Original subtitles

I can't write that.

Damn. Um...

Hello, Mr. Emerson.

Hello, how're you doin', Tommy? What's up?

I'm sellin' chocolate bars for the school.

But you probably don't wanna buy any, though.

Hey, hey, hey, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy

now, what kind of sales pitch is that?

Hey, man, your presentation sucks eggs, know what I mean?

Yeah, it-it's, uh, it's kinda lame.

Listen, uh, what, what are you sellin' those for?

Well, the school wants to build a science lab

or buy new band uniforms or somethin'.

Well, then you should let people know that right off, Tommy.

Let 'em know it's for a worthy cause.

Folks are suckers for that kinda stuff.

Yeah, I want you to try this again, okay?

I'mma close this door

and I want you to give it another shot, alright?

- Okay. - Alright.

Let's kill it this time.

Uh, hey, Roc, you wanna get that?

♪ Them that got shall have ♪

♪ Them that's not shall lose ♪

♪ So the Bible says ♪

♪ And it still is news ♪

♪ Mama may have papa may have ♪

♪ But God bless the child that's got his own ♪

♪ That's got his own ♪ Them that's got shall get ♪

♪ God bless the child ♪ Them that's not shall lose ♪

♪ Them that's got shall get ♪

♪ Them that's not shall lose ♪

Hey, hey, check this out, everybody!

For the third time in a row

our man Fred has won the perfect attendance award.

Oh, man, okay that, okay.

Day in and day out you're here before everyone else

and you're always the last to leave.

- How do you do it? - You ever meet my old lady?

Hey, hey, hey, how's it goin', Leon?

Okay, I guess.

How's your wife doin'?

I told you once before, she left me.

Couldn't stand bein' married to no garbage collector.

Ah, some women, always lookin' for someone

with more money or class.

She left me for a sewer worker.

- Hey, what you doin' there? - Packin' up.

Been forced out. A mandatory retirement.

So congratulations!

Hey, what did they give you, a gold watch?

- Huh! - A vacation?

A plaque?

This here gym bag.

Oh, it looks like a...

Well, looks like a realnicegym bag.

It's, uh, it's real sturdy.

You know I wish they made trash bag this strong.

Well, I'll see ya at the big send off, okay?

Ain't nothin' being planned for me.

I'm a garbage man, Emerson. Nobody cares.

Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute now.

Wait a minute. That's not true.

A lot of people care. Hey, Leon, I care.

Oh, yeah? Why?

Well, I'm just that way.

Look, Roc, we get treated just like the work we do.

I'm getting thrown out just like people throw out their garbage.

Hey, you're wrong, Leon.

Hey. It's the way it is, man.

Now, get over it.

I did.

Congratulations again on your retirement, Leon!

Oh, it's a damn shame, ain't it, Fred?

All those years of service and all he gets

is a, is a lousy gym bag.

That's all we have to look forward to.

- Well, ain't so bad, Roc. - What do you mean?

Well, I was gonna buy me a gym bag

but, uh, I'm gonna wait now.

I mean, Leon said so himself, he's being thrown out

in the street like garbage without so much as a thank you.

After he told me, you know, I got so mad

I started to go up to the union steward's office

and tell him about it.

Then I remembered, Leon's the union steward.

Oh, that's a damn shame, Roc.

I mean, even when Carl, the mailman, retired

I got him a great, big, expensive bottle of Scotch.

Yeah, I bet he liked that, huh, pop?

Well, he would have, but I forgot to give it to him.

Would you boys like some? It's imported.

Okay, Roc, so the guy collects trash for a lot of years

and now he doesn't. So why, why are you so upset?

'Cause it ain't right, I mean, a man works his butt off

his whole life, and nobody gives a damn.

I mean, just, just force him out like he doesn't exist.

I mean, something should be done.

Well, I can empathize with your friend Leon.

I know what it's like to retire without as much as a goodbye.

Really, dad? What, that happen to you?

Sure did. You can imagine.

After bein' on the railroad for over 35 years

I was expectin' a big retirement party.

But when I pulled into the station

and hopped off that train

there was nothin', no one.

- Not a soul. - That's it, pop!

That's what I'll do! A retirement party!

You gonna throw me a retirement party?

- Oh, thank you, son. - Ah.

No, I'm gonna throw Leon a retirement party.

Man, who the hell is Leon?

