PAY IT FORWARD [2000]

Some Favors You Are Not Allowed 
To Pay Back

Mr. Simonet: How often do you think about things that happen outside of this town?
Do you watch the news? Yes? No?
Allright, so we're not global thinkers yet, but why aren't we?
Trevor: Because we're 11.
 Mr. Simonet: Good point. What's your name?
Trevor: Trevor.
Mr. Simonet: Maybe Trevor's right.
Why should we think about the world?
After all, what does the world expect of us?
Trevor: Expect?
Mr. Simonet: Of you?
What does the world expect of you?
Trevor: Nothing.
Mr. Simonet: Nothing.
My God, boys and girls, he's absolutely right. Nothing.
Here you are. You can't drive, you can't vote, 
you can't even go to the bathroom without a pass from me.
You're stuck, right here in 7th grade.
But not forever... because one day you'll be free.
[students are cheering]
But what if on that day you're free, you haven't prepared, you're not ready, 
and then you look around you and you don't like what the world is.
What if the world is just a big disappointment?
Student: We're screwed.
Mr. Simonet: Unless... unless you take the things that you don't like about this world,
and you flip them upside down right on their ass.
 Don't tell your parents I use that word.
[students giggling]
And you can start that, today.
[showing the assignment on the board
"Think of an idea to change our world, and put it into ACTION"]
This is your assignment.
Extra credit, it goes on all year long.

The realm of possibility exist in each of you.
~Mr. Eugene Simonet

Arlene: What is going on with you and my son?
Jerry: He wanted to help somebody.
Wanted to get somebody back on their feet, so he gave me a little money.
Arlene: He gave you money?
Jerry: Yes, ma'am.
Arlene: That's his savings.
Jerry: Well, it's clothes and shoes and I got the job off it.
Arlene: You think you can keep it?
[glance at Jerry's scars on his hand]
Looks to me like you've got yourself a little problem.
Jerry: I can lick it.
Arlene: How's that supposed to happen all of a sudden?
Jerry: You ever been on the street?
Arlene: My mom took us pretty close.
Jerry: Well, you can't know, not untill you're looking at a dumpster.
But when you climb in the first time, and pull the newspapers over you
that's when you know you've messed your life up.
Somebody comes along like your son and gives me a leg up, I'll take it.
Even from a kid, I'll take it.
I can't mess up again or I'll be dead.
Arlene: I appreciate that you're trying to pay back Trevor...
Jerry: I'm not allowed to pay back Trevor.
Arlene: Then what is it you're doing?
Jerry: I'm paying it forward.

[Trevor makes some sketch on the board]
That's me.
And that's 3 people.
And I'm going to help them, 
but it has to be something really big, something they can't do by themselves.
So I do it for them. 
Then they do it for 3 other people, that's 9.
And I do 3 more... 
~Trevor McKinney

[after her kiss got rejected]
Arlene: Okay, that's the best I got.
Mr. Simonet: It's not about you.
Arlene: Yes, it is!
Something's been offered to you here and you don't want it.
Maybe you're scared to get rejected.
Well I can't reject you.
You're too quick for me.

Mr. Simonet: Your dad will come back and... 
what will happen when he comes back, Trevor?
Will he hurt you?
[Trevor shake his head]
Will he hurt her?
Trevor: Not if someone's there... instead of him.

