Original subtitles

* Good times Any time you meet a payment *

* Good times Any time you need a friend *

* Good times *

* Any time you're out from under *

* Not gettin' hassled Not gettin' hustled *

* Keepin' your head Above water *

* Makin' a wave when you can *

* Temporary layoffs Good times *

* Easy credit ripoffs Good times *

* Scratchin' and survivin' Good times *

* Hangin' in a chow line Good times *

* Ain't we lucky we got 'em *

* Good times **

Mmm, Ma, is the roast beef ready?

In a few minutes, honey.

Oh, Ma, can't you turn the oven off?

I can't wait anymore.

It won't be long now, Michael.

All right.

[SNIFFS]

Oh, boy!

I smell meat!

Well, one thing for sure,

there's nothing wrong with your nose.

And that's surprising for something

that spends so much time on your face.

[SNIFFS]

Hello there, roast!

Welcome, you've been a stranger too long!

J.J., will you get away from there?

Well, I gotta go now, roast.

Just wanted to introduce you to my stomach,

because y'all gonna be meeting later for dinner.

Will you get out of my kitchen

and stop acting silly?

Nobody talks to a roast.

That's right!

Mmm-mm!

Boy, that smell is driving me crazy!

Roast, baby, what's happening? Yeah!

That roast is lookin' good!

If you all don't stay outta here,

that roast is never gonna get done.

I'm sorry, baby.

Ma, I hope you're cooking that roast right,

because I like my meat just like me:

brown on the outside and rare on the inside!

If that meat looked just like you,

it'd be all bones.

[CLEARS THROAT]

Well, if the meat looked like you,

it would've come with a flea collar.

Junior!

Hey, baby, how much did you pay

for this roast anyhow?

[MUMBLES] ... dollars and 49 cents.

Huh?

Twelve dollars and 49 cents.

Florida, you're just supposed to buy a piece of the cow,

not the ranch he grew up on.

Oh, now, come on, James.

We had some extra money this month,

and I don't see any reason why

we shouldn't give ourselves a treat.

Mama, where'd you buy the roast?

At Borgen's Market.

And I want you all to know

that meat was marked "prime."

That's a switch.

Usually at Borgen's, the meat is marked "choice,"

which means, "take this, because you ain't got no choice."

Daddy!

[SNIFFS]

Roast beef?

Sorry, folks, I must have the wrong apartment.

Oh, come on back here, girl.

FLORIDA: How are you doing?

Terrible.

Just came back from Borgen's Market,

and, girl, is that place a ripoff!

This is what you get

for one week's paycheck:

one day's worth of groceries.

There ain't a thing in that place

that ain't expensive.

And getting more expensive every minute.

Look at this...

Nineteen cents crossed out and 23 cents stamped on.

Twenty-three cents crossed out, and 26 cents stamped on.

26 cents crossed out with a note saying,

"Continued on the other side of the can."

You're a real mess, Willona, you know that?

Mama, all this talk about food is making me hungry.

When are we gonna eat?

Right now.

All right!

Everybody, come on.

Hey, J.J., I better warn you, man.

I may be your little brother,

but once that roast hits this table,

it's every man for himself.

Well, I'm gonna go home and open up a can of hash.

Y'all, uh, enjoy your dinner.

Oh, come on, Willona,

there's enough food for everybody.

Oh, I couldn't. I'd be intruding.

Really had to twist your arm, didn't we?

Ooh, Flo.

That looks delicious and smells gorgeous.

JAMES: Mmm, bring it!

Well, if everybody is ready,

I'd like to present the guest of honor.

[ALL CHEERING]

Ha-ha-ha!

Okay, J.J., you can say the blessing,

and take your hat off.

Thank you, Lord,

for taking the time to send us

all this hunk of prime!

Amen! ALL: Amen.

Hey, Ma, if you're taking orders for breakfast,

I'll start off with toast, grits, bacon,

waffles, ham, and pancakes.

Right.

One oatmeal coming up.

Mama, if it's all the same to you,

I think I'll skip breakfast this morning.

Why, Michael? It's safe to eat.

Thelma didn't make it.

What's the matter, Michael, don't you feel well?

Not really, Mama.

My stomach feels like I swallowed my history book.