The guy I've been tellin' you about!

Oh, I don't believe this.

I bring up one of the most traumatic events in my life

and nobody cares. Oh.

Damn shame, ain't it, Malcolm?

What am I talking to you for? You weren't there either.

A retirement party'd be just the thing to send Leon off in style!

Hell, maybe even change his whole outlook on life.

You know, you're a beautiful, beautiful man, Roc.

I just hope you're alive when I retire.

Hope I'm alive when you get a job.

Oh.. I've got the gauze

and I got the fiber glass, let's get that cast on.

Oh, no, I can't help you with your class project.

I can't explain it now, I've got a million things to do

for Leon's retirement party. I've gotta get refreshments.

I've gotta get the guys, I've gotta get Leon

I gotta get fork, spoons...

Oh, I guess I could explain it.

Alright, I'll see you later.

Come on, Joey, let's get to work.

Uh-uh, uh-uh, no, no, I'm not gonna

walk around here with no cast on my arm.

Can't you do somethin' else for your class project?

Yeah, I could prep you for a hernia operation.

Well, let's start wrappin' that cast.

Alright.

♪ Oh whoa whoa oh ♪

What do ya think, pop?

That L you made looks like a P.

"Congratulations on your retirement, Peon!"

Oh, that's gonna make him feel real good.

Oh, come on, pop, don't you give me a hard time, too.

I had enough trouble tryin' to get Leon to come here

for this, I mean, he wouldn't agree to come

until I convinced him that all his friends

really wanted to be here to wish him well.

See, you wouldn't have had this problem with me, son.

I already live here.

Oh, you still mad at me for not throwin' you a party?

Hell, no. Well, I'm too hurt to be mad.

Hey, where are they? They should've been here by now.

What are you gonna do when Leon gets here

and sees that the only guy that showed up

is that skinny little white man?

Mr. Emerson, why am I here again?

Uh, Mr. Mate, you're here as a representative of the people

who live on Leon's route.

Oh, yeah. But why me?

Well, the truth is you were the only one who wasn't too scared

to open the door to me.

Well, it's not that I'm not on it

but in all good conscience, I just don't think

I can say something nice about somebody I never met.

On the other hand, he did contribute greatly

to the quality of my life. I love the man.

Thank you.

You know, uh, what you set up here is real nice

and I'm sure, uh, Peon will be touched.

- That's, that's Leon. - Whatever. Look.

I was thinkin', if you really wanna send this guy off

in style, how about a stripper?

- A stripper? - Semi-nude, of course.

- I got a couple of numbers. - No, no, thank you, no, no.

Come on, table dancing is fun.

- For the whole family. - 'No, no, no.'

Hey, one of them does that thing with the tie.

I said no!

And you pretend to care for this man?

Here you go, baby, it's the last of the sandwiches.

- Thank you, sweetheart. - Oh, you're welcome.

Oh, here they are! Heh-heh.

It's party time!

Hey, hey, thank God you're here, Freddy.

- Hey, Roc, how you doin', man? - Hey.

Where's everybody? You invited them, didn't you?

Yeah, but the guys aren't comin'.

They'd rather go to the ball game.

'Oh, my God, Leon thinks'

all the guys'll be here to wish him well. He'll be crushed.

I don't believe those guys would do that to a fellow-worker.

Yeah, it's heartless and inexcusable.

Where you goin, Fred?

To the ball game.

♪ Whoa oh ah ♪

Man, Roc, why are you draggin' me all the way down here?

Eleanor was just about to cut this cast off my arm.

Brought you down here to help me

hustle up some people for the party!

You a better talker than me, you

can talk people into anything.

Well, you can do it, Roc. Just give it a shot.

Yeah, okay.

Hey, Wiz, what's the score, man?

Ha, man, I'm not sure.

I had to take my own little self-attending stretch

in the bathroom.

Hey, Roc.

Uh, Joe, uh, what's happenin'?

That loan sharks finally catch up with you?

No, they.. No, ain't no loan sharks catch up with me.

Just had to help Eleanor with a class project.

Besides, everybody knows they'd break your legs, you know?

Yeah, you're right about that, man.

So you kinda like Eleanor's dummy.

No, I'm kinda like Eleanor's model.

Uh, Roc here's Eleanor's dummy.

Alright, alright, listen up, everybody. Listen up.

