrong.
Come on.
It's like you never even
confide in me anymore.
- Jen, I don't wanna bother you.
You have the wedding.
- Bother me.
It's like I hardly
ever see you anymore.
I miss you.
- I miss you, too.
It's just that I'm,
I'm having trouble
with my writing.
I don't know, Lewis.
I don't know, I feel like
I'm getting so caught up
in trying to be what
he wants me to be,
that I'm losing sight
of who I am, you know.
I'm never gonna be a Renee.
I think that's what he wants.
- He doesn't want Renee.
He wants you.
- I don't know.
I think Renee likes him.
- Renee is lonely.
You need to set her
up with someone.
- This pork chop is great.
Here, you gotta
try some of this.
- [Renee] Good.
- [Matt] How are those
grilled vegetable plates?
- [Nia] Great.
- Oh, so
Lewis, Nia tells me that you're,
you're a professor
at City College?
- Yeah, I'm up for
tenure next year.
- Wow.
I mean, you're young.
- Well, I did my master's
and doctoral studies
in three years.
- That fast?
Where'd you go to school?
- Howard.
- Oh man, great school.
I know tons of people
who went to Harvard.
- No, No.
I said Howard.
Know anybody there?
- No, I don't think so.
- Now listen, so if you
guys aren't too tired,
I got us on the guest
list over at Metro.
- Really?
This saw a picture
of David Bowie
admiring that place
in New York Magazine.
- Oh yeah?
- Yeah.
- I think it could
be a lot of fun.
- I have never met anyone who
has so much fun in my life.
He always seems to
be having a blast.
Awesome time or something.
Just one okay time,
he'll probably be so bummed
out he'll fall to pieces,
commit suicide.
- Would you just
lighten up please?
- Can we go home now?
- We can't just go.
I don't think they'll miss us.
- You have a car?
- Yeah.
- What kind?
- A Saab convertible.
I mean it's, you know.
- That's yuppie.
- Yeah.
- You think Renee liked him?
- No, I get the
feeling that you do.
- Yeah, as a friend.
- Look, Nia, you are the one
with the thing for
white boys, all right?
- What?
Listen, I judge people by the
content of their character.
- Yeah, mm-hm, like
the little drummer boy
that I met after the workshop
with all the energy
and the vibes and shit.
- You mean Dave?
- Yeah Dave, you gonna
lay here and tell me
there was nothing going
on between you two? Huh?
You didn't.
You didn't.
- What?
- Not with that little nasty,
touchy feely motherfucker
with the Birkenstocks?
He probably walk some
road less traveled,
to run with the
wolves and shit, Nia.
- It was in college.
Will you bring your
Black ass back to bed?
- No, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no.
How you expect me
to get it up now?
I cannot get it up now, Nia.
No.
No no.
- What's up girl?
- Hey.
- Well you're upright and early.
So, how did the
rest of the date go?
- She is just dying to know.
- You better get ready for this.
So, we're on our way to Metro,
and he's going on about
some trip to Nepal.
I mean, this guy can talk.
All of a sudden I notice
people staring at us,
wondering, girl, what you
doing with that white guy?
All of a sudden I start to
feel really self-conscious.
And then later he's
smoking this cigar,
and I'm looking at his hands,
and they're small with
these short fingers.
And you know what they say
about white men
with short fingers.
And then I saw him dance,
and that was it. [laughing]
So I just left.
- You just left?
- It was so funny, he was.
- He would've never been able
to satisfy his sister
like you anyway.
- Right?
Bottom line is, I'm not
attracted to white men.
- But you didn't have to blow
him off like that, Renee.
He's my friend.
- Just relax.
She just did to him
what white people
been doing to us for years?
See and flee, come on.
- But what has he ever
personally done to you?
That's ridiculous.
- Don't entertain that,
she wouldn't understand.
- Why wouldn't I understand?
What, am I not Black
enough or some bullshit?
- Look,
I better go.
- Yeah, I think you better.
- All right, Renee.
- You know, maybe
you should go off
and be with a real
Black woman like Renee
since you two seem to
understand each other so well.
Next thing you know,
you'll have some
secret handshake
or some bullshit like that.
- You know, you got some
nerve to be jealous of Renee,
after the way you were
leering at Matt last night.
- I was not leering.
- I mean if he's so nice,
why the hell don't you
go out and be with him,
instead of siccing him
on poor little Renee?
You're the one with the
thing with white boys.
- Why does everything have to
come down to race with you?
Why can't people just be
people you know, like humanity?
- Well, the day white people
fully embrace the humanity of
Black people in this country,
race won't matter to me.
We're lucky to be alive, we're
not doing life in prison.
- Oh God.
The only thing
you'll get for life
is tenure at City College.