Mr. Simonet: What are you doing here?
Arlene: I want you to understand.
Mr. Simonet: It's not necessary. No explanation required.
Arlene: Please, don't talk to me like that.
We had 13 years in, Eugene.
He's sober now. We've never been sober together.
Mr. Simonet: Well, I wish you luck.
Arlene: I feel like I've got to give him a chance.
Mr. Simonet: A chance? A chance for what?
Arlene: To change.
To try to make up for lost time.
Mr. Simonet: To take Trevor to ball games? Do some real 'daddy' things with him?
Arlene: Yeah, he promised to try.
What you want me to do?
Mr. Simonet: Oh, I don't know, be smart?
Arlene: He's his father, Eugene.
Mr. Simonet: He impregnated you, Arlene.
In what other way has he been a father to Trevor, 
unless knocking somebody around is a new family value?
Arlene: What do you talking about?
He never touched Trevor.
 Mr. Simonet: Oh, that's right. Only you.
He only took it out on you. That's so much better.
Arlene: What did Trevor tell you?
Mr. Simonet: Enough.
Secrets like that shouldn't be kept.
What good does it do to Trevor?
Arlene: Ricky never meant to hit me. We were drunk!
Mr. Simonet: Christ! What is it with women like you?
Is that something you tell yourself, "it's okay he beat me.", "Trevor's okay."
Trevor locked himself in a bathroom and he can't breathe... 
and he said he's hoping and praying that it will stop!
Arlene: Trevor never went throught that!
Mr. Simonet: You know what Trevor went through?
How do you know?
How do you know that the next time after you, he doesn't come for Trevor?
I know what I'm talking about, Arlene.
My father got on his knees and begged my mother...
and my mother, she always took him back.
I never understood it.
She'd cover the bruises ans the cuts and she'd take him back...
because he begged and he cried.
 Now you ask me what happened after he came back.
Arlene: No...
Mr. Simonet: No, go on! You wanted to know what happened to me! Now ask me!
Arlene: I don't like this.
Mr. Simonet: "Did he hurt you?" Ask me!
Arlene: Did he hurt you?
Mr. Simonet: Not for long.
By 13 I was gone. I ran away.
But I missed her, so I had to go back and see her.
So one night I did.
Ask me what happened. "What happened that night you came back, Eugene?"
Arlene: What happened?
Mr. Simonet: He was there, drunk as usual.
Only this time, I wasn't the same.
I was 16 years old and I was no longer afraid of him.
And when I looked him in the eye, and told him if he ever touched her again, I would kill him, he knew... he knew that he would never exist for me again.
And I'm standing in front of the house, I'm screaming for her to come out,
I'm telling her she doesn't have to take it anymore.
 She can come with me now.
I don't see it coming.
He hits my head with a 2-by-4 and I'm bleeding from my ear.
He's dragging me behind the house into the garage, then he's gone,
a minute, 5 minutes, I don't know.
Then he's back and wetting me down.
And I don't understand, why water should smell so bad.
And then I see it.
I see... this... this gas can... this red gas can from his truck.
And he looks at me one last time, and he lights a match.
And the last thing I remember, and I'll never forget it, were his eyes,
because they were filled with this... immense... satisfaction.
Arlene: I'm so sorry.
Mr. Simonet: Don't tell me how sorry you are for me!
Just tell me how you gonna stop it happening to Trevor.
Arlene: Ricky would never do that.
Mr. Simonet: Oh, Jesus, Arlene, he doesn't have to.
All he has to do is not love him.

Chris: Hi, I'm Chris Chandler and I'm joined today by an unusual 7th grader, Trevor McKinney.
Trevor, you must be pretty proud of yourself.
Trevor: No.
Chris: So you're not proud at all?
Trevor: I don't know, I guess.
Chris: Come on, you start a movement like Pay It Forward. You're not proud?
Trevor: I guess. I mean, I got an A in social studies.
But that was just for the effort.
Stuff I did, it didn't work out.
Chris: You're here.
Trevor: Yeah, but... I don't know, I tried real hard, but nothing really happened.
My mom's stuff worked.
She talked to my grandma, kind of made up with her.
It was really hard for her.
It was great for me, because my grandma came to my birthday party.
And I had really missed her.
And that's why Pay It Forward went to all those places... because of my mom.
Because she was so brave.
My stuff, I don't know, I think some people are too scared or something, 
to think things can be different.
The world's not exactly... shit.
I guess it's hard for some people who are used to things the way they are,
even if they're bad... to change.
And they kind of give up.
When they do, everybody... they kind of lose.

