All language subtitles for Troubled.Waters.2020

- One of the easiest
things in the world

to do is to fall in
love with an ugly girl,

[audience laughs]

'cause they're gonna
make it right for you.

They're gonna bring
you the right wines.

They're gonna light
your cigarettes for
you, all that shit.

[audience laughs]

I've been there before, man.

I understand.

3/4 of the people in this
room have been there.

[audience laughs]

And they're the
nicest girls, really,

when you think about it.

I mean, that was
probably the nicest girl

in high school, you know?

I had this thing, one time,

where I met this undercover
fine girl, first,

where the cats are
lookin' at the ugly girl

with the big glasses and
the braces, you know.

I'm lookin' at her.

I'm thinkin', wow, that ass
is starting to look real.

[audience laughs]

I'll bet when school
starts again next year,

she's gonna be kinda right.

Fuckin' school started
that next year, man,

she got some contact lenses.

She dropped a bunch of weight.

She was fine as hell.

But I was nice to her,

the year before.

[audience laughs]

I started dating'
this girl, man.

She lived in this
really rich community.

It was called Roland Park.

Her dad's name was Dr. Lebeaux.

He was a Black cat
that looked White,

didn't want to be Black.

He didn't want me
hangin' around.

The bastard slammed
the door in my face.

He goes, "Mr. Waters?"

I said, "Yeah, I'm Ron Waters."

"Well, Mr. Waters, my
daughter's not coming out,

and she's never
going to come out."

Bam!
[audience laughs]

I remember walkin' down
this long circular driveway,

thinking, man,
ain't that a bitch?

I get back to the
crib. I call her up.

I said, "Deborah, your father
slammed the door in my face."

"Yeah, I know, man. He's crazy.

Where can we meet?"

[audience laughs]

I said, "Well, uh, you
can come over to my house.

My mom don't give a fuck."

[audience laughs]

I started fucking this
girl in my pajamas, man.

[audience laughs]

She would come by the crib,

I wouldn't even bother
puttin' my pants on.

[audience laughs]

[audience applauds]

So eventually, we
started hangin' back
at her house, again.

Her house was so big,
man, she had her own wing,

so I could slip
through the backdoor.

Nobody would know I was there.

But I was smokin'.

And they could smell
the smoke in the house.

Mom came into the room.

She was like, "Deborah,
somebody's smoking in here."

And I'm lookin' through
the peephole, man.

The mom actually said,

"Deborah, open up your mouth."

She opened up her fuckin' mouth,

and poked her nose
in, and she's like,

"It's not you, but
it's in here somewhere.

"Somebody's been smoking."

So she opens up
the closet, man.,

and she sees me
behind the clothes.

My feet are stickin' out.

So she screams.

I bust for the backdoor.

I got my shoes in my hand.

I go.

The motherfucker's
double locked.

[audience laughs]

So I had to sit down.

She has to fix me some
cocoa with some shit.

And I had to tell her, you know,

"Please don't hold her
responsible for my actions."

I mean, I was a man about it.

And I said, "You
can call my parents.

This smoking habit, I,

I really gotta stop."

[audience laughs]

And after I got done
talking, her mom was like,

"Well, damn.

Maybe I oughta give the
nigger some pussy, too."

[audience laughs]

I mean, this is the
most motherfuckin'

mature 14-year-old I've met.

[audience laughs]

Thank you, good afternoon.

[upbeat music]

- Ron Waters, ladies
and gentlemen.

Ron Waters!

[audience applauds]

Ron Waters, everybody.

♪ Take me all the
way to the top ♪

♪ Goin' to heaven to meet you

[lid clicks]

[bottle clacks]

[Ron sighs]

♪ To the top

[knuckles rap]

- Yeah?
- Hey, Ron, there's a guy

named Sterling French
here to see you.

White dude, crazy hair.

- Sterling French?

I'll be damned.

Send him back.

- [Staffer] All right.

- Sterling French,
how are you, man?

- I'm good. I'm good.

- I didn't think I was ever
gonna see you again, man.

- Well, you weren't.

But I was in town, and, uh,

I thought I'd come see you.

- Well, I appreciate that.

I'm glad to see you.

What are you drinking?

- Bourbon.

How you makin' out, nowadays?

You seem to be doin' all right.

You got your own spot.

- [Ron] Well, I'm hanging in.

I'm all right.

My wife owns the spot.

I'm the entertainment.

- [Sterling] You know,
Ron, I'm starting

to get calls for you again.

- [Ron] Oh, yeah?

- Yean, something's happening.

I got four to five
different calls for you,

in the past month.

- Wow.

- People want to see you again.

- That's fantastic.

- Yeah.

And I'd like to represent
you in these deals

if you want to go
through with all this.

- Who's asking for me?

- Echoes, Three's, One Night
Stand, The Comedy Cafe.

But, Ron, I need to know
that you want to do it.

I need to know that you're okay,

that what happened before
is not gonna happen again.

- Come on, Sterling, you
didn't come all the way here

to bring that up
again, did you, man?

- No, I came here
to offer you a job.

I came here to make
money with you.

I want to make money
with my friends.

But I need to know
that you're all right.

- I'm good, man. I'm cool.

- Ron, I'm serious.

I don't want a repeat.

- You, I won't...

Really, I'm good, man.

I promise.

I promise.

Please, I promise.

- All right.

[solemn music]

[gentle music]

- Hey.
- Hey, baby.

How you doing?
- Good.

- [Ron] Can I get you
somethin' from the kitchen?

- No, no, I'm good.

- I invoiced that case of brandy

that I picked up in Wisconsin.

- Good job. [laughs]

- I learned from the best.

- [Kim] Thank you.

- Excuse me.

Sit next to you.

- [Reporter] Held around roughly

over the 10,000 level.

You had import rice,
took their shot

and plunged eight to one.

[Kim laughs]

[lips smacking]

[Kim grunts]

- Baby.
- Hmm?

- I was tryin' to concentrate.

- I'm concentratin' too.

- Yeah, but I got
inspectors coming

to the new place tomorrow.

I gotta have all
those numbers ready.

- I'm trying to find
something to love, tonight.

- Baby, [laughs] let's do
this tomorrow night, please.

- Every night, it's
something different.

You don't like this.
I can't do that.

Nothing's doin' nothin'
for you no more, huh?

- Oh, that's not true.

- You got me overthinkin'
this stuff, baby.

I can't be thinking
about you all the time.

And let me just tell you,

I got to go back out
on the road again, too.

- What are you talking about?

- Sterling French stopped
by the club tonight.

They're asking
for me out in L.A.

- Sterling French?

Mr. Hollywood himself?

Who's asking for
you out in L.A.?

- Comedy Magic, Laugh Factory.

- Really?

What about our club?

- Your club.

- Ron, we're up 25%

since you started headlining
four nights a week.

Items per order are up.

Drink orders are
up. Turnover is up.

I mean, we're in the middle
of building our new club.

You can't leave now.

- I understand that
I sell more wine

and steaks for you,
when I'm performing,

but I didn't come into
this world for that.

I got an opportunity to do
my thing in a wide scale.

What am I supposed to do?

- So how long would
you be gone for?

- Eight weeks,
somethin' like that.

Maybe more if it goes well.

Maybe less if it doesn't.

- I don't want you to go.

Stay here.

Stay here with me,
work here with me.

- You're getting all emotional.

You're starting to make me
think the plane is going down.

What? I'm not gonna
see you anymore?

- No, no, it's not
that. It's not that.

I just, uh,

I just want you to leave
on a better note, you know,

like under better circumstances.

- Look, darling,

God's gonna give us a break.

All right, I'm gonna
get this act together.

You're gonna get
the club together.

It's gonna be all right.

Come here.

[lively music]

♪ I don't mind the
system of emotion ♪

- Can I offer you
anything else, Mr. Waters?

- Yes, some club soda.
- Club soda?

- Yeah.
- I'll get that for you.

- Thank you.

♪ New generation

♪ I'm a businessman

♪ I got my business card

♪ There are things
that I trust, yeah ♪

♪ I'm a business baby

♪ I'm a business guy

♪ 2% MIs

♪ Here's my business card

♪ Yeah

♪ I don't mind the
new situation ♪

[Shelly laughs]
- I've never tried it.

- My dad used to do it a lot.

He loved it.

- Whew, finally sittin'.

[Shelly laughs]
[phone rings]

Oh, wait, wait, wait.

Hello.

- [Ron] Hi, baby, I made it.
- How is it out there?

- Uh, looks like everybody's
got money out here,

if I didn't know any better.

How are you?
- I'm good, I'm good.

I'm here with Shelly.

We're gonna do a power walk.

- Oh, okay, cool.

