Original subtitles

ELLA: Deshawn, is that you?

Um, yeah, Miss Ella.

Good.

Listen.

Why didn't you come down to the health center this afternoon?

Oh, um, I was busy.

No, son, you are never too busy for your tutor.

- All right. - What?

You want me to make you a snack, baby?

Oh, no, no.

I'm good.

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

What are you wearing?

Well, I didn't wanna mess up my school clothes.

But you were at school, right?

Yeah, yeah.

Of course I was. - OK.

Well, come here. Come here.

Come here.

Well, if you were at school, then

that's the best place for you to mess them up.

Deshawn, what-- what happened to your eye?

Oh, it was nothing.

I was just, you know, messing around with a few homies,

you know.

Sit down.

Jesus.

Deshawn, if your homies are gonna bust you in your eye,

then maybe you need to just leave them at home.

Was it Jamal?

Oh, no, no, no, Miss Ella.

These friends are new.

Oh, so you got new friends.

Well, I guess I need to meet your new friends.

You're not gonna like my friends, Miss Ella.

My daddy used to say, show me your friends,

and I'll show you who you really are.

Well, all my friends are on the honor roll,

so that must make me a genius.

Deshawn.

Then start dressing like one.

And do some home--

what is this?

- Oh, that's nothing, Miss Ella. - No, no, no.

No, no, no.

What is this?

Decatur Soldiers, what is that?

Why you all up in my business?

You are my business.

So what?

You banging now?

You're a part of a gang?

You bad?

Hm?

[music playing]

Did somebody pressure you into joining this gang?

No.

I joined because I wanted to.

You wanted to.

My uncle is in that gang.

OK.

And what happened?

What happened?

They jumped me in.

What do you mean they jumped you in?

They beat you up to make you a member.

Lord have mercy.

Why would you put yourself through that?

Because those are my boys.

They're like family, Miss Ella.

Oh, you may think of them as your family.

But if they really cared for you, then they would have--

Gave me a place to stay, fed me when I was hungry, clothes.

They did all that.

First of all, don't interrupt me.

Secondly, that's all well and good.

Fine.

They did all of that for you.

But now we are your family.

You are here with us right now.

I guess I got two families then.

[doorbell rings]

No.

You don't have no two families-- not and living here.

Wish I would.

Hey, Ella. You call me?

No.

No, Floyd, I didn't.

Well, since I'm here, I'm gonna go ahead and get a beer.

Floyd, Floyd.

Since you're here, we have a problem.

Y'all are out of beer again?

No, no, no.

Floyd, look.

Deshawn, don't hide it.

Deshawn has joined a gang.

No, you didn't.

You joined a gang?

As hard as I have worked for you.

Slaving on that third shift.

Floyd.

Trying to stay awake.

Taking sleeping pills and drinking cognac

for your little raggedy--

Floyd.

Deshawn has joined a gang.

What gang you done joined?

Decatur Soldiers.

The ones from Decatur?

Listen to me.

This is serious. - OK.

Sorry.

And I need you to do me a favor.

Anything.

I need you to take Deshawn, a.k.a.

Decatur Soldier, to see Big Larry.

[GASPING] Big Larry?

Yes.

Who is Big Larry?

He big?

That's Big Larry.

Pizza's here.

Ah, yeah.

Hey, man.

The game start yet?

Nah, they're still in pre-game.

Ah, I see you got the chips and the drinks all laid out.

Yup.

Just like we used to do back at Pop's place.

Yeah.

Miranda and Janine took the kids to the mall,

so we got at least till halftime.

Yeah, yeah.

Man, can you believe that Janine got

all upset with Miranda over hanging

the toilet paper backwards?

What does that even mean?

Oh, if you hang the toilet paper

underneath, then you can't control the roll.

And when the roll is on top, you don't get enough.

Man, that is just ridiculous.

A brother like me, I'm just glad we got some toilet paper.

You know what I'm saying?

Why are women so petty?

Because they not men.

Oh, it's about to tip off.

Did you say tipoff?

No.

You mean kickoff.

No.

It's the Hawks game.

No.

See the Falcons come on at 7:00.

When you said game, I thought you meant basketball.

No, no.

I didn't mean that.

See because Football is king around here.

Well, we could just record one and watch the other.

That'd work.

Uh, you wanna pass the remote, so we can

watch my game and record yours?

Be my guest.

Thank you.

Hey, man.

What-- what happened to all that "Oprah" I recorded for Janine?

I erased it.

Oh, man.

You can't just erase a brother's "Oprah"

I mean that he recorded for his wife.

Man, calm down.

I'm sure it's gonna come on again.

That's not the point.