Mr. Simonet: I don't want to be one of those people he's talking about.
And I've become one.
I don't want to spend another second of wasted air.
Please don't let me stay trapped in here forever.
Arlene: I won't.
Mr. Simonet: I don't want to spend another second without you.

I guess it's hard for some people who are used to things the way they are,
even if they're bad... to change.
And they kind of give up.
When they do, everybody... they kind of lose.
It's hard. You can't plan it.
You have to watch people more, sort of keep an eye on them to protect them.
 Because they can't always see what they need.
It's like your big chance to fix something that's not like your bike.
You can fix a person.
~Trevor McKinney

*****

AMERICAN BEAUTY [1999]

... Look Closer

[Jane Burnham]: I need a father who's a role model, 

not some horny geek-boy who's gonna spray his shorts whenever I bring a girlfriend home from school. 

What a lame-o. 

Someone really should just put him out of his misery. 

[Ricky Fitts]: Want me to kill him for you?

[Jane Burnham]: Yeah. Would you?

[Ricky Fitts]: It's like God's looking right at you, just for a second, 

and if you're careful... you can look right back.

[Jane Burnham]: And what do you see? 

[Ricky Fitts]: Beauty.

I feel like I've been in a coma for the past twenty years. 
And I'm just now waking up. 

[Lester Burnham]

It's a great thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself. 

Makes you wonder what else you can do that you've forgotten about.

[Lester Burnham]

Remember those posters that said, 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life'? 

Well, that's true of every day but one - the day you die. 

[Lester Burnham] 

You better watch yourself, Jane, 

or you're going to turn into a real BITCH, just like your MOTHER! 

[Lester Burnham]

You ungrateful little brat! 
Just look at everything you have. 

When I was your age, we... lived in a duplex! 

We didn't even have our own house!

[Carolyn Burnham] 

My company sells an image. It's part of my job to live that image. 

[Carolyn Burnham]

There happens to be a lot about me that you don't know, Mr. Smarty Man. 

There's plenty of joy in my life. 

[Carolyn Burnham]

Welcome to America's weirdest home videos. 

[Ricky Fitts] 

She's not your friend. 

She's just someone you use to feel better about yourself. 

[Ricky Fitts]

I can't believe you don't know how beautiful you are.

[Ricky Fitts]

It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing and there's this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. Right? 

And this bag was just dancing with me. 

Like a little kid begging me to play with it. 

For fifteen minutes. 

That's the day I realized that there was this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. 

Video's a poor excuse, I know. 

But it helps me remember... I need to remember... 

Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in. 

[Ricky Fitts] 

I don't think that there's anything worse than being ordinary. 

[Angela Hayes]

If people I don't even know look at me and want to fuck me, 

it means I really have a shot at being a model. 

[Angela Hayes]

[at the dinner table]

[Carolyn Burnham]: Your father and I were just discussing his day at work. 

Why don't you tell our daughter about it, honey? 

[Lester Burnham]: Janie, today I quit my job. 

And then I told my boss to go fuck himself, 

and then I blackmailed him for almost sixty thousand dollars. 

Pass the asparagus. 

[Carolyn Burnham]: Your father seems to think this kind of behavior is something to be proud of. 

[Lester Burnham]: And your mother seems to prefer that I go through life like a fucking prisoner while she keeps my dick in a mason jar under the sink. 

[Carolyn Burnham]: How dare you speak to me that way in front of her. 

And I marvel that you can be so contemptuous of me, on the same day that you LOSE your job. 

[Lester Burnham]: Lose it? I didn't lose it. 

It's not like, 'Whoops! Where'd my job go?' 

I QUIT. 

Someone pass the asparagus, please. 

[Lester Burnham]: I am sick and tired of being treated like I don't exist. 

You two do whatever you want, whenever you want to do it, and I don't complain. 

[Carolyn Burnham]: Oh, you don't complain? 

Then please, excuse me, I must be psychotic, then! If you don't complain, what is this? Yeah, let's bring in the laugh-meter and see how loud it gets. 

[Lester Burnham, throws asparagus plate to wall]: Don't interrupt me, honey!

