Original subtitles

Well, we're moving on up, moving on up, too deep down, moving on up, to a

deep...

I didn't bend my knees.

Okay, just lie down there for a minute and relax.

Now that I can do.

Honestly, girl, you feel like a new person as soon as we work our way

this book.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how to do your own facial.

Facial? Sure, it's good for your skin.

Why don't you show me how you could get up a couple of cold drinks?

Coming right up.

Exercise? You gonna land on the floor and scare the hell out of me exercising?

Well, right now, I'm relaxing.

Well, do me a favor, will you? Next time you relax, keep on moving.

Hello, Mr. J. I'm off. I've known that for a long time.

George!

Oh, no, I mean I'm off to the mountains for the weekend.

Come in, Mr. Bentley.

Oh, hi, George, Mr. Bentley.

Is this? I got weirdos coming out every door.

Who's hiding in the bathroom? The tidy bowl man?

Louise and I were exercising together.

Will you ever try this?

What will that do for me?

It'll take you back up to your own apartment.

I guess we can finish later, Louise.

Meanwhile, maybe you can teach George some exercises to improve his

coordination. Co - Coordination? Are you jiving? I got perfect coordination.

I'm talking about the coordination between your brain and your mouth.

What are you doing here anyway, baby? Your wife promised to babysit my plants

while I'm gone. Here are my apartment keys, Mrs. J.

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be getting away.

Oh, you can, huh? Well, goodbye.

Ah, the cascading streams, the scent of the pines, the beauty of Virginia.

Isn't Virginia a little far away just for the weekend?

Oh, no, Virginia's in New Jersey.

It is?

Oh, I don't mean the state of Virginia. I mean my friend Virginia.

Although, come to think of it, she's in a lovely state, too.

We're going camping together in the Adirondacks.

Oh, that sounds like fun.

Not for Virginia.

Hey, Marcus.

Hey, everybody.

Come in.

Hey, Marcus, how's my best new employee?

I don't know how he is, boss, but I...

cleaning before I go home. Thanks, Marcus.

Well, Marcus, how do you find your job?

I just jump off the bus, walk down the street till I come to a sign.

Just jiving you, Mr. Bentley. My job is going great.

Hey, Mr.

Jefferson, I really appreciate you and them people at the health center for

getting me this part -time work.

Oh, don't thank me.

That's right, thank me. I'm the one who's paying you.

Big boots, Mr. Bentley.

Going cockroach killing?

Oh, no, I don't believe in blood sports.

But I'm going to be doing a lot of hiking this weekend.

Yeah? Oh, yes, I hope to log 20 miles on my pedometer.

You taking a motorbike?

No, Mr. J, a pedometer is an instrument that measures how far you've walked. You

see?

Oh, does that thing really work?

Oh, yes, it's quite accurate.

You think it'll measure how far it is from here to the elevator?

Most definitely.

It's exactly...

Where's Mr. Bentley

going? He's going camping in the Adirondacks.

Camping? Oh, that sounds great.

Oh, you like camping, Marcus?

I don't know. I ain't never been.

Oh, that's a shame.

Yeah. My dad promised to take me camping on my birthday last year, but we never

went.

I have my heart all set on it, too.

Hey, how would you like to have a piece of Florence's upside -down cake? Sure,

Miss Jefferson. Go and cut yourself a big piece. Florence left the cake on the

counter, and there's a knife and fork in the drawer. All right.

And if that don't work, there's a hammer and a saw in the closet.

Oh, I feel sorry for Marcus. Me, too, having to eat Florence's cooking.

Can't you see how much he wants to go camping?

So? Well, nobody will take him.

We all out of scotch.

I wish there was something I could do.

There is. Find me some scotch.

Maybe we could ask Mr. Bentley.

Hey, that's my Bentley drink, scotch. Give me the keys.

No, George.

I meant maybe Mr.

Bentley would take him camping with him sometime.

Or maybe you could take him. Me?

Yeah, why not?

Because I hate camping.

When have you been camping before?

Never. Why should I do something I hate?

But George... Look, Weezy, if Marcus wants to go camping, tell him to ask his

father to take him.

His father's already broken one promise.

He's probably too busy to take him camping, just like you were when Lionel

kid. I wasn't too busy. I was too broke.

Well, you're not too broke now.

No, now I'm too smart.

You've got the time and the money.

You could take him camping if you wanted to. If I wanted to. So let's forget it.

I think you're being very selfish.

No, I ain't. And I don't want to hear no more about it.

Yeah, who's this?

Oh, hi, Mom. How are you?

Man, Miss Jefferson, this steak is real good.

I hope it won't spoil your dinner.

No, my mom does that when she cooks it.

Well, I better get going.

Are you working tomorrow, Marcus? Yeah, I got to be there at nine.

Oh, no, you don't.

I don't?

You find me? No, I'm giving you the day off. You and me going camping.

You are?

For real?

We going up to the mountains? Right on.

Well, all right!

You know, Lee, I told you you'd like the idea.

sure that you and me can hell it up there? I mean, I don't know nothing

camping, do you? Sure I do.

