Once and Again (1999) s03e03 Episode Script

~ bufgelfly ~
You have mail!
E-mail. The great leveler.
In about 16 seconds
you can get three polite 'no's
on presentations
that took you 86 hours to finish.
And one friendly "hi" from Amber,
a hot college vixen.
The "no"s are real; Amber isn't.
I need a job.
It's 5:45 AM. What're you doing?
Just checking with the wife
and kids you don't know about.
Say hi for me.
Are you OK?
Yeah, I'm
I like you unemployed.
You do?
I get you home all the time.
Come on.
Everybody's interested.
I just wanted to make sure
you got the package.
Pad thai!
Like every day,
and every day you act surprised.
Rico!
You're looking large, my brother!
- There he is.
- What the hell happened to you?
I must have waited on
that racquetball court for an hour.
I went to Rome. Just got back.
Is that pad thai?
So, Rome, how was How was Rome?
Great. It was great.
I saw Berninis, Barminis,
Finzi-Continis
I had about 9000 of
those sandwiches that they iron.
I spent a lot of time studying
a great big stone foot, 2nd century.
And?
I left Jeannine. I move out.
But, it was on its way,
you know that.
- Sorry.
- Yeah, me too.
OK, it's a cross between a library
and a bookstore and a restaurant.
And if we put all the couches
down here, it would feel like home.
If everything in your home was
for sale and there were 80 people there.
So, people eat off couches.
Do you like the idea?
Great.
And you still want to take out
this wall and put an office in here?
If, you know, we all agree.
Which is change.
And change is good.
We can't use Will Gluck, right,
but that's not a problem, Ray Landfield
is a great contract and available.
He's cheap.
But good and fast.
And he shows up.
That's really good, but
I thought I might talk to Rick.
That's an interesting
idea.
I'm glad you agree, cause I think
Rick could do a good job.
He could pull it all together,
I know he could. Rick's the guy.
The guy!
He's talented,
you like each other and
he needs the work.
- I hope you're OK with it.
- There's no question about it.
Rick's the guy.
Which I'm fine with, by the way.
Did I mention I'm gonna be a daddy?
Again.
Am I sort of interrupting?
No, we're just
We're done.
- How are you feeling?
- Big.
Achy. And like all of a sudden
I can seeing everyone's future.
Except my own.
- It's a bad time, right?
- What's up?
I found a stroller, marked down 80%
because all the wheels are bent.
Let's go to my office,
I have some cash.
We'll be right back.
I just have this feeling
it's a girl.
Jake will have three daughters.
Hey, I'm single for
the first time since 1981.
Is the dating the same?
Should I grow my sideburns back?
What do you think?
- What are you gonna do?
- I don't know.
What do you think?
I don't know.
I want you to do me a favor.
It's about Rick and the job.
That was so generous of you.
You didn't have to
do that but you did.
I can't tell you
how much that means--
Don't tell him.
Not yet. Promise.
Sure.
- You're gonna call Judy?
- Not yet.
I don't know.
Don't you tell her, OK?
I won't,
but she's gonna find out anyway.
- I know
- She's friend with Karen.
Please, I need some time,
I want to see how Jamie is doing
And Judy, I don't want to hurt her.
How is she doing, by the way?
I wanna be the one.
I think it should come from me.
- Judy, I swear!
- OK, good.
Do not tell Lily, please.
- Promise me.
- I swear.
Fortune cookie?
Open. Hello!
Listen, Rick
I'm in a little trouble here.
OK, you know Colin Fleischer,
hotel guy?
Groovy lobbies,
Matisse headboards. Why?
So, I meet him at a party, right?
I insult him
And the next day, he buys four huge
pieces for his hotel in South Beach.
And now, he's got
this dump in Lincoln Park
and wants me to design it all.
Can you believe that? Doorknobs,
bellboys, he wants it to have my stamp.
My stamp
I have no stamp.
What do you need me for?
I need an architect, and a partner.
And just I need your help.
- You're still using people, Sam?
- Yes.
I'm using you, my friend.
I need to feel good to work.
And comparing myself to you
is my one source of self-esteem.
I'm touched and flattered.
So, you're gonna screw me
on this, or what?
Tell me more.
- Oh, my God.
- What?
You have toenails. That grow.
Just on this foot.
The other one's wooden.
What do you think of the idea
of Sam and I working together?
I think it's a great opportunity.
I think you could have a lot of fun.
But?
No "but".
I need this, Lil.
I know.
And then it sort of literally
comes out of the blue
But?
