(zapping sounds)
(classical music)
(jazz music)
(classical music)
- Much better.
I know you're in there somewhere.
- [Rosalyn] There are two things I always tried
to believe but couldn't.
One was that there's a perfect man
waiting out there for every woman.
The other was that true love
gives you happiness.
In real life, I spent so many years dodging men
who were so much less than perfect.
And when I did fall in love,
happiness never came.
So, I grew up and put away those childish things
and finally stopped holding my breath for a man.
(sirens)
(dogs barking)
(heavy breathing)
(man groans)
(mugger yells)
(gun fires)
- No!
(mugger yells)
(mugger groans)
(rock music)
- What can I get for you tonight?
- Tequila. For everyone.
(phone ringing)
- [Operator] 911 Operator Six.
Is this an emergency?
- Yeah. - Has there been an injury?
- There's a guy hurt in the street.
- [Operator] A serious injury?
- Yeah, bad.
- [Operator] Is he conscious?
Is he still breathing?
- I don't know. He's still alive.
- [Operator] Okay, what is your location?
- Santa Monica and Formosa.
- [Operator] And were you involved in the accident?
- No. - Did you witness anything?
- Nothing.
[Operator] Your name, please?
- I got her.
(train horn)
(opera music)
- [Woman] God, American men are so boring,
and Latin men have a certain
mystique, a sensuality, a...
How do you say "Je ne sais crois" in Portuguese?
- Latin Americans enjoy their life.
About that, there can be no doubt.
- Ole!
- Ah, look, everybody,
I gotta get going.
- We should really get going too.
- Oh, yes, we're going dancing.
Would the two of you like to come?
- Well, I don't know.
- I really have to go home,
but could you walk me to my truck?
I had to park down the street,
and it's a bad neighborhood.
- It's my pleasure.
- We'll drive you.
I gotta go potty first.
- [Woman] I'll go with you.
- Let me help you.
- [Brigitte] Mmm, gracias, señor, por favor.
- [Tomas] Of course.
- Don't bother.
- No, it is my pleasure to help you.
You're ill.
You know, uh, you're very attractive to me.
- Not tonight, Tomas.
Bad timing.
- Another night?
- What about Brigitte?
- I think she wants me for my money.
- I'm listed. R. Willoughby.
The R for Rosalyn.
On Sycamore.
(jazz music)
(radio/car turns off)
(flute music)
- [Voice] Formosa...
- [Fletcher] Map of the world...
Asia?
China? Taiwan?
Formosa. Formosa.
I'm in love with a Chinese chick.
(flute music)
- [Girl/Woman] I have something to tell you.
(phone rings)
- Yeah?
- [Tomas] Buenos dias, Rosalyn.
- Who is this?
Could this be Tomas?
(trumpet music)
- What?
- Something's changed.
You sound different.
- How? - It's your tone.
What's her name?
- I don't know.
- You've pictured her, finally!
- And you know I don't believe any of that stuff about
Dad's vision and goin' off to find Mom.
- Your own grandfather picked me out of a crowded streetcar.
Knew I had a mole on my back,
even though I was wearin' a coat.
- Yeah, but you know, maybe it was easier
to believe back then.
- Ohh, why don't we play the Verdi now?
That oughta shake somethin' loose.
(tuba blows)
(trumpet blows)
- Here's the wine list. - Grazie.
- You know I have rules.
I insist we go dutch.
- It makes me very happy to be generous to a woman.
And it makes you very happy to have
a woman feel obligated later.
- No, no, this is not true.
You are a feminist, yes?
- I've just had some men take advantage of me in the past.
- So, what does make you happy?
Well, my passion is...
abstract art.
- Wonderful! A collector.
- Oh, I wish.
It just means a lot to me.
- You must be very sensitive.
- I am.
- Oh, my! That's wonderful.
What's it say?
It says, "Welcome, great love."
But then again, it might say somethin' about acupressure.
I'm not quite sure.
- Try one of these tamales.
you might be eatin' one on that Great Wall
they got out there.
- I'm going to Formosa, remember?
It's an island. There's no wall.
- Shut up and taste it.
Oh, your daddy would love to see you today.
You know, he saw your mother in a vision...
and drove all the way to El Paso to find her.
- So I have been told...
About 5,294 times now.
- Let me see her again.
- Well, I filled the hair in on that one.
And this one, she's thinkin' up somethin'
really fantastic in her head.
I didn't really know how to express it aside from
blowin' stuff out of her head.
Easily, this is the closest approximation of--
- This one's got a lot of character,
but she doesn't look Chinese.
- Tomas, I didn't know you were so funny.
(Tomas laughs)
- You seem so... - Yes?
- Sophisticated.
- Really?
Well, yes.
- So, Rosalyn, I want you to be watch me play.
- Polo.
- Sure, polo. This Sunday.
I play the polo in Palm Springs.
- Well, I'd love to see you ride,
but, right now, I have car problems to deal with.
Can you believe what new brakes cost?
It's all the driving we do in L.A.
- I think I must take you to pick up your car.
- Tomas, you're such a gentleman.
- Hey.
- You know what?
The shop is right near my favorite art gallery.
I will take you to see a wonderful painting.
- Come on. Let's go.
