Original subtitles

Good times, anytime you need a payment, good times, anytime you need a free,

good times, anytime you're up and under, not getting hassled, not getting

hustled, keeping your head up for water,

making a way when you can, temporary layoffs, good times, easy

credit ripoffs, good times.

I'll tell you, Thelma, at the price of food today, the only folks who can

to go into the market are the shoplifters.

Well, it's all an economic plan.

As the size of things gets smaller, the cost of things gets larger.

Hey, Ma, you want to taste something delicious?

You know my teacher, Miss Bishop? She's coming over, and she's going to bring me

a book on ballet, and I want to pick something really special.

Oh, Thelma, I don't know when I've tasted anything better.

What is it?

It's guacamole, Mom.

Miss Bishop, isn't that the teacher who's going to take you to the ballet?

Yeah, oh, Mom, I can hardly wait.

Oh, Mom, wait till you meet her. She's such a beautiful person. Oh, Mommy, oh,

and she really loves me. Well,

if she decides to stay for dinner, we'll have plenty.

I bought some of that ghetto...

stretcher, ham hock helper.

After which you can take some hard burn helper.

Hey, Ma, did you iron my shirt yet? Oh, no, I didn't. JJ, can't you wear another

one? No, Ma, I need that one. That's the one with the palm trees and the animals

on it, because I got a date with Barbara the Barbarian tonight.

I need that shirt to set the mood.

break the mood.

So I'll get your shirt for you.

Hey, gal, what are you trying to do, poison the family with those green clams

that dip?

That's guacamole.

Well, your guac look a little moldy there.

Oh, J .D., you're going to stick around to meet my teacher tonight, aren't you?

Can't do it, Thelma. I got a date with Barbara the Barbarian tonight, and if I

don't feed her on time, she roars like a lion.

But when I finished, she purged like a kitten.

Hey, JJ. Hi, Thelma. Any calls for me? No.

Hey, Mr. Freeze.

What did I tell you about spraying yourself with cologne from my personal

arsenal?

Listen, young man, you could afford to share with your brother. That's right.

Hey, Ma, I don't mind sharing, but he been using my cologne like a junkie. He

been mainlining his sneakers with it.

All right.

Here's Bologna Woods with some out -of -sight goods. Come here, Thelma. Hold

And don't peek.

You see, Thelma, your fairy godmother has not forgotten you.

Super lame for your first ballet.

Oh, Bologna, this is beautiful.

Thank you. Bologna, the dress is beautiful, but we can't afford it.

Do you have any idea what I had to go through to get that dress at the shop? I

had to sneak out the back, climb over the fence, lift Belle down. The dog

me, lost my eyelash, and you gonna tell me you ain't not gonna use that dress?

You've got to be crazy.

Well, well, Lord, I hope you can teach that dress to boogie down, because I'll

take it dancing next week. Oh.

Well, I shall return.

Oh, I'm so excited. I can't believe it. I can get some silver shoes. Oh, and I

just can't wait till Miss Bishop sees it. I know, Thelma. But remember, when

sit down, don't wrinkle the dress, don't crease it, don't spill nothing on it,

and don't press fine.

Can you smile at me?

Was I cool enough for you, Thelma?

And this is my brother, Michael.

Hi, Miss Bishop.

And this is my neighbor, Walona Woods.

How are you? Nice to meet you. My brother, JJ, will be out in a minute.

Please sit down.

Thank you.

Ah, Thelma has told us so many nice things about you, Miss Bishop.

Jessica. Yeah, I bet you don't have to hit your desk with a ruler to get

attention. Michael.

Miss Bishop, would you like to try this?

Oh.

Mmm.

I can't remember when I've tasted better guacamole.

Thelma made it.

Oh, have some more.

That's exciting.

Oh, it's just a recipe I found in a magazine.

I'm referring to this picture on the wall.

You know, it really jumps out at me. J .J. painted it. Yeah, and he painted

one, too.

Wow. He did this, too? Yeah, would you like to see some of his latest? Oh, I'd

love to. More guacamole, Mrs.? You see, I'm sort of a Sunday painter myself, but

nothing like this. Is this your more guacamole?

Oh, no, thank you, Sam.

How do you like it?

Oh, yes, I love it.

It's got so much soul.

Yeah, well, J .J. calls this one hassle on a hot Saturday night.

Yeah, well, J .J. calls this one Funky Butt.

Mrs.

Evans, you sure have a poetic son.

Barbara Barbarian, you don't stand a chance because J .J. Evans is set for

romance.

More poetic than that.

Well, my little Ebony Body is about to leave this abode, so arrivederci,

Bon voyage, Lord. sister.

I'll be the same mother there.

Hey, she ride, she ride, little bride.

And, uh... Hello there, mama.

Hello, J .J. I'm Jessica.

I've been looking at your paintings, J .J.

Michael, get your brother a glass of water.

Or some Kool -Aid.

