This Must Be the Place (2021) Movie Script
1
[energetic piano music plays]
[]
[]
[]
[music ends suddenly]
[door latch clicks]
Vic, why are you doing
this tonight?
It's gotta be done.
Yeah, but you had
six months to do it.
You also had six months
to help me, but here we are.
[sighs]
[Vic] Benny,
what are you doing?
Don't do this tonight.
I don't work. When else is it
gonna get done?
[Benny] I don't know,
but not tonight.
[Benny sighs]
Benny!
[Benny huffs loudly]
Okay, okay,
I'll stop after this one, okay?
Just let me finish this box.
You need to chill, Vic.
I am chill, it's just,
I get so far,
and then something comes up,
and I have to start
all over again.
Sounds like you need
to concentrate more,
or finish other shit
on your plate.
Or I need a brother
who's willing to help.
Where are you going now?
[Benny] I'm getting
the ginger beer.
Stop doing that shit,
and help me cut those limes.
[sighs]
[Benny] Still didn't cut
any limes, huh?
Wasn't that the shit
you were doing last week,
and none of it worked?
You know, I was so close
to finishing all of this
until you waltzed in here,
slamming shit
all over the kitchen.
-[Benny] That's not the problem.
-No?
Nope.
The problem is Dad left
this shit on us to do.
Right, because it was
his fault.
Dad hoarding his shit?
Sounds like his fault.
Oh, so you're gonna play
the victim now,
as if you ever help?
It took me months
to go through these old,
hand-me-down clothes.
You know,
you'd probably save so much
time if you just took
all these boxes,
and threw 'em out.
[laughs]
-[Benny] What?
-It's just--
It's really annoying
when you walk in here,
telling me how to do
all this shit.
Oh, Dad would be so proud
to know you sound just like him.
And Mom would be
so proud to know
that you walk away
after telling me what to do.
Do you want one?
[Vic] Sure.
[Benny] So, do you remember
Dad's birthday?
No, I forgot Dad's birthday.
When was it?
Hilarious.
So, you remember how
the A.C. went out,
and it got
ridiculously hot in here?
I would remember that day,
whether it was Dad's birthday
or not.
[Benny] All right, sweet.
Anyways, um,
so I couldn't sleep,
and then I got up,
and I smoked a bowl outside,
and then I was able
to finally sleep.
But, that night, I had a dream.
It was you and me,
and we were kids.
And then Mom and Dad
were there, too,
but Dad walked up to us
in the front yard,
and then Mom ran after,
and planted a fat kiss on him.
And then, he looks at me,
he looks back to the house,
gets down to my eye level,
shakes my hair all around,
smiles, and just
as he's about to speak,
I woke up.
Okay.
Come on, Vic.
Like, come on.
-Oh, stop.
-[Benny] No, it's something.
You want it to be something.
Or it is something.
Dad never wanted
to sell the house.
It can't be a coincidence, Vic.
[Vic] Oh, it can't?
So, the broken A.C.
had nothing to do with it?
Yeah, okay, but it's, like,
always hot in the summer.
Or the fact
that you smoked a joint
moments before going to bed?
You know I always smoke, too.
Or the fact that you
don't take responsibility
for anything in this home,
and you just want
the easy way out?
-Fuck you.
-Oh! Fuck me.
[Benny] You're putting words
into my mouth.
You're acting like there's no
reason why you had that dream.
Yeah, okay, but, like, I wasn't
thinking of that stuff.
I was--I was having a dream.
Like, I was dreaming.
I'm sure.
[sighs]
You're a bitch.
Says the man who won't do
a thing around here to help.
And what--Okay,
what do you want me to do?
You want me to fix this outlet
that Dad never fixed?
You put a fuck-ton of boxes
in front of it?
He might love me for that.
Or, how about this fucking hole
he put in the drywall,
when he was drunk?
If I fix that, maybe he'll
love me from the other side.
Or I can put my own in there,
when I get drunk.
Which reminds me.
I know what you're doing, Ben.
You want me to get mad.
But I'm not going to,
because, guess what?
At the end of the day, you're
still not helping around here.
And that's fine.
That's just who you are.
All right,
let's see what's in here.
No, Ben!
-[Benny] This is organized?
-Yes, it is.
-Now, cut it out.
-Where's Mom's stuff?
Not a lot of her in here, huh?
What, did--What, did you, like,
throw it all out, or what?
I think she took most of it
with her when she left.
Fuck you.
It's always me!
You just said
you organized this, right?
[Vic] You love to make problems
for other people.
All you do is make problems
for everyone else.
What? Really? Really.
-Yes, really.
-[knocking on door]
James is staying the night.
James? Who's James?
We went to high school together.
Can you please--
That really narrows it down.
We went to high school together,
and they need a place to stay.
-Please.
-No, Ben.
We have way too much
shit to deal with.
We can't have people over.
-We--we always have
shit to deal with.
-No, Ben.
What, do you want
me to go to the
front door and just say,
"Never mind?"
-Yes.
-No. I'm not doing that.
Of course not.
Anything to go against me.
This has nothing
to do with that.
[knocking on front door]
And how long is he staying?
Uh, like, a night or two.
Don't say "he."
What do you mean?
He's not living here.
Don't say "he."
And I--It's gonna be one
or two nights.
-Why do you keep saying that?
-[Benny] What?
"Don't say 'he'."
Just call James, James.
I don't get it.
[knocking on door]
Just, please.
[cell phone buzzing]
This is--This is just as much
my house as it is yours.
We both get a say in this home.
[scoffs]
Can you clean up
the box, please?
"We both get a say
in this home."
All right, just try to be nice.
-Hey.
-[James] Oh, hey.
-Hey, good to see you again.
-Hi, Benny, you, too.
-Yeah. Um, here, I'll take this.
-Oh, thanks.
Here, I can take that,
as well.
-Okay.
-Thank you.
Uh, do you want me
to take my shoes off?
-Leave 'em on?
-Uh, no, you--that's fine.
-You can keep them on.
-Okay, cool.
-We're making drinks in here.
-Oh, awesome.
[Benny] Moscow mules.
This is my sister.
Yeah, Victoria, right?
Uh, yeah.
Oh, we had class together
a while ago.
Uh, James, in my class...
I thought you were a--
Um, weren't you
in Benny's grade?
Um, no, I actually
graduated with you.
Um, I think the class was, like,
Brit Lit or something.
So, Jamie, then.
Oh. Sorry.
Oh, that's okay.
It's no problem.
Happens all the time.
Popularity wasn't much my thing.
Had other things on my mind.
Am I intruding on something?
N--No. No.
Um, actually, in fact, here.
-Let me show you
something in here.
-Okay.
-[James] Wow!
-[Benny] Pretty cool, huh?
Yeah. That is incredible.
[Benny] Yeah.
My parents got it
as a wedding gift.
I think it's, like,
from the 60s.
But the amp
still works super well.
-[Benny] Here.
-[James] That's amazing.
[clicks]
[clicks]
[clicks]
[gentle organ music plays]
Wow, this is so cool.
[Benny] Mm-hmm.
Hey, have you ever
thought about making
your own music for this?
Um, like, putting my music
on a record?
[James] Yeah.
I mean, I wonder
if places even do that,
but you can make your own songs,
and they can make 'em
into these types of records.
Hmm. Maybe, I'm sure
there's somewhere
online I could look, but
I haven't done it yet, no.
It could be pretty cool.
I mean, are you still making
music, like in high school?
Uh, yeah.
It's just I don't, like,
mix my music very well,
so I'm nervous
if I were to play it
on something like this.
Really? Why?
[Benny] I would just hate
to, like, ruin this thing.
Oh.
Yeah, you wouldn't want that.
Yeah.
[]
Um, do you wanna go
make drinks?
Sure. Yeah.
Here, you can help
with these limes.
I know the perfect mixture
for these drinks.
It's two shots of vodka,
four shots of ginger beer,
and then, two squeezed limes.
Um, actually...
hey, Vic, where's that, um,
lime-squeezer thing?
[drawer rattles]
Yeah, that would--
that would--
[utensil clatters]
[James] Um, if I'm intruding
on something,
-I can just find another place.
-No, you're fine.
You're not intruding.
She's just focused.
Trying to be.
Well, is there anything
I can help with?
No, it's fine.
I'm just dealing with
my dead dad's shit.
I'm sorry.
-Are you?
-Fuck, Vic.
-Sorry?
-You don't have to be.
I don't remember you,
or the old you,
or however you would say it.
You never knew him,
so it's okay not to be sorry.
You know?
Don't mind her,
she's dealing with shit
she doesn't have to be
dealing with.
And Benny's not owning up
to things he needs to fix.
She confuses being
a welcoming host
as being insecure
and bitchy.
You're the one calling
a woman a bitch.
[James] I can really leave.
It's okay.
[Vic] No, it's fine. Stay.
I think you're making my drink,
and I sure could use one.
Yeah, here's an extra
half a shot for ya.
So, James, while there's
an abundance of thoughts
on my mind,
the one I'm most curious about
is how long you plan
on couch-surfing here.
Oh my God, she's an ass.
Vic, your drink is almost done.
No, that's all right. Um...
To be honest, this whole
homelessness thing
really surprised me.
[laughs humorlessly]
I think all of us.
[Benny] All righty, here we go.
Let's just get some of this.
Perfect.
There you go.
Drink up.
Stop fucking working on this.
It's making James uncomfortable.
[James] Should we squeeze
all of these limes?
Yeah, squeeze 'em--
Yeah, I'd squeeze all of them.
[jazz singer on album scatting]
You know why we use
the squeezer?
[James] Why's that?
I hate flakes.
Benny hates flakes, too.
In fact, the one thing
we can probably agree on
is no lime flakes
in the drinks.
[Benny] We just like to use
this squeezer thing.
Um, it gets out more juice
than our hands can.
Not that your hands can't
get out the same am--
You don't have to use it
if you don't want to.
[scoffs]
You know, I would have thought
it's because you don't want
someone else's fingers
in your drinks.
It seems to always
be the issue with people.
Make my drinks,
but don't use your fingers.
[Vic] Sounds like
it's a big issue to you.
[James] Well, what's the big
issue, dirty hands?
I mean, I read somewhere
that you're more likely
to have a dirtier hand than
the person sitting next to you.
Especially if they're making
drinks.
You can't always gamble
on probability.
[scoffs] Please,
that is all we do
around here.
But if there were a way
that you could ensure
you wouldn't get sick
from your drink,
wouldn't you take
the precaution?
Um, you know, it depends.
It depends if you trust
the person making your drink.
Because there is nothing
like freshly squeezed lime.
And I drop it in like that,
so there's no need to mix it.
-Cheers.
-[Benny] Cheers.
[jazzy dance music plays]
I am going to throw this off the
table if you don't clean it up.
[Vic] Instead of helping me
put it in the box?
[Benny mutters under his breath]
[James] Here, I can help too.
[Benny and Vic]
No, it's all right.
[Benny] It just doesn't
concern you. It's okay.
Vic.
Here, James.
So, where were we
with the homeless conversation?
You don't have to talk about it
if you don't want to.
[James] No, that's all right.
Um, so I've learned it's best
to just, you know,
break the Band-Aid,
even though this
is a rather complicated one,
depending on who
I'm talking to.
You think this will be
complicated for us?
Mm, not for us, no.
[James] No.
No, of course not.
In fact, there is this
natural vulnerability
that comes about, oftentimes,
when any and all
Band-Aids rip.
So, with that being said, um...
my parents basically
gave me the ultimatum
of staying as Jamie
or as James.
And the downside to James,
is that it came with...
well, it came without a home.
And what's funny is,
they were completely okay
with it at first.
You know?
But then it got really weird.
Like, when I corrected them
to call me James,
they would just turn,
and walk away.
They wouldn't correct
themselves in front of me.
They wouldn't even publicly
call me by my name.
No, I guess they were afraid.
And when I changed
fashion interests,
we just stopped going out
as a family altogether.
And, you know, I just...
it's just strange,
because I used to spend
so much time with them,
and all of a sudden,
there just wasn't time anymore.
And I started to really not feel
comfortable in my own home.
And they didn't feel good
in theirs.
-So...
-So you left?
No, more like pushed out.
You know, it's the little stuff
that does that to you,
after it adds up.
It was either me,
or live in their home.
Oh, I understand it fully.
You had to leave in order
to get some sort
of self-satisfaction.
No, just to be myself.
Sure, it becomes about
the things you'll sacrifice.
Sacrifice?
Yeah, in order to hold yourself
in higher regard.
As opposed to what?
What other people want
out of me?
As opposed to mending
what's broken.
No, you know,
as far as I'm concerned,
if they broke it,
they hold the power to fix it.
Did they break it, though?
Because it sounds like
they were cool with it at first.
Yeah, but would you ignore
your doctor
if they said you were terminal?
-I--
-No, actually, fuck it.
I'm not going to compare
my home life to a disease,
and I don't like the insinuation
that I was the problem.
What did I walk in on here?
Vic just likes to project
her problems onto new guests,
so that she has the upper hand.
Benny sits on the fence
so balanced,
that he'll appease
any guest in order
to avoid potential conflict.
Best not speak your mind, right?
-All right.
-In fact,
Benny will go so far
out of his way to please guests
that he loses all sense of what
he's built in this home,
so as to not come across
as dense,
unagreeable, or worse,
impersonable.
Because that's how
you see me, right?
Those are the words you use,
I think.
[Benny sighs heavily]
[footsteps fade]
Exciting stuff here,
huh, James?
Welcome to our home.
You're saying that
like I'm judging it.
How could anyone not?
James, feel free to leave
this one-dimensional deposition
anytime you'd like.
You can join me outside
if you want.
Because clearly,
there's history here
that needs to be sorted out.
And everyone has that
to deal with.
[gentle music plays]
[sighs]
Oh, thanks, man.
Mm-hmm.
She's always playing these
fucking games with me.
Sibling rivalry?
Worse.
It's just, like,
constant disagreements.
You know,
it doesn't seem so bad,
but if there's issues,
address them early,
before they grow, you know?
What was your family like?
Or your home, I suppose.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
You know, my parents
had their white picket fence
life, you know.
They found their comfort.
But when you're young, you see
life through, like, rose.
But as you get older, you
realize it's more of a green.
When did you tell them?
When I started seeing green.
