Good Times (1974–1979): Season 3, Episode 24 - The Rent Party - full transcript

When a neighbor in the building cannot pay her rent, Florida and James decide to throw a fund-raising party to help her.

♪ Good times Any time
you meet a payment ♪

♪ Good times Any
time you need a friend ♪

♪ Good times Any time
you're out from under ♪

♪ Not gettin' hassled
Not gettin' hustled ♪

♪ Keepin' your
head Above water ♪

♪ Makin' a wave when you can ♪

♪ Temporary layoffs Good times ♪

♪ Easy credit
rip-offs Good times ♪

♪ Scratchin' and
survivin' Good times ♪

♪ Hangin' in a chow
line Good times ♪

♪ Ain't we lucky we got 'em? ♪



♪ Good times ♪♪

Hey, Florida, you got
any more of this stuff?

Oh, sure, honey.

I didn't know you
liked it so much.

Are you kidding?
I love it. Mm-hmm.

I like it better every
time you make it.

It's my favorite meal.

What is it?

Now, James, you
know what this is.

It's the three-course
inflation dinner.

'Course it ain't beef,
'course it ain't lamb,

and 'course it ain't pork.

Well, I ain't eating
these seconds

till I hear you say,
"'Course it ain't horse."



Oh.

Just jiving, baby,

but thanks for
keeping it warm, hear?

Well, I knew you'd be in late.

Yeah, you know, I
figure the overtime

I'm making tonight

ought to just about cover
Junior's trip to St. Louis.

Oh, James, you know I
worry when J.J.'s gone.

You think he's
gonna be all right?

Oh, for the hundredth
time, Florida, yes.

Well, you know. It's
cold in St. Louis...

and I only packed
him one leather jacket,

two sweaters, and
two pairs of long johns.

Baby, the boy's only
going to an art show,

not the winter Olympics.

I know you, James,

you're just as worried
about him as I am.

Sure I am, but at least
I didn't make no scene

when he left last night.

I didn't make no scene.

You didn't, huh? Mm-mmm.

That's the first time
I ever seen anybody

trying to stow away
on a Greyhound bus.

Yeah, you broke my record!
You know you broke it!

Thelma, I did not
break your record.

You pushed me
into the record player.

I did not!

Couldn't you see I was dancing?

Oh, is that what you were doing?

I thought you backed
into an open fuse box.

Don't get smart now.

All right, you two.

That's enough.

Ma, he owes me $4.95

for a new Gladys Knight
and the Pips album.

Thelma, you still
have your album.

Here's Gladys Knight.

And here are the Pips.

I guess they ain't
singing together no more.

Look, don't get smart.
You're gonna pay for this.

Thelma, I'm not gonna give
you one penny for that album!

Sister, dear,

how much did you
say your album cost?

And I thought we were gonna have

a nice quiet weekend
with J.J. gone.

Hi, y'all. FLORIDA: Hi, Willona.

Wait till you hear.

There goes a nice quiet weekend.

Oh, James.

That's right, James,
pick on somebody

who just was
involved in a holdup.

What? A holdup?

Willona, what you...?
You were in a holdup?

A holdup, let me tell
you what happened.

I was working late
at the boutique tonight

because of our
dollar annual sale.

It used to be a penny sale,

but with inflation,
everything's going up...

Oh, come on, Willona!
What about the holdup?

Well, anyway, I was selling
the last of those jumpsuits.

Flo, you should
have came in there

and got one of those. It
would've looked bad on you.

You mean, the ones with
the matching sweaters

and the full
pockets on the front?

That's right, uh-huh. Oh, no.

Willona, I told you to
put one away for me.

It would've gone perfect
with that new purse

I got from...

Now, she's talking about
a holdup, not handbags!

I'm sorry. What
happened, Willona?

Yeah, what about the holdup?

Anyway, I was just
getting ready to close up,

and this dude walks
in and pulls out a gun

and says, "Give me
all the cash you got."