How about you, J.J.?

I feel fine, Ma. Just great.

As a matter of fact,

I dreamt I was trapped in a room with a thousand Big Macs

and had to eat my way to freedom.

Hey, J.J., man, please don't mention food.

My stomach can't take it.

In that case, I'll have Michael's breakfast too.

Oh, Ma!

To tell you the truth, kids...

I don't feel too hot myself.

Good morning, Ma.

Good morning, hon--

Thelma, are you all right?

Oh, Ma...

Oh, I feel like J.J. looks.

Oh, brother, then she's sicker than I am!

I'd better go and see how your dad is.

You don't have to worry about Dad.

He's tougher than nails.

[MOANING]

Hi, James. How are you feeling?

[MOANS]

Is it any better than last night?

[MOANS]

Honey, do you think you'll be able to go

to work today?

Uh-uh!

Florida, what happened here?

My stomach feels like King Kong is inside

tap dancing.

You know, it has got to be that meat

I made yesterday from Borgen's.

You mean it hit everybody?

Everybody except for yours truly.

I ate all the roast beef and slept through the night.

Now you're looking at a fine and healthy Kid...

[CLAPS]

Dy-no-mite!

That's because his stomach is just like his head...

cast iron.

For once, I wanted to serve

a decent meal from that rip-off market,

and look what happened.

Tsk.

Prime beef, my foot.

Hey, Dad, maybe the trouble is

you don't have nothing down in your stomach.

Why don't you try and eat some of this oatmeal in here?

Get some of this down in there.

That's what you need.

Hi, y'all.

Just came over

to thank you for that dinner.

Willona, honey, I am sorry.

As a matter of fact, I was up all night

thinking of a way to thank you.

It was the roast, Willona.

Everybody got sick except for J.J.

Oh.

Ooh, child. Ooh, ooh!

James, you look terrible.

Well, ooh, child. Ooh, Willona.

You don't look like no prom night yourself,

sweetie.

It's that old rotten Borgen's Market.

Mama, why do you shop there in the first place?

Honey, we got no choice.

They ran everybody else out of business.

Now they the only market around here

that we can get to without a car.

Well, that's some market.

Made all of us sick.

Cost me a day's pay at time and a half.

Willona... Hmm?

you know our women's club have always wanted to do

something about that market.

Yeah, we've been talking about picketing it

a long time.

Oh, well, I can't think of a better reason than we got,

nor a better time than right now.

Right, Ma.

We are gonna let Borgen's know

that we care about our families too.

Flo, right now?

Right now.

Now, the walk and the fresh air will do us both good.

Well, it may take me a little time.

I got two things I gotta do.

One of the things is get my coat.

You kids look after your father while I'm gone.

Don't worry, Ma.

Dad's in the good hands of Allstate.

He means the big jaws of all-mouth.

James, I won't be long.

Meanwhile, try to keep the situation under control.

I'll try, baby. I'll try.

I'll try and keep it under control,

but right now I ain't all that sure

I'm in control of the situation myself.

[SCREAMS] I want to get to go to--

Move!

[DOOR SLAMS]

[MOANS]

Dad, is there anything I can get you?

No, baby girl,

I just need some peace and quiet.

Okay, then I'll keep J.J. out of here.

Please.

[SCREAMS] Out of my way, girl!

Uh-huh. How are you doing, Dad?

I thought you might wanna watch some TV.

You know,

this is hard to believe, Thelma.

I mean, here we are.

We all ate the same thing,

and now we're all better,

and a big healthy guy like Dad

is still laying there like a wounded sparrow,

like a helpless baby,

like a 98-pound weakling.

Uh, could've happened to anybody, Dad.

Just shut up your mouth and plug in the set.

Yeah! Hey.

You heard what Daddy said.

Okay. Hold my peanut butter and hot sauce sandwich, Dad.

Well... while we're getting all this together, Dad,

and the set's tuning up-- Oh, thank you.

Uh, I guess we ought to get something

for you to eat, Dad.

That's the real thing we got to do.

First we'll start you off

with some of those chicken legs

that Ma got in there.

Then we'll get you some of that baloney,

which goes great with this pickle.

Yeah. This is definitely what you need, Dad.