The home wasn't seeing it,
so I thought I'd bring it up.
Let it be known it's out there,
you know.
I'm here, this is me.
[sighs]
Whatever helps others,
you know?
They gotta know it's just cool
to just, let it out.
It fucking sucked hitting
the ground so hard, though.
[sighs]
But if you get back up,
at least you know it's gonna get
better for others,
and you can get over that
fear of, you know,
whatever it is.
Truth.
-Yeah.
-Wait, what?
Truth.
Fear of truth.
Hmm.
Yeah. Fear of truth.
Maybe we're all just
afraid of that.
Yeah, you know, it should just
really be met head-on.
[laughs] What,
like going into battle?
[laughs] Maybe I am.
Maybe we are.
Maybe we should.
Yeah, sounds a little too
Lord of the Rings -y for me.
[laughs]
Yeah, how would you know?
Hey, thanks for letting me
stay over again.
Yeah, no problem.
Just, to me, it felt like
the least I could do,
since, you know,
not seeing you
for three years.
Yeah, I think since you,
um, ghosted me, right?
God, yes, I'm sorry.
[sighs]
Fucking ghoster.
-Ooooh!
-Yeah, yeah, yeah,
okay, okay,
-Okay, okay, I get it.
-That's you.
Yeah, I get it.
Jesus, fuck.
You know, you were the only
boyfriend who ghosted me.
Actually, no, yeah, not even
my girlfriends have, either.
Jesus, fuck.
God damn it.
Like, middle school, Benny,
not even those in middle school.
Okay, okay, don't go comparing
me to middle-schoolers, now.
Oh, I'm not comparing,
I'm just saying,
not even my middle school
hubbies went ghosting.
Now, if you want to go
comparing them--
-Yeah, okay, whatever.
-[laughs]
So, then, why'd you even like--
thanks, why'd you even,
like, text me?
Like, I couldn't have been
the first one you texted.
Oh, yeah, you weren't.
For sure you weren't.
-Yeah, okay.
-[both laugh]
You see? See, so, like,
why--why me?
Honestly, I don't know.
Your name just came up
when I was scrolling,
and I--I guess the rest
is good faith.
I thought I was, like, tossed
out long ago, I don't know.
Hey, that was years ago.
I'm not holding on
to high school grudges.
Yeah, no, but, like,
I don't know.
It wasn't--it wasn't fair
of me to leave you then,
like, at that time,
and everything.
Yeah, I know, I mean,
it was just really tough.
People know people
a certain way,
and people practically
force others to look
how they want them to look,
and then when the people's
true color shows,
they just turn their backs.
They're no longer an investment.
They don't invest
in the unknown.
I think I was afraid
to know more.
I was afraid to know more.
Yeah, well, I knew it wasn't
gonna last, anyway.
Yeah? How's that?
[sighs]
Matt Davis, in gym class.
-What--what?
-[laughs]
I can only imagine
how you looked at him
in the locker room.
No, okay, I--he had really
good forms in the workouts.
-I don't know--
-God, of course.
Yeah, it's just good posture
to take note of, you know,
it's the way he stood in lines,
shoulders rolled back.
-I--
-It's so funny.
I don't--I mean, he did,
like, he had good form.
I don't know.
Maybe it was more of, like,
the confidence he had,
you know, he--
Mr. Roberts, he never
explained workouts well,
but--but Matt
always just, like,
took the--the instructions,
and did the workouts
with confidence.
I don't know.
I admired that, so.
You know,
there was this one time,
we were playing dodge ball,
and I got Joey Jones out
from the other team.
[sniffs]
And Matt comes up to me,
and he puts his arm around me,
and he gives me a high-five,
and I swear to God,
I fucking melted like
a grilled-cheese sandwich.
[chuckles]
And it never tasted
so good since.
I can hardly
remember the flavor now.
[James] I went to this festival
one time...
like, some bullshit
one-off festival,
super unorganized,
people everywhere.
But, um...
I had the most delicious
grilled-cheese sandwich there.
Four different cheeses.
Oh, my God. That was the best
part of that festival.
-And the sex.
-[Benny laughs]
Grilled cheese and sex.
Oh, my God.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, it's probably
because most of them
couldn't resist the sex.
[laughs]
What are you talking about?
My past relationships.
They didn't ghost me.
'cause they didn't want this
sexy motherfucker gone forever.
Which, unfortunately, you didn't
get the pleasure of receiving.
Maybe I could've saved you.
-[Shushes]
Don't do that, please.
[James] Did you
talk about it to her?
You know, I don't even
think it's her fault.
Ever since I can remember,
my parents were always rocky.
They were always arguing.
And then, like, after childhood,
when I got through that mud,
and after all that murkiness,
all I could remember
was that I was Mom's gold,
and Vic was Dad's.
And that's what started it.
'Cause, like, I would get
gifts that Vic wouldn't get,
and she would get gifts
that I wouldn't get,
and then we would
fight about it,
and then Mom and Dad would fight
about us fighting about it.
You know, people say
we aren't even siblings anymore.
That we don't even look alike.
It's not her fault.
But it's so hard to fuckin'
reach her, you know? Like...
It's like Dad put her
on a different wavelength,
and I just...
I don't know.
[James] Well, what about you?
What about me?
You always push it on Vic,
but... what about you?
[Benny] I mean...
I don't know. It's not like it
doesn't seem to be my problem.
Like, Vic's the one
that isn't talking.
I mean, did you try, like,
changing signals, you know?
Finding a different wavelength?
-[Benny] Yeah, it's just,
it's not my fault, like--
-Well, what about you, Benny?
You know, it starts with you.
You start with you.
Let her figure out her own shit.
But you need to figure out
how you can stop
this senseless bickering
that accomplishes nothing.
Yeah, okay, okay, so, then,
what about me, then?
Like, what? What about me?
That's not a question for me.
I don't know.
I don't wanna end up
like my parents.
My dad never saw green.
My mom did, but...
Is it scary?
[James sighs]
Yeah.
I'd be lying if I said
it wasn't, you know,
the fear of truth.
But you know, in senior year,
when we'd pass each other
in the halls,
we shared the same look.
Well, at least, we took
a look at the same fence.
And when we'd lock eyes
across the hallway,
I just somehow knew
I could trust you.
[Benny] I don't know.
Maybe we're looking
at the same fence,
but I feel like
we're on opposite sides.
Like,
in two different backyards.
Well...
Okay, yeah,
like, we're not, but--[laughs]
Never mind. Whatever. Here.
Hey, who do you buy from?
[laughs]
Um, Joey Jones.
-Oh, my God. [laughs] Wow.
-Yeah.
[James] He helped you out
more ways than one, seriously.
[Benny] Yeah, I guess so.
[]
Oh, Dad.
What am I supposed to do?
Where are you now?
Where were you before?
God, why did you leave us
with an unfinished house?
The promise is made
to see its value
only in the unfinished drywall
and the stupid stairs.
And I know it's not your fault.
None of this is.
But I can't get Ben to see that.
[sighs] He's convinced
I'm out against him,
like--like I'm the one
making him suffer.
He could see the value
if only he helped.
But maybe he's right. Maybe he
just can't see the value built.
[sighs] If Mom didn't leave...
Mom,
if you didn't fucking leave.
You caused the promise to break.
He counted on you.
We all did, and you left.
And--and I know why you did,
but you damaged this home,
and you left me to fix it alone.
[sighs] Sometimes I wonder
what would have happened
if you'd just stayed.
[sighs shakily]
If it never would have happened.
If you had just kept saying
what was on your mind,
and saying it,
and saying it, then...
maybe the wall
would be fixed, and...
[sighs] ...no more problems
with the AC, and...
we'd finally get the pool going.
Dogs in the yard,
barking, playing.
And we'd be having drinks,
floating on the inner tubes,
and bumping into each other.
Then maybe I'd have reason
to resent Dad, too.
[Benny] Fuck.
This fucking door, too.
Shit. Fuck. Vic, the door.
[Vic] What did you do?
[Benny] I'm trying to open it,
and it's stuck again.
Did you grease the bottom
like I told you to?
[Benny] Vic, please.
Just come help.
-So you didn't.
-[Benny] Vic, please.
It's like...
-Okay, ready?
-[Benny] Yeah, here.
Okay. [grunts]
[sighs]
Here, I can take your jacket.
Oh, okay. Thanks.
[Benny] We gotta get
a new door, Vic.
[Vic] You always wanna throw
away everything in this house.
He even wanted to throw away
Dad's old clothes.
Just kick 'em to the curb.
He used to run around
the backyard in
an oversized t-shirt of Dad's.
[Benny] Yeah, but they don't
fit the same anymore,
and it's shitty material.
-In that box, there?
-Yeah.
Full of Dad's old clothes.
Clothes that Benny used to wear
before bed, if he was sick,
or just because.
[Benny] They're from
the nineties and outdated.
I'm not wearing that shit.
They weren't outdated before
Mom left. I'm sure those
three years really set him back.
Well,
anything you think will fit me?
I don't think so.
You're pretty small.
Oh, yeah? Okay.
I don't think your styles
would match.
[Benny] Well, let's have
James try something on.
-I mean, you left them
for me anyways, right?
-Yes, for you.
[Benny] And to be quite honest,
I don't remember going through
this stuff and organizing it.
Of course not.
You never are present.
You're always up in the clouds,
wondering about the what-ifs
instead of addressing
the problem at hand.
Looks like I'm solving one
right now, huh?
What the fuck is--God, no.
Oh, yeah.
-Yeah. Here, try that on.
-What the hell, Ben?
[Benny] What?
It's my shirt, right?
I want James to wear my shirt.
Besides, it'll bring out
their eyes, don't you think?
-No.
-Yeah, they will.
No!
[James] I don't have to take it.
You can, and they will.
-I don't think you should.
-Is that not my shirt?
Can James not wear my shirt?
The bathroom's up
and to the right.
[James] Okay.
What the fuck is your problem?
What, so it can only be my shirt
if I don't give it to someone?
-It's Dad's shirt.
-So when does it become mine?
Like, do I have to
wear his shit in his honor?
Like, when does any fucking
thing in this house become mine?
Like... is it all still Dad's
because you're living here?
-Oh, screw you.
-That's what I thought.
[scoffs] Who does that shit
to their Dad's shirt?
Vic, it's a fucking shirt.
They make hundreds of these
in a factory somewhere.
Oh, good to know you think that
Dad's just like everyone else.
I didn't say that. I would never
say that about Dad.
God, you're such a complainer.
Really? One might think
you're talking about yourself.
-Oh! Yeah, right.
-Yeah, right.
Why couldn't you just
grease the fucking door?
It's fucking broken, Vic.
We need a new one.
-It needs grease.
-What, so it can break again?
When am I going to
install a new one?
I don't have time
to install a new door.
Okay, okay, I'll do it, then.
-Yeah, right.
-No, I'll do it.
In your dreams, which aren't
even yours, apparently.
-I'll do it, Vic.
-You don't even help me
with the boxes.
When are you gonna
help me with the door?
And I don't have time
to do it myself.
Okay, fine.
So let's sell the fucking place.
So let's just grease the door!
So let's make some drinks.
Uh, what do we need?
You need the beer.
[James] Hey, Benny,
I can throw down,
but you wanna, um,
roll another one?
Yeah, sure.
Hey, Vic, you smoke?
Sometimes.
It depends on my mood.
[James] Okay, well,
how about tonight?
I'm not in the mood.
That's a shame.
I don't always need it.
Oh, I was talking
about your mood.
So, what do you guys do
when you drink?
Wanna play cards?
Yeah, sure.
I know a game. Care to play?
-I'd rather play--
-[Benny] Yeah, let's do it.
[scoffs]
Do you need a full deck?
[James] Yes, please.
-[Benny] Thank you.
-[James] Mm-hmm.
Okay, so, this is the game.
It's a Truth or Dare
kind of game.
You say a card,
dealer says a card.
If you're closer,
then you're safe.
But if you're not,
you either do as the dealer
says, or you drink.
Sounds like something
Benny will be good at,
considering he's so easily
swayed by guests.
And this might be
difficult for Vic,
considering she spins around
in a hamster wheel
full of insecurity.
[James] Okay, yeah, regardless,
it's gonna be fun, okay?
Um, but,
just so you know, Benny,
I got ammunition up my sleeve,
and Victoria,
you really can't drink so much.
You don't wanna be
fumbling into the wall,
-you know, into the wall.
-[laughs]
Okay, truth or dare?
Uh, dare.
Okay, now say a card.
-Six.
-Seven.
Hmm.
Order a pizza, and say
you have a large, fat tip
for them when they get here.
[laughs] Yeah, right.
Okay, from where?
Pete's Pizza.
-Can I star-69 the call?
-[James] No.
Then they're gonna know
who called.
Who do you think's gonna answer
the door when they get here?
[Vic snickers]
[sighs]
I also don't have any money,
so I don't know if
I can even pay for it.
Here. This should do.
[sighs]
So stupid.
[James laughs]
Uh, yeah, hello?
Um, I'd like to
place a delivery.
Uh, Benny.
248 Levering Street.
Um, can I get
one large cheese pizza,
and one large, um,
pepperoni pizza?
Uh, that's it. Yep.
Um, I'll be paying with cash.
[whispering] Big, fat tip.
And I have a large, fat tip
waiting for you when
you get here. Thanks, bye.
-They're not gonna show up.
-Oh, my God, yes.
-[Vic laughs]
-Yeah, they are.
I've done this before.
-What's the tip?
-What, the large fat one?
-[Benny] Yeah.
-[Vic chortles]
-How long did they say?
-[Benny] 30 minutes.
Oh, Benny, we have time.
Don't worry.
I'm proud of you, Benny.
That's a first.
I'll drink to that courage.
Give me the cards.
Truth or dare?
Truth. Eight.
Seven.
So, are you really organizing
these boxes, or just
going through old memories?
[sighs]
Truth or dare?
Truth. Two.
Three.
-What's wrong with Jamie?
-You don't have to answer that
if you don't want to.
[James] No, it's the game.
Jamie wasn't me.
Sure it was.
[scoffs] Maybe to you.
Maybe to my parents,
but not to me.
And no offense to the name,
but that's all it was.
It's just a name.
And I was always me.
When I was 18,
I decided I'm James.
And, um, you know, my parents
were just one letter off.
They were pretty close.