I'm havin' a retirement party at my house right now.

I want you all to come, plenty of food and drink!

- Oh, hey! - Roc! Roc! Roc!

Hey, hey, no, no, no, it's not for me, it's.. I'm not retiring.

It's for a guy I collect garbage with. You know, Leon.

Oh...

Hey, come on, guys, you can't turn your backs on poor Leon.

Look, I know you don't know the guy

but it's an important day in his life!

But, Roc, this is an important ball game.

Well, there'll be other ball games.

But maybe not for Leon.

Hey, listen, fellas.

Leon is in the late innings of his life.

I mean, it's the bottom of the ninth.

Two outs, and the count is 0 and 2.

Who's he playin'?

- God. - God?

Oh...

- God... - Oh, man.

Oh...

Like, like, this guy is dyin', right?

No, no, no, he's not dyin'.

But he needs you to cheer him on.

I mean, come on, you can be his tenth man.

Hey, with you guys behind him, he could hit one out of the park

and send his life into extra innings.

But if you don't

if you give up on Leon and decide to leave the ballpark

too early, Leon's box score could read

"No runs, no hits

no errors, nobody left on."

- And nobody would leave. - Not one person?

All I did was remind them how much they love baseball.

- Even lost Joey to that game. - Roc, honey, what you gonna do?

The only thing he can do.

When Leon walks up and rings that bell

shut off the lights and pretend nobody's home.

Hey, the beauty is, Roc, he's retirin'

so you'll never have to see his sorry ol' butt again.

Thanks for drivin' me home.

I couldn't let a war veteran go home unassisted.

Thank you.

Oh, uh, by the way, did I mention

how long it's been since I've been with a woman?

That's what touched me the most.

Oh, my.

Boy, you sure know how to throw one hell of a bash, Roc.

Oh, I'll say, if he plans my wake

I'll be the life of the party.

Oh, it's him, it's Leon.

Okay, everybody, hit the lights and shut up.

No, no, no, pop, m-maybe once Leon gets inside

and sees this beautiful spread, it'll be enough for him.

Okay, okay. Everybody sing.

♪ For he's a jolly good fellow for he's a jolly good fellow ♪

♪ For he's a jolly good fellow ♪

♪ Which nobody can deny ♪

My car's safe in this neighborhood?

Why don't that boy ever listen to his dad?

Well, come on in, come on in, Leon.

- We're just startin' to cook. - Excuse me.

Uh, is it hot in here or is it you?

- It couldn't be me. - Why is that?

'Cause I'm not wearin' any underwear.

Leon, the love you feel in this room

is emanating from some people

who all want to let you know how much they care about you.

Let's start with my lovely wife, Eleanor.

Me? Um...

Leon...

...as the wife of a garbage man

I know that you've put in long hours of dedication

and hard work to keepin' our city clean.

So on behalf of all the wives

of all the garbage men all over the world

I would just like to say all the best and thank you.

Thank you, dear. Thank you, thank you.

And-and, Leon, I'm sure you'll recognize Mr. Mate

from your route, 39/36, New Kirk Lane.

I think I can speak for everyone in the neighborhood when I say

"Wednesday is not just trash day, it's Leon day."

- Thank you. - Is that all?

- Yeah. - Look, you have to say more.

You represent an entire neighborhood.

I only had one sandwich.

Uh, my brother Andrew Joseph Emerson Jr.

Uh, I don't even know this man.

Uh, uh...

Hey, um

good luck, old-timer.

And now we have here, we have here, uh, um, uh...

- Lisa. - Uh, Lisa, yeah.

Would you like to say something?

Y-yeah, I guess.

Go, right ahead.

You know, I've never really given a speech before.

Well, I was supposed to give one once

in the sixth grade on Venezuela

but, uh, I got the measles.

Oh, here's your chance. Here's your chance.

Okay.

Leon, ahem

Venezuela's natural resources is oil...

Alright, uh, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Son, if you don't mind, I think I should say something to Leon.

Great. Go ahead, pop.

You know, Leon

for 35 years I worked as a porter for the railroad.

So I know what it is to hold a subservient job.

I know what you're feeling right now.

You know how to break your back for the man

but you don't know what life's gonna be like out there

with time on your hand.

Well, I'll tell you.

Could be a real rewarding life for you

if you got three things working.

A roof over your head

a weekly Domino game and all your teeth.