Chop, chop. - Yes.
(trumpet music)
- Whoa, dig it!
Clap the hands!
Hello, children. Love it.
- Boys, there's somethin' I gotta tell you.
I'm going to China.
- Oh. - Right.
- Rumor has it that somebody that I'm gonna know
for a very, very long time lives in Taiwan, China.
Have a look.
Now I know what you're gonna say:
She doesn't look Chinese.
- You realize she's supposed to have two matching eyebrows.
- That's right, this is just an approximation.
Actual size and shape may vary.
- Oh, man, she's diverse.
Somethin' tells me this chick likes a bowl, man.
I guarantee you.
- Now please, she's a bit odd,
but if this is the woman you're supposed to be with, then...
You're just gonna have to get used to her.
- Yeah, buddy.
She's the one.
- [Tomas] You can feel what the artist
is feeling, can't you?
It's dark and tortured.
You can feel the assisted rage that invokes that signature,
textual statement.
I'm learning great art at her hand.
This is fascinating to me.
You, on first meeting, seemed such a very tough woman.
Now with these paintings, you are as any of them.
I think I must buy this painting for you.
- Absolutely not, Tomas!
I could never accept that.
- I must insist.
- Tomas, I don't know you.
You don't know me.
- This is something I want to do.
- This painting is $14,000.
- This is for you.
- [Usher] Thank you.
- And this is for...
- God, you never stop, do you?
- Well, unlike you girls, I do have
other uses for the opposite sex than cash.
We're good together, huh? - Mm-hmm.
- Did you see the nail-down?
It was a thing of wonder and beauty.
When you gave me that one look,
like I could have a shot at you?
Oh, that was a moment.
The testosterone was flowing!
He had to kick my ass.
He had to buy the painting.
He felt good about it.
- God bless testosterone.
- Fourteen grand. Fourteen grand.
Hey, I almost peed in my pants.
I thought it was supposed to be seven.
- I smelled fourteen.
- Good nose.
Hey, listen.
You're really, really somethin'.
I mean, I... - Oh-ho-ho, forget it.
You're a breath away from blowing
a fine professional relationship.
- Oh, come on.
Hey, you break my heart,
I gotta find a substitute, you know?
- So go fetch.
- [Phillip] Excuse me.
- You're just worrying about closing that Tomas kid.
Forget it, you'll breeze him.
- Mmm, oh, I keep having these dreams.
Keep thinking about green...
Ivy.
I'm lying in some ivy,
and I feel like a little girl...
And then I don't know what happens.
- It's probably nothing.
- Oh, I keep waking up with this like,
warm, peaceful feeling,
and then I realize who I am and where I am
and it all runs away.
- Before I met Raouf, I had a dream
about a Persian in a Mercedes.
- Now there's every girl's fantasy.
- Now, Roz, don't knock it.
He became my second husband for eight glorious months
before we split under very lucrative terms.
- Marrying them for their money
seems so old-fashioned.
- Sometimes old-fashioned works.
That's why it was in fashion for so long.
- Do you ever think you could, like,
meet someone and fall in love
and marry them for love?
- Oh, God, Roz, really.
- It does happen.
- Have you ever known anyone to actually
be in love for longer than 90 days?
- You? Your mother?
Aunts?
Girls you grew up with? Anyone?
- It's impossible, and perfectly
good women attach themselves to pigs for an eternity
on the basis of 90 days of hormonal imbalance.
- It's not that dark.
- Money, connections,
real estate, gene pool, short life expectancy.
Those might be reasons.
Not love.
- Yeah, I guess...
- What's wrong with you?
- Oh, I have to do that close tomorrow, and...
All for seven lousy bills that doesn't last me
a couple of months.
- You'll do fine.
Are you sure you're feeling okay?
- Mmm, still breathing.
- That's all that matters.
Now do good, and remember:
They always deserve it.
(phone hangs up)
(piano music)
(doorbell rings)
- Hello, my dear.
- Oh, Tomas, what nice roses.
- You're welcome.
- Thank you.
And you look so nice.
- But you are not ready.
- I tried to tell you on the phone
I feel just horrible tonight,
but I still want to see you.
I thought maybe we could stay here and order in?
Watch cable?
- Well, of course.
I will take care of you.
- Thank you.
- Ah, there is your beautiful painting.
- I love it so.
- Yes, it looks so fantastic here.
- Thank you again for buying it for me.
It was so extravagant.
- It was my pleasure to spend
a great deal of money on you.
- Yeah, what do you want to eat?
And this time, you must let me pay.
- I have no preference.
- How about Japanese?
Japanese food builds your natural antibodies.
I've been reading that.
- [Man] Tokyo Garden.
- Hello? Hi.
I'd like to place an order.
- [Man] Yes, ma'am.
- A number seven,
a number 14.
A California roll.
- [Man] Address, please?
- 247 South Sycamore.
- Sycamore? - That's right.
- Right away. - Thanks.
- [Man] Thank you.
- Tomas, I'm sorry.
I told you I don't feel well.
- Forgive me, I am carried away.
You're ill.
- Yes, I am.
- Let me help you.
- You know, I'm achy all over.
I just want to sit on the couch.
- Can I get you something?
A pill?
- Aspirin.