-So are you gay?
-Hey, you asked your question.
Uh, I'd make love to a girl.
-You wish.
-[Benny] Okay.
-You think?
-[Benny] Okay,
all right, move on.
Give her the cards. You're done.
Truth or dare?
Uh, dare.
Jack.
Ten.
Mmm...
Kiss me.
[Victoria laughing]
Told you.
Little bit of ammunition.
-What a shot.
-[Benny] Fuck you.
Give me the cards,
give me the cards.
Truth or dare?
[laughs] Dare. Queen.
Ten.
After you rake tomorrow,
how about you burn
one of those boxes?
-Fuck you.
-[Benny] Sounds like a drink.
What did you think
I was gonna say?
Hey, I didn't know how
courageous you wanted to be.
Give me the cards.
-Truth or dare?
-[James] Truth.
Nine.
Eight.
Think you'll ever see
your parents again?
I think I will.
Well, I'm hopeful
that they'll miss me.
You know?
Like, I'm more than
what they wanted me to be,
and I'm better than
their expectations.
But I guess saying that is more
like faith than the truth, so...
I'll drink anyway.
Truth or dare?
Uh... truth.
Ten?
Eight.
-Okay, now what?
-Oh, nothing. Nothing.
-Well, what were you gonna ask?
-[James sighs]
I'm curious, who had
the better Brit Lit grade?
-I did.
-Oh, I did.
I did.
Okay, well, where's the report
cards to prove this? 'Cause...
I think Vic might know,
considering she "organizes"
all the boxes.
Something with your name on it
sounds like your shit.
[James] Okay. Okay, whatever.
We'll just settle it
on a question.
What was Oscar Wilde
most famous for?
-Lady Windermere's Fan.
-The aestheticism movement.
[chuckles] Oh! You guys
might have had the same grade.
-Well, which one is it?
-[Benny] That's not fair.
-What's not fair?
-They're both well-known.
But she asked the question.
They.
James asked the question,
so I wanna know what James
thinks the answer is.
Mmm, the aestheticism movement.
Yep!
-Fuck you!
-Mmm! It's okay, Benny.
No, fuck her.
She's doing that on purpose.
What am I doing?
It doesn't involve you.
You didn't live here.
You're a fucking dog,
you know that?
You fuckin' wag your tail
and smile anytime anyone says
"Good girl."
And you're a fucking dog who
hides his tail between his legs
and droops his ears
every time he's inevitably
challenged by something.
See? This is what he does.
He's got to find his balance
on the fence again.
[Benny] Who wants more drink?
-Yeah, I'll have some.
-[Vic] Me too.
So he does this act
where he plays good guy
and avoids
getting into an argument
and instead does nice things.
The drink was empty.
And I knew you weren't
gonna make it, so I had to.
You think it magically
appeared full when you tried
getting through the door?
-The one you didn't grease?
-It's broken, Vic.
You know,
you should fix the door now
while we have company over
and the spotlight's on you.
Oh, but then you'd have to
wear that mask all the time,
and you don't want that.
[James] Need help, Ben?
You know,
you did the same fuckin' thing
when Dad was around.
-What are you talking about?
-Anytime you did
something good for him,
you'd always do
that stupid smile thing.
What did you do when
you did something he liked?
Did you ever do something
he liked? Can you remember?
Sorry, James.
This doesn't concern you.
No, it's okay. I'm in your home.
-Thank you.
-More like Dad's home.
[Vic] What was that?
[exhales]
You know, as if anything
changed since he's been gone.
Like, when Mom left,
all of her rules were
tossed out the window.
I think that was voluntary.
You don't know
what you're talking about.
-[Vic] Don't I, though?
-Just the half of it.
So Mom leaves
and we play by her rules?
-It's not about the fuckin'...
-He has this obsession with the
rules she set before she left.
When Benny becomes of age,
he gets to smoke
inside the house.
-Of course Dad
doesn't like that.
-It's not about the rules.
-He doesn't like Dad's rules.
-Dad didn't like Mom.
Care to explain why
he drank himself to death?
I don't wanna talk about it.
See? He almost fell
off the fence again.
Caught himself tipping.
Good thing you found
your balance.
I'm not trying to balance.
Yeah?
Then why'd you make more drinks?
-Because it was empty!
-No, it wasn't.
God, you always wanna
fight me on everything!
I'm just saying it wasn't empty.
You're the one fighting
with yourself
not admitting the truth.
Okay, you know what?
Give her the fucking cards.
Truth or dare? Ask me.
-Truth or dare?
-Truth.
Six.
Seven.
Ask again.
-Truth or dare?
-Truth.
Queen.
Jack.
You're a tough guy.
Thought I was a dog.
[chuckles] You're a tough dog.
Truth. Ace.
Two.
I'd fucking cry.
-What?
-I'd probably smile,
maybe look down and say,
"No problem... Dad."
Then I'd run upstairs
and fucking put my face
in a pillow and cry.
[tense string instrumental]
You asked what I did, right?
Remember I'd do
something good for him?
And every time all I'd think is,
"Why the fuck didn't Mom
take me with her when she left?"
When she knew
I was just like her.
[sniffles]
[]
She fucking took his swing.
[sniffles]
And he called her a dyke, and...
she just fucking left, and...
left me here to be
swallowed up in the fuckin'
walls of this home.
And it was his home,
and she knew it,
and she fuckin'
left me here, alone...
[weeping] ...to figure
this shit out on my own, and...
Why do I stick up for her?
[sobs]
She fucking left and I stick up
for her. For what? For what?
I'm so fucking weak.
No, you're not, Benny.
-Will you punch me? Please.
-No!
-Please punch me. Please.
-Benny, stop! No!
No! Stop, Benny.
-I'm just like Mom. I'm not--
-You're strong.
You're not like Mom. Stop.
-I'm just like Mom.
-You're not! No, no, you're not!
You're fine.
You're okay. You're okay.
It's okay.
[Benny sobbing]
[]
[sniffles, inhales]
Sorry.
[Victoria laughs]
It's okay. It's okay.
You're okay.
[]
[music fades]
You're okay
Hey, uh, I don't mean
to pop the bubble, but, uh,
can I have a hit of that?
Sorry, James.
This doesn't concern you.
[chuckles]
Oh, my God.
-[James] No, it's good.
Let it out.
-I'm sorry.
-Let it out.
-[Benny] Just let me
take a hit of that.
-Here.
-Thanks.
[James] It's almost gone.
Do you two know why I thought
it was aestheticism movement?
[Benny] Hmm, no. And honestly,
I don't really care.
I think I was just too attached
to the play in class.
-I hated it.
-[Benny] Really?
Yeah, I thought it was too fake.
Yeah,
you never read aloud in class.
How do you know that?
You sat right in front of me.
That could explain
why you don't remember me.
I mean, why look back
at someone you don't know?
Yeah.
I just couldn't get into it.
The characters
didn't feel believable.
Well, hey,
let's play a new game here.
-I have another one.
-[Benny] Nah, it's okay.
It's our turn now.
Thanks.
So, um, one more mix?
One more.
-One more?
-[Benny] Yeah, a mix.
Two more?
-Mmm, one and a half.
-Perfect.
-[Benny] Does anyone
need a refill?
-Yes.
Here, you guys start,
get a sense of the game.
Benny, do you remember
where you left off with this?
Uh... no, just guess. [laughs]
Make it good. Okay.
-So in this game...
-Okay.
[Benny] ...it's four cards.
First one is red or black,
second one is higher or lower,
third one is in between the two,
and then the fourth one
is a suit.
If you get 'em all right,
you're golden.
But every time you screw up,
you have to take a drink,
and then we restart.
-Okay? Are you ready? All right.
-[James] Okay. Yeah, I think so.
-Guess a color.
-[James] Um, black.
Take a drink.
-Restart. [laughs] -Okay.
-I drink?
-[Benny] Yes, drink. Oh--
Thank you.
-[Benny] All right.
-Red.
[Benny] Thank you very much.
Red?
[James sighs]
[Benny] Uh, red or black?
Black.
-[Benny] Red or black?
-Red.
-One more.
-[Benny] One more. We'll do
one more. We'll do one more,
-so you don't get too drunk.
-Red.
-That's tough. Higher or lower?
-Lower.
-Yes! Okay, inside or outside?
-In between.
-Ahh!
-No! Okay, I got further.
-Okay, you guys play.
I'm gonna finish this up.
-Okay.
All right. Victoria.
[Vic] Red.
Mmm. Drink.
Red.
-Mm-hmm.
-Lower.
Oh!
Outside.
Aww, nope.
-[Vic] Red.
-Red.
-Nice.
-[Vic] Okay. Higher.
Mm-hmm.
In between.
[James gasps] Wow. Okay.
It's gonna be a...
Club? Heart. Heart.
-Which one? Final answer.
-Heart!
-Oh!
-[exclaiming, laughing]
-[James laughs] My God.
-[Benny] Nice!
You got it, wow.
[knocking at door]
-Oh, it's the...
-The large, fat tip.
-[Vic laughing]
-Well, what is it? What is it?
Well, just--just tell him
that it's not that big anymore,
and you're sorry.
-[Benny] You guys suck.
-[Vic] Oh, my God.
You guys are fucking terrible.
-It's the dare, Benny.
It's the dare.
-Yeah, okay. Yeah, okay.
Here, give me the cards.
[Benny] Yeah, hey. Um...
Oh, thank you. Um...
Uh...
And, um, sorry,
I don't have a large tip for you
anymore. It got small. Bye.
[laughing]
Fuck both of you.
-[Vic] You're right.
-[Benny] That is such bullshit.
-[Vic] Ammunition.
-[James] Yeah. I try to
go for the payoff dares,
and this is, uh, quite paid off,
this pizza.
There was no large, fat tip,
was there?
There usually never is, Benny.
-Sorry.
-No, whatever.
You wanna move that real quick?
Thanks. Oh, and you're...
-Sorry.
-No, you're fine.
I'll take some of that.
-[Vic] Ooh, whee.
-Thank you.
-[James] Mm-hmm.
-Oh, God.
-Thank you.
-Oh, this looks so good--
Mmm, mmm!
Hold on, it's still hot.
-Okay.
-Besides, we've got
this to get through.
All right.
[soft instrumental music
playing over speakers]
I love this song.
There's no lyrics, but
I just like the way it sounds.
And I also like
the way it sounds coming
through these speakers.
There's, like...
a timelessness.
-Yeah,
it really fills up the room.
-Mm-hmm.
I think it's the vibrations
from the, um, amps.
Did you say your parents
got it as a gift?
Yeah. It was a wedding gift
from my dad's dad.
Hmm. Wow.
Lucky to have him as a grandpa.
Just for that.
Yeah.
I think that wedding
was the first time they'd seen
each other in five years.
Right?
But Dad let him
walk in the ceremony.
I think that was
the first time Grandpa met Mom.
Yeah, I think so. But... hmm.
Here you go. Either way,
he loved this fuckin' thing.
Yeah.
I think I would too, you know?
You don't find these in homes.
Like, at all.
No, and it's just nice having,
like, not a TV, and, like, this.
-Mm-hmm.
-You know?
Yeah,
it's just you and the music.
Yeah, and, like,
it's just literally, like,
whatever you wanna feel,
you know?
It's not--
You're not persuaded by the TV.
[James] Mm-hmm. Yeah.
And, like,
the sound is so peaceful.
Absolutely.
[]
You know,
when we were reading that play,
I could never figure out
where the line was between
reality and false reality.
I mean, I had no confidence
in what I was reading,
and because of that,
I was afraid to say the words
on the page out loud,
because it would
make them more believable.
And my voice would crack,
it would falter, and...
I was afraid people
would laugh at me.
God, Lord Darlington
was a fucking dick.
I mean, he was a fucking dick!
He was. Here.
You're right.
He was a dick.
Yeah, you know, he just came off
as one to me, too, for sure.
Hey, was that guy hot?
-Who? The pizza guy?
-Uh-huh.
I don't know.
He, was like, a fucking trip.
And he was super uncomfortable
with the large, fat tip thing,
so...
I don't know.
I'm wondering if it's
because it's the same one
as I had last week.
Was that guy hot?
Yeah, I would've.
Mmm. I mean,
I don't think it's the same guy.
[laughs] Okay.
That's a shame.
I am going to be
so hungover tomorrow.
-Yeah. Me, too.
-Yeah. Same.
Me, too.
-Fuck.
-What?
-What?
-[sighs] I don't wanna
do the leaves tomorrow.
So, don't do 'em.
No, it's got to get done.
Monday is garbage day,
and I think it's the last one
for leaves.
Why, you don't just burn 'em?
No, Dad never really
liked the smell of 'em.
Yeah, it's crazy smoky,
burning leaves.
That, plus it's such a process
to go through all of 'em.
Yeah, like, burning 'em,
and burning 'em,
and burning 'em.
It's just easier to bag 'em and
throw 'em to the curb, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I saw a bit of what you're
going through in the back.
Mm-hmm.
And, I mean, like,
it doesn't help that
we wait 'til
the last minute, either.
-Like, that just fucking sucks.
-Mm-hmm.
It's, like, unnecessary stress.
Mm-hmm. Every day you just
wake up and you're like, "Fuck."
-Put it out of your mind.
-Yeah. "I have to fucking rake."
It's bullshit.
Hey, what are you doing?
Going to rake leaves.
While I'm up,
while I'm feeling good.
Okay, but you need to, like,
eat more. Like, you know?
You let the bread absorb into
that alcohol and shit, you know?
[Vic] Give me this.
That should tide me over, right?
Yeah, I'm sure.
-[Vic] Thank you.
-All right, well...
we'll come out.
We'll come help you.
-[Vic] No, no, no. It's fine.
-[Benny] No. No, Vic.
-[James] Yeah, hold on!
-Do not. I got it.
It's fine. Okay?
Just eat and enjoy, okay?
-[Benny] All right.
-[James] Okay, well,
we're coming out later.
-[Benny] Yeah,
we're gonna come out.
-All right, but fill up...
and we're fuckin' burning 'em.
Besides, a bonfire
sounds good tonight, right?
[Benny] Yeah.
[Vic] I'll grab three rakes.
[Benny] I--
Well, welcome to our home.
[James chuckles] Your sister
said the same thing earlier.
-[Benny] Really?
-[James] Yeah.