You can't just come into a brother's house

and erase his "Oprah."

You don't understand, man.

This is the last season of "Oprah," man.

They even got the behind-the-scenes thing

they showing.

You got to be able to watch this thing, man.

I don't believe you erased that "Oprah," man.

I sat here all day waiting for that "Oprah"

to come on and DVRed the whole thing.

And you just come in here and erase

it to watch the Hawks game.

That's ridiculous.

OK.

So you don't want me to work DVR anymore?

OK.

That's not what I'm saying.

All I'm saying is before you do anything, just ask.

Cool.

[SIGHING] Man.

Whoa, whoa.

Did you ask to wear my shoes?

These is yours?

Yeah.

Oh, they was in the basement.

I thought they was mine.

Are you gonna take off my shoes?

I'm sorry.

You know we wear the same size. [LAUGHING]

I got athlete's foot.

Uh, correction.

He's in a gang.

I ain't talking to you.

Understood.

I was in a gang for six months,

and it got me behind bars for the past 15 years.

Somebody must have been snitching.

Need to check your crew.

Shh.

You think joining a gang is some kind of game, some

kind of shoot-em-up fantasy.

But it doesn't get any more real than being locked

in a cage 23 hours a day.

You must feel right at home looking like a grizzly bear

in a orange onesie.

Come in here, and you won't see your mama till 2050.

I wanna see my mama right now.

Guard?

Guard?

Well, she not coming.

Sit down.

Over here.

Sorry.

Sorry.

You know I could take these two fingers and snap your neck,

rip out your spine, and pick my teeth with your bones.

Stand up.

I'm sorry.

I can't right now.

My legs stopped working.

Get up before I beat you so bad your mama

won't recognize you.

Wherever I walk, you walk.

You belong to me now.

You'll do whatever I want whenever I want.

[LAUGHING] Ah ha.

You think this is funny?

No.

But what is funny is the caterpillar that you got

crawling across your forehead.

Shh.

Shut your mouth.

Oh,

So you gonna be my girlfriend too.

Too?

Uh.

Um excuse me.

You need to be careful because he could snap

your neck with his two fingers.

He ain't gonna do nothing.

This ain't even real.

Anybody could punk him.

Punk.

Hey, I felt it coming.

I'm gone.

Where are you going?

Oh, I'm going to pop your daddy

beside the head for not knowing how to raise a real boy.

Get back here.

You can't hit me.

So what you gonna do?

I'm not playing with you.

You need to be playing with some breath mints.

You know, they told us not to put our hands on anybody,

but you about two seconds away from me breaking the rules.

Oh, come on.

Break the rules.

Ain't nobody scared of you.

I'm not your play toy.

I'm a grown man.

I don't play with kids. - Come on.

Let him go. Let him go.

Ain't nobody scared.

Ain't nobody scared. Floyd.

Hm?

Come on.

Floyd, Floyd. Wait.

Get him one time. Hit him.

Pop him. - Yeah.

[gasps]

What's the matter?

Did I scare you?

[LAUGHING] No.

I was--

You was out past your curfew.

Yeah.

But, you know, players got things to do.

Players gotta be home before the street lights come on.

So I heard you joined a gang.

Yeah.

Decatur Soldiers.

And Floyd already tried to scare me straight.

That was fun.

I'm not trying to scare you.

So you gonna hit me?

I would like to.

But that would make me feel too good, so it can't be right.

Follow me.

Dead man walking, walking the green mile.

What's all this?

This is all the stuff you came here

with, packed up, ready to go.

Oh, so you want me to leave?

I guess all that Christian stuff was some bull.

Y'all just like every other foster home.

Uh uh, no.

All that Christian stuff and all that, that's Ella.

That's not me.

OK.

And you not gonna disrespect my wife in my house.

Now her faith rubbing off on me just

a little bit is the reason why you

even made it past the doormat.

And now you want me to go?

This isn't about what I want.

This is about what you want for yourself.

Well, in that case, let me get a Benz with some chrome feet

on it and some Sierra's digits.

You know what I'm saying?

You so funny.

I know the gang love you.

What the hell is Rosiero Digit?

Being in a gang is only gonna get you--

Dead or in jail.

But it's Decatur Soldiers until I die.

Really?

OK.

What you doing?

Throwing the bags out.

Hey.

You don't know what it's like being on the streets.

What?

I couldn't hear you.

You don't know what it's like to be on the streets.

You don't know what it's like to be a grown man.

But that's what I'm trying to teach you,

Deshawn, how to be a grown man.

OK.

Being a grown man means you clean up your mistakes.

OK?

You stand on your own, even when nobody else is doing it.

