Man with a Plan (2016) s02e17 Episode Script

1 Good job on your chores.
Emme, that's for you.
Teddy, that's for you.
Two dollars? That's less than I pay Emme to do my chores for me.
Ah! Not so fast.
You still have one more chore.
Fine.
(GIGGLES) Okay, paying for a hug doesn't make it any less special! Hey.
So, that Halloween store downtown is going out of business.
And you know how I love a good deal.
- Right? - Mm.
So I got this for Emme.
Huh? Princess dress for my little princess.
Huh? Look, it's sweet of you to think of Emme, but you can't give that to her.
What? Why not? Because princess stories are just a bad influence on little girls, you know? It teaches 'em stuff like you need a man to save you.
Who told you that? Was it Beyoncé? 'Cause I know she's got some mysterious hold on you.
No, no, no.
Think about it, okay? In Beauty and the Beast, that girl was just a hostage.
Yeah.
She had Stockholm syndrome.
And-and in Sleeping Beauty, uh, she marries the first guy that kisses her because she got roofied.
What kind of message do you think that dress sends to Emme? "I love you and I got you a present.
" It's just, I've been working for years to keep that stuff out of the house.
I mean, when Kate was little and she wanted a princess dress, I told her she was allergic to glitter.
- I didn't know you were doing that.
- Yeah, it's how I keep the kids from doing things that are bad for them.
I call it my protective love bubble.
Your what bubble? My love bubble.
You know, little white lies that are for their own good.
Oh.
Hey, I'm not opposed to lying to our children.
Great.
So we're agreed.
No, no.
I don't think these dresses are bad.
You kept princesses away from Katie, and let's be honest she's kind of a frowner.
No, she's not.
I happen to know you pay her for hugs.
Emme's my last one.
I want a smiler.
I want a huggy smiler.
- I'm taking that dress back.
- No, you're not.
Okay.
(CHUCKLES) We've been in this situation before, and it usually doesn't end well for you.
You you may recall I have a few tricks up my sleeve.
Uh-huh.
Like your lie balloon? It's a protective love bubble.
Well, I'm popping it.
Bubble time is over.
Emme, put down those gender-neutral toys! Daddy got you something sparkly! A toast to Princess Emme.
Who got you that pretty dress? You did.
That's right.
Daddy did.
And who loved it so much she wore it to bed last night? - I did.
- That's right.
Mommy's face was so funny.
Hey, guys.
ADAM: There she is.
Don't mind us.
We're just having another princess tea party.
There's Mommy's funny face again.
Emme, honey, um, I hate to pull you away from all this fun, but, um, I got you a new doll.
- (GASPS) - Yeah.
And I think you are gonna love her even more than you love your dress.
Who is it? Cinderella? Snow White? No.
E-Even better.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg! Oh, Andi.
Why does this man have a girl name? No, it's a girl.
She just has more important things to do than fix her hair.
Where are her sparkles? On her brain.
Yeah.
Ruth here has done a lot of important work for our country.
Oh, yeah? Like what? What? Well, you're such an expert on her accomplishments.
We'd like to hear a few.
Let's see what happens.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY) One of her accomplishments is that she doesn't have a husband that asks too many questions.
Thanks, Mommy.
I love her.
Oh.
Really? She can be the witch who puts a curse on the princess! No, no! She's not a witch! She's a judge who's famous for She's famous for (GROANS) I should've kept the box.
It was all on the box! (SIGHS) And Adam lived happily ever after.
Check out what happened to Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
She went upstairs in her judge's robe, and she came back down in a coconut bra.
(CHUCKLES) Aw, man.
Emme glittered Ginsburg? I don't mind seeing Ruth cut loose a little.
This is what happens when you bring princesses into our house.
They bully the smart girls.
This dinner took an odd turn.
- Hit 'em with the dessert we brought, Don - Ooh.
Bear claws.
The tastiest of all claws.
Ah, I haven't had one of these since Zellner's Bakery closed down.
Oh, no, no, it's not closed; that's where we got them.
What? You told me they went out of business.
No, I didn't.
Mm-mm.
You know, that seems like something you might've dreamed.
Yeah.
Ah, y-you do dream about bakeries a lot.
Like you're trapped, and have to eat your way out? I had that one.
No, no, I'm pretty sure this was real.
Why would you say it was closed if it wasn't? Eh, I guess I can tell you now.
It's just, e-every weekend, you'd make yourself sick by eating too many bear claws.
You'd swear not to do it again, but then, the next weekend, you'd be right back on the claw.
But they made me happy when they were in my mouth.
Honey it was just a little white lie, for your own good.
ADAM: But that's what you do to the kids.
(CHUCKLES) I (GASPS) You put me in your lie balloon.
It's a love bubble.
And who wouldn't want to be surrounded by love? Okay, just because you put the word "love" in front of something doesn't make it good.
"Love murder" is still murder.