You know, she figured I would've
judged it, but if I did, I would
be completely wrong right now.
Well, that makes me feel good.
[James laughs] Well, if
I have to be honest, though...
I was actually really
uncomfortable with coming over.
-Really?
-Yeah. I really didn't
think I'd last the night.
But now I know
I'm gonna sleep like a baby.
Tonight has been good,
hasn't it?
It has been.
Right? It has been really good.
Mmm. And...
we have the comfiest couches
down there in the living room.
But if you don't like that,
I can blow you up
an air mattress.
And we have, like,
four extra comforters upstairs
and, like, four pillows.
-So, you'll be golden.
-Yeah.
Honestly, I could sleep
anywhere. I feel so good.
-Yeah.
-It's okay.
Same.
Hey, thanks for the, um, dare,
by the way.
And, and...
To raking some leaves tonight.
-Okay.
-I'm sorry. It'll be fun.
[James] I know.
Hmm.
[Benny] Oh, my God.
[James] Do you have any gloves
I can borrow?
[Benny] Yeah. Excuse me.
There are some in the garage
I can find you.
[James] Okay, cool.
-Oh, and let me clean these up.
-[Benny] Oh,
you don't have to do that.
-[James] That's okay. I got it.
-[Benny] All right.
Um, there should be
a spot in the fridge for it.
-Just meet me out back.
-[James] Okay.
[]
Whoa.
Ow!
[shivers]
[]
[crickets chirping]
[]
Great idea to have a fire.
-I know.
-Great idea.
I think this is how
I'm gonna do leaves from now on.
-It's so warm.
-It is so fucking warm.
And I'm gonna have no guilt
sleeping in tomorrow.
-[Vic chuckles]
-I'm so ready to sleep in.
Yeah. Oh, my God.
What's comfier,
the air mattress or the sofa?
Sofa. Definitely the sofa.
I'll throw some blankets down
for you when we get back inside.
-Okay, thanks.
-You plan on leaving tomorrow?
Yeah, I think so.
You know,
I like this nomad life.
It's exciting
not knowing what's next.
Not that we ever really do.
But, not saying I didn't
enjoy tonight. I did.
And this is a great way
to wrap it up.
Mm-hmm.
Do you guys have plans tomorrow?
I don't think so. I think
just more of those, like,
boxes in the kitchen, probably?
-I don't know.
-Yeah, some tough stuff
to get through.
Yeah, I guess.
There's probably, like,
a month or two left, I'd say.
But that's Christmas time,
and a Dad-free home
is literally my Christmas wish.
Really?
[crickets chirping]
She okay?
I think so.
I don't see why not.
You know, maybe she had
to take a piss or something.
Yeah.
[flames crackle]
[exhales deeply]
[pensive music plays]
[]
-I'm losing feeling in my toes.
-Yeah.
I know, it was
significantly warmer inside.
I don't know how
we didn't notice.
I think it was, like,
adrenaline, with being stoned,
and drunk.
-I--I don't know.
-I'm definitely making
another mix when we go inside.
-Oh, my God, another one?
-[Vic] Another one.
Time for another one more.
All right, fine, fine, fine.
I mean... [chuckles]
What's another one gonna do
anyways, I guess, at this point?
Uh, I mean,
have you ever thrown up?
-[Benny & Vic laugh]
-Yeah. Yeah, we have. Yes.
-Okay, what happened?
-Let her--She'll tell you.
-[Vic] Okay, what were you, 15?
-It was my sophomore year,
I know that, so.
So, we were so stupid. Okay, so
Mom and Dad got in a big fight,
and they left for
the whole night.
And so we were finally excited
to get into the liquor cabinet.
-[Benny] Mm-hmm.
-And, oh, my God,
we were so stupid.
-[Benny] I mean...
-Oh, my God.
So we filled these two, like,
full-size drinking glasses up
with, like, five different
clear liquids from the cabinet.
-[James] Oh, lord!
-And I shit you not,
we were rolling over each other,
taking turns
puking in the toilet.
It was the most
disgusting thing.
It was all night.
Just waking up, rolling over.
-Did your parents
come home and find you?
-[Vic] That's the thing.
They--I woke up
the next morning in my bed,
nobody said a thing.
-[Benny] Yeah.
-Well, they didn't notice
the liquor, like, gone?
Well, I mean, the night before,
we, like, filled everything
that we used with water.
Like Dad would ever know.
I don't think he did.
-I don't think they knew.
-[Benny] Like, I woke--
I remember he was, like,
all day the next day, he was
at the toilet cleaning--like,
trying to fix the pipes,
'cause he saw all the puke
in the toilet,
but he thought that the pipes
clogged up and, like,
brought it back up to whatever,
in the surface. Yeah, so.
I think we're in the clear.
I think we are.
I mean,
we're off the hook now, so...
Yeah.
So, what games do you guys wanna
play when we go back inside?
Oh, there is that one
one we didn't play yet.
You dish out five cards--
Is it always games
with you guys?
-What are you...
-You got--you got a game?
No. I'm saying no games. Pfft.
-No games?
-No.
-What are you gonna do
to stay awake?
-Yeah.
Do you guys know
those projection things
you shine up on the ceiling?
-Yes, yes!
Yeah, I've seen those.
-Yeah?
-I've never heard of those.
-[Benny] No?
Oh. Well, I have one.
I'm gonna go set it up.
-[Benny] Okay.
-At the front.
This is a great fire.
Yeah.
Was it a bad idea
to burn Dad's shirts?
[Benny] What? No. No. No.
-You're fine.
-Fuck.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, stop,
stop, stop! What are you doing?
-I was just gonna save one!
-What are you--No, stop it!
It's fucking hot!
-Why are you saying no?
-It's fucking hot!
-[Vic] I need his shirt!
-No, stop, stop.
What shirt? What shirt?
-[Vic] No, it's Dad!
-Okay, what fucking shirt
do you want?
-[Vic] That one,
the one I'm reaching for.
-Okay, stop, stop!
-Just let me--Stop.
-I can't get it!
[Benny] Ah! Fuck!
Jesus, Vic!
There it is.
-Thank you.
-Yeah, whatever.
-Hey, the fire.
-Yeah, so fuckin' put it out.
Get the shirts.
We'll throw the leaves
at the corner in the morning.
[grunts with effort]
[groans]
Hey, Ben,
can I use one of these outlets?
[Benny] Uh, yeah,
whatever one you want.
[James] Cool.
[softly] Oh, yeah.
Hey, Benny, come check this out.
Uh, hey, one second.
I'm gonna finish this mix,
and I'll be in there.
Whoa.
-[James] Yeah, isn't this sweet?
-Yeah.
[James]
It wasn't too expensive, either.
Ben, we got to get one of these.
Yeah.
What you got in so far?
Um, here,
you wanna get the alcohol?
Yeah, here.
[serene music plays]
-Whoa.
-Right?
-This is fucking sweet.
-[Vic laughs]
[Vic] Yeah.
Here, James, can you take this?
[James] Yeah. Thanks.
[Vic] Wow.
That's fucking epic.
Nice.
[James] Mmm.
-This is cool.
-[Benny] Yeah, this is sweet.
[Vic] Oh, this is uncomfortable.
[Benny grunts] Yeah.
Well, why don't we sit back?
[Benny] Where's my drink?
-[James] Right here.
-[Benny] Hmm? Oh, thanks.
-Wow.
-[Vic] Right?
[James] Told you guys.
[]
So, now what?
Now what?
What do you mean?
I don't know, like...
I don't know, now what?
What--I don't know. Now what?
Aren't you the one who
said we couldn't play games?
Oh, so James has
to say what we do?
I mean, I wasn't saying that.
Yeah,
but since James said no games,
James has to decide what we do.
-That's not what I was--
-Fuck, stop. No, just stop.
No games. Okay?
But we weren't playing a game.
James?
-James?
-Shh.
[hushed] We're playing a game.
[]
I was 15 when I first
fucked a girl.
[Benny chuckling]
What, what did I say?
You were 15 the first
time you fucked a girl?
Yeah.
Was it good?
Yeah, of course.
[Vic] Better than a man?
Uh, I just needed
to cum, honestly.
[all laughing]
[]
I fantasize about Matt Davis'
hand going into my pants.
[Vic] Benny!
-What?
-[Vic laughing]
What did I do?
[James] How does he do it?
We're at the park together
in downtown,
and he sees me across
the way.
And I wave to him,
he waves to me.
He walks right on up.
I grab the back of his neck,
you can feel his hairs,
and he just fucking
goes at it in my pants.
[Vic] Oh, my God!
And it feels like
my baseball cup used to feel.
Oh, wow, that's amazing.
[Vic] God, you've
thought about this.
[Benny] Oh, yeah,
of course. [chuckling]
Wow, that baseball cup.
Doing things to you.
-[Benny] Great things.
-Great things.
[]
What if you walked in on Dad
going down on some dude?
[Benny] Vic, oh, my God!
What would you have done?
What would you do?
[Benny] I'd close the fucking
door and wipe my memory,
or try to, Jesus, oh, my God.
No. Never. Oh, my God.
[]
I would have said
anything he liked.
That's all I cared about.
Whatever he liked.
I was his fucking pawn in
that game of chess against Mom.
And I still am. I'm still
fighting those arguments.
Oh. No, Vic,
you're not his pawn.
[Vic] I am, it's okay, I am.
No, you're not, Vic.
You're not the pawn.
Well, look at us right now.
We're still arguing.
If you're Dad's pawn,
then I'm Mom's.
[Vic scoffs]
You ever think there's a moment
in life where you
become who you're meant to be?
And it's like a train
that's... you have to catch.
And if you miss it, it just
goes speeding by like a bullet.
[sighing] I just hope I haven't
missed the train.
[Benny] I don't know, Vic.
It's like...
It's like the train
is always in moments.
There are so many moments.
I don't think
you missed this train.
Yeah, I don't think so, either.
But I am afraid of falling
into those games again.
You know, like,
a few years happen,
and the chessboard becomes
different colors,
and it's made out
of different material, and...
If I'm not careful,
I'm just falling back
into that pawn
chess piece again.
[James] No, you won't.
You say that,
and I don't--I don't feel it,
but, like, you can't
predict the future.
No one can.
But isn't that exciting?
-[Benny] Uh-huh.
-How?
Well, Murphy's Law, you know?
Really? Wow. Okay.
Well, what's--what's something
that you've always
wanted to do in this house
that you've never done?
Drink wine from the bottle.
I always thought it looked cool.
[Benny and James chuckling]
[Vic] I did, and Dad
would never let me.
He was always like,
"It's not proper."
But he would drink
Jameson from the bottle,
so we know what
that really fucking meant.
-[Benny] Mm-hmm.
-[Vic] Fucking Darlington.
I mean, I'd take Jameson
over wine any day.
[Vic] Fuck you.
[James] I mean, wine,
it's just so sweet.
[Vic] It's got a higher alcohol
content than beer, so...
[James] Ah, well,
I'd still take Jameson any day.
[Vic] Aren't you a hardass.
[]
What about you, Benny?
What would you do?
[Benny] I always hated when Mom
said music was done by 10:30,
'cause I had the best ideas
before going to bed every night.
-[James] Everyone does.
-[Benny] Everyone does.
I went to this festival
one time, and there was, like,
four hours, no concerts, from,
like, 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM.
[Benny] Oh, my God, that's not
when I--I couldn't do that.
That's--that is way too late.
Or early, depending on
how you look at it.
[Vic] But later than 10:30.
Yeah, I'd like--yeah,
later than 10:30.
-[Vic] Mmm.
-[James] What time?
Mmm, I don't care. I would need
to sleep at some point.
I value it too much.
[]
Do you guys have a bottle
of wine in the house?
[rhythmic drum beats]
[relaxed electronic music plays]
[tempo gets faster,
music swells]
[]
[]
[Vic] Holy shit,
that sounds so good.
[Benny] Yeah, right? It does.
And I'm gonna add this
little, like, um,
Mario sound effect,
that, like--
Brrrrrring! You know?
The--Bling! Whatever it is.
[Vic] That loud?
Like--brrrrrring?
[Benny] Well, not that loud,
but let me--
Here, I'll show you.
I'll just--
-[Vic] Okay.
-[Benny] Give me a sec.
You'll like it.
I promise. I promise.
Um, hold on one second.
-Okay, ready?
-Yep.
[computer chiming]
Oh, yeah, that does sound good.
-Yeah, not bad, huh?
-Yeah.
Okay, that's what I was
thinking. So...
-Okay, now for the lines.
-Yes, here, let me...
Um, here, I'll make you
an audio track real quick. Um...
Do you--do you
wanna speak into that?
-[echoing] Testing.
-Nice.
-Ooh.
-Good, perfect.
-Okay, you ready?
-Yes.
Whatever you want.
Whatever comes to mind. Ready?
Straight from the bottle
-Okay, we'll use--
-Is it-- is it good?
Yeah. Yeah, we can--
That's-- it's usable. It's--
-Here, real quick,
let me show you this.
-Okay.
It was good, it was good.
I promise. Here.
[Vic on recording]
Straight from the bottle
Okay, I need--I need to work
on my auto-tuning a little,
-but we can use that.
-Oh, my God, yes.
We can--that's good.
We'll put that in there.
-This is so fun.
-I know, I know.
-We should do this
every weekend.
-I know, yeah, we should be.
We should be doing this
every weekend. It'd be amazing.
Just do it forever.
-Can we--forever?
-Yeah, literally forever!
[both giggling]
Oh, my God, is it that early?
Oh, wow. Yeah, I guess so.
Hard at work.
[laughing] Yeah.
-Must be comfy.
-Yeah, it must be comfy.
[Vic] Wanna call it?
Yeah, let's call it.
Let me save it real quick.
[Vic] Okay.
Wanna listen to it again?
Oh, yeah,
absolutely. Absolutely.
-You wanna wake up, uh, James?
-Yeah.
[Vic] Hey. James,
wake up. James.
-[James] What?
-[Benny] James.
-[Vic] Wake up. Come on.
-[James] Hi.
-[Vic] Listen to this.
-[Benny] James. James, you up?
-[James] What? Yeah, I'm up.
-[Benny] You good?
-[James] Yeah, I'm good.
-Here, come check this out.
-[James] What is it?
-Here, come take a listen.
-Ready?
-Uh-huh.