And the sooner you learn that, the better off you will be.

I can stand on my own and be in a gang.

No, you can't.

You can't do it.

It's impossible.

Look.

If you wanna have friends that are gangbangers,

you have a nice life.

But if you wanna be a Payne, then go inside.

I'll put you in the Payne gang.

Question.

Do I have to get jumped in?

Hell, yeah.

Better than that, I'm gonna let you

jump yourself in by becoming a man of good character.

Character?

Yeah.

It refers to the kind of person you are.

Like?

Do you do what's right because it's right,

or because somebody's watching you?

Usually because Miss Ella's watching me.

There you go.

A grown man does what's right because it's right,

because he has integrity.

That, my brother, is a man of good character.

Wow.

No one's ever explained that to me.

Now you got it.

So what's it gonna be?

The Decatur Soldiers or the Paynes?

I wanna be a Payne.

You already are in more ways than one.

You need to go on inside.

It's getting late.

Can I get a snack?

Yeah.

Get you a snack, but stay away from my beers.

Hey, man.

You got to stop turning up my heat.

Have you seen my heat bill?

Yeah.

It's right here on the counter.

And it's pink.

You might want to handle that.

Janine is hot.

Well, you might want to get up there and handle that too.

I'm gonna eat my brownie.

I don't think so.

Where's my brownie?

In my stomach.

You ain't right.

Wait a minute.

Hey.

You just gonna drink out the carton?

Yeah.

Don't you?

Yeah.

That one.

Ew.

I'm gonna have nightmares.

Thanks a lot, C.J.

Thank you, Calvin, guest from hell.

Hey, I saw that.

Can't you just throw off the covers?

Can't you just put on another blanket?

No.

Come on, man.

Stop.

Look.

You see what you just did?

What I did?

Man, now I got to pay for heat and repairs.

And you need another carton of milk.

Good night.

Well, thank you.

How was I supposed to know that?

Yes, I'm sorry.

Thank you.

Ugh.

Curtis.

Curtis, they said we cannot file a missing persons report yet.

Baby, I already told you that.

The boy only been gone a few hours.

Ella, calm down.

Calm down. Calm down.

OK.

He's probably just out somewhere hot-wiring a car or something.

It just breaks my heart thinking

that this little boy is out there

somewhere by himself, Curtis.

Look.

We tried all we could.

OK.

Now he made a decision that he want to be a hustler,

so now he got to hustle his own food and clothes and shelter

and whatever else he needs.

Curtis, that is a child.

And we were supposed to protect him.

I told you don't kick him out.

I pleaded.

I asked you.

Baby, I didn't kick him out.

Well, where is he, Curtis?

I gave him a choice, Ella.

OK?

My goodness.

Baby, if you that upset, we can just go down to the bus station

and pick out another one tonight.

They got a bunch of runaways down there.

Curtis, he is not a runa--

oh, my god, Deshawn.

Curtis.

Deshawn, baby, what happened?

I got beat up.

Again?

You taking butt whoopings coming and going.

Put your dukes up.

Block.

Dukes up, block.

I'm sorry I lied to y'all.

You said a man has to clean up his mistakes,

and that's what I did.

I'm not in a gang anymore, so they jumped me out.

It's not what I want to be.

Well, what do you want to be?

A man with character like you.

- Ow. - See?

You don't block.

Good morning.

You done with that sports page?

No.

Buttery.

Man, this is ridiculous.

I mean living together shouldn't be this tense.

We've done this before.

With more people.

Well, we should be able to work something out.

We could make a schedule, set down some ground rules.

Nah.

Nah.

We should be able to come up with a mature solution.

Wanna arm wrestle?

Nah, nah.

It looks like you've been working out.

Wanna shoot some hoops?

Nah.

No.

My game ain't what it used to be.

I know what we could do.

We could do it the way we used to do it

back in Uncle Curtis's house.

Slap box.

No.

Rock, paper, scissors.

I'm with that. I'm with that.

OK.

So let's play for the TV for tonight then.

- Bang! - OK.

All right, all right, all right.

Oh.

"Oprah."

Watching me some "Oprah," you know, for Janine.

No, no, no, no.

Best two out of three.

Oh, you wanna go again?

You ain't said nothing.

All right, all right, all right.

What is that?

Fire. Fire.

I burnt your rock up.

Fire?

Since when has fire been a part of rock, paper, scissor?

Since the house is mine.

I set you on fire.

Excuse me.

I need to watch me some "Oprah."

Get to watch "Oprah."

Thank you.

I see you're still cheating like you used to.

I see I'm still watching "Oprah."

All right.

Cool.

I saw that.

[music playing]