Original subtitles

Ron, Ron, Ron! What the hell is wrong with you?

I told you Zelmer would be here any minute.

You act like the brother's allergic to rhythm.

Ho!

Man, I just want the place clean when he gets here,

so get your junk out of here?

Don't know why you're excited about seeing a guy

who hasn't returned a letter in six months.

Hey, the brother is busy.

He's in the library 15 hours a day

working on his PhD, his dissertation, Ron.

Do you have any idea what-

Nah�

Yeah, I know what it means. Celibacy.

? I know my parents loved me ?

? Stand behind me come what may ?

? Mmm ?

? I know now that I'm ready, yeah ?

? For I finally heard them say ?

? It's a different world ?

? Ooh ?

? Than where you come from ?

? Yes, it is now, yeah ?

? Here's our chance to make it, hey! ?

? And if we focus on our goal ?

? You can dish it! ?

? We can take it, hey ?

? Just remember that you've been told ?

? It's a different world ?

? It's a different world ?

? It's a different world ?

? It's a different world ?

? Yeah, than where you come from ?

? Ooh ?

? Than where you come from! ?

-

Good afternoon, I'm Zelmer Collier.

I'm Ronald Johnson.

- Do come in. Thank you.

Zelmer! Come on in, man.

Hey, Dwayne.

Oh, man, it's good to see you.

Likewise, Dwayne.

Yeah. And you cut that 'fro.

- Welcome to the '90s. - Yeah.

I figure if Don Cornelius could cut his, what the heck?

- I'm ready for you, man. - Oh.

Ooh, chess! My favorite spectator sport.

- Don't mind Ron. - I understand. Another Damian Porter?

Bingo.

- "Is it in?" - "Is it out?"

- "Is it up?" - "Is it down?"

I guess you had to be there.

I used to tutor Dwayne and Damian together,

and Damian used to ask a lot of questions.

It's like he had a few problems with logic.

No, no, no, the boy was ignorant.

Anyway, it's good to see you. I got so much to ask you.

I got a lot to tell you, Dwayne.

Some pretty amazing things.

You're getting married.

No, more amazing than that.

You're having a baby.

I'm on my way to the Middle East.

Middle East? Who's your travel agent?

Uncle Sam.

What are you talking about?

About a year and a half ago, I decided to join the Army Reserves.

I thought a weekend a month. Why not?

My way of paying back the government for my education.

Pay back the government?

Yeah, I had a great many grants and loans.

Don't you send them a check?

Sure, I could, but I felt more of an obligation than that.

Saudi Arabia�

When?

Monday. I report to my base on Monday.

Well, we still got the weekend.

God built the world in six days. No telling what we can do in two.

Right on, homey?

Let's sign up for a day of peace all over the world!

Stop forcing the youth of our nation down a pipeline of greed.

Thank you. Here you go. Thank you, thank you.

Stop sacrificing lives for big business profits!

Let's bring our troops home.

Don't you ever go to class, Freddie?

Read the papers, Red.

We're trying to give Kuwait back to the Kuweetis.

Kuwaitis.

Whatever.

Oh, my goodness!

Elmer Crane!

I never forget a face or a name.

It's Zelmer Collier.

Oh, that's right, and I remember your usual too.

Tuna melt on sourdough with pickle chips.

Actually, it was egg salad on an onion roll.

Yeah. Well, coming up, Elmer.

Kimberly, be extremely good to this customer.

He's one of our distinguished alumni and Phi Beta Kappa.

- Now I know I got that right. - Yes, sir.

- Hey, Pookie. - Hey, bunny.

I want you to meet a friend of mine.

Whitley, this is Zelmer. Zelmer, Whitley.

Zelmer, your fame precedes you.

I'm delighted to meet the only man smarter than my Dwayne.

Oh, I'm not sure you're correct in that assumption,

but I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance.

Enchant�e.

Honey, let me get my little bran muffin and hot cocoa

- and I'll be right with you boys. - No. That's okay.

- We'll see you later. Bye. - See you.

Kim.

I hate it when he does that.

After lunch, we'll go see the new PC-7000 computer bank at the Physics lab,

then tonight, my favorite Professor Hoffman

is giving a lecture on electromagnetic waves!

Okay.

- Yeah! - Oh, don't miss that.

Then we'll go to the Java cafe.

You won't believe it. Zelmer, Murray still works there.

- What? Murray? - Yes!

The man did not come all the way to Hillman

to go sit with that fat, slimy, greasy, fatbackin' Murray!

What the man needs is a party.

Hey, Ron, not everybody's looking for a party, okay.

- Can you arrange that? - Watch me.

Yo! Hear ye! Hear ye!

Tonight, there's going to be a party to bid a fond farewell

to one of Hillman's finest, Zelmer Collier,

as he goes off for a rendezvous with destiny in the Persian Gulf.

Time, 2100 hours. Venue, the La Grenad.

