Pleasantville

David:
They're happy like this.

Jennifer:
No, David. Nobody's happy in a poodle skirt and a sweater set.

Betty Parker:
Mary Sue?

Jennifer:
Yeah?

Betty Parker:
What goes on up at Lover's Lane?

Jennifer:
What do you mean?

Betty Parker:
Well, you hear these things lately... kids spending so much time up there. Uh, is it holding hands? That kind of thing?

Jennifer:
Yeah! That and...

Betty Parker:
What?

Jennifer:
It doesn't matter.

Betty Parker:
No, I wanna know.

Jennifer:
Well, sex.

Betty Parker:
Oh. What's sex?

Jennifer:
I did the slut thing, David. It got kinda old.

David:
We're supposed to be in school.

Jennifer:
We're supposed to be at home, David. We're supposed to be in color!

George Parker:
Where's my dinner?

Betty Parker:
Your father would never do anything like that.

Jennifer:
Ohhh. Hmm. Well, you know Mom, there are ways to enjoy yourself without Dad.

Big Bob:
Everybody really likes you, George.

George Parker:
Oh. Well...

Big Bob:
No! They do! And it's not just 'cause you're a good bowler. It's 'cause people respect you!

Skip:
Hiya, Bud!

David:
Hiya, Skip!

Skip:
Hiya, Bud!

David:
Hiya, Skip!

Skip:
Bud, can I ask you a question?

David:
Sure.

Skip:
Well, if I was to go up to your sister... What I mean is, if I was to go up to Mary Sue...

David:
Oh my God... are we in that episode?

Jennifer:
Can I ask you a question?

David:
Sure.

Jennifer:
How come I'm still in black and white?

David:
What?

Jennifer:
I've had ten times as much sex as the rest of these girls, and I still look like this. I mean, they spend an hour in the back seat of some car and all the sudden they're in Technicolor?

David:
I don't know. Maybe it's not just the sex.

David's Mom:
When your father was here, I used to think, "This was it. This is the way it was always going to be. I had the right house. I had the right car. I had the right life."

David:
There is no right house. There is no right car.

David's Mom:
God, my face must look like a mess.

David:
It looks great.

David's Mom:
It's really sweet of you but I'm sure it does not look great.

David:
Sure it does. Come here.

David's Mom:
I'm 40 years old. I mean it's not supposed to be like this.

David:
It's not supposed to be anything. Hold still.

David's Mom:
How'd you get so smart all of a sudden?

David:
I had a good day.

Jennifer:
I knew you'd pay a price for this. I knew you couldn't be so hopelessly geek-ridden for so long without suffering some really tragic consequences.

Big Bob:
Up until now everything around here has been, well, pleasant. Recently certain things have become unpleasant. Now, it seems to me that the first thing we have to do is to separate out the things that are pleasant from the things that are unpleasant.

George Parker:
Honey! I'm home.

David:
Oh, it doesn't matter.

Maltshop Girl:
What's outside of Pleasantville?

David:
There are some places that the road doesn't go in a circle. There are some places where the road keeps going.

Maltshop Girl:
Keeps going?

David:
Yeah, yeah. It just keeps going. It all keeps going.

Bill Johnson:
...Don't you think?

David:
I think you should try not to think about that anymore.

George Parker:
You know, your mom went out.

David:
Went out?

George Parker:
Yeah

David:
When?

George Parker:
Three days ago

David:
People change.

George Parker:
People change?

David:
Yeah

George Parker:
Can they change back?

David:
I don't know. I think it's harder

David:
Yeah, where's our lawyer?

Big Bob:
Oh, I think we want to keep these proceedings as pleasant as possible.

George Parker:
So what's going to happen now?

Betty Parker:
I don't know. Do you know what's going to happen now?

George Parker:
No

George Parker:
... I don't!

Bill Johnson:
I guess I don't either.

David:
Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!... Cat?

David:
I know you miss her, I mean, you told me you did. But maybe it's not just the cooking or the cleaning you miss. Maybe it's something else. Maybe you can't even describe it. Maybe you only know it when it's gone. Maybe it's like there's whole piece of you that's missing too. Look at her, dad. Doesn't she look pretty like that? Doesn't she look just as beautiful as the first time you met her? Do you really want her back the way she was? Doesn't she just look wonderful? Now don't you wish you could tell her that?

Skip:
I don't know if I ever told you this before, but I think you're just about the keenest girl in the whole school!

Jennifer:
Oh, really Skip? The keenest?

Jennifer:
HELLO! I've got like three pounds of underwear on here!

Jennifer:
This place gives me the creeps! Did you know that the books are blank?

David:
What?

Jennifer:
Yeah, I was in the library and I looked, and they have covers and there's nothing inside of them.

David:
What were you doing in a library?

Jennifer:
I got lost.

Jennifer:
Look at me! I'm pasty!

David:
What can I get you two?

Skip:
Well, Bud, I think I'll have my usual cheeseburger and a Cherry Coke.