Well, at least "love bubble" is a fun name.
Marcy does the same thing to me, but she just calls it "take it or leave it"" I had it engraved on the inside of his wedding band.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
I make my own decisions about what's good for me Even if it's bad for me.
I'm an American man, that's what we do.
(SIGHS) Adam, relax.
You guys are diamonds, and we love you.
But what makes a diamond? A chunk of coal under constant pressure.
DON: I did just fine for 30 years without your help.
- I did.
- Oh, please.
Without me, you'd still be living in that sad apartment where I found you.
- Hey, that was my groovy bachelor pad.
- Ugh.
I put up some respectable numbers in there.
When I first met Adam, everything he wore had the name of a sports team on it.
His whole wardrobe looked like it got shot out of a T-shirt cannon.
That's not true.
My I had that one, it looked like a tuxedo.
Remember? I wore it to your cousin's wedding.
- Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
- Remember? It took me six Christmases to gently replace every shirt in Adam's drawer.
Oh, I remember.
Every time we'd come to dinner, I'd smuggle out some of your old T-shirts in my coat.
(LAUGHS) Was that what it was? I just thought after you ate, your stomach got real big, like a snake.
I love you.
You told me the washing machine ripped them.
Mm, washing machine, garbage truck, me and my scissors, - something ripped them.
- (MARCY LAUGHS) So, first the bear claws, now the T-shirts; that's two.
Is there anything else? No.
That's a yes.
What is it? What are you hiding? (GASPS) Hey.
Who wants a bear claw? Me, for the last seven years.
ADAM: I know there's something big Andi's keeping from me, 'cause she's clammed up, like a a - Clam? - Yes.
You've got to put a stop to this.
I didn't, and look at me.
I haven't had a sweater with sleeves on it since my wedding day.
Where did my sleeves go? I don't know, my wife won't tell me.
Look, I am gonna figure out what she's been hiding, because there is no love bubble big enough to contain Adam Burns.
You're doing God's work, brother.
- Ha.
- LOWELL: Okay, so think.
What are some big things that you've wanted that Andi has said no to? Well, uh, I've always wanted a grill for the patio, but Andi said it wouldn't fit.
I bet that's it.
Women are anti-grill.
They don't like anything we can do while we're drinking beer.
No, no, I measured the patio; she's right.
Oh, she's good.
She's peppering the lies with truth to create maximum confusion.
Okay, so what else? Well, who knows what she's hiding? We've been married 17 years.
We both hide lots of stuff.
I got a hollowed out book just for M&M's.
Stay focused.
You're doing work for all men, here.
You need to crawl up out of the swamp, and tell us what fresh air smells like.
Okay, uh, well, she knows I've always wanted a recliner, but obviously, I can't have one of those, because over half of childhood broken bones come from recliners.
Ha.
Maybe I should remeasure the patio.
Back up.
What was that thing about recliners? Yeah, that's what Andi told me.
She saw it on the news.
It's true, over half of all Uh-uh.
What? No, no, really.
Seriously.
If you when you pull the lever, your arm could get caught Nope.
But don't those things shoot kids right across the It's not a rocket, it's a chair.
I can't believe this.
Why would she lie about a chair? Why wouldn't she lie about a chair? That's what you need to be asking yourself.
Oh.
So it's the recliner? She has been keeping me needlessly upright for years.
Men came down from the trees.
We started walking and then we started reclining.
Andi's messing with evolution.
What are you gonna do? I don't know, but I need one of those chairs, because if I'm like this, I'm uncomfortable.
If I'm like this, I'm asleep.
This is where I need to be.
This is the sweet spot.
Hello, darling.
Uh-oh.
Yup.
I'm in the sweet spot.
Ah I didn't think you'd figure it out.
You give me 17 years, I can figure anything out.
So, recliners cause over half of childhood broken bones, huh? Okay, I may have rounded it up.
Or made it up.
The point is it was up and when things are up, they're good.
That's the rule of up.
Look, okay.
Let me give you a real statistic.
This is where I'm gonna be spending over half of my time, eating over half of my meals and believing less than half of what you say.
Let's not make a big deal out of this.
Oh, I'm gonna.
I've never been on the not-lying side of a lie before.
I am gonna enjoy this.
I guess you deserve that.
Oh, I do.
Yeah.
Because you know what I was thinking, sitting in the warm embrace of my Pittsburgh spirit chair? And, yes, that's what we're calling it.
Why would you lie about a recliner? How is that part of the protective love bubble? Well, I was protecting you from bringing that ugly chair into my living room.
Ah.
So this was for you, not me.
Yes.
You caught me.
Ah-ha! I caught you.
Yeah, I just said that.
I know.
I had it in the chamber.
I was gonna say it no matter what.
Honey, the love bubble started out innocently.
Right? I-I'd tell the kids not to do something and then they keep asking, "Why? Why? Why?" It was just easier to tell a little fib.
Mm-hmm.