It's in the cabinet in the bathroom.
- Right away.
- You will feel better.
I do not see it!
- I must have left it in the bedroom.
I'll get it.
- No! No.
(sniffs)
(clank)
Que?
- You found it.
My bedroom is such a mess.
- I did not think so, you are sick.
- It's so wonderful that you're here tonight.
I need someone here, I really do.
- I'm so sorry you are sick.
- I've been praying that someone
like you would come into my life, and then I met you
and no matter what I said,
you insisted on buying that painting.
I can't believe somebody could care about me that much.
You must need someone too.
- I'm sorry.
I forgot, uh, I need to make a phone call.
- It's on the desk.
- Hello, Eduardo?
I received a message from you that there is something wrong?
What is wrong?
There has been a break-in at the house?
This is outrageous!
I must go back to Buenos Aires tomorrow.
I must leave now, I guess,
and talk to the police about my belongings.
Yes.
Yes, I will leave now.
- What's wrong?
("Old Man Mose" by Louis Armstrong)
- You speak English?
You're very beautiful.
Will you come to America with me?
(upbeat horn music)
- What I know is sketchy.
I know he's not too old,
and the family money comes
from the gas and oil business.
- Texas.
- I know that he owns several shopping malls,
and, um, he's getting into high-tech,
interactive something or other.
Oh, yeah.
He's eccentric and odd in a thoroughly uninteresting way.
- Does he save his toenail clippings like the last one?
- I'm sure it's something like that.
I tried to get out of this court date, I can't.
- We'll give you the next one,
and this way, you get your cut
and don't have to get within groping distance.
- Ooh.
No, right?
Or maybe.
- Oh, that's fabulous.
- [Rosalyn] So what's the play?
- It's like this.
Texas boys like their girls purty.
Big hair, lots of makeup.
Oh, honey, they just love makeup.
They're my specialty, after Persians.
- Can't be that hard.
He's a man; I'm a woman.
You act like they bore you; they chase you.
You seem to like 'em; they leave.
- It's not that it's hard.
It's just the better the play, the better the back end
and the more money for you and moi.
- Well, what's his name?
- It's the one thing I don't know.
- Elaine!
I'm renegotiating.
(thunder)
* You lie to me
* And think about the girls
* And never, ever think
* Of counting sheep
* When your lonely heart
* Has learned its lesson
* You'd be his
* If only he would call
* In the wee
* Small hours of the morning
* That's the time
* You miss him most
* All along
(thunder)
(piano music)
- [Boy] Your knee, it's bleeding.
- [PA] Attention please.
China Airways Flight 955 from Los Angeles
to Taipei has been delayed.
- Excuse me, ma'am, can I borrow this for a moment?
- I got her.
- Yeah. I'm right outside.
Yes, will you stop worrying?
Well how many rich, young, eccentric, pathetic Texans
can be in the Formosa on a Tuesday afternoon?
- Hey, bud?
Where's your phone at?
- That way, around corner.
- Thanks. - You a Texan?
How you doin'?
- Oh, can't complain.
Hopin' my date shows up.
- Same here. - Where you from?
- San Antonio.
- Ah, good deal, San Angelo.
Trav Maltzberger. - How you doin'?
Fletcher McBracken.
- Pleased to meet you, Fletcher.
- Likewise. - See you around.
- All right, good one.
Have a good day.
- Damn.
Excuse me, sir.
- I was wondering if you have seen this woman.
- No.
- No?
- How 'bout this woman?
- Nope.
- It's actually the same woman,
but does this look familiar?
- No, huh?
It could be this one.
It could be any one of these.
- No.
Are you related to this woman?
- Uh, actually, well, not quite
yet exactly, but I was hoping...
- Sorry.
- Cuervo?
- No, iced coffee with a straw, please.
- Hi.
Do I know you?
- I think so.
Maybe?
- Are you here to meet someone?
- Yes, ma'am.
- {Rosalyn] So am I.
- I'm thinking it could be you.
- Yeah?
- Are you from Texas?
- Sure.
- Well, here I am.
- This...
I'm sorry, this is a little odd for me.
- Oh, listen. It's okay.
Don't read anything into it.
- I, I was just on my way over from the west side,
and I thought you might need a welcome-to-LA drink.
- Thank you very much.
That's very, very friendly of you to...
- Um, My God, you're so familiar to me.
- I'm Roz.
- I'm Fletcher.
- Well, It's great to meet you.
I'm just on my way to the marina.
- You're leaving?
- I just had time to pop in, I just...
- It's so nice to meet a man from Texas.
- What if I'm full of surprises?
If you leave, you might miss 'em.
- I'm not surprised by much.
- You can't go.
We have a lot to talk about.
- Well, I guess I could make a call.
- Yeah? - Elaine.
- Roz! - Hi.
I'm hung up here.
- You got him?
- I think so.
Well listen, I'll catch up to you later.
I really want you to see this new painting I'm working on.
- Okay. Bye.
- Bye.
- I'm all yours.
- Anyway, this is Sycamore Avenue.
- Uh-huh.
- I live just back there.
- Beautiful trees.
- Mmm, pretty.
They lose their leaves.
That's how we know it's winter.
I wonder what kind they are.