You do?

Ain't nothing to it. All you gotta do is drive up to the woods, park your car,

get out and walk until you find some grass and then sit down.

And I thought you didn't know anything about camping. No.

Well, what about it, Marcus?

Okay. You sure you want to do this?

Sure, I'm sure. Look, we're gonna run up some camping equipment before the

store's closed.

See you later, Wee.

Bye, Miss Jefferson.

George. What?

I don't know what changed your mind, but you're wonderful.

Well, as you know, Margaret wants to go camping. Somebody ought to take him.

Oh, I almost forgot.

What? Oh, that was Mama on the phone.

She's having an apartment painted tomorrow.

So?

So I told her she could come over and spend the weekend with us.

With us?

But you're going camping?

Oh, that's fine.

What a shame.

Well, I guess I have to miss out on all the fun.

But never mind, Weezy. You and Mama have a good time together.

You sure you know how to do this, Mr. Jefferson?

Of course I'm sure. Ain't nothing to it. All you got to do is keep these two

poles tight.

Take out some of this slack on your end.

Any idiot can put up a tent.

Hey!

Not that much.

Hold on, hold on.

I know what I'm doing here.

I don't think you're supposed to do that, Mr. Jefferson. Ain't no tank on

people.

Maybe instead of sleeping in it, we can sleep on it.

Oh, we don't even need no tent.

Real campers sleep under the stars.

Look, there's a full moon.

Full moon?

Gotta give more life for the cougars.

Cougars? What you talking about? There are not no automobiles up here.

I meant mountain lions.

Lions? What you talking like that for?

I'm sorry, boss. I didn't mean to scare you. Scare me? You kidding? You can't

scare me with no mountain lion talk.

Why don't you go on out and get some wood so we can build a campfire?

Me?

Go in there?

Well, you supposed to be so big and bad.

Right.

Maybe I'll get lucky and run into a Girl Scout.

not a tree.

Sorry, pal.

Forced a habit.

When you're hunting, you gotta learn to move quiet.

Well, ain't no animals around here, so you might as well just keep on moving.

Barney Hunter.

George Dry Cleaner.

No, my last name's Hunter. Barney Hunter.

You City Boy?

Well, you call him Boy.

I mean, you're from the city, ain't you?

Yeah. How do you know? Well, ain't many of you folks around these parts.

And what do you mean by you folks?

Dry cleaners.

Be quiet. What? What is it? What?

What? Don't move.

Don't shoot.

I ain't got no money.

It's all right. It's just Mark.

Sorry, but you could have been something.

Yeah. Dead.

Boss.

Man, you wouldn't believe what just happened. What?

I was out there picking up some wood and something ran by me. What was it? I

didn't stick around the air.

All I know is I heard it growl.

Oh, just probably a wolf.

Wolf?

There's plenty of them around these parts. Ain't nothing to be scared of.

Hear that, Marcus? Ain't nothing to be scared of.

Yeah. Well, I'll be getting on home.

You live around here?

I have a cabin about three miles from here.

Ain't nothing better than living in the woods.

That's what I keep telling Marcus.

I'm living back in the old city. Look, if you ever die that way, look me up on

the Jefferson Cleaners.

Thanks, but there ain't much chance of that.

I ain't been to the city in a coon's age.

I mean, in a long time.

Well, take care of yourselves, you hear?

Freeze to death.

This is funny how you ain't walking.

It is?

Oh, this is better than being at home.

Mama's probably driving Wheezy crazy right now.

Oh, isn't this fun, Louise?

Having the whole weekend to ourselves.

No Tom, no George. No Mother Jefferson.

I'm so glad she didn't come for the weekend after all.

Helen!

Hmm? How long do I have to keep this on?

Oh, just let it set for two or three days.

Two or three days?

Just kidding, girl. Let the mask set for ten minutes, then wash it off.

Just don't laugh or your face will crack.

Just hope it all comes off.

If George ever saw me like this, he'd turn white.

Hello.

Mrs. Jefferson?

Hi, Ralph.

Is your husband here?

No, he's out of town.

Out of town?

That's a shame.

Why? Well, Stevie Wonder is giving a benefit concert at Lincoln Center

I know. George tried to get tickets, but they are sold out.

Exactly. Only he mentioned to me if I could get my hands on two tickets, he'd

make it worth my while.

But since he's not here... Wait, Ralph.

You have two tickets for Stevie Wonder's concert? Yes, ma 'am.

You'll never know what I went through to get these tickets.

I pleaded with other doormen, phoned a lot of scalpers, tried to bribe a

But, well...

I guess I'll find someone who could use them. You just did.

Helen, you want to go?

Do I?

I'd love to.

How much did Mr. Jefferson say he'd give you for the tickets, Ralph? He didn't,

ma 'am. But then you know how generous Mr. Jefferson is.

I guess you don't.

Two of the best seats in the house. There must be plenty of people who'd

get their hands on these.

That's it, Ralph.

