Little Voice (2020) s01e07 Episode Script

["Little Voice" playing]
-[car horns honk]
-[jackhammer rattles]
[Bess humming]
[humming continues]
I don't want to disappear ♪
[continues humming]
[dog yelps]
[dog grumbles]
-[glass shatters]
-Shit.
Shit. Shit.
[grunts]
[dog whines]
-[slams]
-[grunts]
-[items rattling, rustling]
-[grunts]
Oh, shit.
[humming]
[Prisha's mother] We have
enough bagels for everybody.
[Prisha's father] It's a small
space, but Nine different kinds.
[Prisha gasps] Oh, my God.
Oh, my goodness, Bess. Have you been robbed?
[all gasping]
I told you girls a thousand times
to let me install the extra lock.
[Bess] No, no. Everything's okay. We
weren't robbed. I'm sorry about the mess.
Obviously, I wasn't expecting
company. I-- I just lost my notebook.
-The one that I write all my songs in.
-In the refrigerator?
How many times have I found your
reading glasses in the medicine cabinet?
-True.
-Nice digs. So much character.
When it's tidy, it looks much bigger.
No, no, no. When they're married,
they'll have so much more space,
and then they can watch Marie
Kondo and clear clutter and find joy.
Bess, why don't you put some pants
on and come join us for our bagel brunch.
Yes. Uh, we have nine different kinds of smears.
Schmears.
-It's smears, baba. It's smears.
-No, it's schme-- schmear.
-Schm--
-Smear is a verb. Schmear is a noun.
I saw this on Jeopardy! Hodgepodge for 1,000.
-We have pineapple coconut.
-[Bess] Oh.
You know, Mama G, I'm so
sorry, but I have to get to work.
So, I better, you know
Sorry.
Close the door. Yeah.
-Okay, come, come. Come, everybody.
-Everybody, please.
[Vilina] Who wants what?
He gets you. You guys are perfect together.
Aren't you glad you came around?
Hey.
Hey. [spits]
Sorry I flashed your brunch party.
Highlight of their day.
Boo, I could fight with my sister all
day long, but the idea of hurting you
-Unbearable.
-[sighs]
Mm.
[chattering]
Blueberry schmear.
Blueberries boost creativity.
-Oh! Thanks, Mama G.
-Ma, can you just--
-Okay, beta.
-Be out in a minute.
Just giving her something to eat.
She said she needed inspiration.
-We'll come out in a minute.
-Okay, but antioxidants--
Bye.
I started to write a new song
yesterday on the train ride back,
and I thought I put my lyric book in my backpack.
Boo, the MTA can take your
lyrics, but they can't take your spirit.
-Do you remember any of the song?
-Like, four words.
And Jeremy has a connection to a record label,
and he's gonna have an A&R guy hear me,
and I can sing five songs, but I only have four.
You have so many great songs.
Yeah, but I wrote 'em so long
ago. Just, it's not who I am right now.
Don't worry, Bess. The good ideas knock again.
[sighs]
[camera beeps, whirs]
Hello, I'm Louie King, the King of Broadway.
Do theater ghosts truly exist?
David Belasco built the famous Belasco Theatre
and is sometimes seen sitting in the audience.
The strange thing is he's been dead since 1931.
On me, Phil. Thank you.
Judy Garland's ghost is often
seen at the Palace Theatre
in a special door that was built in
the orchestra pit for her entrances.
The theater leaves the ghost
light on for Judy every night.
It's too many details.
That's what I'm trying to say.
They say God is in the details,
Phil. That's what they say.
What's a ghost light, you ask?
It's a tradition of leaving the
light on when a theater is empty
so that ghosts whose lives felt
unfinished can return and perform on.
Are you getting all of this?
Hey, folks. There's some stratus clouds up there.
Phil!
I bet my last thermometer that we're
gonna have some rain on the way.
Phil, I'm at the climax of a legend.
This is Phil Munchin with
today's weather forecast.
Phil, this is not a weather vlog.
Your vlog is boring.
That's what I'm trying to say.
-I'm not boring.
-Your vlog is.
How could you say that?
Just give me the camera.
I'll do it myself. Let go. Let go.
-[grunts]
-[camera beeps]
I don't want to disappear ♪
I don't want to disappear ♪
Won't you see me? I'm still here ♪
I'm so sorry. I didn't think anyone
was here. I can shut the door.
Don't shut the door.
I thought a spirit was talking
to me through the walls.
Did you say, "Won't you see me?"