Get all this down. No...

Yeah. No, Junior, no, no.

Maybe I'll be better off going to work today.

WOMEN [ON TELEVISION]: We shall not be moved!

We will not be moved!

Hey, Junior, look.

Hey, kids come in here quick!

Your mama's on TV! Come in here.

Hey, look at Mama!

Move, Michael!

Don't get in front of the TV.

Well, look at your mama leading that picket line

with Willona right behind her.

Right on, Ma! Yeah.

Look at my ma.

Yeah, look at Mama strutting.

Go ahead, Mama. Go.

Right, all right.

Yeah, give it to 'em, baby.

Oh, Dad, look. Here comes the cops.

Ooh, look at Mama yelling at that cop.

Hey, fuzz, get your hands off my mama!

One of the cop's yelling at Ma!

Ooh, Mama just said something heavy to that cop.

How do you know that?

Because look at him taking your mama away

in a patrol wagon.

Look, they're taking Willona away.

She's kicking and biting.

[SCREAMING]

Hey, stop that!

Hey, man, watch yourself!

You better watch yourself.

Flo, we got to get out of here.

I go nuts when I'm cooped up like this.

I can't stand it anymore. I can't stand it!

Oh, I think I'm going stir-crazy.

Willona.

We've only been in here 10 minutes.

Oh, I can't help that. I've got claustrophobia.

And we locked up in this jail!

Willona, I just told you, I already called James.

Oh...

He'll be down here to bail us out any second.

Any second? Yes.

I can't wait that long.

Willona, you're only making it harder on yourself.

Now, you've got to calm down.

Look, you're right.

Come on, sit over here.

Now, get a hold of yourself.

Everything is gonna be all right.

[EXHALES]

I got a hold of myself.

I'm cool.

Flo? Yes.

We gotta break out of here!

Willona...

Flo, I'm going crazy.

I gotta get out of here.

I want o-u-t, out!

WOMAN: All right, all right.

All right, I'm going. I know the address.

I know you do. You've been here enough.

Come on, this ain't no Easter parade.

Ooh, let's not get hostile!

Hey, you're making a mistake.

I'm an independent businesswoman.

I know.

That's what they booked you for, honey.

Well, well, well, well, well. Home sweet home.

Say, what you in for?

Well, uh...

We were just walking

up and down the street demonstrating.

Oh, yeah? Uh-huh.

Me too!

I'm afraid you don't understand.

We were carrying signs.

Oh...

No wonder you got busted!

Well, I got arrested for street walking.

You?

Street walking?

That's right.

I saw my husband with another woman, see,

and I caught up with them,

and I threw her down on the street,

and I walked up and down on her.

For five minutes.

WILLONA: Five minutes?

Five minutes.

Right on, mama!

Right off!

Evans. Florida Evans. Willona Woods.

You can leave. Bail's been posted.

Thank God!

Come on, Flo. Come on, Flo.

See you later. No, you won't!

Florida!

Baby, you all right?

Mm-hmm, I'm fine.

They didn't hurt you, did they?

No, baby, I'm all right. You sure?

No, James, I told you. I'm all right.

How about you, Willona, are you okay?

I'm okay now. Thanks.

James, it cost you some bread.

How much do I owe you?

Forget that. The most important thing is that you're all right.

Are you sure you're okay?

Oh, yeah, I'm fine.

Good. You owe me $25.

James, let's go home.

All right,

but we got to make one stop first, Florida.

I swear that market is gonna hear from me.

Oh, James!

Well, y'all can help yourself.

I'm going home and forget this nightmare ever happened.

I don't even want to think about it!

They had it on the TV news, Willona.

Ooh-ee! I hope they caught my good side.

Child, this could be the start of something big.

[LAUGHS]

Now, look, James,

if we go to that supermarket,

I want you to promise me you'll be reasonable.

I don't wanna have to come back down here

to bail you out.

Baby, I'm not gonna be nothing

but nice and reasonable.

I just wanna talk to the dude.

Then I'm gonna squeeze his Charmin.

James! Oh, James.

Yes, yes, yes, Mr. Borgen.

Yes. Yeah, there was a little demonstration.

Yeah, but I called the police, and they cooled it out.