All right, hey, uh,

baby, I got a, I
got a show tonight,

so I'm gonna call you afterward,
or I'll call you tomorrow.

- Call me tonight.

- Okay, my love.

- Okay, bye-bye.

- How you guys doing?

- [sighs] You know.

- Ah, I completely
understand. [laughs]

What's up?

- Same old, same old.

I've been so busy.

We haven't had time for
sex, and he wants it,

and now he's gone away in
the middle of all of that.

- Is it him, or do
you want someone else?

- I don't know.

I mean no.

We've been together a long time.

- Well, maybe the time away
will be good for you guys.

You know, you can figure out
what you mean to each other,

come to a new understanding.

- Maybe.
- Maybe?

- I don't know.

- Hello, sir, welcome
to Shangri La.

[gentle music]

- I can help you, sir.

Hi, welcome to the Shangri La.

- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.

- Last name is Waters.

How are you?

- I'm fine. Thank you.

Ron?

- Yes, that's me.

- You know, I recognize
you from somewhere.

You an actor or something?

- [chuckles] I do a few things.

Acting is one of them.

- Okay.

Let's see.

Yes, we have you
in, um, suite 500.

It's an ocean-view suite.

You're gonna like it.

- Cool.
- Mm-hmm.

- I think there's supposed to
be a piano in there for me.

- Mm-hmm.

Yes, we heard about
that, and it is in there.

- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.

- What's your name?
- Janine.

- Thank you, Janine.

I appreciate your help.

- Absolutely.

Elevator's off to your left.

[solemn music]

- They're comin' out.

- No, no, I got to
call my people, man.

Let 'em know I'm in
town, doin' shows.

- Give me the information.

We'll take care of 'em for you.

- No, Sterling,
I can do it, man.

- Ron, it's not your job.

You can't do everything.

That's the problem with
people multitasking, you know.

You never get nowhere.

Duke Ellington knew that.

I got to have good
people around me

in order to be Duke Ellington.

Got to have the best
people around ya.

♪ I hit the door, it's on

- Hey, man!

- How you been, man?
- I'm good, man.

Good to see you. I'm
glad you came out.

- Oh, come on, man.

You know showtime's my
favorite time of day.

- I love it.
[both laughs]

Hey, Sterling, you
remember my cousin Floyd?

- Number 42.

A bad motherfucker!

[all laugh]

How you been?

- Uh, great, man.

- Hey, man, you know
you're up soon, right?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

[laughs] There's no smoking
on stage, Ron, come on.

- Excuse me, I gotta
go get ready, man.

- What you drinking nowadays?

- Uh, man, not too much.

I'll have a glass of vodka.

- Bullshit. I haven't
seen you in forever.

We're gonna have
more than a glass.

We're gonna have a few.

[audience laughs]

- I mean, I think the
worst date I had was

about a week and half ago.

I went out with this girl,

and she kept talkin' about her
ex-boyfriend, the whole time,

who was apparently this big
bull rider in the rodeo.

[crowd gasps]
Yeah.

She did confess to me, though,

that he wasn't very good in bed.

She said all he was really
concerned with was gettin' on

and gettin' off in eight
seconds without gettin' hurt.

[audience laughs]

[audience applauds]

We are gonna get the
show started here.

Our first comedian comin'

to the stage has been
gone for a while,

and when I say a while, I
mean, last time he was around,

"Sanford & Son"
was up for an Emmy,

so yeah.
[audience laughs]

He's been on hiatus with
an emphasis on high.

- [Woman] Oh yeah!

[audience cheering]

- [MC] He's been in many,
many films, many TV shows

and more commercials
than I care to count.

Ladies and gentlemen,
a big, warm welcome

for Mr. Ron Waters!

[audience cheers]

- Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

I gotta tell ya, I'm
noticing a lot of confused

and angry people walking
around out here now, man.

And it must be because,
over the years,

a lot of shit has
gone bust on 'em,

and now they gotta
rely on themselves.

[audience laughs]

And that's a scary-ass,
motherfuckin' feeling.

Motherfuckers are depressed,

because they have to
believe in themselves again.

But you gotta get happy, man.

Now is the time to realize
that anything is possible.

Everybody makes a come up, man.

Mexicans are making
fuckin' sushi now.

[audience laughs]

The thing I realize is
that anything is possible,

and you have to prepare
yourself for the good times.

Everybody makes a come up.

It's like,

nobody thought George Foreman
would be a billionaire.

[audience laughs]

Everybody knows who
Muhammad Ali is, right?

- [Audience Members] Yeah!

- For motherfuckers
that are not hip to it,

George Foreman was the
heavyweight champion

who suffered a humiliating
defeat to Muhammad Ali,

in The Rumble in the Jungle,
in Zaire, in the 1970s.

Ali just like embarrassed
him, globally,

called him a mummy.

Had the Africans booin' him,

screamin' all kinds
of shit to him.

Muhammad made it feel like
George wasn't even Black.

[audience laughs]

In Africa!

[audience laughs]

After that ass-whoopin',

George went into like a
crazy depression, for years,

and had to find himself again.

That motherfucker
made a come up.

Let me tell you, so one
day, George is at his place,

in Houston, layin' around,

and the phone rings.

A manufacturer out of Dallas
says they got a grill,

where the grease
comes off of it.

[audience laughs]

They asked him to come
down to take a look at it.

George has no idea

that 450 motherfuckers have
already turned down the deal,

and he's like the last of
the celebrities, you know.

So he goes down there,
walks in, says, uh,

"I like hamburgers. I'll do it.

Give me 50% of the
shit, I'll do it."

But by the time they
got down to him,

they'd have taken anybody.

So they give him
50% of the shit.

Every motherfucker in America

and half of Europe
buys one, you know.

[audience laughs]

The shit pissed off all
the entertainment business.

Can you imagine?

Sylvester Stallone's still
mad at his motherfuckin' agent

for fuckin' him out of that.

Hulk Hogan's mad at his
motherfuckin' people.

Paul Anka is mad
at motherfuckers.

[audience laughs]

Even, [laughs] even Clint
Eastwood misses the shit

where he gets pissed off
at his people, right?

George, meanwhile,
has hit the lotto.

I mean, they sell that
shit everywhere, man.

And when the shit
first came out,

it was like getting the first
hip hop album and some shit.

Black people were
supportive, basically,

because it was the only product

that had a Black
man's name on it.

White people are buying
it, because they were like,

you know, I bought a
George Foreman Grill,

so you can't call me a racist.

[audience laughs] You cannot
call me a fucking racist, man.

I'm investing in the only
Black product I ever heard of.

[audience laughs] But
George has lost his mind.

This is how crazy he is, right.

So one day, he looks
over at his boys.

He says, "I'm ready now, man.

Let's go to Chicago."

So they get on the private
George Foreman Grill plane.

Fly off to Chicago.

[audience laughs]

They get in the limo.

He tells the driver, "Take
me to Muhammad Ali's house."

George goes over to
Muhammad, and he says,

"Muhammad, man,

you didn't think
about the grill.

[audience laughs]

You fucked up, Muhammad.

You might've won the
fight, Muhammad, nigger,

but I won the war.

You can't even chew celery.

I'm a billionaire.

Look, look over at me.

Look, look, look,
look at me, Muhammad.

[audience groans]

Muhammad?

You in there?

[audience laughs]

You in there, Muhammad?

I won, bitch.

Understand?

Yeah, you might have movies.

I could buy your movie.

And then I would own you.

And you can't even look at me.

Hey, wait a minute,
wait a minute.

Give him some oxygen, give
that motherfucker some oxygen!

Get this motherfucker
some oxygen.

I want him to hear this shit.

I'm rich, you fuckin' bastard!"

[audience applauds]
[upbeat jazz music]

Get another one?
- Yeah, man.

- Excuse me, yo, hey, Ron,

great show, man.

- Thank you, brother.

I appreciate you, man.
- Great show, funny shit.

- Thank you, man.
- Y'all want something?

- No, we good, for the moment.

- Okay.
- Thank you.

- Your welcome-back=to-L.A.
drink, you know what I'm sayin'.

Okay!
- All right. [laughs]

- [Sterling] I'm out, yeah.

- [Ron] What, you leaving?

- [Sterling] Yeah.

- This is our night.

- Yeah, it is our night.

And while the good
shit is happenin',

I'm out.

- All right.

All right, man.

- Your Highness.

Always a pleasure.
- Ah, the pleasure's mine.

- Big guy, 42!
- All right, man.

Oh, dive safe, cool.

- You got it.
- Okay, man.

- If I can find my car.
- Careful out there.

♪ Goin' to get
your hair raised ♪

♪ You got to get by me

♪ How you look, all the way

- Hello.
- Hi.