- Well, the only thing
you know about being Black
is what you've read
in a damn book.
It's no wonder you can't write.
- What?
- You heard me.
- That's it.
- Oh, well take your
cute little running shoes
and leave then.
But I suggest you take off
those white-colored glasses
and face the truth.
- Truth?
You couldn't see the truth
unless it came wrapped
to you in a Kinte cloth.
You're so busy
being condescending
with all your Marcus Garvey,
back to Africa, bullshit.
You know what though?
You wouldn't last
a week in Africa.
There's no tofu or
buckwheat pasta.
You'd be eating hyena.
- You know what your problem is?
I'll tell you what
your problem is.
- I'm sure you will.
Yeah, I know, I'm gonna tell
you what your problem is.
Your problem is,
is you can't handle being
with a real brother.
- Lewis, you're gonna
have to give it up.
'Cause I know why you're
with me and not Renee.
- Oh.
- I looked through
your photo albums.
You only date light
skinned women.
[somber instrumental music]
Got an interview at
Match and Marlowe,
Wood and Walker Tompkins.
Let's face it though,
I mean it's really,
I think it's really the
best move for me, you know?
I was a better copywriter
than I was a writer writer.
- And Lewis?
- We haven't spoken
in two weeks.
- Yes!
[Nia laughing]
She's back.
Hey, hey, I'm
canceling all my plans.
I want to take you out.
Where do you wanna go?
Where do you wanna go?
- I don't know.
- Where do you wanna go?
You name it.
- What you say.
This is great.
- You haven't touched
your asparagus.
- Mm.
- Have a bit of this.
- If I ever eat another
vegetable, I will scream.
- This is a perfect haven for
the carnivorously indulgent.
- Mm-hm.
- Yeah, I think yours
is still kicking.
- Don't, you'll
make me feel guilty.
[romantic piano music]
- I'm really glad they
built this bridge.
- It's really
beautiful, isn't it?
- You know, a hundred
and something years ago,
I would've had to row you home.
- A hundred and
something years ago,
I would've had to row you home.
- I would've stolen your oars.
- Then we would've
been stranded.
- That's the whole idea.
[late night jazz]
- This is quite an
impressive resume.
- Thank you.
- May I ask you why you
left your former employer?
- I had a problem.
Well, not really a problem,
it was more of a difference
of opinion in the way
certain accounts
were being handled.
It was not a big deal.
- No big deal.
It indicates on your resume
that you have been out
of work for three months.
- Yeah, I took some time
off to write a novel.
- [Interviewer] I see.
- It's something I've
always wanted to do.
- [Interviewer] And why do you
want to get back
into advertising?
- Just not very creative,
in that way.
My mind just ran a blank.
I mean, I tried a number
of different things
and nothing felt right.
Well, at least I know now
what I don't want to write.
I guess that's kind of a step.
Maybe if I eliminated
all of the things
that I don't wanna write,
I'd find out what I could write.
But who has that kind of time?
Bottom line is I'm dying to
get back into advertising.
- Thank you, thank
you for coming in.
[knocking on door]
- It's open.
- Nia?
- [Nia] I'll be right out.
- Jesus.
So where have you been
this last couple of days?
What are you up to tonight?
- I got a party.
- [Joe] Change your
plans, I got in.
- You got in. That's great!
- Not only that,
but also I got a job
doing a score for a film.
Just a little momentary
case of the jitters
when I thought I
wouldn't get the grant.
Come on, let's celebrate.
- Sorry Joe, but I can't.
- [Joe] Okay, what
about tomorrow?
- I have my friend's
wedding tomorrow.
[horn honking]
- I see.
- I gotta go.
Okay?
- You look beautiful.
- Thanks.
We're not really gonna ride
with the top down, are we?
- Huh?
- I mean, my hair, the wind.
- It's gonna be
fine, it'll be fine.
- I told you to put the
top up, look at my hair.
- Look.
Oh, I think it
looks really cool.
I like it.
- Cool?
- Yeah.
Are you crazy?
I look like I've been
struck by lightning.
- No, you're gonna, listen,
you're gonna be the most
beautiful woman at the party.
Come on, let's go in.
- No, like this? No way.
- Okay, well I think if
you want, I have some,
I have some twine.
If you wanna, you
could tie it up.
- Well, I was writing a book,
but now I'm getting
back into advertising.
- You were writing a book?
You have any representation
for the book at all?
- No, I don't.
- Really? 'Cause I'm
looking for film material.
Black women's films are doing
big money at the box office.
- Oh, well, I only have
a couple of rough ideas.
- Really?
Well listen, as long
as you have something
more than 50 words,
we can turn it
into a screenplay.
Do me a favor, call me.