Willona, you did
what he said, right?

You jiving?

When a dude points
a gun at me, honey,

I'll gift wrap the
cash register.

Girl, you must be shaken all...

I'm scared to death,
and that was shock...

Sit down. I was shocked.

I'm gonna make you a cup of tea.

Yeah, Willona, tell me,

what'd the dude look like?

This tall, white
dude with a Afro.

I'll get it.

Hello. Oh, you
wanna speak to J.J.?

Hold on a minute.

What's going on?

I thought J.J. was in St. Louis.

Willona, he is, but
while he's out of town,

he doesn't want any
of his chicks to know

that he's out of circulation.

Hello.

Yes, this is the doctor
of love speaking,

ready to fill your prescription.

Say what?

Yeah, baby, of course our
date is on for Monday night.

Well, mama, just make sure
you are dressed for the test,

and I will do my best
to take care of the rest.

All right, baby, till
Monday. "Sari-nara."

Ooh, child!

I feel sorry for y'all.

Now you got two
of them in the family.

Sayonara.

Uh, you wanna get the door,

Junior number two?

Getting the door.

Oh, no.

Uh-oh.

Evening, folks.

What you want here, Bookman?

Ain't nobody
call for the janitor.

You know, you just don't
appreciate me, Evans.

As a matter of fact, your
wife called about a leaky pipe,

so naturally, I
rushed right up here.

Well, you must have come
by way of covered wagon,

because I called
you six weeks ago.

Anyway, James
already fixed that pipe.

Oh, that's bad, Evans.
You know, I hate this,

but I'm gonna
have to report you.

It clearly states in your lease,

"Tenants ain't supposed
to touch the plumbing."

It also states, "Tenants ain't
supposed to live in a lake."

You know, we get a
lot of calls, Mrs. Evans.

These things take time.

Yeah, I can imagine.

It probably took
about four weeks

to drag that lard up the stairs.

You round rascal.

Hey, a little snack.
Don't mind if I do.

Hey, maybe you don't, but I do.

Now, is that any way
to treat the head janitor?

Listen, Mr. Booger.
Bookman, Bookman!

Booger, booger.

The last 10 weeks,
I've been telling you

I got a broken light
switch in my living room.

What you going to do about it?

Yeah, well, I'll try to
squeeze it into my schedule.

Sure. Well, why don't you see

can you squeeze your
hocks through that doorway.

You know, you just can't
be nice to you people.

You people?

Get out of here,
buffalo butt, go on.

Hey, Miss Williams, you know,

I was just on my
way up to your place.

Good, because I ain't there.

Wanda...

you better be careful
how you treat that janitor.

Someday you may
need him for something.

Well, I don't think so, Florida.

You know, I know
that Goodyear blimp.

Miss Williams, would
you like some tea?

No, sweetie. No, thank you.

Oh, I came down to
borrow a couple of candles,

if you got any.

Well, sure. Thelma, you
know where the candles are.

Yeah, Ma.

Miss Williams, what are
you gonna do with candles?

Oh, uh, I, um...

I have a date
tonight for dinner,

and I want to be romantic.

You still go out on dates?

Why not?

I figure I'm at that
in-between age:

Too old to marry,
and too young to bury.

All right.

Yeah, tell 'em, Wanda.

Just because the game
is in the fourth quarter

don't mean it's over, huh?

Ah!

Right on there, brother.

Here you are, Miss Williams.

Oh, thank you, Florida.

You're welcome, Wanda.

See y'all later. Okay.

See you later, Wanda.
Later, Miss Williams.

Oh, that Wanda
sure is something...

always joking, always
in just great spirits.

She fooled you too, huh, Flo?

What?

I heard it all over the
Laundromat this morning.

She is broke.

Willona, that's a
disease we all got.

Yeah, but you ain't heard
the worst of it, honey.