I'm Rosa.

- Hi, Rosa, I'm Ron Waters.

- Hi, um, I just, I
really wanted to say

that was a really good show.

I'm a really big fan.

- Oh, thank you, darling.

I appreciate it.

- How old are you, Ron?

- I'm 44. Is that too old?

- No.

- How old are you?

- I'm 24.

Is that too young?

- No.

Let me get your coat.

- This is nice.

- Thank you.

- Do you play or is
that just for show?

- Darling, I'm a musician,
a rock star, an actor,

a living genius.

- That's a lot.

- Care for a drink?

- Cranberry and vodka.

- Okay.

- Vodka for you, whiskey for me.

[bright piano music]

It's a song called "Have
You Heard From Leonard Yet?"

It's about a guy named Leonard

who I called, a long time ago,

but the nigger ain't
called me back yet.

[Rosa laughs]

Most people don't realize I'm
a composer, also, you know.

You're very beautiful,
you know that?

- Thank you.

♪ Beautiful skin,
beautiful hair ♪

♪ Beautiful eyes

- I like how the skin
and the hair meet.

[Rosa laughs]

It's true.

[gentle piano music]

Is that a butterfly?

- Yeah.

- Oh.

Okay.

- You know what they say.

If you kiss a butterfly
and make a wish,

it's supposed to come true.

- Is that right?

That's what they say.

- Well, I would love
to kiss the butterfly.

- Then go ahead.

[phone rings]

Hey, baby.

- Hey!

How are you?

- I'm good. I'm
trippin', you know.

It does actually rain
in Southern California.

How are you?

- Oh, I'm good, yeah.

I, I didn't hear
from you, last night.

I'm curious. How did it go?

- Last night went
over very well.

- [Kim] Yeah?

- Yeah, it did.

Saw my cousin
Floyd, he came out,

so that was great.

Thinkin' about bringing him in.

He's retired from football.

He doesn't have much
to do, you know.

- Well, I didn't call to talk
to you about Floyd Cash, Ron,

but I'm really happy to hear
that you've got a team now,

in just 48 hours, and that
your rich cousin's on it.

I just wanna know, what's up?

- What do you mean?

- I mean, one minute, you're
here, taking care of business,

and the next thing you
know, you're on a plane?

I mean, I didn't even get a
chance to really sit with you.

Have we been together so long
that you just up and leave?

- Yeah, we've been
together that long.

I got a opportunity.

I mean, last night
went good, you know.

You know, you know I
don't like to be out here.

You know I want to be with you.

- Business is good here, Ron.

- Business is good if
you're a businesswoman.

But I'm an artist.

- Okay, Ron, I'm
just telling you,

I'm just telling you.

Business is good here.

I'm not threatening.
I'm just telling you.

We have it good.

[phone beeps]

[knocks at door]

[man and woman laughing]

- [Man] I got everyone trippin'.

When I was 29, I was
over here, though.

They thought I was still 29.

- [Woman] You just said that.

- [Man] Mm-hmm, what?

- [Woman] Aren't we? [laughs]

- [Man] We're what?

Actually, I was-
[woman laughs]

- Hiya, Ron.

How are you, sweetie?
- How you doin', Janice?

- I'm good.
- I'm good.

- Mwuah! You remember Rick?

- Of course.
- Mm-hmm.

- My man!
- My man, what's up?

- How ya doing?
- I'm good, man.

- It's good to see you.
- You too. You look good.

- You too.

[Rick laughs]

- Janice wanted to come
by, see how you were doing.

Just came from a
celebrity dinner.

- Yo, man, get a drink.

- Yeah, think I'll do that.

Babe, would you like one?
- Yes, yes, please,

just a little one.

I hear you're
giggin' out here now.

- Yeah, well, I
figure it was time

to try to make a comeback,

see if I still got it.

- [laughs] Well, Floyd let me
know where you were staying.

I just thought I'd come by
and check out your digs.

Not bad, not bad at all.

I hear you're hot.

Hey, let me help you with that.

Okay.

[Janice laughs]

You know, I actually
just wanted to come by

and tell you that
I'm not mad anymore.

I'm happy now.

- Oh, okay, cool.

I'm glad you're happy.

- Yeah, so, uh,

I'm gonna come see your show.

And then I'm gonna tell
people all about it,

and I will do for you what
you couldn't do for me.

I got a little juice
in this town now,

so I'll tell people
that you're here.

- Okay.
- All right.

Thank you.

- You're welcome.

- Here's to you.

Take me home.

- Right away.

- Yo, man, thanks
for stoppin' by.

- My man!

I like that. That's hot.

- You ever have your
past roll up on ya?

Every now and again, my
life catches up with me.

And it did today.

And the shit's got me all
wound up, psychologically.

I feel like Marvin Gaye.

[audience laughs]

My ex-wife showed up
in my hotel today,

just rolled up to the room.

And it's funny, because
when we split up,

I was worried about,
how would she survive?

Would she be okay?

How is she gonna get around?

Turns out that she's
married to Rick Fox,

the ex-Laker.
[audience laughs]

So, actually, uh,

I shouldn't be
worried about shit.

[audience laughs]

I mean, here I am,
damned near homeless,

[audience laughs]

and she rockin' Gucci and
diamonds and all that shit.

And I'm worried, unbelievable.

It just goes to show you.

The people you worry
about will be all right.

I'm just tellin'
you motherfuckers.

[audience laughs]

Don't be worryin'.

I definitely don't have
to worry about her.

She's eatin',

better than me.

[audience laughs]

She stopped by to tell me that
she's not mad at me anymore.

But that's all bullshit.
She's still mad.

[audience laughs]

And actually, I
understand her being mad,

because she had to spend so
many nights eatin' alone.

So now she's rich.

And this whole shit has given
me a whole different slant

on work and business.

Nothing will piss a cat off more

than to be told, like, you know,

I'm with a rich man.

[audience laughs]

I mean, that'll just make a
motherfucker go really get rich.

[audience laughs]

[upbeat music]

[all chattering] Now
I got to talk for you?

- Uh-huh. [laughs]

- Hey, man, find out about
those tickets for Mike-

- Drinks! Drinks!

Hey, Ron! Hey, Ron!

- [Ron] Hey!
- Hey!

You remember my wife Summer?

- She was not your wife
the last time I saw her,

and of course, I do.

How you doing? You
look fantastic.

- Thank you. I
enjoyed your show.

- Oh, thank you.

Summer from Malibu, right.

That's like a oxymoron
or something'.

[Summer laughs]
- Yeah, she,

she didn't even have
to change her name

for an audition.
- Okay.

- [laughs] Hey, whoa, this
is her best friend, Becky.

She wanted to meet you.

- How you doing?

- I'm fine. It's really
nice to meet you.

- You too.

- She gonna be a star.

- Okay, I believe that. [laughs]

- Hey, Floyd, what's up, buddy?

- What's up, big time?

[engine purrs]

- [Billie] Hey, Ron!

- Billie, how you
doing, beautiful?

- It's great to see you.

- It's great to see you.
- So glad you could come.

- Oh, thanks for havin' us.

- [Billie] The show was amazing.

- Oh thank you.
- Good job.

- Thank you. This
is my friend Rosa.

- Hi, nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.
- And this is for you.

- Oh, thank you.

Well, you guys come in.

- Okay.
- There's food and drinks,

and the piano is in back.

- All right.

♪ I took a trip on a train

♪ Saw things I never seen

♪ In my world, it
don't mean a thing ♪

♪ Compared to you

♪ That's why I'm there for you

♪ I climbed on a mountaintop

♪ Saw this great big
world don't stop ♪

♪ But if you need me

♪ Everything can drop

♪ That's 'cause I care for you

- It's amazing how many
things one can do, you know?

- Yeah, yeah, it is.

- I know how that
feels, in my own way.

I started off painting.

- Oh, yeah?

- Yeah, I didn't tell you that?

- No, I would've remembered.

- Yeah, that's what I went to
school for, graphic design.

And I got a job at a
boutique clothing store.

I mean, I had to make a living.

I got into fashion.

Now I design my own clothes.

That's why I'm at the shop.

They actually carry
some of my clothes.

Kind of a different
path, but I like it.

It's a start, but it can be big.

- I like that you're
doing your own thing.

- There's no other
way for me, really.

- I'm glad I met you, Rosa.

Bein' on the road is difficult.

You know, I'm glad
I found somebody

that has somethin'
in common with me.

I'm glad I have you, because
I actually get to focus

on something other than
myself, my own life.

[bright music]

♪ I fell in love

♪ I fell in love, mama

[singing in foreign language]

[kettle screeching]

Here, there you go.

- Thank you.

- What are you smiling at?

- I'm happy.