[Goes silent]
[energetic piano music plays]
[]
[]
[]
[music ends suddenly]
[door latch clicks]
Vic, why are you doing
this tonight?
It's gotta be done.
Yeah, but you had
six months to do it.
You also had six months
to help me, but here we are.
[sighs]
[Vic] Benny,
what are you doing?
Don't do this tonight.
I don't work. When else is it
gonna get done?
[Benny] I don't know,
but not tonight.
[Benny sighs]
Benny!
[Benny huffs loudly]
Okay, okay,
I'll stop after this one, okay?
Just let me finish this box.
You need to chill, Vic.
I am chill, it's just,
I get so far,
and then something comes up,
and I have to start
all over again.
Sounds like you need
to concentrate more,
or finish other shit
on your plate.
Or I need a brother
who's willing to help.
Where are you going now?
[Benny] I'm getting
the ginger beer.
Stop doing that shit,
and help me cut those limes.
[sighs]
[Benny] Still didn't cut
any limes, huh?
Wasn't that the shit
you were doing last week,
and none of it worked?
You know, I was so close
to finishing all of this
until you waltzed in here,
slamming shit
all over the kitchen.
-[Benny] That's not the problem.
-No?
Nope.
The problem is Dad left
this shit on us to do.
Right, because it was
his fault.
Dad hoarding his shit?
Sounds like his fault.
Oh, so you're gonna play
the victim now,
as if you ever help?
It took me months
to go through these old,
hand-me-down clothes.
You know,
you'd probably save so much
time if you just took
all these boxes,
and threw 'em out.
[laughs]
-[Benny] What?
-It's just--
It's really annoying
when you walk in here,
telling me how to do
all this shit.
Oh, Dad would be so proud
to know you sound just like him.
And Mom would be
so proud to know
that you walk away
after telling me what to do.
Do you want one?
[Vic] Sure.
[Benny] So, do you remember
Dad's birthday?
No, I forgot Dad's birthday.
When was it?
Hilarious.
So, you remember how
the A.C. went out,
and it got
ridiculously hot in here?
I would remember that day,
whether it was Dad's birthday
or not.
[Benny] All right, sweet.
Anyways, um,
so I couldn't sleep,
and then I got up,
and I smoked a bowl outside,
and then I was able
to finally sleep.
But, that night, I had a dream.
It was you and me,
and we were kids.
And then Mom and Dad
were there, too,
but Dad walked up to us
in the front yard,
and then Mom ran after,
and planted a fat kiss on him.
And then, he looks at me,
he looks back to the house,
gets down to my eye level,
shakes my hair all around,
smiles, and just
as he's about to speak,
I woke up.
Okay.
Come on, Vic.
Like, come on.
-Oh, stop.
-[Benny] No, it's something.
You want it to be something.
Or it is something.
Dad never wanted
to sell the house.
It can't be a coincidence, Vic.
[Vic] Oh, it can't?
So, the broken A.C.
had nothing to do with it?
Yeah, okay, but it's, like,
always hot in the summer.
Or the fact
that you smoked a joint
moments before going to bed?
You know I always smoke, too.
Or the fact that you
don't take responsibility
for anything in this home,
and you just want
the easy way out?
-Fuck you.
-Oh! Fuck me.
[Benny] You're putting words
into my mouth.
You're acting like there's no
reason why you had that dream.
Yeah, okay, but, like, I wasn't
thinking of that stuff.
I was--I was having a dream.
Like, I was dreaming.
I'm sure.
[sighs]
You're a bitch.
Says the man who won't do
a thing around here to help.
And what--Okay,
what do you want me to do?
You want me to fix this outlet
that Dad never fixed?
You put a fuck-ton of boxes
in front of it?
He might love me for that.
Or, how about this fucking hole
he put in the drywall,
when he was drunk?
If I fix that, maybe he'll
love me from the other side.
Or I can put my own in there,
when I get drunk.
Which reminds me.
I know what you're doing, Ben.
You want me to get mad.
But I'm not going to,
because, guess what?
At the end of the day, you're
still not helping around here.
And that's fine.
That's just who you are.
All right,
let's see what's in here.
No, Ben!
-[Benny] This is organized?
-Yes, it is.
-Now, cut it out.
-Where's Mom's stuff?
Not a lot of her in here, huh?
What, did--What, did you, like,
throw it all out, or what?
I think she took most of it
with her when she left.
Fuck you.
It's always me!
You just said
you organized this, right?
[Vic] You love to make problems
for other people.
All you do is make problems
for everyone else.
What? Really? Really.
-Yes, really.
-[knocking on door]
James is staying the night.
James? Who's James?
We went to high school together.
Can you please--
That really narrows it down.
We went to high school together,
and they need a place to stay.
-Please.
-No, Ben.
We have way too much
shit to deal with.
We can't have people over.
-We--we always have
shit to deal with.
-No, Ben.
What, do you want
me to go to the
front door and just say,
"Never mind?"
-Yes.
-No. I'm not doing that.
Of course not.
Anything to go against me.
This has nothing
to do with that.
[knocking on front door]
And how long is he staying?
Uh, like, a night or two.
Don't say "he."
What do you mean?
He's not living here.
Don't say "he."
And I--It's gonna be one
or two nights.
-Why do you keep saying that?
-[Benny] What?
"Don't say 'he'."
Just call James, James.
I don't get it.
[knocking on door]
Just, please.
[cell phone buzzing]
This is--This is just as much
my house as it is yours.
We both get a say in this home.
[scoffs]
Can you clean up
the box, please?
"We both get a say
in this home."
All right, just try to be nice.
-Hey.
-[James] Oh, hey.
-Hey, good to see you again.
-Hi, Benny, you, too.
-Yeah. Um, here, I'll take this.
-Oh, thanks.
Here, I can take that,
as well.
-Okay.
-Thank you.
Uh, do you want me
to take my shoes off?
-Leave 'em on?
-Uh, no, you--that's fine.
-You can keep them on.
-Okay, cool.
-We're making drinks in here.
-Oh, awesome.
[Benny] Moscow mules.
This is my sister.
Yeah, Victoria, right?
Uh, yeah.
Oh, we had class together
a while ago.
Uh, James, in my class...
I thought you were a--
Um, weren't you
in Benny's grade?
Um, no, I actually
graduated with you.
Um, I think the class was, like,
Brit Lit or something.
So, Jamie, then.
Oh. Sorry.
Oh, that's okay.
It's no problem.
Happens all the time.
Popularity wasn't much my thing.
Had other things on my mind.
Am I intruding on something?
N--No. No.
Um, actually, in fact, here.
-Let me show you
something in here.
-Okay.
-[James] Wow!
-[Benny] Pretty cool, huh?
Yeah. That is incredible.
[Benny] Yeah.
My parents got it
as a wedding gift.
I think it's, like,
from the 60s.
But the amp
still works super well.
-[Benny] Here.
-[James] That's amazing.
[clicks]
[clicks]
[clicks]
[gentle organ music plays]
Wow, this is so cool.
[Benny] Mm-hmm.
Hey, have you ever
thought about making
your own music for this?
Um, like, putting my music
on a record?
[James] Yeah.
I mean, I wonder
if places even do that,
but you can make your own songs,
and they can make 'em
into these types of records.
Hmm. Maybe, I'm sure
there's somewhere
online I could look, but
I haven't done it yet, no.
It could be pretty cool.
I mean, are you still making
music, like in high school?
Uh, yeah.
It's just I don't, like,
mix my music very well,
so I'm nervous
if I were to play it
on something like this.
Really? Why?
[Benny] I would just hate
to, like, ruin this thing.
Oh.
Yeah, you wouldn't want that.
Yeah.
[]
Um, do you wanna go
make drinks?
Sure. Yeah.
Here, you can help
with these limes.
I know the perfect mixture
for these drinks.
It's two shots of vodka,
four shots of ginger beer,
and then, two squeezed limes.
Um, actually...
hey, Vic, where's that, um,
lime-squeezer thing?
[drawer rattles]
Yeah, that would--
that would--
[utensil clatters]
[James] Um, if I'm intruding
on something,
-I can just find another place.
-No, you're fine.
You're not intruding.
She's just focused.
Trying to be.
Well, is there anything
I can help with?
No, it's fine.
I'm just dealing with
my dead dad's shit.
I'm sorry.
-Are you?
-Fuck, Vic.
-Sorry?
-You don't have to be.
I don't remember you,
or the old you,
or however you would say it.
You never knew him,
so it's okay not to be sorry.
You know?
Don't mind her,
she's dealing with shit
she doesn't have to be
dealing with.
And Benny's not owning up
to things he needs to fix.
She confuses being
a welcoming host
as being insecure
and bitchy.
You're the one calling
a woman a bitch.
[James] I can really leave.
It's okay.
[Vic] No, it's fine. Stay.
I think you're making my drink,
and I sure could use one.
Yeah, here's an extra
half a shot for ya.
So, James, while there's
an abundance of thoughts
on my mind,
the one I'm most curious about
is how long you plan
on couch-surfing here.
Oh my God, she's an ass.
Vic, your drink is almost done.
No, that's all right. Um...
To be honest, this whole
homelessness thing
really surprised me.
[laughs humorlessly]
I think all of us.
[Benny] All righty, here we go.
Let's just get some of this.
Perfect.
There you go.
Drink up.
Stop fucking working on this.
It's making James uncomfortable.
[James] Should we squeeze
all of these limes?
Yeah, squeeze 'em--
Yeah, I'd squeeze all of them.
[jazz singer on album scatting]
You know why we use
the squeezer?
[James] Why's that?
I hate flakes.
Benny hates flakes, too.
In fact, the one thing
we can probably agree on
is no lime flakes
in the drinks.
[Benny] We just like to use
this squeezer thing.
Um, it gets out more juice
than our hands can.
Not that your hands can't
get out the same am--
You don't have to use it
if you don't want to.
[scoffs]
You know, I would have thought
it's because you don't want
someone else's fingers
in your drinks.
It seems to always
be the issue with people.
Make my drinks,
but don't use your fingers.
[Vic] Sounds like
it's a big issue to you.
[James] Well, what's the big
issue, dirty hands?
I mean, I read somewhere
that you're more likely
to have a dirtier hand than
the person sitting next to you.
Especially if they're making
drinks.
You can't always gamble
on probability.
[scoffs] Please,
that is all we do
around here.
But if there were a way
that you could ensure
you wouldn't get sick
from your drink,
wouldn't you take
the precaution?
Um, you know, it depends.
It depends if you trust
the person making your drink.
Because there is nothing
like freshly squeezed lime.
And I drop it in like that,
so there's no need to mix it.
-Cheers.
-[Benny] Cheers.
[jazzy dance music plays]
I am going to throw this off the
table if you don't clean it up.
[Vic] Instead of helping me
put it in the box?
[Benny mutters under his breath]
[James] Here, I can help too.
[Benny and Vic]
No, it's all right.
[Benny] It just doesn't
concern you. It's okay.
Vic.
Here, James.
So, where were we
with the homeless conversation?
You don't have to talk about it
if you don't want to.
[James] No, that's all right.
Um, so I've learned it's best
to just, you know,
break the Band-Aid,
even though this
is a rather complicated one,
depending on who
I'm talking to.
You think this will be
complicated for us?
Mm, not for us, no.
[James] No.
No, of course not.
In fact, there is this
natural vulnerability
that comes about, oftentimes,
when any and all
Band-Aids rip.
So, with that being said, um...
my parents basically
gave me the ultimatum
of staying as Jamie
or as James.
And the downside to James,
is that it came with...
well, it came without a home.
And what's funny is,
they were completely okay
with it at first.
You know?
But then it got really weird.
Like, when I corrected them
to call me James,
they would just turn,
and walk away.
They wouldn't correct
themselves in front of me.
They wouldn't even publicly
call me by my name.
No, I guess they were afraid.
And when I changed
fashion interests,
we just stopped going out
as a family altogether.
And, you know, I just...
it's just strange,
because I used to spend
so much time with them,
and all of a sudden,
there just wasn't time anymore.
And I started to really not feel
comfortable in my own home.
And they didn't feel good
in theirs.
-So...
-So you left?
No, more like pushed out.
You know, it's the little stuff
that does that to you,
after it adds up.
It was either me,
or live in their home.
Oh, I understand it fully.
You had to leave in order
to get some sort
of self-satisfaction.
No, just to be myself.
Sure, it becomes about
the things you'll sacrifice.
Sacrifice?
Yeah, in order to hold yourself
in higher regard.
As opposed to what?
What other people want
out of me?
As opposed to mending
what's broken.
No, you know,
as far as I'm concerned,
if they broke it,
they hold the power to fix it.
Did they break it, though?
Because it sounds like
they were cool with it at first.
Yeah, but would you ignore
your doctor
if they said you were terminal?
-I--
-No, actually, fuck it.
I'm not going to compare
my home life to a disease,
and I don't like the insinuation
that I was the problem.
What did I walk in on here?
Vic just likes to project
her problems onto new guests,
so that she has the upper hand.
Benny sits on the fence
so balanced,
that he'll appease
any guest in order
to avoid potential conflict.
Best not speak your mind, right?
-All right.
-In fact,
Benny will go so far
out of his way to please guests
that he loses all sense of what
he's built in this home,
so as to not come across
as dense,
unagreeable, or worse,
impersonable.
Because that's how
you see me, right?
Those are the words you use,
I think.
[Benny sighs heavily]
[footsteps fade]
Exciting stuff here,
huh, James?
Welcome to our home.
You're saying that
like I'm judging it.
How could anyone not?
James, feel free to leave
this one-dimensional deposition
anytime you'd like.
You can join me outside
if you want.
Because clearly,
there's history here
that needs to be sorted out.
And everyone has that
to deal with.
[gentle music plays]
[sighs]
Oh, thanks, man.
Mm-hmm.
She's always playing these
fucking games with me.
Sibling rivalry?
Worse.
It's just, like,
constant disagreements.
You know,
it doesn't seem so bad,
but if there's issues,
address them early,
before they grow, you know?
What was your family like?
Or your home, I suppose.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
You know, my parents
had their white picket fence
life, you know.
They found their comfort.
But when you're young, you see
life through, like, rose.
But as you get older, you
realize it's more of a green.
When did you tell them?
When I started seeing green.
The home wasn't seeing it,
so I thought I'd bring it up.