Jennifer:
Oh, I don't know Bud... I think I'll have a salad and an Evian water...

Jennifer:
Cheeseburger it is!

Mr Johnson - I don't know what i'd do if I couldn't paint anymore, Bud.

Jennifer/Mary Sue:
What's outside of Pleasantville?

Miss Peters:
What? ...I don't understand...

Jennifer/Mary Sue:
Outside of Pleasantville... What's at the end of Main Street?

Miss Peters:
Oh, Mary Sue. You should know the answer to that. The end of Main Street is just the beginning again.

David/Bud:
You can't do this Jennifer. I warned you!

Jennifer/Mary Sue:
So what's the big deal? Oh. Okay — they're like not good at basketball anymore. Ohmigawd, what a tragedy.

David/Bud:
You don't understand. You're messing with their whole goddamn universe!

Jennifer/Mary Sue:
Well maybe it needs to be messed with, David. Did that ever occur to you?

Jennifer/Mary Sue [having just introduced the slang use of "cool" into Pleasantville] :
Cool.

David/Bud:
"Cool"? "Cool" ? What are you doing to these people? You can't do this to them!

Jennifer/Mary Sue:
If I don't do it, who will?

David/Bud:
No — but they're happy like this!

Jennifer/Mary Sue:
No. David, nobody's happy in a poodle skirt and a sweater set. [pause] You really like this don't you? No, its not like you think it's just like funny or dorky or anything … you like — really like it.

David/Bud:
No, you have it all wrong.

Jennifer/Mary Sue:
God! I am so personally mortified to be your sister right now.

David/Bud:
You have no right to do this to them.

Jennifer/Mary Sue:
David, listen to me for just a minute. These people don't want to be geeks. They want to be attractive. They've a lot of potential — they just don't know any better.

David/Bud:
What's going on?

Jennifer/Mary Sue:
I'm not sure. Um… They wanna ask you a question... I didn't know how to handle it. So....

David/Bud:
Sure. [to the others] How you doin'? You wanted to ask me something?

Tommy:
How'd you know about the fire?

David/Bud:
What?

Tommy:
How'd you know how to put it out and all?

David/Bud:
Oh. Well — where I used to live, that's just what firemen did.

[The kids all murmur together]

Tommy:
And where's that?

David/Bud:
Um... Outside of Pleasantville.

Tommy:
Well, what's outside of Pleasantville?

David/Bud:
Look it doesn't matter. It's not important.

Tommy:
What's outside of Pleasantville?

David/Bud:
It's really not important.

Margaret:
What's outside of Pleasantville?

David/Bud:
There are some places … that the road doesn't go in a circle. There are some places where the road keeps going.

Margaret:
Keeps going?

David/Bud:
Yeah, yeah — it just keeps going — it all keeps going. Roads and rivers and …

Will:
Like the "Mighty Mississippi."

David:
What?

[Will holds up a copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]

David/Bud:
[to Jennifer/Mary Sue] I thought the books were blank?

Will:
They were.

Jennifer/Mary Sue:
Okay, this was NOT my fault. When they asked me what it was about I didn't remember because I read it like back in tenth grade. When I told them what I did remember, thats when the pages filled in.

David/Bud:
The pages filled in?

Jennifer/Mary Sue:
But like only up to the part with the raft, because that's as far as I read.

Tommy:
Do you know how it ends?

David/Bud:
Yeah… I do.

Margaret:
So how does it end?

David/Bud:
Well, um — okay, let's see…. they were running away — Huck and — and the slave.... they … they were going up the river, trying to get free…. and — in trying to get free … they see that they're sort of free already…. [The pages fill in by themselves, completing the book] Oh my God.

Big Bob:
[in the bowling alley] What happened? Are you alright? What is it?

George:
Rain.

Big Bob:
Real rain?

[George nods]

Big Bob:
Oh my God.... Are you alright?

George:
I came home like I always do. And I came in the front door. And I took off my coat. And I put down my briefcase and I said "Honey. I'm home."

[The men all nod in recognition.]

George:
...Only no one was there. So I went into the kitchen and I yelled it again. "Honey — I'm home." But there was no one there either. No wife. No lights. No dinner.

[The men all gasp]

George:
So I went to the oven you know — because I thought maybe she had made me one of those "TV dinners..." But she hadn't. She was gone. And I looked and looked and looked — but she was gone.

Big Bob:
It's gonna be fine George. You're with 'us' now.

Gus:
What are we gonna do Bob?

Big Bob:
Well — we'll be safe for now — thank goodness we're in a bowling alley — but if George here doesn't get his dinner, any one of us could be next. It could be you Gus, or you Roy, or even you Ralph.... That's real rain out there, gentlemen. This isn't some little "virus" that's going to "clear up on its own." There's something happening to our town and I think we can all see where it comes from. My friends, this isn't about George's dinner or Roy's shirt. It's a question of values. It's a question of whether we're gonna hold onto the values that have made this place great. So the time has come to make a decision. Are we in this alone, or are we in it together?