Nothing!
But?
He's a married man.
Who had an affair with my sister.
Which means I can't trust him?
He was unfaithful to his wife so
that makes him immoral across the board?
Come on, who knows the secrets
in somebody else's marriage?
Maybe it was this highly moral
act for Sam to cheat on Jeannine.
Maybe-- maybe he was
trying to save the marriage.
Making me an extremely
lucky person to have this
highly moral man as my partner.
Right?
You're an idiot.
Did I ever tell you
that he's related to Stephen Stills?
On his mother's side. Sam, I mean.
In school, he used to
go around, asking all the girls
he went out with:
"Are you my Judy Blue Eyes?"
Judy's eyes are brown.
With little green flecks.
I'm way too tired.
OK, you know that makes me crazy.
He really liked her, you know.
I asked her,
I asked her at that time, "Why?"
"What can you hope to get
from a married man?"
Well, there are
all kinds of married men, Lily.
There's one kind
when you're 35 and Judy.
They come with wives.
If you want to be a wife, start with
an unmarried man, shop in that aisle!
He's in that aisle.
He's unmarried.
He left his wife.
He went to Rome, he looked at feet.
- Feet?
- Don't tell Judy I told you this.
All I need is for her to know
I kept a secret from her,
she hates me as it is.
She doesn't hate you.
She does hate me.
It's OK, I'm fine.
- She doesn't!
- Look, Lil.
OK, I can deal with
the fact she hates me,
it doesn't mean I'm gonna
beg her to love me, but--
- She hates me.
- She can be very surprising.
- It's a fact.
- It's really not that factual, Rick.
She doesn't despise me.
She hates me, it's different.
OK, she's gonna ask you
to redo the restaurant.
- Are you serious?
- God, I'm a horrible person. Yes.
Maybe she doesn't hate me.
I hate myself.
I swore to her I wouldn't tell you.
- But you did.
- You did, too.
- You have to act surprised.
- So do you.
OK, so, for want of a better phrase:
the soul of the new hotel.
Does he want you to design
the pillow mints, too?
And the hookers.
The thing about
a Colin Fleischer hotel,
the minute you walk in,
the bellboys,
the guest shampoo, the mixed nuts,
everything whispers
"you're special".
Sounds like my house.
- I have to go to the bathroom.
- So go.
- But I went an hour ago.
- So, don't go to the bathroom.
- What's your cholesterol?
- 1.50.
- What's yours?
- 2.47.
- What about ear hair?
- Not yet.
So, are we dying?
You are. I'm fine.
Rick, it's Judy.
Oh, just tell her
I'll call her back.
No, she's here, she's on her way up.
I can't do this now.
I gotta get out of here.
Can I get out through that door?
What are you doing? Running away?
Yes, as a matter of fact.
Call me on the cell when she leaves.
Oh, gosh.
"Gosh"?
Yeah, you you look great.
Well, I lost a little weight.
- Well, it shows.
- About half a pound.
- You think I look too thin?
- No, I think you look
just great.
You said that.
So? This is a surprise.
Well, I have another,
maybe even better.
What would that be?
Tell me what that is!
I want you to redo
my father's restaurant.
Is this a good surprise?
What a supr-- yes, it is!
- So, she told you.
- No she didn't.
Did she tell you there's like
zero budget?
We'll work it out.
So, is this a good time? It looks like
you're in the middle of something.
Oh, no, that's just--
this is a great time.
I've got some ideas,
which of course I left in the car.
Do you think that's wise?
Is what wise?
- Going to the car like that.
- Are you suggesting a different outfit?
No, that one's fine.
OK, then, I'll go.
I'll be right here.
- I was just visiting Rick.
- I-- me too.
So was I.
- What's that saying
- Which? There's lots of sayings.
You know, the one
"Please keep
your hands inside the bus?"
"There are no accidents."
That saying. Which is
crazy, cause there are
so many accidents anyway.
How are you?
Good. How are you?
Never better.
I can tell.
I'm working on a project with Rick,
we're renovating an old hotel.
That's good,
cause Rick is very good.
- He's working with me, too.
- You're working with Rick, too?
Then, maybe we'll
Sam
How's your life?
It's OK.
It's OK, thanks.
Good.
Lily, come on, he's your husband.
He must have told you
something about Sam.
He's related to Stephen Stills.
Distantly.
On his mother's side.
That's it? Some old fact?
He and Rick must
talk about their lives.
Judy, men don't talk
about their lives.