Kool -Aid, honey. Need some first aid.

Why don't we all sit down and have a nice visit?

Uh, but J .J. was just leaving. I love your paintings, J .J.

Oh, really? Oh,

uh, really?

J .J., if you have to rush off to your appointment, I'm sure Miss Bishop will

understand.

Appointment? What appointment?

Barbara the Barbarian.

Oh, uh, uh, uh, she called and said she couldn't make it. The computer dating

service fixed up with, uh, Teen Calm.

Miss Bishop, can I get you a cup of coffee? No, Mrs. Evans, I really must be

leaving. Oh, Thelma, I almost forgot the ballet book I promised you. Oh, yeah,

thank you so much, Miss Bishop. You're welcome. Do you have to leave so soon?

I'm afraid I have to.

J .J., why don't you walk Miss Bishop to her car?

Ma!

Well, you just Xeroxed my thoughts.

Well, if you parked in this neighborhood, you're going to need me to

the return of your vehicle.

That's very nice of you, J .J.

Bye. Bye -bye, Miss Bishop.

Pure wetting.

You really love to paint, don't you?

Yeah, I guess it's my thing. You know, I could lose myself and find myself at

the same time.

Yeah, and it shows in your paintings. They're so, so alive, so masculine, so

sensuous. Well, what can I say?

A man paints what he is.

Well, when did you first start painting all those beautiful ghetto scenes?

Well, it happened in high school. My art teacher used to always say, paint

something with grass and trees with cows in it. But I'm from the ghetto. I ain't

never seen no cows.

And the only green grass I ever seen was on the top of a pool table.

J .J., what would you do if you had to suddenly stop painting tomorrow?

Play fullback for the Chicago Bears.

No.

Oh, I can't imagine not painting.

JJ, you don't ever have to worry. You're great.

Say that again.

Say what?

Say anything. I just like to watch your mouth make those words.

JJ, turn that off.

JJ.

JJ!

Uh -oh.

JJ!

Oh, no, he didn't come home last night.

Michael, aren't you going to be late for school?

No, Ma.

What time did your brother come home?

I don't know. I was asleep.

Was it after midnight?

I was sleeping, too.

J .J. hasn't been home before midnight since he met Miss Bishop four days ago.

J .J., Michael has to get in there.

Oh, Ma, that's all right. I can wait.

Good morning, Ma.

Good morning. Thelma, your brother is in there.

Well, if he was, somebody must have flushed him.

Michael, I'll call the plumber.

Don't you pull that on me.

Where's your brother?

Hey, come, it's an emergency.

If it is an emergency, it's gonna be you.

Che Che didn't come home last night, did he?

Oh, my God.

him, I'll tell him you're looking for him.

Oh, JJ, I was so worried about you, honey. Oh, are you all right, baby? Oh,

God, I had all kinds of thoughts about you. I'm fine, Ma, I'm fine.

What do you mean by staying out all night?

Why do you worry me that way?

Ma, I'm not going to make up any stories.

I'm not going to jive you, so I got a confession to make. What is it?

I wasn't home last night.

J .J.? All right, Ma. I was with Miss Bishop painting.

You could have painted the Empire State Building by now.

You know how it is when you're having fun. Time flies.

Of course, we were painting. Then we ran out of paint. So we drove downtown to

this after -hours paint joint. And, uh, J .J.? Not going for the paint

store, huh?

I want you to know you're setting a bad example for your sister and your

brother. I don't think so, Ma.

I kind of like having a bit of it all to myself. Except for one thing.

Got lonely not having anybody kicking or pulling the covers off of me.

Well, next time I stay out all night, I'll send somebody over to kick you.

Oh, well, guess who's coming to breakfast?

The scrawny sex symbol of the South Side.

Hey, Thumb, I can't help it if I was born with all this charm. and charisma.

It was thrust upon me.

Well, me and your charisma are going to have a talk.

That makes the time for you and Mike to go to school? Yes.

Bye, Mom.

See you later, Mom.

Okay.

Bye, Big Head.

Thelma.

Now, JJ, I'm not going to...

JJ, I am worried about you. Hey, Ma, there ain't nothing to worry about.

Honey, I've worried about you since you were a baby, when you had chicken pox,

when you had measles. Hey, Ma, Jessica isn't contagious. You ain't gonna catch

her.

JJ, I know you think you're the Hank Aaron of love, but I just don't want to

you get raped. Ma, no way that's gonna happen. I mean, life has changed for me,

especially in the last four days.

I mean, before this, life was just a hamburger.

But ever since I met Jessica, it's the end cut of a prime reel.

I know that Miss

Bishop is a fine person.

And you're a very special young man to me, too.

You know, what can I say?

This is the first time you've ever gone out with a real woman.

How do you know you're ready for it? at the girls you've been dating.

Teenagers. Ma, the soul train of love has chugged on by that stuff.

I mean, I've outmatured them.