- Oh, okay.

Cool.

- I love you, Ron.

- Already?

- I'm 24, and I've never
been in love before.

It doesn't take long.

And I know what I want.

- That's right. You're 24.

How in the hell do you
know what you want?

You haven't
experienced anything.

- Yeah, but I had the best
time ever with you, Ron.

Ever, you know?

- Yeah, but there is
something to be said

about going through pain,
experiencing things.

You're tryin' to get
yourself together.

You haven't seen the world.

There are a lot of
people you haven't met.

- I understand that, and
all of that will come,

but right now, this
is what I know.

And I don't want to
know anything else.

Is there something
wrong with that?

- How are you not gonna
know anything more?

You're in the world.

- Yeah, but I'm in the
world with you, Ron.

I'm in love with you.

- Rosa, I've had a great
time with you, too,

and I could love you,

but I don't know
that I'm capable

of head-over-heels behavior.

- You're cynical.

- If you knew the
story behind my life,

you would understand.

I mean, I, I basically
left my first wife

to be with my current wife,

thinkin' that would be forever.

And now that's all messed up.

I mean, that just goes
to show you my delusion.

I mean, I've been
through narcotics,

walkin' off stage,
sleepin' on my career.

- That's what I'm talking about.

You've seen all of that.

Let me show you
something different.

Let me take care of you.

I've never been in love before.

You should take
advantage of that.

No one will ever love
you like this again.

- I believe it.

- Hello.
- Hey.

- Sorry I'm late.
[lips smack]

- You look amazing.

- Thank you very much.
- Really nice.

- Runnin' around all day.

- I love this dress.
- Thank you.

- It's gorgeous.

I took the liberty
of ordering a saki.

- Whoa, saki for lunch?

To us!
- To us!

- [Kim] Mm! What is up?

Saki, yeah.

- You remember that
barbecue I went to, uh,

last weekend, at Brian's house.

Dave and his girlfriend
Katherine were there.

Maybe you remember them from,
from Alice's birthday party?

- Not really.

- Well, we were just
talking for a while,

and Ron's name came up, 'cause
they were just out in L.A.,

and they saw him, and
I said, "Oh, yeah,

that's my girlfriend's husband.

He's out there working."

They said, "Oh, we think
we saw your girlfriend.

They were sitting on the beach,

holding hands and kissing,

really beautiful, dark
hair, olive-skinned."

"No, my girlfriend
has blonde hair."

"No, this girl had black hair.

She looked Latin."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure, yeah."

So...

Kim, I struggled with
telling you this,

but I just, I felt
that you should know.

[Kim chuckles]

- No, no, no, no.

No, I'm glad that you told me,

but are they sure that it's Ron?

I mean-

- Yeah, they were pretty
much right next to him.

- You know, Ron said
something to me, one time.

He said, "I am capable
of a lot of things,

but I need you to do
one thing for me, Kim.

I need you to support
me emotionally."

I've told you everything
that's wrong with him,

and I think I have to take
responsibility for my part.

- Yeah, but, sweetheart,

you've been doing
so many things, by
yourself, for so long.

Why can't he support
you emotionally?

- What good are we
to each other then?

I've got to find out
what's gonna happen.

I have to lie down next to him.

I'm gonna go to him.

- Kim, I love you, but
can I just tell you,

I think that that's crazy.

- You know what?
Maybe it is crazy.

But it's not like we
don't love each other.

And I'll either find the
strength to stay with him,

or I'll find the
strength to leave him,

but either way, I'm gonna go.

- I'm in really heavy like.

I mean, I really do
like Rosa, a lot.

She's in love,

which gives me the right
trajectory for my life.

She's madly in
love with me, man.

[Floyd laughs]

Madly.

I don't know if I'm wrong for
doin' what I'm doin', man,

but she's so lovely,
and it feels so right.

- It's not right for,
like, your spiritualness.

But it is right for life's
experiences, you know,

which is what you need, as a
composer and as a comedian,

as a writer, as an athlete, hmm.

You really do need some
life experiences, man.

That's why motherfuckers
like Picasso, Prince,

and Quincy Jones, all
these guys don't feel bad

about none of this shit.

They really don't, man,

'cause they tryin'
to get somethin'

that makes an effect on the
whole culture of the world.

- Hmm.

- See, you not just one
cat tryin' to get a house

or get a place near
the water or a new car.

You tryin' to
affect the culture.

And therefore, that gives you
the right to not get sweated.

[Ron chuckles]

- My buddy.

[phone rings]

Kim.

Hey, baby.

How are you?

Oh, I'm good. I'm just
sittin' here with Floyd Cash.

We're on our way to get a bite
to eat and some Bloody Marys.

- Well, things are goin'
well with the club,

and we're at a good
point with the new place.

So I was thinkin' that
this might be a good time

to come see you.

- Baby, I'm out here
workin' every day.

I'm on the road, you know.

I'm all show business, out here.

I'm smilin'. I'm kissin'.

I'm givin' people
hope, you know,

givin' people hope.

- Great, I'll be there.

- [Ron] Okay, so you, you
just want to be in the mix,

instead of just being my wife.

- Well, if being your wife means

that I'm not gonna see
you for months and months,

then if that's what
you're talking about-

- What can I do about that?

- Nothin', I'm comin'.

- All right.

Well, uh, if you're comin'
out here, do me a favor

and wear that blue
skirt I like, huh?

- Are you sure?

I don't know if I look
that good in that outfit.

- Sweetheart, I'm askin' you

to wear somethin' I
like to see you in.

That means it looks good to me.

- All right, baby, I'll
do that for you. [laughs]

- Thank you.

- Look, baby, I
want to talk to you,

but can I call you back,

'cause I'm talkin'
to Floyd, right now.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm
gonna look up flights.

- [Ron] Okay, let me know.

- [Kim] All right, I love you.

- I love you, too.

- Okay, bye-bye.

[Kim sighs]

- It's funny, man.

I was a ballplayer, right?

So nine months out of the
year, you on the road.

You got to go everywhere.

The coach don't want your
girl travelin' with you, Ron.

- Yeah, I know, man,
but what can I do?

You know, I mean, I
can't say no to her.

She's a good businesswoman.

You can't hate that.

But this young girl,
shh, she hookin' me up

with the salads and the
wines and the nutrients,

rubbin' me down, in the
middle of the night,

that keeping-me-alive shit.

But I'm new to her, you know.

- Yeah, not for long.

She gonna make you love
her, treatin' you like that.

[knuckles rap]

- I baked them.

- I love it.

[door clacks]

- I roasted a whole chicken.

- That's a lot of food.

- I hope you're hungry.

- Just for a second, baby.

- Rosa, I'm gonna
be honest with you.

My wife's comin'
in from Chicago,

so I, I really can't
see you, for a few days.

- Why?

I thought there was nothing
going on between you.

- There isn't.

- Can't you tell her not
to come, that you're busy?

- She wants to come.

And at this point, it's just
easier, for me, you know,

to find out what she wants
and be done with her,

rather than, you
know, drag stuff out.

- Are you sleeping
in the same bed?

- I got a two-bedroom
suite, darling.

Don't worry.

And I really appreciate the
fact that you, you know,

payin' so much attention to me.

This has nothing to do with you.

You're in there.

- I know it's really not
my place to say anything.

I just don't like the
idea of you seeing her.

- You have nothing to
worry about, really.

Okay?

- Okay.

- You know, when I was
with the Giants, you know,

some of them motherfuckers
were on the sauce, like Mark.

But I didn't need no
chemical enhancements.

It's all heart and soul.
- Not you.

- Right?
- All natural.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Passion.
- Passion.

Oh!

[gentle music]

- You want something?

- No, I'm fine.

- You should eat something,
darling. You sure?

- Yeah, I'm okay.

[Rosa groans]
- Hey.

Shouldn't you be
getting ready about now?

Come on, baby, I can't
deal with this, today.

All right?

- You could at
least stay with me.

- You knew that I had to go
to the airport, today, right,

but you wanted to go out.

And you're drinking crazy.
You know what I mean?

You're drinking
nothing but wine.

We're sitting in restaurants.

You're not even ordering food.

Okay, you know what I'm saying?

I get the cheek?

- When you act like that.

[gentle piano music]

- Are you over me, Ron?

- No, why do you ask that?

- I don't know.

It just feels that way.

But it's probably
just me. [scoffs]

- It's just you.

[lips smack]

[gentle piano music]

♪ Give me sunshine

♪ Sunsets

♪ Raindrops and dew

[door clacks]

Can I get you a drink?

- Yes, you may.

I'll have some wine.

- Cabernet.

- Perfect.

[piano strings twang]

You've been playin'?

- A little bit.