I can make it happen.
Money.
- 50 words, why
not one word? Shit.
I've been recycling that
in movies for years.
- Hey, isn't this a great party?
- Great.
- Hey, Nia, will you cheer up?
You're gonna get another job.
Oh, I want to introduce
you to Katrina.
- I was wondering when you were
going to say hello, darling.
- Hello.
- Katrina, this is Nia.
- I love your hairpiece.
Is it Prada?
- No. [laughing]
- This is, this is
Katrina's work on the walls.
- It's part of my new series,
I call it body fluids.
- Aren't they great?
- Yeah. Yeah.
They've got a real
aquatic feeling to them.
- I mix my piss, shit,
and blood into the paint
to celebrate my rage.
- Hey hey buddy, buddy.
How you doing?
Hey Nia, I hear you two
guys are an item now, huh?
- Hey Charlie, I thought
you were on vacation.
- I'm on vacation,
but I'm in the city.
I'm taking off
tomorrow for Taos.
Just came over to say hello
to my new art director.
[Charlie and Matt laughing]
- Charlie's been assigned
my new copywriter.
Nia.
Nia?
- I can't believe you would
work with that asshole.
- Nia, you left.
And then Nick took a job
at Sherman and Shoal,
what was I supposed to do?
- Oh what, do you
only have morals
when it doesn't interfere
with you having a good time?
- I was gonna tell you.
- When, when you guys
open up your own agency?
- We're not friends,
we're not pals.
We're just, we're
just working together.
- Yeah, but with that guy, Matt?
He completely offended me.
He's a racist.
- Look, Charlie's just
an asshole, period, okay?
You're blowing this out
of proportion, okay?
We're just working together,
it's just business.
I mean, you gotta
understand that,
you're going back
into advertising.
- Oh no, I'm not, not anymore.
I can't believe I
even considered it.
- Nia.
- Fuck you, Matt.
- Nia.
[classical music]
[phone ringing]
- [Speaker] Hello?
- Hi, is Lewis there?
- [Speaker] Yeah, just,
yeah, just a second.
He's here.
- Renee?
[knocking on door]
- [Lewis] Nia, come on.
Look, I can explain everything.
Come on, open up Nia.
I took a cab,
came all the way over here
because you wouldn't
answer the phone.
Least you could do
is answer the door.
- How generous of you.
I know you think taxis are a
ridiculous waste of resources.
- There's absolutely
nothing going on
between me and Renee, all right?
Actually, all we were doing
was sitting there
talking about you.
- Right.
- The only reason she
picked up my phone
is because she paged
one of her girlfriends.
- I just shouldn't have called
in the first place, okay?
- But you did,
and I'm glad you called.
I missed you.
I miss what we had, don't you?
- Everything's all screwed up.
- Why'd you call?
Hmm?
- Remember that guy that you
talked about in your workshop?
- So you're telling me
that's what you called about?
- Maybe I'm like him.
Maybe that's why I can't write.
- Nigger, he was
passing for white.
You're not doing that.
- Maybe not exactly passing,
but maybe there are sides of
myself that I'm afraid to see,
and maybe that's
why I can't write.
- Wait a second.
I thought you were going
back into advertising.
What happened to that?
- Where'd you hear that? Renee?
- God damn it,
forget about Renee.
I came all the way over here
to be with you, all
right, with you.
- I don't know.
- You don't know.
What you don't know?
Nia, you are a strong, beautiful
Black woman, all right?
My grand Nubian princess, baby.
Come on, don't
you remember that?
Don't know?
Come on.
Come on.
[Lewis whistling]
- Oh, there's my queen.
- Good morning.
- Sleep okay?
- Mm-hm.
- Good.
There you are.
- Oh, you didn't
have to do that.
- Oh, yes I did.
Here you go.
- Thank you.
- Watch it, it's hot.
- I got it.
- So what time
is this wedding?
- Four o'clock.
- Four o'clock?
I'll tell you what,
I'll meet you there.
- Oh, you don't have to go.
- No no, I insist.
Hm.
So I gotta go, I want to go.
I have to go.
With you.
Just give me a minute,
to pick up something nice.
Don't be late.
[phone ringing]
- Hello? Matt.
Matt, I can't talk right now.
You told Larry, what?
- Yeah, I told him,
I told him I couldn't
work with Charlie anymore,
and if he had a
problem with that,
he could take his
job and shove it.
So he told me to shove it.
Are you there?
- Yeah.
- I know you're still
mad at me, but listen, I,
Nia, I need to see you.
- Yeah, but Matt, I
can't see you right now.
I've gotta go to the wedding.
- Okay, I'll meet you
there, and no buts,
I just lost my job for you.
- Matt.