If you listen to men talk,
they talk about
new cars coming in.
He must still be with her.
So I was wrong. I was so sure.
You know,
I have got to stop fooling myself!
I have got to stop thinking people
can change just because I want them to.
It's like what happened
with Will Gluck.
He had to go his way,
and I had to go mine.
He's free.
He told Rick who told me,
and he made me swear not to tell.
He's getting a divorce?
I don't know,
could just be a separation.
Right, it could be.
I don't want you
to get your hopes up.
And I don't want to see you
get hurt again.
Well, I'm going to, Lil.
And I'll keep surviving.
And each time I'll learn some
necessary fact about love
that will never apply again.
I still don't know
if I learned anything from Sam.
I wonder if he learned
anything from me?
The Brooks babes!
Any brilliant ideas today, Judy?
No, just the ones I've had,
which are not particularly brilliant.
Don't put yourself down. They're
great ideas. They gave me great ideas.
Are you OK?
What? Yeah, why?
I was thinking maybe Chloe,
if it's a girl.
But then it would be Zoe
and Chloe.
Want some water?
I'm fine.
OK? You guys are like your dad,
you love to worry.
Excuse me.
Alright, I'm gonna
go splash my face,
I'll be right back.
I'm worried about him.
Am I still allowed to do that?
He'll be here anytime. We said--
But Sam has got his own clocking.
Sam is Sam. Look at this.
I love this. Believe this?
Theodore Dreiser wrote Sister Carrie
right here.
Depressing book.
It will not be a depressing hotel.
When I heard "Dreiser",
I got the vision.
Every single one of my hotels,
from Boston to Seattle to South Beach,
they all started with the vision.
And this place, what we're gonna do,
we'll put books everywhere.
Every room will have a desk.
And paper and fountain pen
designed by Sam,
which you can take home
with you for ninety-six bucks.
I know, I know.
- And the place is called
- The Dreiser.
The Dreiser. Who are you?
Sam says you're great. Sam is great.
Sam must know. Are you great?
Well, I'm no Stanley Tigerman--
Stanley Tigerman
designed my lake house.
- I'm a working--
- Hold on.
I'll be with you in a minute.
No, go to hell.
What were you saying?
Wait, wait. Sammler.
Don't tell me.
Miles! You were involved
with the late Mr. Miles Drentell,
right?
Well, you could say that.
- You got indicted.
- No, I did not get indicted.
I've been indicted,
it happens.
Well, it did not happen to me.
So Are we fired yet?
Not yet, get your ass up here!
- Turning tricks in the park again?
- A girl's gotta make a living.
Elaine says we finally moved the Calder
out of the bedroom for your piece.
Well, that doesn't bode well
for your marriage!
Cool place, huh?
See the moldings?
- Where are the sketches?
- I'm still working on them.
He said he'd have something for me.
Where is it?
What you fail to understand,
Colin, is that
I need to be tense to work.
Good work, any work.
You're too nice.
Oh, he wants me to be mean to him!
I gotta call mean people, get them here,
they'll rip your heart off!
Just for fun!
- Artists, huh? He's the artist?
- He's the artist.
I never argue with the talent.
I own the talent,
but I don't argue.
That's part of the deal.
I'll take him on a little tour.
Go. Don't break anything.
Right over here.
You're pissed about Colin.
I don't get pissed, I get even.
I was a jerk.
Considering he's the client, yeah.
I don't know why, but
I just need him mad at me.
In second grade, I'd turn
in those little projects days late.
Still got the best grade.
I'd work on it in therapy,
but I can't seem to show up on time.
You have to get
something on paper, Sam.
It's only designs for doorknobs.
We have something to talk about.
I don't need him mad at me,
after the year and a half I've had.
I miss my mom.
And she's alive.
A friend told me that everybody misses
their mom before they have their baby.
Was Lily like that
when she was pregnant?
I doubt it.
No one could miss her mom.
Hey, here's something.
Did I tell you that I had this feeling
that the baby might come early?
You look a little pale.
No, I'm all right.
I'm trying to find these pieces
to put this thing together.
Oh my God
I got married in these shoes.
They were brand new, they hurt.
You're all clammy.
I'm all right.
Do you like words?
Figuring out what they mean,
why they are what they are?
Take "clammy".
Do clams stress out? They must.
"Clammy"
Yeah, I never thought of it like that.
I love knowing what stuff means.
Because most of the time, we don't.
I'm OK.
It's OK.
It doesn't mean we're together.
I am going to do some yoga.