Mode. Stag. And for all of you unfamiliar with the word,

that means "men only," and you know who you are.

Oh!

I am just repulsed by all this male bondage.

Bonding, Whitley. Male bonding.

Well, that's what I meant to say.

Zelmer, we ought to get down to the Blue View Video

- and preview some flicks. - That'll be great.

You don't want to do that, do you, Z?

Actually, I do.

Well, we ain't had a chance to kick it yet, man.

We got time.

Hey, why don't you come with us? Come on.

No, I'll pass.

Okay.

Okay, ladies, we're going to crash this party.

- It's as simple as that. - Oh�

Why should we allow them to sink to the depths of depravity?

Because that's what they want to do.

It's our duty as women to teach them

that they don't know what's best for them.

Listen, this is the last image of a woman that Zelmer sees before he leaves.

There are women serving over there too.

I don't think that anybody should be over there.

That's nice, Freddie.

Now, Kim,

you sing like a lark.

I float like a swan. And Freddie�

Freddie has freckles.

So what I propose to do is a tribute to men in arms

through song and dance.

Something uplifting.

Well, If we're going to sing anything at all,

we should sing�

? Where have all the flowers gone? ?

? Long time passing ?

? I want to know Where have all the flowers gone? ?

? Long time ago� ?

That's uplifting.

Fun, Freddie. Think "fun."

After all, this is war we're talking about.

Okay, Kim, think of Zelmer.

Do you want to give him a soldier's farewell or not?

In ancient times, when the men were going off to war,

the women would tear their hair out in protest.

It's a look.

Who do you write to when the bus driver grabs your butt?

Dwayne, Blue View Videos has provided us

with a veritable visual smorgasbord.

Help us decide which one to view first.

Do The Wrong Thing,

or the period piece, Catherine Was Great.

Dwayne, look, there's Catherine with the court jester.

The Sound of Music?

Hey, this is the wrong video.

Man, I bet there's some kiddie party

having a damn good time with my movie!

Man, he's funny.

That boy had everybody in the store cracking up.

The man in the raincoat loved him.

Yeah, he's hilarious. He's a laugh riot, that Ron is.

Are you all right, man?

No, I'm not all right.

I'm trying to figure out what's going on with you.

What do you mean?

I'm not getting any straight answers from you, Z.

What are you asking me?

I want to know how you feel, brother.

How I'm feeling about what?

You're about to leave for Saudi Arabia Monday!

You're running around laughing at stupid jokes,

wearing a Blue View Video visor.

You don't like my visor?

What�

What's wrong with you?

Zelmer�

I'm scared.

What do you want me to say?

What do you want to hear?

- What will make you feel better? - I want you to talk to me!

- Want to know what I'm feeling? - Yes!

I don't know!

I don't know, Dwayne.

I've never felt this way before.

Have you?

Turn the music down. Hold it, everybody.

Now, you'll know Zelmer's going to go to the Middle East.

You got to prepare yourself for life over there.

No women, no booze, no sex.

Hey, how stupid am I. You living like that over here.

You might want to get yourself a summer home there.

But the biggest thing is no dancing allowed there.

You might want to get that dippity-do head out there

and get one more hip-hop move out. Come on bust a move.

- No, no, Walter� - No, bust a move.

- Come on. Come on, man. - Give him the music.

All right, go, Zelmer. Go, Zelmer.

Go, Zelmer! Go, Zelmer! Go, Zelmer!

No, Zelmer! No, Zelmer! No, Zelmer!

You danced better when you had an afro.

Everybody! Yo, yo, yo. It's time for a toast.

Time for a toast.

Everyone. Raise your glasses, please.

To Zelmer.

A good man,

a great mind,

and a loyal American.

Hear, hear!

Willing to sacrifice it all for his country.

His life, his limbs,

his family and his future.

To Zelmer.

Hear, hear!

? He ?

? Was ?

? A ?

? Famous trumpet man From out Chicago way ?

? He had a boogie style That no one else could play ?

? He was the top man of his craft ?

? But then his number came up And he was gone with the draft ?

? He's in the army now ?

? A-blowin' reveille ?

? He's the boogie woogie Bugle boy of company B ?

? A root! A toot! A diddly ah-da doot ?

? He blows it eight to the bar ?

? In boogie rhythm ?

? He can't blow a note ?

? Unless the bass and guitar playin' ?

? With him ?

? He's in the army now ?

? A-blowin' reveille ?

? He's the boogie woogie bugle boy ?

? Of comp, company ?

? Comp, company ?

? Company, company, company� ?

? You're in the company ?

? We're in the company ?

? Can't you see It? Can't you feel it? I love that company� ?

Yo. Yo.

? B� ?

Yeah!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

And let it never be forgotten

that a soldier's best friend is a woman.

That was a great number, but he doesn't need entertainment,

- he needs a one-way ticket to Canada. - Oh, hey�

I understand how you feel, but this is not the time or the place.