She's behind three
months on the rent.

She just got a
notice this morning.

If she don't pay it all up
by the end of this week,

she's gonna be
evicted. That's awful.

You know the real reason
why she wanted those candles?

Why?

They turned her
lights off this morning.

But how could that be?
She gets social security.

Florida, that ain't
enough to live on.

It's just enough to die on.

Oh, Ma, this is awful.

There must be
something we can do.

Honey, don't look at me.

The banks don't cash
my checks no more.

They just look at
them and laugh.

James, what about us?

You paid our bills last
night. What we got left over?

More bills.

Daddy, there must be
something we can do.

We just can't let them

put her out on
the street like that.

Hey, wait a minute.

Maybe there is
something we can do.

James, you remember
what we used to do for folks

who got in trouble
with their rent?

A rent party! A rent party!

Right, right.

Yeah? What's a
rent party, Daddy?

Well, that's where
you have a party,

and you provide food
and entertainment.

You charge all the
people that come,

and you give the money to
the person that's in trouble.

Hey, that's a great idea.

I could help with the cooking.

Oh, no, then we
gonna all be in trouble.

Oh, we can do it,
James, I just know we can.

The only problem is

how we gonna let
everybody know about it?

Honey, that ain't no problem.

You give me 10 minutes
on that telephone,

I'll have you
standing room only.

Hey, and I know we can
get the recreation room.

That's a good idea, Florida,

but you forgetting one problem.

What's that, James?

Wanda's pride.

Now, it stands to reason,
if she didn't tell you

what she really needed
them candles for,

she sure ain't gonna let you
give her no rent party, huh?

Hey...

Who says Wanda has to
know the party is for her?

Yeah, that's right,
we could just kinda

spring it on her, couldn't
we? Surprise her!

That's right. All we gotta do

is get the food and
the entertainment...

And the adhesive tape.

Adhesive tape?

Mm-hmm.

To put over Willona's mouth

so she don't tell
Wanda about the party.

Oh, no. That's too much.

All right. All right. All right.

Well, I'm glad
you could make it.

I know you gonna enjoy yourself.

Now, get over, get
some of that chicken.

Don't forget to get some food.

How you doing, my man?

Now, get over, get
some of that bird, now.

Hey, Daddy. How
are you doing, honey?

Hey, baby girl.

All right, here you go.

And thank you very, very much.

How's it going, Willona?

Honey, I can't keep up.

Neither can I.

Did you ever see
chicken move so fast?

Not unless there was
a rooster on its tail.

I wanna see daylight
at all times, kids.

All right.

Hey, my man. How you doing?

How's everything?

Daddy, Daddy.

Hey, how you doing, Wanda?

Uh, what is it?

James. Huh?

I wanna know how come
Michael won't let me pay

to come to this party
like everybody else.

Well, Wanda, see,
it's, uh, the kind of party

where senior
citizens get in for free.

Come on. No.

No, no.

It's a rent party, and I
wanna pay my own way.

There.

Uh, who is the
party for, anyway?

Uh, well... You see, uh...

I'd answer that, but I
gotta make this introduction.

Excuse me, Wanda, excuse me.

Uh, folks, could you
quiet down, please.

Have a seat. Please
have a seat, please.

Please have a seat.

I got a special
announcement to make.

Under no circumstances
must you stop eating

or drinking, please,

because the ladies over
at the refreshment bar

have told me that
they're not busy enough.

Now...

the next act, I know
you're gonna enjoy him

because he's talented,
he's bright, and he's my son,

so I know you're
gonna enjoy him.

The pride of the
projects, Michael Evans!