I'm still here ♪
That's really good.
Granddad, you cannot just wander off like that.
[speaking Spanish]
-Sorry. We will let you get back to work.
-I'm helping her.
-He was, actually.
-See?
Well, he is a poet.
Sí. Around the house.
-He's my favorite writer.
-He doesn't read much.
[laughs] When I got dumped on his
lap, he got a job as a janitor at the library.
[grandfather] I wanted him to have his dreams.
The truth is he didn't, so I could.
Do you know what you
fight for? What you fight for ♪
It's so catchy. It's been hit 11 times already.
[Ethan] Oh.
-Excuse me?
-Come on, Granddad.
Eleven people have watched the music
video on the line. He checks every five minutes.
Not every-- Not every five minutes.
I'm trying to track the progress, so
-Mm-hmm.
-[phone buzzes]
-You know what? I'm sorry. I have to go.
-Oh. But you just got here.
I know. I'm sorry. I just-- I have to go.
[sighs]
[Phil] Here's the evidence.
Louie, I think you owe Phil an
apology. He's been very patient.
Phil owes me an apology! Phil said I was boring.
That's a direct quote. I was
talking about ghost lights.
We love ghost lights. Don't we, Bess?
-What's a ghost light?
-Exhibit A.
That's why my vlog is important.
Storm warnings are equally important.
-I think Louie was trying to--
-I don't think this discussion is about
whether storm warnings are
more important than ghost lights.
I think it's about mutual respect.
[vacuum cleaner whirs]
Not now, Zack.
-[whirring stops]
-[phone beeps]
-Bess, you have 17 hits on your video.
-Not now, Louie.
-Only 17?
-That's not very many.
That's barely any. That's what I'm trying to say.
It's a start. You have to start somewhere.
-Exactly.
-Louie was feeling--
So let's start with you apologizing
to Phil for breaking his camera.
Phil, if you can't take a bump
on the chin now and again,
then you shouldn't be in showbiz.
[scoffs] Well
Why are you here?
Why am I here? Louie
called me. He was really upset.
And when he's upset, he
can't work it out for himself?
He needed me, and I came.
Right. That's the pattern from your childhood.
I'm not the one with the problem here.
Louie will meet your expectations.
If you think he can't solve his
problems on his own, he won't.
Well, I felt that everybody was siding with Phil.
Phil was being cruel, and Louie
was just trying to defend himself.
That's not the way we defend
ourselves here. Louie's an adult.
He is, and he isn't.
He never will be if you
keep coming to his rescue.
I'm not going to ignore his calls.
You are actually preventing him
from bonding with his roommates
by inserting yourself into
every challenging moment.
Inserting myself? He's my brother!
Yeah, well, this will take
over your life if you let it.
You'll start deferring your own dreams.
You're too young to live a half life.
Bess, if Louie's gonna find his way in the world,
you can't pick up every time he calls.
You don't get it! You just don't get it.
What if this is the time that someone
steals his wallet or he gets lost
or someone kicks the shit out of him?
'Cause I've seen that too.
I am gonna pick up every time he calls.
He's not gonna get hurt. Not on my watch.
[sighs]
[rhythmic tapping]
[scoffs]
[rhythmic snapping]
[rhythmic clapping]
[rhythmic sounds stop]
[rhythmic sounds resume]
[bell ringing rhythmically]
[rhythmic sounds stop]
[plays melody]
[plays tune]
[same tune plays]
[rhythmic sounds resume]
-[playing saxophone]
-[rhythmic sounds continue]
[exhales]
[playing on piano keys]
[gasps]
[tapping piano keys, bangs chord]
[tapping keys continues]
[rhythmic sounds fade]
[sighs]
Help me.
[exhales deeply]
[sighs]
Please.
[person gasps]
[gasping]
[gasps]
[gasps]
[plays notes]
[man speaking Russian]
[Russian continues, softly]
[piano intro starts]
What if I leave the light on ♪
So the dark has a friend? ♪
If the ghost light is burning ♪
We'll invite something in ♪
[glass shatters]
Let the dark free your secrets ♪
That you keep swallowing ♪
Let her borrow my voice now ♪
What if darkness could sing ♪
[ringtone plays]
[ringtone continues]
[ringtone stops]
[children giggling]
[woman speaks Spanish]
-Boo!
-[girls shrieking]
[woman] Carolina.
Emmaley. [speaks Spanish]
¡Mamá! ¡Mamá!