- Oh, they're sycamore trees.
- I get it. Sycamores.
Sycamore Avenue.
I'm learning things from you already.
- I must be the man you're waitin' for.
I know all these useful things about
the names of trees and the like.
- Hey, look up.
No, keep walkin'.
Take my arm.
It's kind of scary, sort of like jumpin'
with your eyes closed.
So did I hear you say somethin' about a painting?
- Yes. I paint.
I'm one of those starving artists you hear about.
- Really?
I-I'd love to see your work.
- You like art?
- Oh, yeah! Um...
- I, uh, I'm an artist.
I stack rocks.
- Really?
- Yeah. They're these, um, cairns...
These monument kind of things.
- What you do is, you get a bunch of rocks,
- and you stack 'em up...
- and you cram stuff in the cracks...
and it's like a work of art.
Do you want to see?
- Sure. - Come here.
Sit down.
Well, first things first.
First I'm gonna have to get my Elvis
rock-stackin' swamp mojo lined up here.
We-ell.
And I'm gonna need your hand.
(classical music)
Ta-da.
- It's beautiful.
- See, I made it,
but I didn't make it.
I mean I didn't make the rocks, but...
I arranged them according to this moment.
And... And the shape of your hand
informed the way that it grew.
Look at it.
- I see it.
- I mean really.
Look at it.
See, it's got kind of a shape in there
that goes down and then around,
and if you look at it with one eye maybe,
you can see a face.
Maybe some lips or some eyes.
Well, say good-bye.
Couldn't last forever.
- No.
Well, uh...
Why don't you tell me about San, whatever?
- San Antonio. - San Antonio.
Is it nice?
- Is it nice?
Yeah, it's nice.
It's, uh...
Well, it's its own world, really.
Every time I leave there and I come back,
I get the feeling that I'm comin' back to somethin' that
I haven't really discovered anywhere else.
It's, um, it's kind of hard to explain in words, really.
It's like an old woman who's lived
long enough to know who she is.
There's ghosts there.
I mean really, there are, and if you listen,
you can hear them at night partying,
havin' a great old time.
- Sounds amazing.
- Well, most people who go there would probably just see
the mini-malls, the potholes in the streets
and a lot of lawns that need waterin',
but the really cool stuff's hidin' out.
I mean, you really have to know where to look for it.
- Well, I like it here.
- It fits you.
- Is that like an insult?
- Uh, no, it isn't.
I'm just...
- I don't think L.A. fits me.
I just said I like it.
- Well, I like it too.
- So, I guess you're here on business.
- Well, actually, I was, uh,
I was goin' to China,
but I decided to stay here instead.
- That makes no sense to me.
- Well, let's just say that there
really wasn't any reason for me to go.
- I guess you're really worried about your
business, being out of the country and all.
- Oh, not really, my grandmother's left in charge of that.
It'll be all right.
- That's unusual.
- Well, no, she's not senile or anything,
but she's quit playin' jazz lately--
(dog barks)
- No!
Are you okay?
- Now I know why I don't walk in L.A.
- Your knee.
- I'm fine. I'm fine.
- It's bleeding.
- Oh, my God.
- What? I...
- It's so weird that you did that.
- What? I just...
Is your knee okay?
- Why did you do that?
- I don't know. I just did it.
- Why did you do that?
- I just, I did it.
Is there somethin' wrong?
- Nothing.
- I'm not in China.
I'm in Los Angeles.
- [Ida] Los Angeles? What happened?
- Well, I found her!
She's here.
- You found her!?
Is she a California girl?
- Yes, ma'am.
- [Ida] Does she like you?
- Well, I...
It's kind of hard to figure.
The way she talks, I get the feelin'
that she knows me or somethin'.
- [Operator] Operator, may I help you?
Hello?
May I help you?
- Oh, no, there's...
We're...
Nothing. Thanks.
- [Operator] Operator. City of listing?
- Hollywood.
The Roosevelt Hotel.
- [Operator] Please hold for the number.
Area code 21355--
(phone beeps)
- Hello.
- Uh, hi.
Roz?
- [Rosalyn] Who's this?
- Fletcher.
- Oh. Hi.
How are you?
- [Fletcher] I'm good, h-how are you?
- How did you get my number?
- [Fletcher] I dialed 411, and I said across the street,
Sycamore and Willoughby.
They gave me the number.
They were really helpful.
- Um, look, Fletcher,
I'm just on my way out the door.
- [Fletcher] I was wondering if maybe
I could persuade you--
- I'm-I'm going to meet
a friend at the Formosa.
- Just a minute.
Now listen, there's somethin' we need to talk about,
about you fallin' down and hurtin' your knee.
We should get together and...
and talk about this.
It's important. - You could meet me there.
- Oh.yeah, good.
- Shit.
- I'll do that.
- So, Roz says that you're from Texas.
- San Antonio.
- I drove through Texas once, fast.
It took forever.
- Oh, it's a drive.
- Yeah, just out there on the 10 East,
you know what I mean?
You just drive, and then you run
into all that weird shit.
They're all out there in their mobile homes.
- Fletcher's on his way to China.
He just thought he'd hang out in LA for a few days.
- Oh, China? Cool.
- Actually, my travel plans changed.
I got some bad information.