When is the time, Kim? After he's gone?

Somebody has got to talk to him.

And say what?

And ask him why he is going over there to risk his life.

For what? Oil? Nationalism?

We have a million problems in this country.

- Go ahead and tell him, Freddie. - Thank you.

Excuse me, Jaleesa. Zelmer, can I talk to you for a minute?

- Sure. - I wanted to�

Wish you luck�

Over there.

Thank you.

Dwayne, you got a party going on inside.

You're being rude.

I don't feel much like partying.

I mean, what in the hell are we celebrating, anyway?

Zelmer.

You know,

I used to watch Zelmer bust his butt in school every day.

And then he'd make me bust mine.

We were going to be engineers.

We were going back to the community with a sack full of knowledge.

We were going to make our parents proud.

We were going to make our people proud.

And now he's going to rot in somebody's army

in some foreign land we don't know nothing about.

But he volunteered to serve.

Come on. He's an idiot, Whitley.

- It's still his choice. - Choice?

He chose to serve a weekend a month.

That's a weekend, not a war.

Stop saying "war," Dwayne.

We're not at war. You can't even think that way.

I live in a country that's sure enough on the verge of war.

I have to think that way.

- But don't you love Zelmer? - Yes.

Yes, I love Zelmer. He's my brother.

So be�be happy for your brother�

as a soldier.

Be proud of him as a patriot.

I was happy for a mathematician! Okay?

Proud of an engineer.

I want to see a brother do it with his mind, baby.

Zelmer is all heart,

and now they put a gun in his hand.

You know, one day�

One day they could put one in mine.

I would never let that happen, Dwayne.

But there wouldn't be a damn thing you could do if they did.

- Hey, Vern. - Hey, Colonel.

- Got you some fresh coffee. - I'd love some.

I'm supposed to meet Zelmer Collier here.

Yeah? He's been making the rounds since he got here.

I guess he's trying to squeeze it all in.

- Oh, so you heard then, huh? - Mmm-hmm.

- Best student I ever had. - Ah, it's a damn shame.

Things sure have changed since we did our time for old Uncle Sam.

Yeah. But people still depend on us to uphold freedom.

How many countries are we supposed to take care of?

My Aunt Mabel took care of all the neighborhood's children.

Her own three sons went to penitentiary.

Yeah.

I don't know.

All I know is I fought wars so that my children wouldn't have to.

Mmm-hmm.

Hey, hey!

- Hey, Zelmer! - How are you, sir?

- All right. - Hey, Elmer.

- Get you some fresh coffee? - No, thank you, I'm fine.

- Go ahead, sit down. - I'm glad to see you, sir.

- Everything's been so rushed. - Oh, I know, I know.

- When do you leave? - Ah, within the hour.

- Oh, I see� - Yeah.

I see.

We sure are proud of you. Aren't we, Vern?

- Yeah, boy. - Thank you.

You know, I'm sorry that you have to interrupt your PhD studies for this�

For this involvement.

So am I, Colonel. I was very close to finishing.

You can resume your studies when you come back.

After this all blows over.

Is that what you really think, sir?

Do you think that this thing might blow over?

Or do you think it could turn into something more serious?

You make no mistake, soldier.

This is a serious set of events

that could escalate into something unfortunate.

I'm sorry to have to say this to you.

I asked you for the truth. That's what you gave me.

So, is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all?

- Can you get me out of it? - Zelmer.

I don't think I can do this, sir. I really don't.

Zelmer, I can't do anything.

I'm a Black man in the prime of my life.

I'm just now starting to live.

Just starting to taste.

To know who I am.

To know what I'm supposed to do with myself.

Feeling good about myself�

my accomplishments.

I can't blow out the candles now.

Not now.

I'm just starting to see.

It's not fair, Colonel.

No, it's not fair.

I wish to God I could tell you something to make you feel better.

I have a friend.

Very bright. Painter.

One day, he went blind.

Just like that.

Some freak of nature.

Ten years, he was in and out of hospitals.

Finally, he got some of his sight back, but never could paint the same

though he never stopped trying.

Whenever I start feeling sorry for myself, I think about him.

He doesn't know it, but he's�

my inspiration.

That story didn't really help me too much.

That story wasn't supposed to help you. That story helps me!

Now, soldier�

Son�

Find your own source of inspiration.

Um�

Do me a favor, will you, sir?

Anything.

Dwayne.

I don't want to be a disappointment to him.

This conversation is between us, soldier.

I got to go, Colonel.

Yes, you do.

Now, you take care.

Be strong.

You're going to be just fine, boy.

It's open.

Hey.

Hey.

I've been looking at this atlas,

trying to picture where you're going to be.

Sixth meridian, 34th parallel.

You're still a genius, man.

And you know this.

Now I'll know where to write you.

I'd like that.

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

I don't have a single picture of you without that bush on your head, man.

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