[chuckles]
[woman chuckles]
[speaks Spanish]
-[speaks Spanish]
-[baby fusses]
[children giggling]
[woman humming melody]
[humming continues]
[piano accompanies melody]
[door closes]
-[woman humming]
-[children giggling]
[man shouts in Spanish]
-[speaks Spanish, sighs]
-[object clatters]
[whimpering]
[baby fussing]
What I wouldn't give If for just one night ♪
I could shine so you would see me ♪
But all I've ever been Is
the absence of the light ♪
I don't shine ♪
No one sees me ♪
[slams table]
[baby cries, sound fades]
[dog whimpers]
-Ella?
-[whimpers]
There you are.
Okay.
How do I finish it?
[piano plays melody]
[melody continues]
No one sees me ♪
So won't you, you, you? ♪
Won't you, you, you? ♪
[man on TV] The high is only 63.
[Louie] Shh. Phil, we're
rolling. Turn down the TV.
Hello, I'm Louie King, the King of Broadway,
reporting from the Schaller House
at 888 34th Street in Murray Hill.
Today I'm gonna be performing both
parts in Hamilton's "Aaron Burr, Sir."
Hit it, Ted.
-[man on TV continues]
-[music starts]
New York City Pardon
me. Are you Aaron Burr, sir? ♪
That depends. Who's
asking? Oh, well, sure, sir ♪
I'm Alexander Hamilton
I'm at your service, sir ♪
I have been looking for
you I'm getting nervous-- ♪
Louie! I can't hear the weather report.
I'm sure Ted and Zack are also annoyed.
[Zack] I actually prefer
Hamilton to weather patterns.
[Ted] I concur, sir.
Phil is just jealous.
Quit talking about me. I didn't sign a release.
Phil and I have a very
Burr-Hamilton-like relationship,
but perhaps I can convince
him to come do the duet with me
so you guys can see
how it's traditionally staged.
Phil!
[Bess] What did I miss?
There's eight minutes left, and I'm
pretty sure it's just all of this couch.
I love this vlog so much.
-I think it's really good for him.
-Yeah.
Oh. Okay, how's this?
Great, if you wanna look like an
eccentric aunt who teaches watercolors.
-It's yours.
-I know. Sometimes I wanna look like that.
I can't.
I wonder if Phil will do the duet.
-[computer dings]
-[gasps]
Your video just broke the 3,000 mark.
[Samuel] Hey.
-Hi.
-Hi.
-Ah! You can't
-Okay. Sorry.
I only have ten pieces, and I have to
make 'em take up 20 pieces' worth of space.
Sushi's perfect. She's gonna love
it. She's gonna give it a record deal.
I got sushi. [laughs]
-Sushi for a professional.
-[Samuel] I hope she's hungry.
[gasps] Oh, my God. Benny, you're the best!
Benny boy, I don't understand
how you even got all these meetings.
I mean, one of them is with
a huge record label, right?
Yeah. Through Jeremy.
And Tuesday is through a Lyft passenger.
And then we got a music lawyer on
Thursday, and two up-and-coming A&R folk,
one through Saint C's and the other
one through my uncle's cousin's sister's ex.
-Damn, dude. You are on it!
-Yeah.
I hate to say it, but I have a good feeling.
[chuckles]
[piano intro starts]
-[piano intro continues]
-[Samuel plays guitar]
What if I leave the light on ♪
So the dark has a friend? ♪
If the ghost light is burning ♪
We'll invite something in ♪
Let the dark free your secrets ♪
That you keep swallowing ♪
Let her borrow my voice-- ♪
I don't need to hear anymore. [chuckles]
That was--
You're really good.
I mean, you have, like, a--
a timeless quality about you.
You know, I think we could make
some really great stuff together.
-What do you think?
-[chuckles] Yeah, I mean Yeah, yeah.
You've got a really great voice.
But you're just a voice.
Imagine when you're singing
songs by a real songwriter.
-[yelp echoing]
-[electronic dance music plays]
You like to dance You like to dance too ♪
Into my door ♪
Dancing for you You like to dance, hey! ♪
Hey, maybe this is one of those
"real songwriters" she's talking about.
-It sounds like a ringtone.
-[music continues]
Yeah. It's-- [scoffs] Pathetic.
[music stops]
[Bess] You know, maybe we
should start with a different song.
I'm coming back like I was before ♪
Standing at the open door ♪
Watch me as I walk right through ♪
No more running ♪
I'm coming back to you ♪
That was fun.
It was just a little
You know
But great, just
darling.