Had to cancel my trip.
I figured rather than headin' back to my double-wide,
I'd see what the big city could teach me.
- Cool.
- I'm missin' somethin' I think I can find here.
- So, what do you want to drink?
- [Fletcher] A beer would be great, thanks.
- Philip? Another? - Hey.
- You boys stay put.
It's my treat.
- So how long have you known Rosalyn?
- Oh, God, since, uh...
We went to Parsons together, an art school.
But she's the artist.
I manage a gallery, do some consulting.
East Coast.
- Yeah, yeah she mentioned that she painted.
- Yeah, she's killer.
Very, very private.
- Totally...
Primal.
- Kind of Klee meets Rousseau, in a femme,
West Coast vein, you know what I mean?
Yeah, Well, she's about to happen, major happen.
She just needs a break.
- She's somethin' special.
- We've known each other for a long time now.
More than lovers, really.
Partners.
- Well, drink up, boys.
There might be a giant, fiery meteor headed right for us.
You don't want to leave any in your glass.
- A meteor?
Hell, if there was a meteor comin', I'd get me
a reclinin' chair and make sure I had one of them
drinks with a little umbrella in it.
(laughing) Right. Good to go.
Come on, baby, bring it on.
- You ready to end it all?
- Well, if you're goin', I'm goin'.
- Oh, Fletcher.
You are positively gloomy.
It must come from hangin' out with all those prairie dogs.
(Phil howls)
- May I ask you a question, Phil?
And you don't have to answer it if you don't want to.
Do you think that every last thread of intelligent life
is chosen to huddle in either New York or LA?
Or do you really believe that
that this soulless sinkhole has anything to do
with real-life humanity, namely, integrity,
compassion, dignity?
You know what?
Don't answer that, Phil.
Let me just give you some advice.
Next time you're drivin' through Texas,
you better stay clear of all the trailer parks,
and if you are drivin' through Texas,
why don't you do it fast?
Real, real fast.
Well, I've had fun.
- Fletcher.
Would you take me home?
- Whoa! Great place.
- Thanks.
- Yeah.
Are these yours?
- Just some prints I'm studying.
- Yeah?
- I don't keep my own work lying around.
I'm in kind of a down period right now.
- Uh-huh, uh-huh.
You must be pretty serious about this.
- My next project is a sort of performance-art touring piece
I've been working on.
I've been trying to get a grant,
but it's impossible.
I've got the spaces lined up and the curators are chomping
at the bit, but there's no money.
- Well, um...
Maybe, uh...
Maybe I could help you, somehow.
- Really? - Sure.
Que eso?
- Hostility relief.
You live in this town, you got to have something
or you go out of your mind.
- Are you going to make me stand with my back
against the wall, blindfolded with a cigarette
in my mouth?
- Only if you beg.
- Will you please make me stand against the wall
with my back to the wall with the blindfold on
and the cigarette right in my mouth?
- You want a drink?
So I don't know a lot about what you do.
Is business good in Texas?
- Uh, can't complain. It's...
It's, uh, seasonal.
- [Rosalyn] And your grandmother is running your office?
- My gran...
Uh, no, actually.
You know, I don't really have...
Cool...
An office, I'm, uh, I'm working out of my house right now.
- It's really a gorgeous place.
You should see it, it's very special.
- Wave of the future: Phone, fax, net, work at home,
leave to play.
- Thanks.
You seem to know a great deal about business.
A lot of the sort of creative types that
I know are, well, generally unaware.
- Well, I like to keep up with the way the world runs.
My work is kind of about money and greed
and ambition and success.
- The basic human desires.
- The bare necessities.
- Rosalyn, I think you need to get out of LA
for a little while.
- Too late.
- It's funny, 'cause...
I have this terribly archaic notion that
art should be about beauty,
and passion and...
Well, redefining an imperfect world in a perfect way.
- Oh God, we did away with that years ago.
We seem to have gotten away from our earlier theme.
- Which was?
- Flirting.
- Didn't we do away with that years ago too?
- There's been a revival.
(sensual music)
You wanna look at pictures?
- Sure, yeah.
I seem to be gaining a whole new perspective on the rococo.
- Did, uh, did we, uh,
just blow right past the flirting portion of the evening?
-Uh huh.
You're trembling.
- Sweetie.
This isn't how I imagined it.
- What?
- I don't want to rush it.
- Isn't that my line?
- Why don't I just come back tomorrow?
Maybe we could start again.
We could get some lunch, or...
- You don't want me.
- No, I really...
I do want you. - No, you don't.
- No, I do, This is just too important for me to screw up.
Do you, um...
Do you like chocolate?
I do.
(classical music)
Imagine if you could have the most
perfect piece of chocolate in the world.
Say you went to Switzerland and you got
it there, where they invented it.
What would you do?
Would you just gobble it down right there and then,
or would you maybe wait a little bit, you know?
Find a perfect place, light a candle,
put on some music.
I don't know, maybe some Bessie Smith...
or the soundtrack to "Viva Las Vegas"
and then, when everything was perfect,
then you would savor it as if it was the last thing
you would ever eat.
- You are so...
Weird.
- This is really not easy for me to talk about.
- What are you talking about?
- This.
It's true.