Let it be known it's out there,
you know.
I'm here, this is me.
[sighs]
Whatever helps others,
you know?
They gotta know it's just cool
to just, let it out.
It fucking sucked hitting
the ground so hard, though.
[sighs]
But if you get back up,
at least you know it's gonna get
better for others,
and you can get over that
fear of, you know,
whatever it is.
Truth.
-Yeah.
-Wait, what?
Truth.
Fear of truth.
Hmm.
Yeah. Fear of truth.
Maybe we're all just
afraid of that.
Yeah, you know, it should just
really be met head-on.
[laughs] What,
like going into battle?
[laughs] Maybe I am.
Maybe we are.
Maybe we should.
Yeah, sounds a little too
Lord of the Rings -y for me.
[laughs]
Yeah, how would you know?
Hey, thanks for letting me
stay over again.
Yeah, no problem.
Just, to me, it felt like
the least I could do,
since, you know,
not seeing you
for three years.
Yeah, I think since you,
um, ghosted me, right?
God, yes, I'm sorry.
[sighs]
Fucking ghoster.
-Ooooh!
-Yeah, yeah, yeah,
okay, okay,
-Okay, okay, I get it.
-That's you.
Yeah, I get it.
Jesus, fuck.
You know, you were the only
boyfriend who ghosted me.
Actually, no, yeah, not even
my girlfriends have, either.
Jesus, fuck.
God damn it.
Like, middle school, Benny,
not even those in middle school.
Okay, okay, don't go comparing
me to middle-schoolers, now.
Oh, I'm not comparing,
I'm just saying,
not even my middle school
hubbies went ghosting.
Now, if you want to go
comparing them--
-Yeah, okay, whatever.
-[laughs]
So, then, why'd you even like--
thanks, why'd you even,
like, text me?
Like, I couldn't have been
the first one you texted.
Oh, yeah, you weren't.
For sure you weren't.
-Yeah, okay.
-[both laugh]
You see? See, so, like,
why--why me?
Honestly, I don't know.
Your name just came up
when I was scrolling,
and I--I guess the rest
is good faith.
I thought I was, like, tossed
out long ago, I don't know.
Hey, that was years ago.
I'm not holding on
to high school grudges.
Yeah, no, but, like,
I don't know.
It wasn't--it wasn't fair
of me to leave you then,
like, at that time,
and everything.
Yeah, I know, I mean,
it was just really tough.
People know people
a certain way,
and people practically
force others to look
how they want them to look,
and then when the people's
true color shows,
they just turn their backs.
They're no longer an investment.
They don't invest
in the unknown.
I think I was afraid
to know more.
I was afraid to know more.
Yeah, well, I knew it wasn't
gonna last, anyway.
Yeah? How's that?
[sighs]
Matt Davis, in gym class.
-What--what?
-[laughs]
I can only imagine
how you looked at him
in the locker room.
No, okay, I--he had really
good forms in the workouts.
-I don't know--
-God, of course.
Yeah, it's just good posture
to take note of, you know,
it's the way he stood in lines,
shoulders rolled back.
-I--
-It's so funny.
I don't--I mean, he did,
like, he had good form.
I don't know.
Maybe it was more of, like,
the confidence he had,
you know, he--
Mr. Roberts, he never
explained workouts well,
but--but Matt
always just, like,
took the--the instructions,
and did the workouts
with confidence.
I don't know.
I admired that, so.
You know,
there was this one time,
we were playing dodge ball,
and I got Joey Jones out
from the other team.
[sniffs]
And Matt comes up to me,
and he puts his arm around me,
and he gives me a high-five,
and I swear to God,
I fucking melted like
a grilled-cheese sandwich.
[chuckles]
And it never tasted
so good since.
I can hardly
remember the flavor now.
[James] I went to this festival
one time...
like, some bullshit
one-off festival,
super unorganized,
people everywhere.
But, um...
I had the most delicious
grilled-cheese sandwich there.
Four different cheeses.
Oh, my God. That was the best
part of that festival.
-And the sex.
-[Benny laughs]
Grilled cheese and sex.
Oh, my God.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, it's probably
because most of them
couldn't resist the sex.
[laughs]
What are you talking about?
My past relationships.
They didn't ghost me.
'cause they didn't want this
sexy motherfucker gone forever.
Which, unfortunately, you didn't
get the pleasure of receiving.
Maybe I could've saved you.
-[Shushes]
Don't do that, please.
[James] Did you
talk about it to her?
You know, I don't even
think it's her fault.
Ever since I can remember,
my parents were always rocky.
They were always arguing.
And then, like, after childhood,
when I got through that mud,
and after all that murkiness,
all I could remember
was that I was Mom's gold,
and Vic was Dad's.
And that's what started it.
'Cause, like, I would get
gifts that Vic wouldn't get,
and she would get gifts
that I wouldn't get,
and then we would
fight about it,
and then Mom and Dad would fight
about us fighting about it.
You know, people say
we aren't even siblings anymore.
That we don't even look alike.
It's not her fault.
But it's so hard to fuckin'
reach her, you know? Like...
It's like Dad put her
on a different wavelength,
and I just...
I don't know.
[James] Well, what about you?
What about me?
You always push it on Vic,
but... what about you?
[Benny] I mean...
I don't know. It's not like it
doesn't seem to be my problem.
Like, Vic's the one
that isn't talking.
I mean, did you try, like,
changing signals, you know?
Finding a different wavelength?
-[Benny] Yeah, it's just,
it's not my fault, like--
-Well, what about you, Benny?
You know, it starts with you.
You start with you.
Let her figure out her own shit.
But you need to figure out
how you can stop
this senseless bickering
that accomplishes nothing.
Yeah, okay, okay, so, then,
what about me, then?
Like, what? What about me?
That's not a question for me.
I don't know.
I don't wanna end up
like my parents.
My dad never saw green.
My mom did, but...
Is it scary?
[James sighs]
Yeah.
I'd be lying if I said
it wasn't, you know,
the fear of truth.
But you know, in senior year,
when we'd pass each other
in the halls,
we shared the same look.
Well, at least, we took
a look at the same fence.
And when we'd lock eyes
across the hallway,
I just somehow knew
I could trust you.
[Benny] I don't know.
Maybe we're looking
at the same fence,
but I feel like
we're on opposite sides.
Like,
in two different backyards.
Well...
Okay, yeah,
like, we're not, but--[laughs]
Never mind. Whatever. Here.
Hey, who do you buy from?
[laughs]
Um, Joey Jones.
-Oh, my God. [laughs] Wow.
-Yeah.
[James] He helped you out
more ways than one, seriously.
[Benny] Yeah, I guess so.
[]
Oh, Dad.
What am I supposed to do?
Where are you now?
Where were you before?
God, why did you leave us
with an unfinished house?
The promise is made
to see its value
only in the unfinished drywall
and the stupid stairs.
And I know it's not your fault.
None of this is.
But I can't get Ben to see that.
[sighs] He's convinced
I'm out against him,
like--like I'm the one
making him suffer.
He could see the value
if only he helped.
But maybe he's right. Maybe he
just can't see the value built.
[sighs] If Mom didn't leave...
Mom,
if you didn't fucking leave.
You caused the promise to break.
He counted on you.
We all did, and you left.
And--and I know why you did,
but you damaged this home,
and you left me to fix it alone.
[sighs] Sometimes I wonder
what would have happened
if you'd just stayed.
[sighs shakily]
If it never would have happened.
If you had just kept saying
what was on your mind,
and saying it,
and saying it, then...
maybe the wall
would be fixed, and...
[sighs] ...no more problems
with the AC, and...
we'd finally get the pool going.
Dogs in the yard,
barking, playing.
And we'd be having drinks,
floating on the inner tubes,
and bumping into each other.
Then maybe I'd have reason
to resent Dad, too.
[Benny] Fuck.
This fucking door, too.
Shit. Fuck. Vic, the door.
[Vic] What did you do?
[Benny] I'm trying to open it,
and it's stuck again.
Did you grease the bottom
like I told you to?
[Benny] Vic, please.
Just come help.
-So you didn't.
-[Benny] Vic, please.
It's like...
-Okay, ready?
-[Benny] Yeah, here.
Okay. [grunts]
[sighs]
Here, I can take your jacket.
Oh, okay. Thanks.
[Benny] We gotta get
a new door, Vic.
[Vic] You always wanna throw
away everything in this house.
He even wanted to throw away
Dad's old clothes.
Just kick 'em to the curb.
He used to run around
the backyard in
an oversized t-shirt of Dad's.
[Benny] Yeah, but they don't
fit the same anymore,
and it's shitty material.
-In that box, there?
-Yeah.
Full of Dad's old clothes.
Clothes that Benny used to wear
before bed, if he was sick,
or just because.
[Benny] They're from
the nineties and outdated.
I'm not wearing that shit.
They weren't outdated before
Mom left. I'm sure those
three years really set him back.
Well,
anything you think will fit me?
I don't think so.
You're pretty small.
Oh, yeah? Okay.
I don't think your styles
would match.
[Benny] Well, let's have
James try something on.
-I mean, you left them
for me anyways, right?
-Yes, for you.
[Benny] And to be quite honest,
I don't remember going through
this stuff and organizing it.
Of course not.
You never are present.
You're always up in the clouds,
wondering about the what-ifs
instead of addressing
the problem at hand.
Looks like I'm solving one
right now, huh?
What the fuck is--God, no.
Oh, yeah.
-Yeah. Here, try that on.
-What the hell, Ben?
[Benny] What?
It's my shirt, right?
I want James to wear my shirt.
Besides, it'll bring out
their eyes, don't you think?
-No.
-Yeah, they will.
No!
[James] I don't have to take it.
You can, and they will.
-I don't think you should.
-Is that not my shirt?
Can James not wear my shirt?
The bathroom's up
and to the right.
[James] Okay.
What the fuck is your problem?
What, so it can only be my shirt
if I don't give it to someone?
-It's Dad's shirt.
-So when does it become mine?
Like, do I have to
wear his shit in his honor?
Like, when does any fucking
thing in this house become mine?
Like... is it all still Dad's
because you're living here?
-Oh, screw you.
-That's what I thought.
[scoffs] Who does that shit
to their Dad's shirt?
Vic, it's a fucking shirt.
They make hundreds of these
in a factory somewhere.
Oh, good to know you think that
Dad's just like everyone else.
I didn't say that. I would never
say that about Dad.
God, you're such a complainer.
Really? One might think
you're talking about yourself.
-Oh! Yeah, right.
-Yeah, right.
Why couldn't you just
grease the fucking door?
It's fucking broken, Vic.
We need a new one.
-It needs grease.
-What, so it can break again?
When am I going to
install a new one?
I don't have time
to install a new door.
Okay, okay, I'll do it, then.
-Yeah, right.
-No, I'll do it.
In your dreams, which aren't
even yours, apparently.
-I'll do it, Vic.
-You don't even help me
with the boxes.
When are you gonna
help me with the door?
And I don't have time
to do it myself.
Okay, fine.
So let's sell the fucking place.
So let's just grease the door!
So let's make some drinks.
Uh, what do we need?
You need the beer.
[James] Hey, Benny,
I can throw down,
but you wanna, um,
roll another one?
Yeah, sure.
Hey, Vic, you smoke?
Sometimes.
It depends on my mood.
[James] Okay, well,
how about tonight?
I'm not in the mood.
That's a shame.
I don't always need it.
Oh, I was talking
about your mood.
So, what do you guys do
when you drink?
Wanna play cards?
Yeah, sure.
I know a game. Care to play?
-I'd rather play--
-[Benny] Yeah, let's do it.
[scoffs]
Do you need a full deck?
[James] Yes, please.
-[Benny] Thank you.
-[James] Mm-hmm.
Okay, so, this is the game.
It's a Truth or Dare
kind of game.
You say a card,
dealer says a card.
If you're closer,
then you're safe.
But if you're not,
you either do as the dealer
says, or you drink.
Sounds like something
Benny will be good at,
considering he's so easily
swayed by guests.
And this might be
difficult for Vic,
considering she spins around
in a hamster wheel
full of insecurity.
[James] Okay, yeah, regardless,
it's gonna be fun, okay?
Um, but,
just so you know, Benny,
I got ammunition up my sleeve,
and Victoria,
you really can't drink so much.
You don't wanna be
fumbling into the wall,
-you know, into the wall.
-[laughs]
Okay, truth or dare?
Uh, dare.
Okay, now say a card.
-Six.
-Seven.
Hmm.
Order a pizza, and say
you have a large, fat tip
for them when they get here.
[laughs] Yeah, right.
Okay, from where?
Pete's Pizza.
-Can I star-69 the call?
-[James] No.
Then they're gonna know
who called.
Who do you think's gonna answer
the door when they get here?
[Vic snickers]
[sighs]
I also don't have any money,
so I don't know if
I can even pay for it.
Here. This should do.
[sighs]
So stupid.
[James laughs]
Uh, yeah, hello?
Um, I'd like to
place a delivery.
Uh, Benny.
248 Levering Street.
Um, can I get
one large cheese pizza,
and one large, um,
pepperoni pizza?
Uh, that's it. Yep.
Um, I'll be paying with cash.
[whispering] Big, fat tip.
And I have a large, fat tip
waiting for you when
you get here. Thanks, bye.
-They're not gonna show up.
-Oh, my God, yes.
-[Vic laughs]
-Yeah, they are.
I've done this before.
-What's the tip?
-What, the large fat one?
-[Benny] Yeah.
-[Vic chortles]
-How long did they say?
-[Benny] 30 minutes.
Oh, Benny, we have time.
Don't worry.
I'm proud of you, Benny.
That's a first.
I'll drink to that courage.
Give me the cards.
Truth or dare?
Truth. Eight.
Seven.
So, are you really organizing
these boxes, or just
going through old memories?
[sighs]
Truth or dare?
Truth. Two.
Three.
-What's wrong with Jamie?
-You don't have to answer that
if you don't want to.
[James] No, it's the game.
Jamie wasn't me.
Sure it was.
[scoffs] Maybe to you.
Maybe to my parents,
but not to me.
And no offense to the name,
but that's all it was.
It's just a name.
And I was always me.
When I was 18,
I decided I'm James.
And, um, you know, my parents
were just one letter off.
They were pretty close.
-So are you gay?