 Oh, yeah, and one more thing, from now on we're going to have alternate dinner music because frankly - and I don't think I'm alone here... 

[looks in Jane direction]  

I'm tired of this Lawrence Welk shit!

[Angela Hayes]: Jane, he's a freak! 

[Jane Burnham]: Then so am I! 

And we'll always be freaks and we'll never be like other people 

and you'll never be a freak because you're just too... perfect! 

[Jane Burnham]: I don't think we can be friends anymore.

[Angela Hayes]: You're way too uptight about sex.

[Jane Burnham]: Just don't fuck my dad, all right? Please? 

[Angela Hayes]: Why not?

[Lester Burnham]: I figured you guys might be able to give me some pointers. 

I need to shape up. Fast. 

[Jim Olmeyer]: Are you just looking to lose weight, 

or do you want increased strength and flexibility as well? 

[Lester Burnham]: I want to look good naked! 

[Brad Dupree]: ...so I'm sure you can understand the need to cut corners around here. 

[Lester Burnham]: Sure. Times are tight, and you need to free up cash. 

Gotta spend money to make money.

[Brad Dupree]: Exactly. 

[Lester Burnham]: Like when our editorial director used the company MasterCard to pay for a hooker, and then she used the card number to stay at the St. Regis for, what was it, three months? 

[Brad Dupree]: That's unsubstantiated gossip.

[Lester Burnham]: That's fifty thousand dollars. 

That's somebody's salary. 

Somebody who's probably gonna get fired because Craig has to pay women to fuck him! 

[Brad Dupree]: Jesus. Calm down. Nobody's getting fired yet. 

That's why we're having everyone write a job description, mapping out in detail how they contribute. 

That way, management can assess who's valuable and who's... 

[Lester Burnham]: Expendable. 

[Brad Dupree]: It's just business.

[Brad Dupree, reading Lester's job description]: 'My job consists of basically masking my contempt for the assholes in charge, and, at least once a day, retiring to the men's room so I can jerk off while I fantasize about a life that doesn't so closely resemble Hell.' 

Well, you have absolutely no interest in saving yourself. 

[Lester Burnham]: Brad, for 14 years I've been a whore for the advertising industry. 
The only way I could save myself now is if I start firebombing. 

[Brad Dupree]: Management wants you gone by the end of the day. 

[Lester Burnham]: Well, just what sort of severance package is management prepared to offer me? 

Considering the information I have about our Editorial Director buying pussy with company money - which, I think, would interest the I.R.S., 
since it technically constitutes fraud; 

and I'm sure that some of our advertisers and rival publications might like to know about it as well. 

Not to mention [grin] Craig's wife! 

[Brad Dupree, crosses his arms]: What do you want? 

[Lester Burnham]: One year's salary, with benefits. 

[Brad Dupree]: That's not going to happen.

[Lester Burnham]: Well, what do you say I throw in a little sexual harassment charge, to boot? 

[Brad Dupree, chuckles in disbelief]: Against who? 

[Lester Burnham, chuckles right back]: Against YOU. 

Can you prove that you didn't offer to save my job if I let you blow me?

[Brad Dupree]: Man, you are one twisted fuck.

[Lester Burnham]: Nope; I'm just an ordinary guy with nothing to lose. 

*****

A TIME TO KILL [1996]

Experience a Time You'll Never Forget

What is it in us that seeks the truth? 

Is it our minds or is it our hearts?

[Jake Tyler Brigance]

And until we can see each other as equals, justice is never going to be even-handed. 

It will remain nothing more than a reflection of our own prejudices.

[Jake Tyler Brigance]

[Jake Tyler Brigance]: We're going to lose this case, Carl Lee. 

There are no more points of law to argue here. 

I want to cope a plea, maybe Buckley will cop us a second degree murder and we can get you just life in prison.

[Carl Lee Hailey]: Jake, I can't do no life in prison. You got to get me off. 

Now if it was you on trial... 

[Jake Tyler Brigance]: It's not me, we're not the same, Carl Lee. 