(classical music)
- I have a dream.
- Come on Roz, don't worry about it.
Everybody slips.
- I couldn't believe it.
I was like an amateur.
He made me so mad.
I'm gonna get him.
- That's sad.
You used to enjoy your work.
- Well, I'm gonna enjoy this.
No one plays with my head like that.
("Sittin' Up at Night" by Augie Meyers)
- I'm takin' you home.
- I'll take you home.
- No, I mean back to Texas.
There's an airplane that leaves in an hour and a half.
We're gonna be on it.
- What about lunch?
- We can eat at my house.
I got some tamales in the fridge.
- I'm not going to Texas.
(mellow music)
- Come on in.
This is it.
This is where I grew up.
- You live here alone?
- Uh-huh. Yeah.
- Chinese?
- Oh, uh, that.
That's left over from a Chinese New Year's party we had
in the Year of the Rooster,
I think it was.
I'll take that down later.
I like girls.
- How old-fashioned of you.
- Who's this?
- Oh, that. Um...
That's an art project I'm workin' on.
- Collage.
- I think you have some very deep-seated problems.
- I saw this face in a dream.
- A dream?
- Mm-hmm.
Does that...
Does that sound peculiar to you?
- Yes.
- Well, it's just sort of what she looks like.
- Hmmmm....
- This is the Ida room,
after my grandma, Ida.
This is my favorite part.
- An air conditioner?
- To the casual observer,
but, to an enlightened few, a personal serenity device.
(device clicks on)
Just smell that musty, cold air.
Spins a cocoon, magically,
and makes everything seem as if the world doesn't matter.
- Did it ever?
- Well...
So, well, where would you like to sleep tonight?
- Where are you sleeping?
- Well, that would depend on what kind of mood I'm in.
Lately I've been
favoring the piano.
I'm kind of in a firm phase.
- Really?
- [Fletcher] Yeah.
It gives you the best dreams.
- So what kind of mood do you think you'll be in tonight?
- Oh, that would all depend.
- Well,
you've got me where you want me.
Now what?
- You must be tired from the trip.
I should tell you, I have a devious plan.
- Are you gonna try to seduce me?
- In an ultimate kind of way.
- Oh, my.
- Are you shocked?
- No.
I kinda made some plans about you too.
- Are you being tender?
- Don't be mean.
- No, I mean, don't misunderstand me.
I mean, I like you, tender.
(classical music)
- Must be the personal serenity device.
- Close your eyes.
Be still.
Breathe.
Again.
This part, right here,
is especially wonderful.
You're so nice.
- I'm really not.
- Yes, you are.
I can see everything.
- [Cameron] No way! - It's true.
- You brought her back here?
Oh, you are the king, man.
Oh, I can't even process that!
- I mean, all I did was turn around,
and there she was, smilin' at me.
- Did you give her the John Wayne?
- This is reality, man.
This is not the movies.
- Oh, yeah, well, th-that's exactly what's wrong
with the world today is, is way too much
reality happening.
Oh, speakin' of that, Ramon called today.
- Oh.
- Yeah, he said that girl down in
South Flores isn't gettin' any better,
and he wanted to know if we'd come by and give her a show.
(knocking) - Roz?
- Yeah.
- Hi. You're awake.
Well, you are now.
Um, listen, something just came up that
I need to go do.
Do you wanna come?
- Oh, sure.
Um, I think I'll just change my clothes.
- Okay. All right.
- Well, hello.
- Roz, I would like you to meet my friend Cameron.
- Well.
- Hello.
- Hey. Hi.
- Hi. - How are, ueah.
So you're here.
- Oh, you just...
Well, you're just visitin'.
This is a good place to live.
My grandma came here...
She's a pistol, this one.
Nude half the day...
- Cameron, Cameron? - She wasn't from here.
The other half she's clothed.
I mean, she's not a nude granny.
- Cameron, we should probably get goin'.
- You gonna...
You drivin'?
- No, you're gonna take a bike, right?
Right?
- Oh! Yo!
I'm bikin', right!
That's why I got the bike, is to bike.
- And we'll see you there.
- Occasionally, I will ride my bike,
and this is...
This is one of the occasions.
- We'll see ya there.
- All right. Okay.
I'll see you there. - Right this way.
- Nice to meet you.
- That's crazy, man.
(jazz music)
(Cameron pretending to bark)
(crowd applauds)
(woman speaks foreign language)
- Uh, I'm sorry.
I don't speak...
- She wanted to thank you for what you did.
- Oh, I didn't do anything.
(woman speaks foreign language)
- She says your boyfriend is very wonderful.
(Spanish music)
- That was nice, what you did.
- I get more out of it than they do.
- You fit here.
(Fletcher chuckles)
How long have you been doing those puppets?
- Oh...
a while.
- You have some talent.
- Thank you.
My father used to do it.
I'd always figured it'd give me something to fall back on
if that career in nuclear physics
didn't exactly work out.
- There you go, being sensible.
So, show me your town.
Where do you hang out?
What's your favorite spot?
- My favorite spot. - Yeah.
All right.
(bells ringing)
- This is it.
- It's a window.
- It's got a story.
- Okay. Tell me.