♪ Spring's in the air
There's magic everywhere ♪

♪ When you're
young And in love ♪

♪ Life seems to be
A world of fantasy ♪

♪ When you're
young And in love ♪

♪ Each night seems just
like The Fourth of July ♪

♪ When stars spangle the sky ♪

♪ The moon at night Seems
to shine twice as bright ♪

♪ When you're
young And in love ♪

♪ Dreams can come true
If you believe they do ♪

♪ When you're
young And in love ♪

♪ Though many teardrops
Are bound to fall ♪

♪ True love will conquer all ♪

♪ When you're When
you're young and in love ♪

All right, can that boy sing?

Daddy!

♪ When you're
young And in love ♪

♪ Though many teardrops
Are bound to fall ♪

♪ True love will conquer all ♪

♪ When you're When
you're young and in love ♪♪

Oh, oh...

Hey, he's all right.

James, aren't you proud of him?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, I just wonder where he got

that voice from.

What you mean,
where'd he get that voice?

He come by it natural.

You've heard me
singing in the shower.

♪ When you're young... ♪♪

That's why I wondered
where he got the voice from.

Ma, Willona, come
on, we gotta go change.

Our number's next.

That's right. Come on,
come on. Come on, come on.

Excuse me.

I'll watch the table
and the money for you.

Well, well, well, well, well.

What do we have here,
Evans, a little party, huh?

Yeah, and it ain't guess
the law either, Bookman.

It is if you charge money,

and that do appear to
be the coin of the realm.

You just can't stop
breaking that lease, can you?

Well, I can think of a
couple of other things

I'd like to break.

You know, it hurts.

I hate to have to do this,

but I'm gonna have
to shut the party down.

Now, come on, Bookman,
you know it's a rent party, man.

Ain't you got no heart
underneath all that blubber?

You know, there's one
way you might be able

to persuade me to
forget all this. Huh?

I understand you have
a little entertainment

going on.

Hey, man, why don't
you put me in the show?

Uh-uh.

No animal acts.

Suit yourself. The
party's as good as closed.

Oh, now come on,
Bookman. All right, you in.

But what else can
you do besides eat?

You kidding? Dig this...

You put me on your show,

otherwise you got
trouble, you dirty rat, you.

All right. Uh-huh.

All right! All right.

Damn.

Uh, ladies and gentlemen...

can I have your
attention, please.

We have an extra
added attraction tonight...

which proves that you can
find talent anywhere you look.

Even underneath a rock.

May I introduce
our own head janitor,

Nathan "The Moocher" Bookman.

How about a little
'50s, Ed Sullivan music?

On here, on our show tonight

is really, really, really
fine, fine, fine, fine,

really wonderful,
wonderful, wonderful...

Really, really, really
wonderful, wonderful performer.

Mr. Jim Nabors,
where are you, boy?

Golly!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Surprise, surprise, surprise.

I couldn't get any
transportation over here

to the show,

so I called up my good
friend Wolfman Jack.

He said, "I'll
give you a lift if..."

You let the midnight special

shine its ever-loving
light on you.

But he was kinda busy,

so I called up my good friend
Marlon Brando, the Godfather.

I knew he would make
me an offer I couldn't refuse.

Uh...

You say to me, "Be your friend."

I can't even remember
you asking me over

for a cup of coffee.

So this thing you
ask of me, I cannot do.

How about a little
traveling music?

Hold it! Stop the music!

Stop the music. Everybody
wants to get into the act.

It's Jimmy Durante.

In person!

This is Howard Cosell,

here in Zaire, Africa,
speaking to the reputed

heavyweight champion of
the world, Muhammad Ali.

Well, Muhammad, you're
not the shell of the man

you used to be.

You're not the fighter
you were 15 years ago.

What about the Foreman fight?

Well, I tell you, Howard,

I beat Sonny Liston...

I beat 'em all, you know,

and you're not the same
as you were with your wife

15 short years ago.

That's our show for tonight.

I hope you all drive
home safe. Good night.

Thank you. Thank you.

Hey, Daddy, we made all that?

That's right, Michael.

There's a lot of kind
people living in the projects.

And all of them
care about Wanda.

When we gonna
give her the money?