-Hey, you asked your question.
Uh, I'd make love to a girl.
-You wish.
-[Benny] Okay.
-You think?
-[Benny] Okay,
all right, move on.
Give her the cards. You're done.
Truth or dare?
Uh, dare.
Jack.
Ten.
Mmm...
Kiss me.
[Victoria laughing]
Told you.
Little bit of ammunition.
-What a shot.
-[Benny] Fuck you.
Give me the cards,
give me the cards.
Truth or dare?
[laughs] Dare. Queen.
Ten.
After you rake tomorrow,
how about you burn
one of those boxes?
-Fuck you.
-[Benny] Sounds like a drink.
What did you think
I was gonna say?
Hey, I didn't know how
courageous you wanted to be.
Give me the cards.
-Truth or dare?
-[James] Truth.
Nine.
Eight.
Think you'll ever see
your parents again?
I think I will.
Well, I'm hopeful
that they'll miss me.
You know?
Like, I'm more than
what they wanted me to be,
and I'm better than
their expectations.
But I guess saying that is more
like faith than the truth, so...
I'll drink anyway.
Truth or dare?
Uh... truth.
Ten?
Eight.
-Okay, now what?
-Oh, nothing. Nothing.
-Well, what were you gonna ask?
-[James sighs]
I'm curious, who had
the better Brit Lit grade?
-I did.
-Oh, I did.
I did.
Okay, well, where's the report
cards to prove this? 'Cause...
I think Vic might know,
considering she "organizes"
all the boxes.
Something with your name on it
sounds like your shit.
[James] Okay. Okay, whatever.
We'll just settle it
on a question.
What was Oscar Wilde
most famous for?
-Lady Windermere's Fan.
-The aestheticism movement.
[chuckles] Oh! You guys
might have had the same grade.
-Well, which one is it?
-[Benny] That's not fair.
-What's not fair?
-They're both well-known.
But she asked the question.
They.
James asked the question,
so I wanna know what James
thinks the answer is.
Mmm, the aestheticism movement.
Yep!
-Fuck you!
-Mmm! It's okay, Benny.
No, fuck her.
She's doing that on purpose.
What am I doing?
It doesn't involve you.
You didn't live here.
You're a fucking dog,
you know that?
You fuckin' wag your tail
and smile anytime anyone says
"Good girl."
And you're a fucking dog who
hides his tail between his legs
and droops his ears
every time he's inevitably
challenged by something.
See? This is what he does.
He's got to find his balance
on the fence again.
[Benny] Who wants more drink?
-Yeah, I'll have some.
-[Vic] Me too.
So he does this act
where he plays good guy
and avoids
getting into an argument
and instead does nice things.
The drink was empty.
And I knew you weren't
gonna make it, so I had to.
You think it magically
appeared full when you tried
getting through the door?
-The one you didn't grease?
-It's broken, Vic.
You know,
you should fix the door now
while we have company over
and the spotlight's on you.
Oh, but then you'd have to
wear that mask all the time,
and you don't want that.
[James] Need help, Ben?
You know,
you did the same fuckin' thing
when Dad was around.
-What are you talking about?
-Anytime you did
something good for him,
you'd always do
that stupid smile thing.
What did you do when
you did something he liked?
Did you ever do something
he liked? Can you remember?
Sorry, James.
This doesn't concern you.
No, it's okay. I'm in your home.
-Thank you.
-More like Dad's home.
[Vic] What was that?
[exhales]
You know, as if anything
changed since he's been gone.
Like, when Mom left,
all of her rules were
tossed out the window.
I think that was voluntary.
You don't know
what you're talking about.
-[Vic] Don't I, though?
-Just the half of it.
So Mom leaves
and we play by her rules?
-It's not about the fuckin'...
-He has this obsession with the
rules she set before she left.
When Benny becomes of age,
he gets to smoke
inside the house.
-Of course Dad
doesn't like that.
-It's not about the rules.
-He doesn't like Dad's rules.
-Dad didn't like Mom.
Care to explain why
he drank himself to death?
I don't wanna talk about it.
See? He almost fell
off the fence again.
Caught himself tipping.
Good thing you found
your balance.
I'm not trying to balance.
Yeah?
Then why'd you make more drinks?
-Because it was empty!
-No, it wasn't.
God, you always wanna
fight me on everything!
I'm just saying it wasn't empty.
You're the one fighting
with yourself
not admitting the truth.
Okay, you know what?
Give her the fucking cards.
Truth or dare? Ask me.
-Truth or dare?
-Truth.
Six.
Seven.
Ask again.
-Truth or dare?
-Truth.
Queen.
Jack.
You're a tough guy.
Thought I was a dog.
[chuckles] You're a tough dog.
Truth. Ace.
Two.
I'd fucking cry.
-What?
-I'd probably smile,
maybe look down and say,
"No problem... Dad."
Then I'd run upstairs
and fucking put my face
in a pillow and cry.
[tense string instrumental]
You asked what I did, right?
Remember I'd do
something good for him?
And every time all I'd think is,
"Why the fuck didn't Mom
take me with her when she left?"
When she knew
I was just like her.
[sniffles]
[]
She fucking took his swing.
[sniffles]
And he called her a dyke, and...
she just fucking left, and...
left me here to be
swallowed up in the fuckin'
walls of this home.
And it was his home,
and she knew it,
and she fuckin'
left me here, alone...
[weeping] ...to figure
this shit out on my own, and...
Why do I stick up for her?
[sobs]
She fucking left and I stick up
for her. For what? For what?
I'm so fucking weak.
No, you're not, Benny.
-Will you punch me? Please.
-No!
-Please punch me. Please.
-Benny, stop! No!
No! Stop, Benny.
-I'm just like Mom. I'm not--
-You're strong.
You're not like Mom. Stop.
-I'm just like Mom.
-You're not! No, no, you're not!
You're fine.
You're okay. You're okay.
It's okay.
[Benny sobbing]
[]
[sniffles, inhales]
Sorry.
[Victoria laughs]
It's okay. It's okay.
You're okay.
[]
[music fades]
You're okay
Hey, uh, I don't mean
to pop the bubble, but, uh,
can I have a hit of that?
Sorry, James.
This doesn't concern you.
[chuckles]
Oh, my God.
-[James] No, it's good.
Let it out.
-I'm sorry.
-Let it out.
-[Benny] Just let me
take a hit of that.
-Here.
-Thanks.
[James] It's almost gone.
Do you two know why I thought
it was aestheticism movement?
[Benny] Hmm, no. And honestly,
I don't really care.
I think I was just too attached
to the play in class.
-I hated it.
-[Benny] Really?
Yeah, I thought it was too fake.
Yeah,
you never read aloud in class.
How do you know that?
You sat right in front of me.
That could explain
why you don't remember me.
I mean, why look back
at someone you don't know?
Yeah.
I just couldn't get into it.
The characters
didn't feel believable.
Well, hey,
let's play a new game here.
-I have another one.
-[Benny] Nah, it's okay.
It's our turn now.
Thanks.
So, um, one more mix?
One more.
-One more?
-[Benny] Yeah, a mix.
Two more?
-Mmm, one and a half.
-Perfect.
-[Benny] Does anyone
need a refill?
-Yes.
Here, you guys start,
get a sense of the game.
Benny, do you remember
where you left off with this?
Uh... no, just guess. [laughs]
Make it good. Okay.
-So in this game...
-Okay.
[Benny] ...it's four cards.
First one is red or black,
second one is higher or lower,
third one is in between the two,
and then the fourth one
is a suit.
If you get 'em all right,
you're golden.
But every time you screw up,
you have to take a drink,
and then we restart.
-Okay? Are you ready? All right.
-[James] Okay. Yeah, I think so.
-Guess a color.
-[James] Um, black.
Take a drink.
-Restart. [laughs] -Okay.
-I drink?
-[Benny] Yes, drink. Oh--
Thank you.
-[Benny] All right.
-Red.
[Benny] Thank you very much.
Red?
[James sighs]
[Benny] Uh, red or black?
Black.
-[Benny] Red or black?
-Red.
-One more.
-[Benny] One more. We'll do
one more. We'll do one more,
-so you don't get too drunk.
-Red.
-That's tough. Higher or lower?
-Lower.
-Yes! Okay, inside or outside?
-In between.
-Ahh!
-No! Okay, I got further.
-Okay, you guys play.
I'm gonna finish this up.
-Okay.
All right. Victoria.
[Vic] Red.
Mmm. Drink.
Red.
-Mm-hmm.
-Lower.
Oh!
Outside.
Aww, nope.
-[Vic] Red.
-Red.
-Nice.
-[Vic] Okay. Higher.
Mm-hmm.
In between.
[James gasps] Wow. Okay.
It's gonna be a...
Club? Heart. Heart.
-Which one? Final answer.
-Heart!
-Oh!
-[exclaiming, laughing]
-[James laughs] My God.
-[Benny] Nice!
You got it, wow.
[knocking at door]
-Oh, it's the...
-The large, fat tip.
-[Vic laughing]
-Well, what is it? What is it?
Well, just--just tell him
that it's not that big anymore,
and you're sorry.
-[Benny] You guys suck.
-[Vic] Oh, my God.
You guys are fucking terrible.
-It's the dare, Benny.
It's the dare.
-Yeah, okay. Yeah, okay.
Here, give me the cards.
[Benny] Yeah, hey. Um...
Oh, thank you. Um...
Uh...
And, um, sorry,
I don't have a large tip for you
anymore. It got small. Bye.
[laughing]
Fuck both of you.
-[Vic] You're right.
-[Benny] That is such bullshit.
-[Vic] Ammunition.
-[James] Yeah. I try to
go for the payoff dares,
and this is, uh, quite paid off,
this pizza.
There was no large, fat tip,
was there?
There usually never is, Benny.
-Sorry.
-No, whatever.
You wanna move that real quick?
Thanks. Oh, and you're...
-Sorry.
-No, you're fine.
I'll take some of that.
-[Vic] Ooh, whee.
-Thank you.
-[James] Mm-hmm.
-Oh, God.
-Thank you.
-Oh, this looks so good--
Mmm, mmm!
Hold on, it's still hot.
-Okay.
-Besides, we've got
this to get through.
All right.
[soft instrumental music
playing over speakers]
I love this song.
There's no lyrics, but
I just like the way it sounds.
And I also like
the way it sounds coming
through these speakers.
There's, like...
a timelessness.
-Yeah,
it really fills up the room.
-Mm-hmm.
I think it's the vibrations
from the, um, amps.
Did you say your parents
got it as a gift?
Yeah. It was a wedding gift
from my dad's dad.
Hmm. Wow.
Lucky to have him as a grandpa.
Just for that.
Yeah.
I think that wedding
was the first time they'd seen
each other in five years.
Right?
But Dad let him
walk in the ceremony.
I think that was
the first time Grandpa met Mom.
Yeah, I think so. But... hmm.
Here you go. Either way,
he loved this fuckin' thing.
Yeah.
I think I would too, you know?
You don't find these in homes.
Like, at all.
No, and it's just nice having,
like, not a TV, and, like, this.
-Mm-hmm.
-You know?
Yeah,
it's just you and the music.
Yeah, and, like,
it's just literally, like,
whatever you wanna feel,
you know?
It's not--
You're not persuaded by the TV.
[James] Mm-hmm. Yeah.
And, like,
the sound is so peaceful.
Absolutely.
[]
You know,
when we were reading that play,
I could never figure out
where the line was between
reality and false reality.
I mean, I had no confidence
in what I was reading,
and because of that,
I was afraid to say the words
on the page out loud,
because it would
make them more believable.
And my voice would crack,
it would falter, and...
I was afraid people
would laugh at me.
God, Lord Darlington
was a fucking dick.
I mean, he was a fucking dick!
He was. Here.
You're right.
He was a dick.
Yeah, you know, he just came off
as one to me, too, for sure.
Hey, was that guy hot?
-Who? The pizza guy?
-Uh-huh.
I don't know.
He, was like, a fucking trip.
And he was super uncomfortable
with the large, fat tip thing,
so...
I don't know.
I'm wondering if it's
because it's the same one
as I had last week.
Was that guy hot?
Yeah, I would've.
Mmm. I mean,
I don't think it's the same guy.
[laughs] Okay.
That's a shame.
I am going to be
so hungover tomorrow.
-Yeah. Me, too.
-Yeah. Same.
Me, too.
-Fuck.
-What?
-What?
-[sighs] I don't wanna
do the leaves tomorrow.
So, don't do 'em.
No, it's got to get done.
Monday is garbage day,
and I think it's the last one
for leaves.
Why, you don't just burn 'em?
No, Dad never really
liked the smell of 'em.
Yeah, it's crazy smoky,
burning leaves.
That, plus it's such a process
to go through all of 'em.
Yeah, like, burning 'em,
and burning 'em,
and burning 'em.
It's just easier to bag 'em and
throw 'em to the curb, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I saw a bit of what you're
going through in the back.
Mm-hmm.
And, I mean, like,
it doesn't help that
we wait 'til
the last minute, either.
-Like, that just fucking sucks.
-Mm-hmm.
It's, like, unnecessary stress.
Mm-hmm. Every day you just
wake up and you're like, "Fuck."
-Put it out of your mind.
-Yeah. "I have to fucking rake."
It's bullshit.
Hey, what are you doing?
Going to rake leaves.
While I'm up,
while I'm feeling good.
Okay, but you need to, like,
eat more. Like, you know?
You let the bread absorb into
that alcohol and shit, you know?
[Vic] Give me this.
That should tide me over, right?
Yeah, I'm sure.
-[Vic] Thank you.
-All right, well...
we'll come out.
We'll come help you.
-[Vic] No, no, no. It's fine.
-[Benny] No. No, Vic.
-[James] Yeah, hold on!
-Do not. I got it.
It's fine. Okay?
Just eat and enjoy, okay?
-[Benny] All right.
-[James] Okay, well,
we're coming out later.
-[Benny] Yeah,
we're gonna come out.
-All right, but fill up...
and we're fuckin' burning 'em.
Besides, a bonfire
sounds good tonight, right?
[Benny] Yeah.
[Vic] I'll grab three rakes.
[Benny] I--
Well, welcome to our home.
[James chuckles] Your sister
said the same thing earlier.
-[Benny] Really?
-[James] Yeah.