(blows)
- Long time ago, there was a craftsman
who worked with stone, and he was commissioned
by the church to build a window.
He fell in love with a girl who sang in the choir.
Her name was Rosa.
But before they could be married, she became ill,
and she died.
And all he was left with
was this window.
And he must have spent every waking hour for years
carving it for her.
And that's why it's called the Rose window.
- I'm sorry for them.
- Well, at least he found her.
You know, most people never do find that person, I think,
that makes them feel whole.
(guitar music)
So, here we are, all these years later,
talking about them.
- I think he'd be glad you told his story today.
- You know, I guess he would.
- That little girl we saw...
what was wrong with her?
- I think they said it was some kind of heart condition.
- Is she going to be okay?
- I don't think so.
- The mother and the father,
they were holding hands I was watching them...
and that kiss was so sweet.
I didn't know what...
- Roz, if you were going,
who would you want to kiss you good-bye?
- What do you mean?
If I were dying?
- Uh huh.
Whose eyes would you want to look into last?
- Who says I would want to?
- You'd want to be alone?
- Yeah, maybe I would.
No.
I know who I'd want to kiss good-bye.
- Who?
- That little girl.
I'd tell her a few things about surviving in the world.
I'd kiss her good-bye and get on with it.
(slow jazz music)
(bells ringing)
- Good morning. - Good morning.
- Coffee?
- You're still here.
- So, you like to sleep on the table.
- Yeah.
- With a nice, soft, comfortable, air-conditioned
personal serenity device upstairs?
- You make it sound like heaven.
- It could be.
- Okay. Ah...
Um, hmm...
It's time I told you.
- What?
- Um, it's about the thing.
There's something you gotta understand before, um,
we can proceed.
- Okay.
- Do you dream?
- No, never.
It's bad for you.
- I do.
My whole family does.
It's a family trait.
The men especially.
We dream about women,
or, to be more specific, we dream about...
Our true love.
Dad dreamt about Mom right after he wrecked his motorcycle
somewhere down on Southwest Military.
Cracked his head pretty hard,
but he was always wreckin' things.
- Were they dating?
- No. You see, that's the thing.
He'd never even met her.
She was in El Paso somewhere, and she was engaged
to this guy who owned an auto body shop,
Well...
He went and he found her.
It was the same thing with Granddaddy
and with his father too.
I mean, not the part about wrecking
things and smacking your head up,
but the vision.
- What are you saying?
You had a dream?
- But I didn't hit my head.
(knocking)
- It's open.
Hi.
- Hey, is this where I deliver the beer?
- Uh-huh. - What beer?
- The beer for the party.
- What party?
(Dixieland band music)
- So the guys are fightin' in the Alamo.
The Duke's in the Alamo.
What are they eatin'?
They're showin' 'em eatin' chicken, sausages,
some kinda pastrami.
They never show 'em with a tamale.
The tamale has never seriously ever
been represented in American cinema.
- Oh, he is so right.
- Excuse us. Pardon me.
I want you to meet someone.
Hey, Tree! Over here.
- This is the Tree Man.
He's a friend of ours, but no one knows his real name.
He takes his tree with him everywhere he goes.
- Hey, Tree, come here, what's up?
- What's up babe, hey.
- This is Roz.
She's my friend from California.
- Hi.
- Tree's a musician,
plays the saxophone.
- Where do you play?
- Um, inside myself.
- Really?
- That's where the notes lay, see.
- When you get all them colors together,
music comes out really sweet, you know?
Yeah, buddy.
- So, what is it that you do in California?
- I'm a fine art consultant.
- Oh, isn't that interestin'?
- Yes, it is.
- Would you excuse us?
- Uh, I'll be over here if you need me.
- All your friends are staring at me
like I'm some kind of a freak.
What did you tell them?
- Nothing.
- It's bugging me.
- Did you see her face?
- She's a lovely Chinese girl.
- Her English is good.
- Ida, hey!
- Oh, thank you. - Oh sure.
- Hi, Ida. - Oh, hi!
My favorite lawyer. Thank you.
My word!
You're beautiful.
- Uh, thank you.
- You're welcome. What's your name?
- Rosalyn, or Roz.
- I'm Ida.
- Well, I know you and Fletcher are friends,
but you watch out for my grandson.
His imagination is enlarged.
- And where do you think I got that?
She think's she's hard-boiled,
but she has a real soft center.
- Folks, Ida has a little number
she's gonna do with the band,
something she's arranged.
- Thank you, Jim.
This is a little something
from Chopin for my grandson.
Just for you, Fletcher.
(slow band music)
(crowd applauds)
- Yeah, that was Ida's arrangement of some longhair music.
It's nice to hear you play jazz again, Ida.
Okay, now somethin' special.
All you kids, come on up.
All the kids.
- Well, that would be my cue.
(drum roll)
(jazz music)
- He's so good.
- Everyone knows him down on the plaza.
- What do you mean?
- Well, just ask any tourist
who's ever been to San Antonio--
- They all say, "That guy with the puppets on Alamo Plaza,
he is the best I've ever seen."
- He's a street performer.
- Hi.
You all right?
- Oh, yeah, I'm fine.
- Can we just visit, you and I?
- Sure.
- You're quite the excitement around here.
See, everybody's just clamoring to meet you.