Judy does yoga. Of course.
She says it calms you down.
You again.
Me.
So, I was just looking for Rick.
He's at the bank.
Oh, for m money?
Yeah, that kind of bank.
So, how are you?
I mean, you know, really.
How have you been?
Well, I was in Rome for ten weeks.
I love Italy.
I had this Italian boyfriend once,
from Genoa,
I met him on the synagogue teen tour,
he had a scooter.
So Rick should
be back any second.
- Unless he's not.
- He said he would be.
Judy, it's over.
Over?
Jeannine and me.
I'm just so sorry.
It's always sad when things
don't work out
that you want to work out and
Nobody's wrong, right,
in these situations,
and some things
aren't meant-- to be.
And other situations and
Nice to talk to you too, Judy.
Situation.
Hypothetical.
Let's say I marry him.
Of course I'd keep my maiden name,
but I'd also be Judy Blue.
Like the song.
Well, not exactly the same.
He'd have to be Sam Blue Eyes
for it to be exact.
But it'd be close enough.
You know, I'd almost be
the song.
I'm a fool.
I thought it'd be interesting to paste
the menu inside the cover of old books.
Are you all right?
And all the food would be literary:
a Proust would be a cookie,
or Flaubert could be a croissant
Although it would be
I don't know, a little silly.
Are you OK?
It's hot and I've been
schlepping boxes. I'm fine.
You don't look very fine.
Let me get you some water.
I don't need water!
Drink.
- More?
- Yeah, all of it.
There, you happy?
Can we get the rest
of the boxes now?
Anxiety.
- What?
- You're having an anxiety attack.
This is a-- yes, a big, nasty one.
I just didn't eat today.
You ate today, that's not it!
It's anxiety. It's no big deal!
I'm getting the boxes.
There's no shame in it,
it's an illness,
link rickets, or pinkeye.
Oh, yes, pinkeye.
The silent killer.
Jake, would you go see my doctor?
Jake, come on, he's great!
He can help.
He's a good guy, he's kind,
he's got great hair,
he collects early ??? silver.
Oh, well, then it's a date.
Does he like kids?
Cause I'm about to have one.
- So, how's Judy?
- She's great.
She's my sister-in-law.
I mean, she was.
But we're still tight.
Any cause for undue
anxiety these days?
As opposed to "due"?
I've got a friend
who's having a baby soon.
Mine.
- Quite soon.
- That's great.
Yeah, it sure is.
Hurt?
- Should it?
- You'd know.
- Look, Doc
- When was your last physical?
- Recently.
- How recently?
Unless it's absolutely necessary,
you don't really
think about your heart.
Ten years.
Really?
I don't want to worry you,
but is there any history
of heart disease in your family?
Most of my ancesters,
they're Swedish, they live forever.
That's good.
Nicky's gonna draw some blood.
I think we should do a stress test
and a chest X-ray.
- When?
- Immediately.
I'll be right back.
- Try the cell again?
- He's out of range.
Keep trying.
I'm going to O'Hare
in exactly 56 minutes
to buy some property in Aspen.
Do you ski?
- Used to.
- When you'll come, you'll ski.
Or not.
So, have you seen Sam's sketches?
Yes, I have, and they're terrific.
They're terrific.
Jimmy Stewart was terrific.
Rick, Rico,
whatever the hell Sam calls you,
don't tell me about these terrific
sketches, cause you have not seen them.
Get him a latte.
And some biscotte. Hazelnut.
Rick, fact:
I like you.
And I don't usually like
people like you. I like big people.
This job could make you big,
and then,
I could really like you.
It could never end. It would never end.
You wanna be big?
There's no right answer.
I wouldn't mind.
He wouldn't mind.
Let me tell you something
about your friend
Sam thinks that this is a game
and we're playing it together. But
this isn't a game. I don't like games.
I win games.
And Sam has already lost.
Which, for me,
is the thing I like most about Sam.
But I don't like him enough to keep him
in this game, unless he comes through.
You've been given
a very lucky break.
Now, use it!
My grandfather used to say
that luck is like a clock.
It ticks.
Tell your putzy little friend he's got
two days to come up with something good,
or it's stopped ticking and he's fired,
along with you.
Which is something I'm sharing
with you now, Rick, because I like you.
- Yeah, you said that.
- Key part of the vision?
Each chance is your last.
I live by that.
You should, too. You could have
9 hotels, live on a private island,
instead of standing here
like a schmuck with a cell phone.
Be big, Rick.
It's more fun.