Not as much as I would like to.

- To us, Ron.

You're kissin' me like
you're kissin' a cousin.

- Oh?

Oh.

- How could you not be excited,

for not seeing me
for three weeks?

- [Ron] Oh, baby, it's, uh...

You just wouldn't understand.

It's all these shows. I'm tired.

- Yeah, right.

I wouldn't understand.

Put your hands on me.

[Ron chuckles]

[gentle urban music]

- [Ron] Yo, Pat!

- Hey, Ronnie!

- What's up, man?

- How you been, man?
- I've been good.

Pretty good, I've been in
town for a little while,

doing some shows, man. You
know, you should come by.

- I'd like that, brother.

Just let me know, okay?

Who are you with?

- Kim Waters, this is my
good friend Patrick Drummond.

- How do you do?
- This is my wife.

- Very nice to meet ya.

- Nice to meet you.

- You remember Floyd Cash.

- Yes, I do, number
42, Ohio State.

- [laughs] Hey, hey.

- Number 42!
- All right, all right.

- The old guy!
- Hey, man.

This is my lady, Silvia Lee.

- Hi, nice to meet you.

- It's nice to meet
you, too, welcome.

Well, listen, guys,
why don't you go on up?

And I'll get you a
drink, in a minute.

- Fantastic, man.

- Hey, man, it's
good to see you.

- All right, man, you too.

- Yeah. [laughs]

[upbeat dance music]

[singing in foreign language]

- Sorry it took me so long.

The bartender hit on me.

- [laughs] Of course he did.

You dressed up nice.

On top of everything
else, you look good.

- [laughs] On top
of everything else?

What does that mean?

- Everything else?

- Yeah.

- You're a cool chick.

You're smooth.

You know how to
say baby and honey.

You know how to get to
the bar to get the drinks.

You look good.

You fly like that.

- Well, thank you.

Here's to us, being
out here, together.

[Kim sighs]

I want you bad.

[lips smacking]

[Ron moaning]
[Kim gasping]

Yeah.
[Ron sighs]

[Ron grunting]

- There we go. It's
like a tortilla.

See, I like feeding you.

[both laugh]

- Hey, how are you guys doing?

I'm Robert Rockwell.

This is actually
my spot here, so-

- Very nice.
- I wanted to come over

and introduce myself

and give you guys a little
complimentary somethin'.

I'm a big fan.

- Thank you, Robert.

That means a lot to me,
and this is my wife,

Kim Waters.
- Oh, okay.

Nice to meet you, Kim.
- How do you do?

Tiramisu?

- That's, that's what it is.

[all laugh]

Enjoy it.

- We love it.
- You're welcome, guys.

- Thank you.
- Thank you, man.

- Nice.
- Very nice.

Ron, last night was wonderful.

I had a really nice time.

Did you?

- Yeah, I did.

I could tell. [laughs]

- Mm-hmm.

Baby, makin' love to you,

it's like hitting
the lottery, for me.

It's like, for me, it's
like winning the Superbowl.

It's very important.

If I don't do it,
I get depressed.

I need you to understand that.

- I do.

I love you, Ron.

And I want to do
what you want to do.

- I love that.

[audience cheering]

[audience applauds]

- So, uh, so I went to the
music awards, last night.

Well, I went to the parties.

[crowd member applauding]

See, now there's a motherfucker
that's never been anywhere.

[audience laughs]

Yeah, took my wife,
which was a good thing,

because she's always like,
"I really want to go out.

I really want to go out.

You never take me to any
of the good parties."

And it's not like I'm dyin'

to go out to
motherfuckin' places.

Half the women that
you're with are basically,

I mean, they're there just to
see if you still got shine.

- [Woman] Hey, hey, Ron,
you got shine, baby!

- [Woman] You got shine!

[audience cheers]

- Yeah, I don't know if I'm
fine, but I know I'm good.

[audience cheers]

[gentle urban music]

- Hey, Ron!

Niki Crawford wants to meet you.

- When?

- Right now,
motherfucker, right now.

♪ Do you feel my sensitivity

- Hi.
- How do you do?

- I'm good. How are you?

- I'm doing well.

- I really enjoyed your show.

- Thank you very
much. Thank you.

If I'd known you
were in the audience,

I'd have shouted out to you.

- No, no, this is
your show, your time.

I just wanted to come by

and say I had a really
good time, though.

Well, I'm glad you did.

Ah, this is my wife, Kim Waters.

- How are you?

- This is my cousin, Floyd Cash,

his lady, Sylvia.
- Pleasure.

- Hi, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.

So I'm doin'
Cavalcade on the 15th,

and I would love for
you to open for me,

if you got the time,
if you're available.

- I would be honored
and delighted.

- Good, so I'll get in
touch with Sterling,

and we'll set it up.

- Great.
- Yeah, I'll contact ya.

I got ya, ma'am.

- Great.

- That's great.
Thank you for coming.

- No problem.
- Thank you for being here.

- See ya later.
- Yeah.

That's good, man.

You see that?
- Some exciting stuff!

- Oh my gosh.
- Yeah, man.

Mm-mm-mm.
- Aww.

- Cous, your pumped.

Yeah, man, I'm with ya, man.

Backstage passes, baby, come on.

- [Sylvia] Let's
celebrate, champagne toast.

- Yeah, a toast, toast, toast.

- Champagne.
- Let me get my drink.

Woo, woo!

- It's been a while since
I seen you look so good.

You got a glow.

- Why, thank you. [laughs]

What did you expect?

- Nothing less.

- [Staffer] For the lady.

- These are beautiful.

Are they for anything
in particular?

- You're in a good mood.

- That's because you've
been treating me well.

Women can sense when
you love them, Ron,

and when you don't.

[phone rings]

- I gotta take this.

I'll be right back.

I'll call you back
in two seconds.

Hey.

- I know, Ron.

- [Ron] You know what?

- I know.

- Look, stop playing games
and tell me what's up.

- You stop playing games.

I know you and your wife
are closer than you let on.

Be with you in one second.

- What?

Why do you say that?

- I came to the club, last
night, and I saw you two.

- You saw us in public.

What were we gonna do?

- Well, not hold hands
and kiss and all that.

- You should've called
before you came.

- Ron, it's a public nightclub.

- Yeah, but you knew
I was gonna be there.

You should've let me know.

- And let you keep lying to me?

- Lyin' to you about what?

So you saw us out in public
with a bunch of people around?

What am I supposed to
do, treat her like shit?

She's my wife.

- Well, you didn't have
to kill her with kindness.

- Look, can we
get a bite to eat?

Can I come and get you?

- [sighs] For what?

- We should not be having this
conversation over the phone.

- Well, what for? What
good is seeing me gonna do?

- Look, let me just
come by and get you.

We can talk about this,
okay, like adults.

- [Rosa] So what's she
down here for, anyway?

- She's, uh, [coughs]
she's down here

to try to make it work out.

But we've been tryin'
that for a while, so...

- You're never gonna
leave her, are you?

- Takes forever to get
into these things, darling,

and forever to get out.

- And I'm just supposed
to wait around for that?

Do you have any idea how many
men want to sleep with me,

drink with me, take me out?

- You know, let
me tell you, baby.

You wouldn't even
respect me if I were

to answer these
questions you're asking.

I'd just be another
bitch-ass clown.

You don't even like these men.

The reason you like me is
because I'm a real man.

Real men do not
sit around talking

about their fuckin' feelings.

Now it would be great if you
were to give me some time

to try to figure this stuff out.

But if you don't,

I'll completely understand.

- I called you, because
I can't leave you.

I just don't want to be that
stupid girl who loves you

and in the end gets hurt.

I mean, you could be fucking
her, and I would never know.

- You're right. I
could be fuckin' her.

And you would never know.

And you could be
fucking' somebody else,

and I hope you're not,
but I'll never know,

and you'll never have to tell
me, 'cause I'll never ask.

I don't want to
hear any bad news.

Stop rushin', you're 24.

You need to focus on
what you're tryin' to do

and be patient.

- I'm really trying not
to put pressure on you.

I just can't help it.

- Yeah, you can.

Focus on your stuff, all right.

And hopefully, one
day, we'll wake up.

We'll have known each
other for 20 years.

- Kiss me.

[lively music]

- I wouldn't drop
anybody, right now, man.

You don't need to be
makin' any sudden moves.

Things are goin'
good, right now.

You're on a roll.

I don't believe in
droppin' anyone.

[pool balls clack]

Trust me, they doin' better
gettin' half of your time

than they would be gettin'
a nigger's full attention,

'cause who wants to be
around a motherfucker

who can give you their
full attention, really?

- Yeah, man, but I'm gonna
have both these women call

and find out what about
dinner, shit like that.