- I'll see you there, bye.
- Matt!
[church bell ringing]
- Jen, I'm sorry I'm late.
- It's fine. Just get in line.
- You're back here.
- You can't get behind
me, I'm maid of honor.
[muffled speaking]
[wedding processional]
- I can take over now.
Thank you.
- Great.
- What's she doing here?
- What do you mean,
what am I doing here?
Who invited you?
- She did.
- You did?
- I did.
- Why didn't,
why didn't you tell me you're
back together with this guy.
- Back, what?
What, you seeing this guy too?
- Kind of.
- [Matt And Lewis] Kind of?
- What, after all this
shit you told me about him.
- Yeah, all right,
so I was wrong,
but I, I just quit
my job for her.
What have you ever
done for her, man?
- What have I done?
What have I done?
I've helped her come to
terms with her Blackness,
which is something you
could never do, Matt.
I mean, how do you expect
your unemployed ass
to provide for her anyway?
You don't even have a job.
- I'll get another job.
- Oh yeah, just
like that, right?
- Yeah, just like that.
- Man, what do you know what
it's like being Black, Matt?
Let alone understand
a Black woman.
- And you do?
Jesus, man, you're
like, everything you
speak is in slogans.
This is just a woman, all right?
This is not a
treatise on the plight
of African American
women in this society.
But you think you understand
her better than me,
just because you share
the same color skin?
That's bullshit.
I've known her longer
than you, Lewis.
I've known her for five years.
I've seen her smile.
I've seen her eyes when
she got her first account.
I've seen her cry
when her mother said
that she had to put
her dog to sleep,
so don't tell me I
don't understand her.
In fact, she told
me that she'd like
to take your pseudo
Afrocentric bullshit
and shove it up your ass.
- Pseudo?
Come on Nia, pseudo?
- Matt.
- Nia.
- I can't go with you.
- What?
- Whoo, you heard her white boy.
Come on baby, let's go.
- Lewis,
I can't go with you either.
- Excuse me?
- I'm sorry.
- What, you're sorry, that's it?
- You know this is
fucked up, right?
- I know, I know.
I didn't mean to hurt
anyone, okay, I didn't.
Just if you could please
try to understand.
- I did try near, Nia.
Yeah, I guess I am lucky I
can get another job, right?
- Maybe you're right.
Maybe I should be with,
with someone like Renee.
- Come on Nia, we gotta go.
We gotta go.
- I'm sorry about what happened
in front of the church.
- I know.
It's okay.
- No, it's not today.
It was supposed to be your day.
I should have been
there for you.
- I just want you to be happy.
[soft jazz music]
[crowd murmuring]
[drum roll]
[group screaming]
[group applauding]
[group cheering]
- Congratulations.
- I'm sorry.
No,
I'm sorry.
I was wrong to side with Lewis.
I should have never let a man
get in the way of
our friendship.
Now you know that nothing,
nothing happened
between us, okay?
- Okay.
Let's go get a
drink or something.
- Ooh, you remember that guy,
the one that Jen's been
trying to set me up with?
We've been talking all night.
He's amazing.
We're going for a drink
at the Saint Regents.
- Oh, okay.
- Yeah, you wanna go?
- Oh, no, no.
Go have fun.
- Okay, bye.
Bye bye, Nia.
[somber orchestral music]
[thunder rumbling]
[rain falling]
[solemn orchestral music]
- Joe!
Joe!
- Oh, he's gone.
- Gone, gone where?
- He left tonight for Los
Angeles to do some film gig.
I'm subletting his
apartment for six months.
- Six months?
- [Subletter] I can
give him a message.
- No, thanks.
I'm Nia, If you need
anything, I'm right upstairs.
- Oh, you're Nia. Hold on.
Here, Joe left this for you.
I'm Connie.
- Thanks.
- [Joe] Nia,
I hope you find your voice.
Love, Joe.
[sad orchestral music]
[plucking the kora]
[sad orchestral music]
- Looking back,
how could I have known
as I stood waiting
to cut across the
street at Times Square
that I had arrived
at the crossroad.
The world to me then
was nothing as delicious
as a melting pot
or a salad bowl.
More like a TV dinner
with everything sticking to
its own little compartment
and me being the gravy
oozing down the sides.
But now with my
feet planted firmly
toward the direction
of my chosen fate,
I see in the faces
of passing people
my maternal ancestors
bound in shackles,
standing on the shore,
weeping for the
freedom they've lost.
My paternal ancestors
weeping for the freedom
they have gained.
And as I catch my reflection
in the glass of a storefront,
it's like I'm seeing
myself for the first time.
And what I see, I like.
The end.
[audience snapping]
[audience clapping]
[light instrumental music]
[singing in foreign language]