JJ, I know you're not a little boy, and I'm not trying to cut you down.

Honey, you're flying high now.

I hope you're not heading for a crash landing.

Hey, oh, hello, Tarzan.

I got the bracelet you wanted.

Did you get it engraved with love?

Well, here's the message he wanted.

To Jessica, the most beautiful, enchanting, exciting woman I ever met

Evans. The most beautiful, enchanting, exciting man I ever met.

And at ten cents a letter, the words cost more than a bracelet.

Well, then what'd you say?

To J .B. from J .J. with L.

That's it all, my love.

Son, I hope you know what you're doing.

Ma, don't worry. Everything will be fine. I'm late from work. I'll talk to

all later. Bye.

Okay, talk to you later. Bye, baby.

Ooh, Flo JJ is as happy as a kid at Christmas time.

Yeah.

I don't like the toys he's playing with.

Something tells me Jessica's tap dancing on your last nerve.

Well, Lona, tell me something. What?

You've gone out with lots of guys.

Now, I ain't exactly Elizabeth Taylor, but on the other hand, I'm not ready for

the convent either.

Some of them nice guys.

Some of them tall.

Some of them skinny.

Some of them richer.

Some of them a little older. And some of them were... A little younger.

Well, now that you've said it... What...

Flo, do you want to know what happens?

Yeah.

Well, it was romantic.

Exciting.

Fantastic.

Mystical. And also heartbreaking.

Oh, Lola.

For him, honey.

I'm going to catch you after work, okay?

Oh, speaking of your last nerve.

Good morning, Mrs. Evans. Is JJ in? I'd like to give him a ride to work.

Uh, he just left.

But why don't we three sit down and have some coffee?

Lord knows I wish I could stay.

Well,

I gotta get to the boutique we have in the white sale. A what?

We selling the landlord.

I think maybe I better go, too.

Oh, please stay.

Uh, can I get you a cup of coffee?

Have you started drinking Kool -Aid these last few days?

No, thank you, Mrs. Evans. I've had my breakfast.

Look, Mrs. Evans, I didn't keep your son in my apartment against his will. He

wanted to be with me.

You probably served him cookies and milk at 2 a .m.

I don't get it every time.

Mrs. Evans, why don't we talk to each other and not at each other?

All right, Miss Bishop.

You probably are about, uh, 32?

35. I was thinking 37.

Exactly what do you want with my son?

The same thing any woman wants from someone she loves, just to be with him.

You really think you love J .J., don't you?

Mrs. Evans, you love J .J. Why can't you accept that other people love him, too?

I can, but I'm going to go on loving him.

What's going to happen to my son when you stop?

Mrs. Evans, what makes you think I'm going to stop?

Miss Bishop, you're 15 years older than J .J.

It's got to end.

Mrs. Evans, that's not going to happen.

That's not going to happen.

I don't want you to go home ever.

Why don't you move in with me tonight?

Hey, I will.

And the next night and the night after that and the night after that and the

night after that and the night after that, I go home and change my clothes.

Why, J .J.? Aren't we talking about the same thing? I'm talking commitment.

Uh,

sure we are. Uh, commitment?

Yes.

Darling, I want to share everything with you.

Our lives, our thoughts, our feelings, everything.

Yeah, that sounds cool.

Why don't you go home, get your things, bring them back here, and move in?

You mean, really?

Move in? Yes.

Yes, I want to share everything.

My friends, your friends.

Oh, yes. Yeah, you'll love my friends, especially Bouncy and Cool Breeze and

Munchy and Popbo.

We can go to movies, the museum, walking in the park, everything.

Yeah. It's going to be so wonderful.

Yeah, beautiful. Let me go get a glass of water over here.

J .J., you're excited too, aren't you?

Oh, yeah.

Only, uh, only... Only... Only what, JJ?

Only, uh... I don't want to hang my family up like this.

JJ, what do you mean?

Well, I can't walk out on them like this.

I mean, Ma's the best cook in town.

Michael does my income tax.

Thelma loans me money.

That family needs me.

JJ, it's not really your family, is it? You're scared of what I've been saying

to you.

Me, scared of moving in?

Me,

the dude who took on five Satanites and four warlords at one time single

-handedly? Me, scared?

Me, the dude who walks through the ghetto alone at night?

Me, scared?

Are you?

Yes.

You keep talking about we, and I ain't had time to find me yet.

I see.

I'm crowding you.

You've got to find your own faith.

Yeah, I guess I do. But we could still be friends.

I mean, I could go out and get some pizza right now with some pepperoni and

sausage. What else do you like on it?

Thank you, J .J., but pizza isn't in my diet anymore.

JJ.

Do me a favor and tell your mother that it wasn't me who stopped.

Just looking out of the window, watching the asphalt grow,

thinking how it all looks and we die.

Good times, good times, keeping your head above water, making a

wave when you can.

Temporary layoffs, good times.

Good times is videotaped in front of a studio audience.