And I need to be
thinkin' about other shit

besides havin' dinner
with them, you know.

- You guys want
anything to drink?

- No, darling, we good,
at the moment. Thank you.

- But like I said,

I think you need all
this confusion, man.

Maybe havin' all
these girls, Ron,

helps you with your
writing or somethin'.

I don't know.

[pool balls clack]

[gentle music]

- We should get
that wine for us.

- Yeah?
- Mm-hmm.

- It's good stuff.
- Yeah.

- How do you feel?

- I feel fantastic.

I'm glad you came out, Kim.

- Yeah.

- And you've been
great about everything.

Hopefully, I have, too.

- You have.

Maybe we're finally
hitting that calm moment

where everything and
everybody's in place.

- Very possible.
[phone buzzing]

- We just need to keep being
patient with each other,

look after each other,
look after one another.

[phone buzzing]

- Yeah, I agree, completely.

[phone buzzing]

- Where ya goin'?

- Uh, just gonna go
and smoke a cigarette.

- [Kim] Well, you can
smoke in here. It's okay.

- I don't want to smoke
in here, around you.

- It's okay.

You always rush up.

- I do?

- You do.

- Now you're just
gonna sit back here,

because I asked you to.

- Oh no, no, I'm just
not focused on it, a lot.

It's just, you know,
when you tell me,

I'm here.

- Okay. [laughs]

- You worry all the time.

- No.

[Kim laughs]

[crickets chirping]

[phone ringing]

- Hey.

- [Ron] What's up?

- Well, I just, I
hadn't heard from you,

and we had such a nice
day I thought I'd call

and see where you
are, how you're doing.

- I'm all right.

- Where are you?

Why can't you talk
in a normal voice?

- Uh, no, actually, I got
called in to do a set.

Uh, you know, there's a
bunch of people around.

I'm just talkin' low.

- Tell me the truth.

- That's the truth.

You know, I just got
off stage. I'm tired.

I'm at the club.

- Okay.

Well, you sound strange.

- Oh fuck.

Now I'm back at
that dumb shit, huh?

I sound strange?

[water pattering]

[phone rings]

- You didn't have to
call me back, Ron.

- See? Okay.

[lively dance music]

Now I wanted you to get a
good night sleep, darling,

okay, so just relieve
your pressure,

'cause now your
mind is wandering.

You lost your mind now,

thinkin' I'm someplace
I shouldn't be.

That's not what you
should be thinkin' about.

You should be thinkin' about
getting a good night's rest,

so you can get up and
go to work, tomorrow.

- [Rosa] Uh-huh, sure, Ron.

- Hold on, hold on, baby.

Yo, Bill.

- Okay.

[crickets chirping]

[car horns honking]

[solemn piano music]

[knocks at door]

- [Ron] How you doing?

- Yeah, we gotta talk.

- Of course.

What's happening?

- I don't think we're
gonna make it, Ron.

- What makes you say that?

- I followed you, today.

- What made you follow me?

- The phone calls, last night.

Who's the girl, Ron?

- She's just a friend.

She's a young girl. I
met her after a show.

It's nothing serious.

- Sure looked serious, today.

You know, you could've
told me from the start.

I've known for weeks you've
been seeing this girl.

- How've you known for weeks?

- Word got back to Chicago.

Friends in town saw you
holding' hands and kissing.

You know, you, you never
know who's watching!

- And you're just
now sayin' something.

- When you don't know what
to do, don't do anything.

You could've told
me, from the start,

even up to last night.

The truth, you know.

[birds squawking]

- That's the fucked up thing
about this whole life, man.

People always want the truth.

Sometimes, the truth
ain't good for you.

Look, the fact of the matter is,

I really don't want to
hurt any feelings here.

- Well, you know what, I'm
not into us moping around

with each other, so I'm
just gonna get on a plane,

and I'm gonna leave.

- Look, even if I wanted
you to go, you can't go,

because if you go, we're fucked.

Come on, sit down,

just talk to me for a
second, please, baby, eh?

Just sit with me, for a second.

Baby, please.

Just for a second.

Please.

[birds squawking]

I've been pretty good
to you, you know.

I do care about you.

I mean, these last few years

I've been out here doing
the best I can for you.

I'm out here hustling, trying
to do my thing, you know.

I mean, I do, I do
shit I don't like.

You know I don't like goin'
on vacation with your friends,

but I wanted you to be happy.

But you ain't been happy.

And I guess that got me mad.

I don't know what to do.

- I love you, Ron.

I really do, but you want
to know what's hard on me?

[Kim chuckles]

When I first met you,
I was very enamored

with the movies and the
person and the life.

And I was that young girl,
and Janice was your wife.

And you asked for me to wait
for you, for your divorce,

and I waited for two years.

And then the drugs hit, and
everything went to shit,

but I stayed.

And you became a
better man for it.

But now I got a man who's
happier bein' away from home.

- Look, Kim, I'm not
interested in givin' up, okay?

But I gotta finish this tour.

I have to.

All right, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm
not gonna be out, on the road,

doin' one of these things
for another six months

or somethin' like that.

I'll only act every
once in a while.

But I gotta finish this.

I mean, that was the whole
point in me comin' out here,

to get a hit.

[Kim scoffs]
That was it.

Let me finish this tour

and then we'll talk
about what comes later.

- Your life's never
gonna change, Ron.

You're the best guy.
It's not your fault.

I love you.

A long time ago, I used to think

that you'd get some
sort of award or medal

for staying together
like 20 or 30 years.

But you know what I realized?

There are no awards.

There are no medals.

You just gotta live.

You just gotta keep on livin',

and you gotta think about
the choices that you make.

- No, come on, baby, come on.

[Kim grunts]

Look, I, I believe
in our future.

We just have to keep workin'
through these things.

I mean, they're just challenges.

But in the meantime,
please, stay with me.

Let me finish this tour.

Nothin' happens if
I don't keep goin'.

It's gonna make my
life really hard

if you're not with
me on this one.

I mean, am I your
husband or what?

- What about the girl, Ron?

- I'll leave her alone.

Darling, I've had so
many losses in my life

that I can pretty much
walk away from anything.

- She's young.

She'll fall in love again.

- How did I fall in love with
a woman who's not impressed?

How the fuck do you do that?

You work all your life to
make a name for yourself,

and the girl you fall

in love with ain't
even impressed by that,

but you buildin' houses

and payin' for them to
play tennis on Thursdays

with their girlfriends
and all that shit.

And they don't even know that

that's actually
killin' the reason

that they like you, anyway,

which is the saddest thing, man.

The reason that women
fall in love with you is

because you're independent.

And the first thing
they try to do is

to kill the independence
based on the fact

that they ain't got
nothin' to do with it.

That's the way life is, man.

That's what them blues
songs is based on, man.

That's, that's what Sex
Machine is based on.

Every melody the motherfucker
ever wrote is based

on the fact that the girl
that you with ain't really

that crazy about bein' with you.

But she can't live without you.

No, you got to
focus on the pussy.

I'm focused on the pussy,
okay. I'm focused now.

You know? [laughs]

Rather than just be
a bitch that's lucky

to fuck a nigger like me.

[audience gasps]

I mean, I'm a nigger.

I need the motherfuckin'
woman to luck out,

you know, rather than walk
around the house all day,

mad and shit, tryin'
to figure out whether

or not the paperwork was right.

[phone rings]

[audience groaning]

Hey, Bill, man.

- [Man] Get off the stage, man!

- I got to call you back.
Nigger, answer your phone.

I'm talkin' to some
people right now.

[audience muttering]

Man, I, I'm basically
tryin' to get a jump

on bitches fuckin'
leavin' me, man.

That's my whole thing, you know.

Let me just get a
jump on this bitch.

[audience muttering]

[audience booing]

[audience chattering]

- Okay, welcome
to the Funny Barn.

That was fuckin' awkward.

[audience laughs]

We'd like to thank you
for paying your $5 cover

to join us for the Ron Waters
assisted group suicide.

[audience laughs]

Seriously, [laughs]
cyanide tablets are already

in your cups.
[audience laughs]

Nike Cortezes are on you.

[audience laughs]

I'm just kiddin'.

We've got karaoke
comin' up later,

if you guys want
to stick around.

Personally, I have
a fucking life,

so I don't think I will be.

But there is a happy hour.

We'll be a lot more happier
than what we just saw.

- What the fuck are you doing?

- I'm leaving.

- Yeah, I see that.

You only did 20 minutes
on a 45-minute set.

You're comin' up
short, motherfucker.

And what's with the
fuckin' phone call?

- Man, the life has been sucked
out of that audience, okay,

by the other comedians.

They're not even laughing.

Ah, I'm not prepared to
resuscitate these motherfuckers.