You know, she figured I would've
judged it, but if I did, I would
be completely wrong right now.
Well, that makes me feel good.
[James laughs] Well, if
I have to be honest, though...
I was actually really
uncomfortable with coming over.
-Really?
-Yeah. I really didn't
think I'd last the night.
But now I know
I'm gonna sleep like a baby.
Tonight has been good,
hasn't it?
It has been.
Right? It has been really good.
Mmm. And...
we have the comfiest couches
down there in the living room.
But if you don't like that,
I can blow you up
an air mattress.
And we have, like,
four extra comforters upstairs
and, like, four pillows.
-So, you'll be golden.
-Yeah.
Honestly, I could sleep
anywhere. I feel so good.
-Yeah.
-It's okay.
Same.
Hey, thanks for the, um, dare,
by the way.
And, and...
To raking some leaves tonight.
-Okay.
-I'm sorry. It'll be fun.
[James] I know.
Hmm.
[Benny] Oh, my God.
[James] Do you have any gloves
I can borrow?
[Benny] Yeah. Excuse me.
There are some in the garage
I can find you.
[James] Okay, cool.
-Oh, and let me clean these up.
-[Benny] Oh,
you don't have to do that.
-[James] That's okay. I got it.
-[Benny] All right.
Um, there should be
a spot in the fridge for it.
-Just meet me out back.
-[James] Okay.
[]
Whoa.
Ow!
[shivers]
[]
[crickets chirping]
[]
Great idea to have a fire.
-I know.
-Great idea.
I think this is how
I'm gonna do leaves from now on.
-It's so warm.
-It is so fucking warm.
And I'm gonna have no guilt
sleeping in tomorrow.
-[Vic chuckles]
-I'm so ready to sleep in.
Yeah. Oh, my God.
What's comfier,
the air mattress or the sofa?
Sofa. Definitely the sofa.
I'll throw some blankets down
for you when we get back inside.
-Okay, thanks.
-You plan on leaving tomorrow?
Yeah, I think so.
You know,
I like this nomad life.
It's exciting
not knowing what's next.
Not that we ever really do.
But, not saying I didn't
enjoy tonight. I did.
And this is a great way
to wrap it up.
Mm-hmm.
Do you guys have plans tomorrow?
I don't think so. I think
just more of those, like,
boxes in the kitchen, probably?
-I don't know.
-Yeah, some tough stuff
to get through.
Yeah, I guess.
There's probably, like,
a month or two left, I'd say.
But that's Christmas time,
and a Dad-free home
is literally my Christmas wish.
Really?
[crickets chirping]
She okay?
I think so.
I don't see why not.
You know, maybe she had
to take a piss or something.
Yeah.
[flames crackle]
[exhales deeply]
[pensive music plays]
[]
-I'm losing feeling in my toes.
-Yeah.
I know, it was
significantly warmer inside.
I don't know how
we didn't notice.
I think it was, like,
adrenaline, with being stoned,
and drunk.
-I--I don't know.
-I'm definitely making
another mix when we go inside.
-Oh, my God, another one?
-[Vic] Another one.
Time for another one more.
All right, fine, fine, fine.
I mean... [chuckles]
What's another one gonna do
anyways, I guess, at this point?
Uh, I mean,
have you ever thrown up?
-[Benny & Vic laugh]
-Yeah. Yeah, we have. Yes.
-Okay, what happened?
-Let her--She'll tell you.
-[Vic] Okay, what were you, 15?
-It was my sophomore year,
I know that, so.
So, we were so stupid. Okay, so
Mom and Dad got in a big fight,
and they left for
the whole night.
And so we were finally excited
to get into the liquor cabinet.
-[Benny] Mm-hmm.
-And, oh, my God,
we were so stupid.
-[Benny] I mean...
-Oh, my God.
So we filled these two, like,
full-size drinking glasses up
with, like, five different
clear liquids from the cabinet.
-[James] Oh, lord!
-And I shit you not,
we were rolling over each other,
taking turns
puking in the toilet.
It was the most
disgusting thing.
It was all night.
Just waking up, rolling over.
-Did your parents
come home and find you?
-[Vic] That's the thing.
They--I woke up
the next morning in my bed,
nobody said a thing.
-[Benny] Yeah.
-Well, they didn't notice
the liquor, like, gone?
Well, I mean, the night before,
we, like, filled everything
that we used with water.
Like Dad would ever know.
I don't think he did.
-I don't think they knew.
-[Benny] Like, I woke--
I remember he was, like,
all day the next day, he was
at the toilet cleaning--like,
trying to fix the pipes,
'cause he saw all the puke
in the toilet,
but he thought that the pipes
clogged up and, like,
brought it back up to whatever,
in the surface. Yeah, so.
I think we're in the clear.
I think we are.
I mean,
we're off the hook now, so...
Yeah.
So, what games do you guys wanna
play when we go back inside?
Oh, there is that one
one we didn't play yet.
You dish out five cards--
Is it always games
with you guys?
-What are you...
-You got--you got a game?
No. I'm saying no games. Pfft.
-No games?
-No.
-What are you gonna do
to stay awake?
-Yeah.
Do you guys know
those projection things
you shine up on the ceiling?
-Yes, yes!
Yeah, I've seen those.
-Yeah?
-I've never heard of those.
-[Benny] No?
Oh. Well, I have one.
I'm gonna go set it up.
-[Benny] Okay.
-At the front.
This is a great fire.
Yeah.
Was it a bad idea
to burn Dad's shirts?
[Benny] What? No. No. No.
-You're fine.
-Fuck.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, stop,
stop, stop! What are you doing?
-I was just gonna save one!
-What are you--No, stop it!
It's fucking hot!
-Why are you saying no?
-It's fucking hot!
-[Vic] I need his shirt!
-No, stop, stop.
What shirt? What shirt?
-[Vic] No, it's Dad!
-Okay, what fucking shirt
do you want?
-[Vic] That one,
the one I'm reaching for.
-Okay, stop, stop!
-Just let me--Stop.
-I can't get it!
[Benny] Ah! Fuck!
Jesus, Vic!
There it is.
-Thank you.
-Yeah, whatever.
-Hey, the fire.
-Yeah, so fuckin' put it out.
Get the shirts.
We'll throw the leaves
at the corner in the morning.
[grunts with effort]
[groans]
Hey, Ben,
can I use one of these outlets?
[Benny] Uh, yeah,
whatever one you want.
[James] Cool.
[softly] Oh, yeah.
Hey, Benny, come check this out.
Uh, hey, one second.
I'm gonna finish this mix,
and I'll be in there.
Whoa.
-[James] Yeah, isn't this sweet?
-Yeah.
[James]
It wasn't too expensive, either.
Ben, we got to get one of these.
Yeah.
What you got in so far?
Um, here,
you wanna get the alcohol?
Yeah, here.
[serene music plays]
-Whoa.
-Right?
-This is fucking sweet.
-[Vic laughs]
[Vic] Yeah.
Here, James, can you take this?
[James] Yeah. Thanks.
[Vic] Wow.
That's fucking epic.
Nice.
[James] Mmm.
-This is cool.
-[Benny] Yeah, this is sweet.
[Vic] Oh, this is uncomfortable.
[Benny grunts] Yeah.
Well, why don't we sit back?
[Benny] Where's my drink?
-[James] Right here.
-[Benny] Hmm? Oh, thanks.
-Wow.
-[Vic] Right?
[James] Told you guys.
[]
So, now what?
Now what?
What do you mean?
I don't know, like...
I don't know, now what?
What--I don't know. Now what?
Aren't you the one who
said we couldn't play games?
Oh, so James has
to say what we do?
I mean, I wasn't saying that.
Yeah,
but since James said no games,
James has to decide what we do.
-That's not what I was--
-Fuck, stop. No, just stop.
No games. Okay?
But we weren't playing a game.
James?
-James?
-Shh.
[hushed] We're playing a game.
[]
I was 15 when I first
fucked a girl.
[Benny chuckling]
What, what did I say?
You were 15 the first
time you fucked a girl?
Yeah.
Was it good?
Yeah, of course.
[Vic] Better than a man?
Uh, I just needed
to cum, honestly.
[all laughing]
[]
I fantasize about Matt Davis'
hand going into my pants.
[Vic] Benny!
-What?
-[Vic laughing]
What did I do?
[James] How does he do it?
We're at the park together
in downtown,
and he sees me across
the way.
And I wave to him,
he waves to me.
He walks right on up.
I grab the back of his neck,
you can feel his hairs,
and he just fucking
goes at it in my pants.
[Vic] Oh, my God!
And it feels like
my baseball cup used to feel.
Oh, wow, that's amazing.
[Vic] God, you've
thought about this.
[Benny] Oh, yeah,
of course. [chuckling]
Wow, that baseball cup.
Doing things to you.
-[Benny] Great things.
-Great things.
[]
What if you walked in on Dad
going down on some dude?
[Benny] Vic, oh, my God!
What would you have done?
What would you do?
[Benny] I'd close the fucking
door and wipe my memory,
or try to, Jesus, oh, my God.
No. Never. Oh, my God.
[]
I would have said
anything he liked.
That's all I cared about.
Whatever he liked.
I was his fucking pawn in
that game of chess against Mom.
And I still am. I'm still
fighting those arguments.
Oh. No, Vic,
you're not his pawn.
[Vic] I am, it's okay, I am.
No, you're not, Vic.
You're not the pawn.
Well, look at us right now.
We're still arguing.
If you're Dad's pawn,
then I'm Mom's.
[Vic scoffs]
You ever think there's a moment
in life where you
become who you're meant to be?
And it's like a train
that's... you have to catch.
And if you miss it, it just
goes speeding by like a bullet.
[sighing] I just hope I haven't
missed the train.
[Benny] I don't know, Vic.
It's like...
It's like the train
is always in moments.
There are so many moments.
I don't think
you missed this train.
Yeah, I don't think so, either.
But I am afraid of falling
into those games again.
You know, like,
a few years happen,
and the chessboard becomes
different colors,
and it's made out
of different material, and...
If I'm not careful,
I'm just falling back
into that pawn
chess piece again.
[James] No, you won't.
You say that,
and I don't--I don't feel it,
but, like, you can't
predict the future.
No one can.
But isn't that exciting?
-[Benny] Uh-huh.
-How?
Well, Murphy's Law, you know?
Really? Wow. Okay.
Well, what's--what's something
that you've always
wanted to do in this house
that you've never done?
Drink wine from the bottle.
I always thought it looked cool.
[Benny and James chuckling]
[Vic] I did, and Dad
would never let me.
He was always like,
"It's not proper."
But he would drink
Jameson from the bottle,
so we know what
that really fucking meant.
-[Benny] Mm-hmm.
-[Vic] Fucking Darlington.
I mean, I'd take Jameson
over wine any day.
[Vic] Fuck you.
[James] I mean, wine,
it's just so sweet.
[Vic] It's got a higher alcohol
content than beer, so...
[James] Ah, well,
I'd still take Jameson any day.
[Vic] Aren't you a hardass.
[]
What about you, Benny?
What would you do?
[Benny] I always hated when Mom
said music was done by 10:30,
'cause I had the best ideas
before going to bed every night.
-[James] Everyone does.
-[Benny] Everyone does.
I went to this festival
one time, and there was, like,
four hours, no concerts, from,
like, 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM.
[Benny] Oh, my God, that's not
when I--I couldn't do that.
That's--that is way too late.
Or early, depending on
how you look at it.
[Vic] But later than 10:30.
Yeah, I'd like--yeah,
later than 10:30.
-[Vic] Mmm.
-[James] What time?
Mmm, I don't care. I would need
to sleep at some point.
I value it too much.
[]
Do you guys have a bottle
of wine in the house?
[rhythmic drum beats]
[relaxed electronic music plays]
[tempo gets faster,
music swells]
[]
[]
[Vic] Holy shit,
that sounds so good.
[Benny] Yeah, right? It does.
And I'm gonna add this
little, like, um,
Mario sound effect,
that, like--
Brrrrrring! You know?
The--Bling! Whatever it is.
[Vic] That loud?
Like--brrrrrring?
[Benny] Well, not that loud,
but let me--
Here, I'll show you.
I'll just--
-[Vic] Okay.
-[Benny] Give me a sec.
You'll like it.
I promise. I promise.
Um, hold on one second.
-Okay, ready?
-Yep.
[computer chiming]
Oh, yeah, that does sound good.
-Yeah, not bad, huh?
-Yeah.
Okay, that's what I was
thinking. So...
-Okay, now for the lines.
-Yes, here, let me...
Um, here, I'll make you
an audio track real quick. Um...
Do you--do you
wanna speak into that?
-[echoing] Testing.
-Nice.
-Ooh.
-Good, perfect.
-Okay, you ready?
-Yes.
Whatever you want.
Whatever comes to mind. Ready?
Straight from the bottle
-Okay, we'll use--
-Is it-- is it good?
Yeah. Yeah, we can--
That's-- it's usable. It's--
-Here, real quick,
let me show you this.
-Okay.
It was good, it was good.
I promise. Here.
[Vic on recording]
Straight from the bottle
Okay, I need--I need to work
on my auto-tuning a little,
-but we can use that.
-Oh, my God, yes.
We can--that's good.
We'll put that in there.
-This is so fun.
-I know, I know.
-We should do this
every weekend.
-I know, yeah, we should be.
We should be doing this
every weekend. It'd be amazing.
Just do it forever.
-Can we--forever?
-Yeah, literally forever!
[both giggling]
Oh, my God, is it that early?
Oh, wow. Yeah, I guess so.
Hard at work.
[laughing] Yeah.
-Must be comfy.
-Yeah, it must be comfy.
[Vic] Wanna call it?
Yeah, let's call it.
Let me save it real quick.
[Vic] Okay.
Wanna listen to it again?
Oh, yeah,
absolutely. Absolutely.
-You wanna wake up, uh, James?
-Yeah.
[Vic] Hey. James,
wake up. James.
-[James] What?
-[Benny] James.
-[Vic] Wake up. Come on.
-[James] Hi.
-[Vic] Listen to this.
-[Benny] James. James, you up?
-[James] What? Yeah, I'm up.
-[Benny] You good?
-[James] Yeah, I'm good.
-Here, come check this out.
-[James] What is it?
-Here, come take a listen.
-Ready?
-Uh-huh.
[Goes silent]