- God, man, you scared me!
- Get in, Sam.
- What is this about?
- Just get in.
Do you need some help?
I was about to call you--
Damn it, Sam!
- Is this the yelling part?
- It's always been like this, with us.
I know, you lost my hash-pipe,
I would never--
This is not cute, alright?
It's not cute right now.
Alright, look, Ricky.
Don't even try to apologize.
But I want to tell you
that I'm sorry.
Oh, believe, I'm sorry you
didn't show up. He came down on me.
Colin came down on me,
he had every right to.
I'm just trying to do
something that's--
We're about to lose this job.
Do you understand that?
If we haven't already.
Alright, look.
I'll call him tonight.
The stakes are high for me, Sam.
Not for you maybe,
but they are for me.
I don't even like to admit
how much I need this job.
You I know the past
eighteen months of my life
and I don't get them back.
I need this job.
And I don't like
sitting in my wife's car
at ten o'clock at night,
saying that.
So go, will you?
Do what you're good at.
You know, you have a
an empty bag on the stairs?
Really?
Paper or plastic?
Does it really matter?
Billy-goat kiss.
I beg your pardon?
Sam, we meet with Colin
later on today.
Or at least, I do.
You know, I have to ask.
Is this a good idea?
I don't want
our friendship to come
untied because you can't
come through right now.
So
You know, just
You wouldn't happen to have
a sketch pad lying around, would you?
You must be exhausted.
You're not that good.
Sometimes, when you love someone,
you can talk to that person
and they don't even hear you.
And still,
somehow, you're both there.
When you love someone.
See, what nobody remembers,
is that for a couple of weeks,
a long time ago,
it was actually
Crosby, Stills & Blue.
- And then came Nash.
- There's always a Nash.
Colin is on his way.
He's flying in from Aspen.
Good.
- It is a good idea, Ricky.
- What is?
Our working together.
You're afraid that our friendship
would become what was the
- Untied.
- Which will never happen.
- I won't let that happen.
- Well, that's good.
- Cause I need you on this.
- As what?
Resident ass-kicker?
You're amazingly good,
I respect the hell out of you,
I always have.
Thank you, Sam.
It's an honor and a privilege for me
to help somebody I feel
that way about out of the gutter.
Because you knew I was in trouble?
I knew I needed you.
Because I'm amazingly good,
even from the gutter?
Yeah, that too.
And
cause one night,
about 3 AM, and I hear this creak.
And I'm thinking:
"Don't get up,
you're not being robbed.
It's Death standing in the kitchen.
He's making a sandwich."
And I'm thinking
"I'm gonna tell Ricky.
Ricky will understand,
more than anybody."
At my house, he made soup.
What do you think?
If you need a place to start,
I can quote some of my old reviews.
"Sam Blue's latest show is"
Tell me about this one.
That it's not good?
I didn't say that.
- I was just remembering something.
- What's that?
This doctor we had
when we were kids.
His cat always came in the office
with him, his name was Frosty.
He was hit by a car.
I remember crying and crying
Tiffany, I want you
to do something for me.
Just tell me.
When the kid is old
enough to understand,
tell him both the good
and the bad about me.
I don't want to have the kid growing up
to have some god-like fantasy about me.
Will you just stop?
Oh, geez
Everything looks great.
- It does?
- I just need a little pee.
And don't wait ten years
for your next physical.
Thank you so much, Doctor.
I knew it, Jake.
You did, huh?
I saw light around you.
And light can only mean life.
And then,
I felt the baby kick, and
I knew he was trying to reach you,
you know?
To tell his daddy
that everything is gonna be OK.
A him, huh?
You want to feel?
You know I probably shouldn't
He knew.
I was wondering if you
wouldn't mind looking at
Little water damage to show you,
it's up in there, see,
where it's kind of buckling?
I'll be with you guys in a second.
- How did it go?
- We socked it to 'em,
- as Nixon said on Laugh-In.
- That's great.
You look busy. Are you busy?
Just say it.
Cause you have to. Just say it.
I just don't think
that this is the right time
Because of where I am.
Where you are in your life.
Right.
And everything.
And, everything. Yeah.
And, until you know where you are
And where you are.
We know now. You know that.
And, as for the right time,
you never just find it.
Not for anything that's gonna count.
You steal it.
And somehow,
you just never get caught.
Lovers are thieves,
and that
that's that.
- Can I tell you one more thing?
- Sure.
Judy Blue Eyes is my favorite song.
My eyes are brown.
Details.