But-but then I used it on you and-and-and my love bubble became a Lie balloon.
Just like I said.
Ah-ha again.
And you were right and I'm really sorry.
What? You were right and I'm sorry.
Okay, I don't know what to say because I never thought this would happen.
Well, it's happening.
I don't buy it.
You're up to something.
What, do you think I'm lying? After a multiyear recliner conspiracy, I tend to be a little skeptical.
I got my eye on you.
Ah, damn.
I should've sprung for the swiveler.
- Andi said she was sorry? - Yup.
Like she's sorry she married you? No, no, but something's something's definitely fishy.
She said I was right.
That's not the woman I married.
I bet she's buying time to regroup.
Has she done anything else suspicious? Yeah.
Yeah, she said she felt so bad that her and Marcy went all the way across town to Tony's to get my favorite pizza for dinner.
That's a diversion.
There's definitely gonna be a counterattack.
Although I do hope she got breadsticks.
It's gonna take more than great pizza to fool me.
That's right.
But all bets are off if she got the breadsticks.
Okay.
Okay.
Uh-huh.
(STAMMERS) O-Okay.
Uh, can you hold on just for one second? The principal from Emme's school is on the phone.
Emme's been kissing boys.
What? I don't want my baby doing that.
Yeah, well, apparently, she's been looking for her Prince Charming, thanks to your little princess kick.
(LAUGHS) You're good.
I see what's happening here.
I thought you'd come after the recliner, but you're doing an end run all the way back to princesses.
(CHUCKLES) What? Got to admire the technique.
Yeah.
So what's your game, huh? I'm supposed to feel so bad about Emme that I give up my recliner? Hmm? Is that it? Is that it? Adam, I have a job and three children.
I don't have time to be a criminal mastermind.
Okay? I'm-I'm telling you that Emme's principal is on the phone.
Oh, sure.
The old fake phone call.
Yeah, well, the kid is one step ahead of you this time, huh? What do you think, Don? It's the sauce.
That's the secret.
It's Marcy on the phone, isn't it? Huh? Where's she hiding? Upstairs? In the pantry? Okay.
Yeah.
This is Adam Burns.
Let me tell you something.
My daughter can kiss whoever she wants.
In fact, maybe I'll come down there and give you a big kiss, too, Principal Marcy.
Who's he talking to? (WHISPERING): It's for you.
Nope.
Mm-mm.
Hi.
Uh-huh.
We'll be there first thing in the morning.
Yes, ma'am, I do need to work on my attitude.
You want to tell me what just happened here? (LAUGHING): It's funny because I thought you were doing something, but you were actually just being honest.
I hide M&M's in a book.
I guess we got ourselves worked up for nothing out there, huh? Ah, what are you gonna do, right? Although, after your behavior on the phone, I shouldn't be too surprised about your daughter.
And I'll tell you something else.
Kissing boys is a perfect example of why we discourage these ridiculous princess obsessions.
Stop looking at me.
You're making my ear hot.
All right, listen.
We need to go in together and talk to Emme about this boy-kissing business.
Okay? Now, I know we both made some mistakes.
Well, I made a mistake and then you made a much bigger mistake.
(MUTTERS) The important thing is that when we talk to Emme we do it bubble-free.
No lies.
Agreed.
But it's a shame, you know? I mean, the bubble and I had a good run.
- (CHUCKLES DARKLY) - Oh.
Um well, I should tell you that guys in tank tops don't really get more speeding tickets.
(GASPS) I knew it.
Summer can't come fast enough.
Hey, sweetie.
Hey, Emme.
Uh we talked to your principal today and it's not okay to kiss boys.
But I was just looking for my prince.
I know, honey.
But those princess stories, they're-they're just made-up.
You can't act like that in real life.
Why? Because little girls are strong, too, and it's better if they stand on their own.
Why? Because it's a big world out there, okay? And the only thing that you can really depend on is your own self-respect.
Why? Because Snow White called and said you were being too cute in your dress and made her look bad.
- That makes sense.
- Mm.
Welcome back to the bubble.
How about this? You get rid of the chair and I'll talk to Teddy about using deodorant.
Doesn't bother me.
His smell is just my smell on a little kid.
Okay, how about this? You and I can have sex, lots of sex.
Already having it.
You like it as much as me.
Try again.
(GASPS) I got it.
You get rid of the chair, I'll move the furniture off the patio and you can put in a big built-in grill.
Huh? - Deal.
- Ah.
(CHUCKLES) So, uh, what are you gonna do with the chair? Well, I'll just put it out on the curb and hope it finds a good home.
(SCOFFS) What kind of nitwit would take that? (CHUCKLES) (CHUCKLES) There's the sweet spot.
No.
Okay, I'll give up the recliner if you agree Honey, it's me or the chair.
I'm gonna miss you, baby.
Don.
I was talking to the chair.
Ugh.
I wasn't talking to you.