Betty [who has now become "colored"]:
I got caught in the storm. You were gone all night too.

George:
Let's just forget about it, we'll just go to the meeting.

Betty:
No. I told you, George. I am not going to that meeting.

George:
Sure you are.

Betty:
No, I'm NOT. — Look at me, George. Look at my face. That meetings not for me.

George:
You'll put on some make-up.

Betty:
I don't want to put on make-up.

George:
It'll go away. It goes away.

Betty:
[firmly] I don't want it to "go away". Videoclip at YouTube

Skip:
[as the townspeople are burning books] Mary Sue, it's better this way!

Jennifer/Mary Sue [resisting his efforts to grab Lady Chatterly's Lover by D. H. Lawrence from her]:
NO! This is like the only book I've ever read in my whole life, and you're not going to put it on that fire!

Big Bob:
This is not the answer, people. No matter how upset we may get, or how frustrated we may be, we're not gonna solve our problems out in the street. It's just the wrong way to do it. We have to have a "Code of Conduct" we can all agree to live by. Now, I asked George and Burt here to sketch out some ideas — and I think they've done a terrific job. If we all agree on these then we can take a vote and I think we'll start to move in the right direction. "ONE: All public disruption and acts of vandalism are to cease immediately. TWO: All citizens of Pleasantville are to treat one another in a courteous and pleasant manner...

[The kids are hiding in the ruined malt shop]

Lisa Anne:
"Courteous and Pleasant manner." That doesn't sound too bad.

David/Bud [reading the new Code of Conduct]:
"THREE: The area commonly known as Lover's Lane as well as the Pleasantville Public Library shall be closed until further notice. FOUR: The only permissible recorded music shall be the following: Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, Jack Jones, the marches of John Phillips Sousa or The Star Spangled Banner. In no event shall any music be tolerated that is not of a temperate or "pleasant" nature."

Kids:
Oh my gosh.... No....

David/Bud:
"FIVE: There shall be no public sale of umbrellas or preparation for inclement weather of any kind. SIX: No bedframe or mattress may be sold measuring more than 38 inches wide. SEVEN: The only permissible paint colors shall be BLACK, WHITE or GRAY, despite the recent availability of certain alternatives. EIGHT: All elementary and high school curriculums shall teach the "non-changist" view of history — emphasizing "continuity" over "alteration." Wow.

George:
You know, your mom went out.

David/Bud:
Went out?

George:
Yeah. She went out for a little while.

David/Bud:
When?

George:
Three days ago.

George:
What happened? One minute everything's fine — the next... What went wrong?

David/Bud:
Nothing went wrong. People change.

George:
People change?

David/Bud:
Yeah. People change.

George:
Can they change back?

David/Bud:
I don't know — I think that's harder.

David/Bud:
I've got something to say!

Big Bob:
Very well.

David/Bud:
You don't have a right to do this. I mean, I know you want it to stay pleasant around here, but — there are so many things … that are so much better. Like silly, or sexy, or dangerous … or brief. And every one of those things is in you all the time, if you just have the guts to look for them.

Big Bob:
That's enough.

David/Bud:
I thought I was allowed to defend myself.

Big Bob:
You're not allowed to lie.

David/Bud:
I'm not lying. You see those faces up there? They're no different than you are, they just happen to see something inside themselves…

Big Bob:
[bangs gavel] I said that's enough.

David/Bud:
Here, I'll show you. Dad?

George:
Yeah, Bud?

David/Bud:
It's okay Dad, just listen a sec. I know you miss her, I mean, you told me you did. But maybe it's not just the cooking, or the cleaning, that you miss. Maybe it's something else. Maybe you can't even describe it. Maybe you only know it when it's gone. Maybe it's like there's a whole piece of you that's missing too. Look at her, Dad. Doesn't she look pretty like that? Doesn't she look … just as beautiful as the first time you met her? Do you really want her back the way she was? Doesn't she look just wonderful? [he nods] Now don't you wish you could tell her that? [he nods, and suddenly is colored]

Big Bob:
[bangs his gavel] You're out of order!

David/Bud:
Why am I out of order?

Big Bob:
Because I'm not gonna let you turn this courtroom into a circus!

David/Bud:
Well, I don't think it's a circus, and I don't think they do, either. [David turns to look at the crowd, where many of the black-and-white people are changing into color. There are gasps and murmurs. Jennifer grins]

Big Bob:
[bangs the gavel] This behavior must stop at once!

David/Bud:
But see? That's just the point! It can't stop at once, because it's in you, and you can't stop something that's inside you.

Big Bob:
It is not inside me!

David Wagner/Bud Parker:
Look, you can't always like what you do. Sometimes you just do it because it's your job. And even if you don't like it, you just gotta do it anyway.

Bill Johnson:
Where am I going to see colors like that? Must be awfully lucky to see colors like that. I bet they don't even know how lucky they are.