They gonna have me
second-guessing my shit.

- What the fuck, man?

- Gene, just give us a
second, I'm handlin' it.

- I don't have a second.

I got a mass exodus
out the door, man.

What the fuck is up, Ron?

- Gene, we can take care
of this now or later.

Just give me a second, please.

- This is fucked
up, and you know it.

- You ever think you ought to
be second-guessin' yourself?

- Why?

- You were a little
harsh out there, tonight.

Niki Crawford's manager was
just shuffling in his seat.

I had to talk him
down, but I'm not sure

if it's gonna do any good.

What the fuck were you thinking?

- Look, man, I went out there.

I did the same thing I
do every other night.

I told, I told my story.

Now at least, that's consistent.

That's gotta count for
somethin' in this business.

- Ron, I don't care,
either way, all right.

I know you, and you
weren't yourself out there.

Now I had to convince
a lot of people

to get you back in these places.

I don't want to know what it is,

and I don't want
to talk about it,

because like I said,
you got a shot,

and it may be your last.

Gene!
[door thuds]

[birds twittering]

[phone rings]

- Hello.

- What's happening?

- Sterling?

- Yeah, man.

- [Ron] What's up?

- Take a ride up to my house.

I want to see you for a minute.

[engine revs]

[Sterling laughs]

You made it!

- Yeah, I'm here.

- Well, come on.

♪ Happiness

- So what's up?

- Why does this got
to be about something?

Maybe I just want to see you
outside of the nightclub,

tell you how much your
friendship means to me.

- All right.

What you got goin' on here, man?

- The old lady's got
some yogi shit goin' on.

Come on, let's go
to the liquor room.

You want a drink?

- No, man.

- Well, I'm gonna have another.

You remember this room?

- Yeah, I do.

- This room has
seen some days, man.

Yeah, when Richard and
I were runnin' shit,

this is the kind
of rooms we had.

We had spots like this

when these punks was
still in diapers.

Now this industry
is just fucked.

That's why I came
and got you, Ron,

brought you back,

'cause you like a throwback,

'cause this is the
way we used to do it.

And you remind me
of the good times.

I tied it up with Niki Crawford.

I tied it up with her people.

We got the deal.

We goin' to the Cavalcade, baby!

Yeah!
- My man!

[both laughing]

- It's just like
the old days, huh?

- Hell yeah!

- But it's not
like the old times,

'cause you not
gonna fuck this up.

- Oh, Sterling, man, I can't
hear this shit now, man.

You drunk!

- I am.

But I'm on.

You know I'm your boy.

You know I respect you,
and because I respect you,

I kept a copy of this tape.

Ain't nobody got this.

You know, I just
want you to realize,

this is the shit
that fucked you up.

Marinade on that
a while. [laughs]

[solemn music]

- Oh, ladies and gentlemen,
they are hot tonight.

Thanks, boys, sounds great.

Any of you who
follow standup comedy

will know my next guest.

He's been right out there
on the edge, for years,

ladies and gentlemen, a
warm welcome for Ron Waters.

Ron, come on out!

[upbeat jazz music]

Hey, man, welcome,
come have a seat.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Ron Waters.

Good to see you.

- Thank you for having me.
- Have a seat.

You look sharp. Those
are great glasses.

Who makes those?

- [sighs] Pucci made these, man.

- [Jerry] Oh, you mean Gucci.

- No, man, Pucci,
that's, uh, before Gucci.

You wouldn't know
about that, though.

That's, you know.

- Oh, Pucci, before Gucci,

but I wouldn't know about that.

[audience laughs]

All right, ladies and gentlemen,
if you like 'em, Puccis.

All right, Ron, we all
know you're doin' TV now.

You've got some
movies comin' out.

You're hot. You're on a roll.

How are you, man?

- Yeah, man, I've
been tryin' to, uh,

I, I, I called you, Jerry.

- Yeah, yeah, I got a message.

- No, man, I've been, I've
been calling you, man.

You don't even answer
your motherfuckin' phone.

What's up?
- [laughs] Kinda busy, Ron.

I got a network show.

I still work the road.

I'm a little busy.

Besides, Ron, you join
a very elite group.

There are a lot of great
people I don't call back.

That's the kinda
gal I am. [laughs]

- I'm not talkin' about
them motherfuckers.

I'm not talkin' about
them pussies, man.

Call me back, yo.
- Hey, hey, hey.

- Call me back.
- Network, network.

- Man, fuck the
motherfuckin' network.

I'm talkin' about, man, how come

you didn't call me back?
- Hey, we're not playing

the Apollo, here, Ron.
- What the fuck is

that supposed to mean?
- Have a seat, Ron.

Hey, take it easy.
- No, I don't want to sit.

- Hey, let's go to commercial.

- I want you to call me back.
- Yeah, commercial, guys.

We'll go to commercial.
- [Man] All right, Ron, hey-

- Hey, get the fuck
up off me, man!

I'm knockin' motherfuckers
out tonight. You understand?

I'm shootin' motherfuckers.
- Hey, Ron.

- Step off me, you motherfucker.

- Troy!

- [Ron] Jerry, what
the, I mean, what-

- Ron, you're out of line.

- How am I out of line?

Jerry?
- [Jerry] You're up.

You're swinging at people.

- Nigger, get the
fuck away from me.

- [Jerry] Hey, hey!
- Oh, you the nigger?

You got a nigger you send out

to do this shit, man.
- Yeah, yeah.

- [Ron] Get the fuck
up off of me, nigger.

Hey, Jerry, you gonna play me

like this?
- Good night, Ron.

- Jerry, Jerry,

you're calling security?
- Oh, yeah, yeah, we're good.

- [Ron] Hey, come on,
Jerry, what the fuck?

Don't touch me,
motherfucker! I'm tellin' ya.

- We back?

Okay, count me in.

[bright music]

[Jerry laughs]

Ladies and gentlemen,
well, wasn't that funny?

I'd like to apologize to
the folks watching at home.

I'd like to apologize
to our studio audience.

I'd like to apologize
to the network.

Charming, huh?
[audience laughs]

Although, he did set
a kind of a record.

He's the first guest, in
the history of my show,

to be on twice in one night,

the first time
and the last time.

You won't see Ron
Waters here again.

That's too bad.

All right, ladies and gentlemen,

any of you go to the movies
will know this next young lady,

a beautiful girl,
beautiful, has three movies.

- Keep on drinkin'.

[women laugh]

What we drink I'm
gonna pour on ya.

[women laugh]

- [Summer] As long
as you lick it off.

- That's what I'm sayin'.

- Mm-hmm.
- Whatever I don't finish.

- Hey, Ron, you okay, darlin'?

- Yeah, shit.

I'm gettin' out the
squirt bottles, later.

[Summer laughs]

Be squirtin' Jack
Daniels all over.

What are you lookin' at?

[women laugh]

- So this is how
it's gonna happen.

You're dumping me in an alley.

- Rosa, I'm too old, at
this point, to fall in love

and get happy-go-lucky
about women.

- I can fix that.

You have to give
us a chance, Ron.

- I want you to move on.

- But, Ron,

I'm in love with you.

I want to marry you.

- Baby, I've been so squeezed
by this marriage shit,

I'm not normal about it.

Look, you can't expect
a nigger like me to,

all of a sudden, just
start jumpin' up and down,

huggin' and kissin' people.

You got to figure
out somethin' else.

You don't want to
marry a man like me,

a dude's not happy
about marriage.

- Because you're with a
woman who doesn't love you.

She's only with you for
what you can do for her.

- It doesn't matter.

[siren wails]

[Rosa sniffs]

- My break's over.

I have to go back to work.

You ruined me, Ron.

We could've had everything.

I told you, I'd never
been in love before,

never made love
like this before,

teach me, take
advantage of that.

And you did.

[heels clacking]

- Good afternoon,
Mr. and Mrs. Waters,

welcome to the Cavalcade.

- Thank you.

Rosa, I've been
reaching out for you.

Please call me when you get

this message, okay?
[people chattering]

I need to talk to you, okay?

Please.

All right, baby.
- But this year, okay,

'cause I'm excited to...

Ron, hey!

- Hey.

- How are you?

- I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm good.

Yeah, yeah.
- Nice.

You're here.
- You look beautiful.

- Thank you.

You goin' to sound
check with us?

- I can.

I mean, you know, I want the
whole experience, you know.

- Nice, how you feelin'?

You gonna warm 'em up for me?

- Yeah, yeah, I am.

I'm just, you know,
gonna throw up,

get my breathin' right, and
you know, and be all good.

But I'm gonna set the
table for you, let you eat.

- You'll be fine.

- Okay.
- I'm glad you're here.