The jury has to identify with the defendant. 

They see you, they see a yardworker; they see me, they see an attorney. 

I live in town, you live in the hill. 

[Carl Lee Hailey]: Well, you are white and I'm black. 

See Jake, you think just like them, that's why I picked you; 
you are one of them , don't you see? 

Oh, you think you ain't because you eat in Claude's and you are out there trying to get me off on TV talking about black and white, but the fact is you are just like all the rest of them. 

When you look at me, you don't see a man, you see a black man.

[Jake Tyler Brigance]: Carl Lee, I'm your friend.

[Carl Lee Hailey]: We ain't no friends, Jake. 

We are on different sides of the line, I ain't never seen you in my part of town. 

I bet you don't even know where I live. 

Our daughters, Jake; they ain't never gonna play together.

[Jake Tyler Brigance]: What are you talking about? 

[Carl Lee Hailey]: America is a wall and you are on the other side. 

How's a black man ever going to get a fair trial with the enemy on the bench and in the jury box? My life in white hands? You Jake, that's how. 
You are my secret weapon because you are one of the bad guys. 

You don't mean to be but you are. It's how you was raised. 

Nigger, negro, black, African-american, no matter how you see me, you see me different, 
you see me like that jury sees me, you are them. 

Now throw out your points of law Jake. 

If you was on that jury, what would it take to convince you to set me free? 

That's how you save my ass. That's how you save us both.

[Lucien Wilbanks]: You wanted this case, well you've got it. 

It isn't easy saving the world even one case at a time, but you stick with it. 

You just might have a knack for it. 

Don't do what I did. Don't quit.

[Jake Tyler Brigance]: What are you talking about, quit. You're a hero Lucien.

[Lucien Wilbanks]: Hero my ass. 

Do you think the world needed me beating cops heads on that picket line. 

I was needed here. In that courtroom. 
And I let them push me, I gave them an excuse to kick me out and now I can never plead a case in there again. 

But you can. You're an attorney. Be proud. 

Your job is to find justice no matter how well she may hide herself from you. So you go on in there and you do your job.

[Jake Tyler Brigance]: I can't be you, Lucian.

 [Lucien Wilbanks]: Don't be me, Jake. Be better than me.

If you win this case, justice will prevail, and if you lose, justice will also prevail. 

Now that is a strange case.

[Lucien Wilbanks]

I can not promise you riches. 

What I can offer you the chance to save the world one case at a time.

[Lucien Wilbanks]

I want to tell you a story. 

I'm going to ask you all to close your eyes while I tell you the story. 

I want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to yourselves. 

Go ahead. Close your eyes, please. 

This is a story about a little girl walking home from the grocery store one sunny afternoon. 

I want you to picture this little girl. 

Suddenly a truck races up. Two men jump out and grab her. 

They drag her into a nearby field and they tie her up and they rip her clothes from her body. Now they climb on. 

First one, then the other, raping her, shattering everything innocent and pure with a vicious thrust in a fog of drunken breath and sweat. 

And when they're done, after they've killed her tiny womb, murdered any chance for her to have children, to have life beyond her own, they decide to use her for target practice. 

They start throwing full beer cans at her. 

They throw them so hard that it tears the flesh all the way to her bones. 

Then they urinate on her. 

Now comes the hanging. They have a rope. They tie a noose. 

Imagine the noose going tight around her neck and with a sudden blinding jerk she's pulled into the air and her feet and legs go kicking. 

They don't find the ground. 

The hanging branch isn't strong enough. It snaps and she falls back to the earth. 

So they pick her up, throw her in the back of the truck and drive out to Foggy Creek Bridge. 

Pitch her over the edge. And she drops some thirty feet down to the creek bottom below. 

 Can you see her? 

Her raped, beaten, broken body soaked in their urine, soaked in their semen, soaked in her blood, left to die. 

Can you see her? 

I want you to picture that little girl. 

Now imagine she's white. 

[Jake Tyler Brigance]

*****