[guitar plays]
Tell me that you understand
Why I'm crying again ♪
[muffled] Tell me that we'll figure it out ♪
-[chattering]
-[phone rings]
Tell me that you'll tell the truth ♪
I will do the same for you ♪
I know we'll figure it out ♪
So if you don't want to see me leave ♪
Could you please tell me? ♪
-[printer whirs]
-[chuckles]
-Whoa.
-Same.
So amazing.
I can def see you at
Coachella. But not main stage.
Exactly. Like, I see it. I hear it. I'm there.
-[chuckles]
-Thank you.
[office chattering continues]
So what is next?
Uh, before we pitch you to our boss,
we should figure out what genre you are.
I was thinking, like, definitely blues.
Mmm. Definitely. Or, like, rock.
-Oh, uh
-[Samuel] Uh
Indie?
But also pop.
-Happy?
-But sad too.
Okay. Indie, pop, happy, sad is a great start.
Totally universal.
Okay, we have to get lunch for our boss,
but we should stay in touch
about what genre you are.
[woman] Dance is my lung ♪
I like to dance You like to dance too ♪
Dance is my lung ♪
Dance, dance, dance ♪
Dance is my lung ♪
Dance is my lung ♪
Did she say "dance is my lung"?
-[scoffs]
-Dance, dance ♪--
[changes stations]
Dance is my lung ♪
Dance, dance ♪
Why?
Dance is my lung ♪
[music stops]
[piano intro plays]
[Bess] So I have not met ♪
Who I will be ♪
But on your mark, set Ready, watch me ♪
I don't know anything ♪
I don't know anything ♪
I don't know anything Anything, anything yet ♪
That was cool.
You got talent. And you're a
songwriter. Not many people can say that.
I can't wait to hear a real
singer performing your songs.
-[sirens wailing in distance]
-[piano intro plays]
Well, we just have to make this last one count.
[intro continues]
Come on in.
I'm barely brave enough To keep breathing ♪
But I believe in love ♪
There is enough ♪
So ask for more to fill you
up Nobody's keeping score ♪
Do you know what you fight for? ♪
What you fight for? ♪
I want more love ♪
[music fades]
That was beautiful.
-Thank you.
-Yeah, you've got an authentic sound.
It's been quite a while since
I've seen someone so impressive.
-Really?
-Yeah. Come, sit.
You've got the voice. You've got the writing.
You've got "it," whatever that means.
I'd love to work with you.
But
I have no idea what to do with you.
I don't know how to market you.
-I don't know what genre you'd be in.
-[tapping]
[voice muffled] Which is a shame because--
because you're so special.
But I don't know who you are.
Or where your music would get-- get played.
[normal audio] Well best of luck.
Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Hey,
hey. Don't worry about it.
Get your hands off me.
Okay. I'm just trying to be a nice guy here.
You're not a nice guy.
I got you this meeting.
You know, I honestly believe
if I met you at a different time
under a different circumstance
you'd still be a dick.
I mean, what were we thinking?
We have horrible luck together.
[chuckling] It couldn't be worse.
Now that is not true.
You could always feel worse.
We okay?
-We okay.
-[chuckles]
-I
-[Bess chuckles]
I don't know. I just
You make the
You make the bad days okay.
That sounds like a song.
-That sounds like a bad song.
-Hmm.
Like, right up there with "Dance Is My Lung."
You like to dance too ♪
No. Don't.
You like--[chuckles]
That's my favorite part.
You like to dance too ♪
Dance is my lung ♪
Dance is my lung ♪
Oh, my God.
[Samuel] You okay?
Dad?
Dad. Dad.
What I wouldn't give ♪
Dad, it's Bess.
What are you doing here?
Dad. I'm gonna take you home. Come on.
-Get outta here.
-Come on.
[slurring] No. Leave me alone.
Dad.
Dad!
Get the hell outta here! Leave me alone.
Is the absence of the light ♪
Dad. Dad!
I don't shine ♪
No one sees me ♪
Dad!
So won't you? ♪
-Bess
-No. No, no, no. No!
No. [sobs]
No. [sobs]
So won't you? ♪
So won't you? ♪
So won't you? ♪
What I wouldn't give ♪
If for just one night ♪
I could shine ♪
So you'd see me ♪
All I've ever been ♪
Is the absence of the light ♪
I don't shine ♪
No one sees me ♪
So won't you? ♪
So won't you? ♪
So won't you? ♪
So won't you? ♪
---oOo---