Oh, now, not so soon, son.

The show ain't over yet.

Oh, here, Michael,
you watch this stuff.

All right. I gotta
introduce the last act.

Uh, ladies and gentlemen,

as we promised you,
we'd be providing you

with first class, top-notch
entertainment tonight.

May I present a group of stars

who have come here
specifically for this purpose.

The world-famous,

internationally
renowned Supremes.

♪ Stop, in the name of love
Before you break my heart ♪

♪ Stop, in the name of love
Before you break my heart ♪

♪ Think it over ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Think it over ♪

♪ Uh-huh ♪

♪ Baby, baby I'm
aware of where you go ♪

♪ Each time you leave my door ♪

♪ I see you walking Up
and down the streets ♪

♪ And knowing that
Your other love ♪

♪ You're gonna meet ♪

♪ But this time
Before you run to her ♪

♪ Leaving me alone to cry ♪

♪ Haven't I been good to you? ♪

♪ Think it over ♪

♪ Haven't I been Sweet to you? ♪

♪ Stop, in the name of love
Before you break my heart ♪

♪ Stop, in the name of love
Before you break my heart ♪

♪ Think it over Think it over ♪

♪ I've known of your
Your secluded nights ♪

♪ I've even seen her
Maybe once or twice ♪

♪ But is her sweet expression ♪

♪ Worth more Than
my love and affection ♪

♪ This time Before
you leave my arms ♪

♪ And rush off to her charms ♪

♪ Think it over ♪

♪ Haven't I been good to you? ♪

♪ Think it over ♪

♪ Haven't I been sweet to you? ♪

♪ Stop, in the name of love
Before you break my heart ♪

♪ Stop, in the name of love
Before you break my heart ♪

♪ Think it over Think it over ♪

♪ I've tried so hard
So hard to be patient ♪

♪ Hoping you'd
Stop this infatuation ♪

Sing the song,
baby, sing the song!

♪ But each time I
see you together ♪

♪ I'm so afraid Of
losing you forever ♪

♪ Stop, in the name of love
Before you break my heart ♪

♪ Stop, in the name of love
Before you break my heart ♪

♪ Stop! ♪♪

All right!

Oh!

All right, baby.

Whoo, James,

I don't think we ought
to put this off no longer.

Wanda, Wanda! What?

Come on up here.

We got a surprise for you.

Come on, Miss Williams, come on.

Come on.

Wanda, this whole
party was for you.

Yeah, that's right.

Oh, what's going on here?

Well, Wanda, we made
enough money off this party

to pay your rent for
the last few months

and next month too.

Hey, hey!

All right!

No. No, I can't. I
couldn't. I won't accept it.

Oh, Wanda.

We knew that,

that's why we didn't
give the money to you.

We'll give it to Florida.

She'll take it down
to the Housing Office

first thing in the morning

and give it to them for you.

Right. WILLONA: All right!

Now, Florida,

you know I don't
take no handouts.

Oh, Wanda... Now,
this is not charity.

We are all doing this
for a very selfish reason.

Nobody here is about to let
you move from this project.

Right? That's right.

Okay.

And you wanna know why, Wanda?

Because we love you.

That's right. That's right.

Yeah, hey!

Thank you. Thank all of you.

Oh, Wanda.

Excuse me, may I?

Oh, James, that's nice.

Hit it, Willy.

You heard what
the man said, Willy,

hit it!

♪ Mm-mm-mm ♪

♪ Just lookin' Out
of the window ♪

♪ Watching the asphalt grow ♪

♪ Thinkin' how It all
looks hand-me-down ♪

♪ Good times Good times ♪

♪ Keepin' your
head Above water ♪

♪ Makin' a wave When you can ♪

♪ Temporary layoffs Good times ♪

Good Times is recorded on tape

before a live audience.

♪ Ain't we lucky we got 'em? ♪

♪ Good times ♪♪