- Me too, thank you.

- No, man, thank you.
- I really appreciate it.

- See you soon, all right.
- Yeah, yeah, I'll be there.

Yeah, cool.

My mellow, all right, all right.

[upbeat music]

- [Kim] How ya doing?

- I'm good.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

Just goin' over what I'm gonna
say, tonight, gettin' ready.

- You are gonna knock
'em dead, tonight.

I know it. [laughs]

- Thank you, baby.

- And remember,
I'll be watchin'.

♪ I ain't leavin'

♪ So, baby, I'm here

- Rosa, I've been callin' you.

I've been tryin' to reach you.

It's me. Ron.

Call me back.

- [Sterling] Yeah, when was
the last time you saw his act?

- [Woman] Oh, it's
been about a month.

- Really?
- Yeah.

- Hey, where you goin', man?

[Ron laughs]

- Man, I'm comin' right back.

I gotta take care of something.

- Oh, Ron.

Are you really gonna do this?

- I'm comin' back, this time.

Trust me.

- Come on, how you gonna
get where you're goin'?

You don't have a car.

- I have a driver.

- You'll be back?

- I'll be back.

- Oh, man.

He gets jittery before
the show, you know.

- Mm-hmm.

[engine revving]

[locks clicking]

♪ A time you were beautiful

♪ Then you became

♪ You wished like
some hopeless ♪

♪ Like a lost little girl

- I've been callin'
you for a while.

- I turned my phone off.

- You're smoking now?

- I'm smoking now.

- Come on and get dressed
and, uh, come with me.

- [Rosa] Does your
wife know you're here?

- What?

- Does your wife
know you're here?

- We've been together
for 10 years.

Do you really think
that she's thinkin'

about some shit like this?

Come on, let's go.

- [Rosa] For what?

- I want you to, come on.

- Ron, you just hurt me
more than anyone ever has,

and you expect me
to go with you.

- I also just left
opening for Niki Crawford

to come and get you.

Come on, I got some
really good seats.

I really want you to be there.

You've been so important to me.

I didn't want you to miss
this. This is my big night.

Will you please come?

I'm gonna be touchin'
people, tonight.

[Rosa laughs]

- You're gonna be
touching people?

So now you're touching people?

You're physically touching
people now, you motherfucker.

- Rosa.

Rosa.

Rosa, open up, baby.

♪ Then you become miserable

♪ And you just keep smoking

♪ You threw up

♪ Baby, you know it

♪ You could be
right for everyone ♪

♪ Oh, the party was starting

♪ You had so much fun

♪ We went all out, pimpin'

♪ We're doin' a little
scooch-skewing ♪

♪ It all comes

[door creaks]

[door clacks]

♪ Do like that, yeah,
you do like that ♪

♪ I taught you how
to do like that ♪

♪ Grow up, little girl

♪ Grow up, little girl

♪ It's just a nasty,
nasty attitude ♪

[erratic electronic music]

♪ We can dance all night

♪ We can dance all night

♪ We can dance all night

[phone rings]

Hello.

- [Sterling] Where are you?

- I'm on my way back now.

♪ You a hater

♪ Don't talk to me

♪ You wanted the feelin' shit

♪ Don't start with me

♪ You made me go
there, admit it ♪

♪ 'Cause I'll prove it

♪ To men, the Lord
and Savior create ♪

♪ And it's spittin' that crack

♪ That has debt

♪ They suspect me
spittin' like a mack ♪

♪ Heart attack's intact

♪ I'm DJ-in' that drama on

♪ You know the part we all
stand and makin' like ♪

♪ We saw in my bitch
long families ♪

♪ Beat y'all for a quick draw

♪ I'm gonna solicit you

♪ With the mic as my tool

♪ I'll run through that

♪ The principal that's
runnin' this school ♪

♪ It's a cold world, got a rep

♪ And that's for
publishing you, so sayin' ♪

♪ High-end tech

- Where the fuck are you?

- I'm right here.

- [Sterling] You ready?

- I'm ready.

- Let's go do this.

[gentle music]

♪ Get a real job

♪ Keep the wind at your back

♪ And the sun on your face

♪ All the immediate unknowns
are better than knowin' ♪

♪ This tired and lonely fate

♪ Does he love you

♪ Does he love you

- Who's excited?

[audience cheering]

♪ I guess it's spring

♪ I didn't know

♪ It's always 75

♪ You've nowhere to swim

- All right, hello, everyone.

I'm your man, Craig Thomas.

It's good to see you tonight.

Welcome to the
Cavalcade of the stars.

You guys are in
for a real treat,

because we have the
soulful, the real music

of Ms. Niki J. Crawford!

[audience cheers]

♪ He's comin' out
to California ♪

- Uh-
- May I help you?

- Can I get a pack of lights?

- And wait, wait, wait.

Opening for her is a man who
is definitely no less real

and no less soulful.

He's been doing his
thing, a long time,

performing such places as
the Comedy Club, the Improv,

tons of television
shows, movies,

and he's making
a major comeback.

[car thumps]

Mr. Sophistication
himself, Ron Waters!

[audience cheers loudly]
♪ And he loves you

♪ Yeah, he loves you

♪ And you two, oh,
you'll soon become free ♪

- Hello.

♪ And he loves you, even
though you used to say ♪

♪ You were flawed if
you weren't free ♪

[engine revs]

♪ You and I were almost dead

♪ And you're better
off for leaving ♪

♪ Yeah, you're better
off for leaving ♪

♪ Late at night,
I get the phone ♪

♪ You're at the shop,
sobbin' all alone ♪

♪ Your confessions
were only made ♪

♪ When you thought your
time was runnin' out ♪

- Fuck you, Ron Waters.

[audience applauds]

- Thank you.

Oh, man, today, I'm feelin', uh,

I'm all confused about life.

I'm way confused about shit,

because I had crazy
shit happen to me again.

This morning, I was reading my
emails, right, checkin' 'em.

And I got this one
cousin in Philly, right.

He's a regular cat.

He works for the airport.

Always sends me lots of
emails, like too many,

[audience laughs]

with all these jokes, you know,

so much so that
you are thinkin',

where the fuck does a
nigger get time like this?

[audience laughs]

[Ron laughs]

So he sends me one this
morning that's based on like,

if you don't send this
to 10 of your friends,

you gonna have bad luck.

[audience laughs]

So for, me that's like,

the most fucked up
shit you could send

to somebody, right,
'cause now you have it

where you put some negative
shit on a nigger's mind.

You know, plus, I'm
supposed to send this

to some good friends,
some real friends of mine?

Yeah, man, I just want
to send him an email,

just wantin' to send him
an email saying, look, man,

I don't want to
hurt your feelings.

I don't mind you sending
me jokes and shit.

But don't ever send me some shit

that I have to send
to someone else

or my shit's not gonna
turn out straight.

You know what I mean?

[audience applauds]

Come on, man, that's
some bullshit, nigger.

You know, I mean, it makes
me just like not want

to give my email out
to motherfuckers, man.

And what's fucked up
about it is I looked

at the email string, the
people he sent it to.

Nigger sent it to all my boys.

[audience laughs]

So I got nobody I could
send the shit to, nowhere.

[audience laughs]

[audience applauds]

[solemn music]

♪ Mm

♪ Yeah

♪ Tell me how can you
treat me that way ♪

♪ Outside, you're happy

♪ Inside, you run away

♪ Why not just say it
straight to my face ♪

♪ When it's obvious to me

♪ You don't feel the same way

♪ There's evil in your eyes

♪ That can't be found

♪ Always tellin' lies

♪ When I'm not around

♪ Deception is goin' down

♪ What goes around
comes back around ♪

♪ When you keep it real

♪ It stands on
its own two feet ♪

♪ But you're keepin' secrets

♪ That ain't how
it's supposed to be ♪

♪ I'm on the outside,
lookin' in at you ♪

♪ And I'm seein'
all the things ♪

♪ You don't see is true, yeah

♪ There's evil in your eyes

♪ That can't be found

♪ Always tellin' lies
when I'm not around ♪

♪ Deception is goin' down

♪ What goes around
comes back around ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh,
ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

♪ There's evil in your
eyes that can't be found ♪

♪ Yeah

♪ Evil in your eyes
that can't be found ♪

♪ Always tellin' lies
when I'm not around ♪

♪ Deception is goin' down

♪ What goes around,
comes back around ♪

♪ There's evil in your
eyes that can't be found ♪

♪ Always tellin' lies
when I'm not around ♪

♪ Deception is goin' down

♪ What goes around,
comes back around ♪

♪ There's evil in your
eyes that can't be found ♪

♪ Always tellin' lies
when I'm not around ♪

♪ Deception,
deception's goin' down ♪