What is the favor to you, Mrs. Jefferson?

Thanks a lot, Ralph.

Mrs. Jefferson, your face.

I know, Ralph. It's white.

No, it's cracked.

Stevie Wonder!

Oh, George is going to be so mad he missed it.

Don't you just love it out here, Marcus?

No traffic.

No bathroom.

No customers complaining about their cleaning.

No place to buy a nice, hot hamburger.

No Willis.

Nobody to help us if something happens.

Something happens like what?

Well, like some wild animal coming after us, like a bear.

Oh, is that all?

You ain't got to worry about that.

Look, if a bear comes around here, I know exactly what to do.

You do?

What? We just throw it one of them meatloaf sandwiches Florence made for

If that don't kill it, nothing will.

You know, Mr. Jefferson, you're a real nice guy.

I mean, taking me camping like this.

Well, maybe if you tell your father how much you enjoy this, he'll take you

sometime.

Ain't no chance of that.

Sure it is.

No, there ain't.

Look. Maybe you had a good reason for not taking it before. You ever think of

that?

You died, man.

Your father's dead?

He died two weeks before my last birthday.

And you still mad at him for not taking you camping?

You don't understand.

No, I understand. You're the one who don't understand.

What?

You ain't mad at your father for not taking you camping.

You mad at him for dying.

That's bull, man.

You don't know what it's like having an old man who makes all kinds of promises

but don't stick around to keep none of them.

What kind of promises?

Well, like playing baseball.

I remember lots of times when I was a kid, I used to sit on the stoop with my

old raggedy mitt waiting for my old man to come home so he could play catch.

But when he did come home on time...

He was so tired from loading them two trucks, he could barely make it down the

sidewalk.

I asked him to play catch with me, but he just didn't have enough energy left.

He sit me on his knee and say, Marcus, one of these days, things are going to

get better.

And me and you are going to have all kinds of time to play ball.

I promise.

Things never did get better.

Marcus, look. And all I got left is an old baseball bit and a bunch of broken

palms.

Marcus, I know where you're coming from.

My old man died when I was 10.

He did?

Yeah. He made a lot of promises to me he never had time to keep.

Well, weren't you mad about that?

Sure I was at first, but then I realized he didn't really believe he'd be able

to keep those promises.

And your old man probably didn't believe it either.

Then why'd he lie to me?

Well, he didn't lie to you.

I mean, he had to make those promises so he'd have something to look forward to.

I mean, of course, without promises of things getting better, he wouldn't have

had anything to go on. And the old man wouldn't have had nothing to keep him

going either.

But he shouldn't have made no promises, man, if he knew they wasn't going to

come true.

What are you talking about? Them promises can still come true.

How?

Well, it ain't easy, but it's up to you to work out and make them come true.

I mean, your old man died trying.

Or else you could just sit around blaming your father, which ain't gonna

nothing, which is stupid.

Mr. Jefferson.

Hey, look what you're doing. You're burning your marshmallow.

Here.

Reminds me of the Willisons.

I'm going to make those promises good, Dad.

I promise.

Hey, you all right?

I'm fine.

I just got some smoke up my eyes.

Enjoying yourself?

Yeah.

You know, this camp, it ain't half bad.

It ain't half good, neither.

You know, I just thought of a better place to pitch our camp.

Where is that?

Nearest motel.

All right.

Camp!

Oh, I feel great, Helen. This weekend really did me good.

And wasn't that a fabulous concert?

What?

Oh, he's not back yet. I guess he and Marcus must be enjoying themselves.

Well, he's there. Guess who's back?

Oh, speak of the devil, and in he walks.

Talk to you later, Hallie. Bye.

Hi, George.

Did you have a good time? A good time? We had a great time. Just lying out

under the stars, listening to the peace and quiet.

I wish I could have stayed another week.

Wonderful. Did Marcus enjoy himself, too?

Oh, yeah, he was kind of scared at first, with all them wolves and mountain

lions hanging around.

Mountain lions?

Yeah, but they don't bother you. All you got to do is just stare them down.

And after Marcus saw I knew what I was doing, he wasn't scared no more.

Oh, I'm so proud of you, George. I would have been scared.

I know. Oh, almost forgot. I bought you a little... Souvenir from the woods.

What's that?

It's a pine cone.

I had to climb a great big old oak tree to get you there.

I mean that.

That? That's my foot.

Move it, George.

Ain't you gonna look at the pine cone I brought you?

The fire... Morris Lodge Motel. George, what?

Well, we got kind of cold out there, so me and Marcus stayed in a nice,

comfortable motel, right?

Well, it wasn't that nice.

Is Mama here?

No. She left already?

No. She never came over.

Why not?

One of the painters got sick, so she's having her apartment painted next

weekend.

Next weekend?

Yes. Isn't that nice?

She'll be able to spend Saturday and Sunday with you after all. Me? What

you? Oh, what a shame.

But I promise Helen I'll go to the health spa with her.

But never mind. You and Mother Jefferson have a good time together.

The Jeffersons was videotaped in front of a studio audience.