Well, I guess, I-I guess

I should say something to you

huh, Leon?

Well, we've worked side by side for a lot of years.

We've suffered through strikes

through rain and through snow.

We know what it's like to get up at the crack of dawn

and lift heavy cans of trash all day

till it feels like our backs are gonna break.

The rat bites

the verbal abuse you take from people who scream at you

when you wake 'em up too early.

But, Leon

I'm proud to have served on the department

with a man like you.

Let's have a speech, Leon. Come on, let's have a speech.

- 'Let's have a speech.' - Speech, speech, speech.

Come on.

Well...

...if you really want me to.

Mm-hmm.

Who the hell are you people?

You.

You say you appreciate what I've done for you?

But all those Christmases, not one gift

not one thank you

not even a hello

when I drive down the street.

Emerson, it's just insulting what you've done.

Dragged me down here away from my room, my TV

serve me nothing but empty calories.

If you really cared

you would have found out I was on a special diet.

Low-fat and high-fiber.

I didn't, uh, I didn't really know all those things about you.

Leon, you pretty much keep to yourself.

Ain't nobody down there worth talkin' to.

Just a bunch of losers.

That's the way you feel about me, too?

Especially you!

The garbage man's garbage man.

Always wantin' to be everybody's friend.

Always runnin' up, slapping 'em on the back

telling them how proud they oughta be, how great they are.

They ain't great! They're garbage men!

He's not exactly what you call a people person, is he?

You know, you are a mean old bastard, aren't you?

You know, I went out of my way for this, I busted my hump

to put this together so you'd think somebody cared.

Who are you fooling, Emerson?

You didn't do this for me. You did this for yourself!

Myself? What are you talking about?

Look at me, Emerson.

Look at my face!

This could be you in 20 years.

Be honest with yourself. You work in a dead-end job.

Livin' a dead-end life.

You're afraid you could end up like me.

A bitter, miserable

lonely old man.

I'm your worst nightmare.

You guys gonna be having coffee or anything?

I don't think so.

Well, then I'll be going.

You know the irony of all this.

What's that?

Tomorrow's trash day.

Now, Roc, don't you be

coming down on yourself, son.

Now, you got to look at Leon's situation.

The man lost his wife.

He ain't had no friends, no self-esteem.

It ain't your fault, son.

Yeah, thanks, pop. Nice thing to say.

Of course, none of this would've happened

if you'd thrown the party for me instead.

Well, maybe I'm...

Maybe what Leon said is true, you know?

Maybe I did this all for myself.

Maybe I am afraid.

There are no guarantees in life, what's to say I'm...

What's to say I won't end up just like Leon?

Old, bitter and alone.

Roc, you can't compare yourself to him.

Leon chose to let life beat him down.

- You're not at all like that. - Yeah, man.

You a wonderful, giving human being.

I mean, Leon pushes everybody away, Roc. Not like you.

I mean, you brought happiness into this house, man.

You brought daddy in here. You brought me in.

Uh, you bring home stuff from your route.

You're never gonna wind up like him, son.

No matter how hard things get, you'll never be alone.

That's right, 'cause you know you always got me.

And you always got Joey, you always got your daddy.

We love you, Roc.

Oh, thank you, sweetheart.

Thank you.

- Hey, Joey, thank you. - Hey, hey.

Hey, pop. Come on.

My boy.

Hey, well, I'm-I'm...

Hey, I'm sorry, I'm...

I-I-I guess you're right, huh?

Maybe I let Leon and everything get the best of me, huh?

Hey, come on, I'll never be alone.

With a family like you, that will never happen to me.

- Absolutely - That's right, son.

- You got it right. - Hey, look.

We got plenty of food and drink.

What's to stop us from celebratin', huh?

You know, I got a Domino game with Clarence.

- I'll see you tomorrow. - Uh, come on.

Let's get outta here. Uh, Roc, I-I'll see you later.

And you know, baby, I gotta get to work.

- I love you, babe. Bye-bye. - I know, we got, we got...

We got plenty of stuff here. I got stuff for every...

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Keep on walking on ♪

♪ Oh Lord ♪

♪ Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah ♪

♪ Well well well ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ Oh oh ♪

♪ Whoa whoa ♪

♪ Keep on walking on ♪

♪ Oh yeah ♪

♪ Yeah ♪