- Or at least some idea of who I am.
- I know just how you feel.
Well, you resent it at first,
and then it'll all come clear.
- I prefer things a little blurry.
These things wouldn't make it through
the first earthquake in LA.
- Oh. They're cairns, you know.
- What is their function?
- Remembering.
Remembering things you never want to forget.
I built that one.
Oh, it's been there a long time now.
- What's it for?
- In 1946, I lost my...
my baby girl.
I slept out here on the porch
all that summer and that fall.
I just had to be alone.
And finally, I built the cairn.
- I'm sorry.
- It's all right.
There's pain and joy in all our lives.
Nobody ever told us any different.
Next year, Fletcher's father was born.
He wouldn't let go of my hair!
Come on.
Let me show you my old house.
- Why don't you still live here?
- Oh, well, this is Fletcher's time now.
I have a lovely jacalita down on the river.
That's a little Mexican house.
Here are Fletcher's little books.
We made them together.
You know, they mark the special times and places.
For instance, here's his first trip to the coast, and...
Oh, he loved the HemisFair!
That was the World's Fair here in San Antonio.
I think my favorite is this little zoo book.
Find the polar bears and the elephant.
(soothing music)
He thought they were hot.
I guess they were.
It's wonderful, isn't it?
- Yes.
- I know it's more of a curse
than a blessing.
- What?
- Being smart and what people call "beautiful."
I'm not bragging, but in my day,
I was considered quite a catch.
I don't think I ever met a man
I felt could outsmart me or out think me.
Those silly creatures did bore me.
Oh, it does cause quite a fuss, that combination.
Smart and beautiful...
But it's mostly in your own gut.
See, the problem is
you stop believing...
That he could be out there waiting for you.
- Who?
- Your true love.
Don't you know?
My dear.
- This is a mistake.
I'm not...
- [Ida] Not what?
- Right.
I'm sorry.
- Roz?
- What? - It's me.
Hey, is somethin' wrong?
- Nothing's wrong, I don't feel well.
- Well, come on, open the door.
There's somethin' wrong, I know you.
- You don't know me.
You don't know anything about me,
and just because you think you dreamed me up or saw me
in some kind of vision--
- I did.
- Well, it isn't me, okay?
You don't know me or what makes me happy.
You actually think I'm gonna
fall in love with you and your musty old house,
and your corny music and your oddball cracker friends?
- Yeah.
What about last Friday?
Where were you last Friday, midnight...
10 o'clock, LA?
Ring a bell?
That's when I saw you.
- What did you see?
- What did I see?
I saw a man,
a gun, and you,
and I became very frightened
and I cried out, and then things got very peaceful.
and this face stuck right in my head
and it was yours.
Next morning, I get this word: Formosa.
You tel me, Roz.
- I don't know who you are or what your game is,
but it's over.
- Look, Roz, I know you.
We belong to each other.
- You have an idea of who you think I am.
Y-You're wrong, you're just wrong.
You don't know.
- You know, I can see the person who you really are,
not this person who you are pretending
to be because something went wrong.
- I just can't be the person you want.
It's too late.
- I don't want to change you.
I like you just the way you are.
- How can you like me the way I am?
How can you possibly like me the way I am!?
- I believe in you.
- Well, believing doesn't make it true,
and believing in me doesn't make me worth believing in.
- How can you be that dead inside that you can't see it
and you can't feel it?
Roslyn, you know I'm him.
Look at me!
(dramatic music)
- Look, my coming here and pretending
to be nice to you, it was an act.
- I thought you were someone else;
I thought you had money.
Give me your keys.
(Conrad whistles)
- [Rosalyn] Hi, this is Rosalyn, and, whatever.
You know what to do. (phone beeps)
- [Elaine] Roz, it's Elaine.
Um, you know,
you're gonna wanna kill me,
but, uh, my setup guy called today.
and he said, "Why didn't your friend meet my friend
at the Formosa Cafe the other day?"
I said, "What are you talking about?
"She's, like, in Texas with him now,"
and he said, "No, she's not.
I saw him this morning, and he never met anyone."
and I said, "Why wouldn't you
give me his name, you moron?"
Well, I don't know who this Fletcher guy is, but, um,
at least, you know, from what you said,
he seemed nice.
Hello?
(cars honking)
- Yeah, I'll take two weeks off every year,
go to Havaii, no matter what's happening.
I don't own three companies
to be a slave to 'em, you get me?
I live it up.
I don't care who knows it.
You know those courses on Maui?
Gotta love 'em.
I think there are some people who really, really
want to work themselves to freakin' death.
Not me.
So, you, uh, you ever been to Havaii?
- Hmm? Sure.
- I'll tell ya what,
If you wanna have the time of your life,
I'll take you with me next week,
first class all the way.
- Gee, it's nice of you to offer.
There are two things I always wanted to believe in
but didn't dare.
One is that there is
one man, somewhere,
who was made just for me.
The other is that I just...
might...
deserve him.
("Still Breathing" by Rita Springer)
- Oh, man, that's crazy.
That is not the way it works
in any love film I've ever seen.
I mean, the clouds part, the birds are singin',
the toes are curlin' up on these people.
- Cameron, what do movies have to do with real life?