No, no, no, Mr. Borgen--

Hey, listen, remember me? I'm on your side.

No, there's nothing to worry about, Mr. Borgen.

Mm-mm. Everything is-- Right.

[LOUD KNOCKING]

Well, just a minute. Someone's at the door.

I'll call you back. Come in.

Are you the manager of this ptomaine tabernacle?

James!

Yes, I'm Mr. Gage. Please have a seat.

What can I do for you?

No, skip that, man.

How come you had my wife thrown in the slammer?

Hey, believe me, brother,

I'll be the last man to call in the police.

I mean, it was Mr. Borgen.

I mean, I tried to tell him to cool it, but no way.

I mean, I really felt terrible about it,

Mrs., uh, uh--

Evans.

And this is my husband, James.

How do you do, sir?

Mr. Gage,

I wouldn't have been out there picketing

in the first place,

but I bought a roast here yesterday

that made my whole family sick.

Oh, you don't know how sorry I am

to hear that, Mrs. Evans,

and I'll try to get your money back.

Look, Mr. Gage,

you are the only market that people around here have,

and almost everything you got in this store is bad.

Mrs. Evans, I'm gonna lay it right on the line.

You are absolutely right...

And believe me, if I was the owner of this place,

things would be different,

but you don't seem to understand

that this store is a small part of a big chain, and me?

Hey, I'm brand new myself.

You are?

Yes, and if I have my way,

there's gonna be a lot of changes,

and I mean big changes.

Hey, I'm gonna make improvements all the time,

even if I have to fight Mr. Borgen

every inch of the way.

Well, you understand

we're not blaming you personally.

The hell we ain't.

Oh, James.

Please give him a chance.

Hey, man, I feel for you too.

Hey, listen, I'm one of you...

but there's just so much I can do.

Oh, man!

Hey, I'm working here 24 hours a day.

Do you know, I don't know when I had

my last home-cooked meal.

Yeah, well, I can't forget mine.

James, I think he's on our side.

That's what you think, baby.

I think he's piling it as high

as his canned goods.

Oh, James!

Hey, that's all right, Mrs. Evans.

I can understand your husband being upset.

I mean, I would be uptight too,

but listen, with good people like you on the outside

working with me on the inside,

hey, we'll be able to get something done.

Well, I guess you're doing

the best you can,

and thank you for your time.

Well, I appreciate those kind words, Mrs. Evans,

and feel free to come back any time.

You made me feel better.

Oh, that's what I'm here for.

And remember,

hey, I'm on your side.

Look here, man,

you better shape this store up and fast,

because if you don't, they gonna find you

stretched all the way from frozen foods

to canned goods.

Is you hip?

I said, is you hip? Uh-huh.

Then say, "I'm hip." I'm hip!

All right!

James! James.

Come on.

James, how can you talk like that

to a man that was trying to help us?

Baby, don't you know a line when you hear one?

Well, I believe him,

and I don't think we should leave here

until you go back and apologize.

Well, it's gonna be awful lonesome

at home without you.

Well, then, I'll apologize for you.

No, no, no, Mr. Borgen. No problems.

Yeah, I had a couple of pests in here,

but I got rid of them real easy,

and if I have any more trouble out of them,

I'll call the police again.

Hey, everything is under control.

James...

You were right. He is a phony.

I just heard him talking to Borgen on the phone.

He was putting on an act for us.

I'm gonna roast his rump right now!

No, James, please.

Oh, come on, Florida,

let me pound that dude in his face just one time,

make it look like ground round!

Wait a minute, James.

I think I know another way.

We still have some of that roast

left over, right?

Yeah, so what?

Well it's a shame to waste it, isn't it?

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Uh-huh.

[KNOCKING] Uh, come in.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans, we meet again.

Yes, Mr. Gage,

and this is Mr. Coggins, an interested friend.

Well, how do you do, Mr. Gage?

Nice meeting you.

Uh, and what can I do for you this time?

Nothing, Mr. Gage.

This time, we wanna do for you.

Right.

Well, what's happening?

First, I want to apologize

for the way I behaved, Mr. Gage.

I was... really out of line.

Oh, that's okay.

Yeah, and we got to thinking about what you told us,

you know, about how hard you work

and not being able to remember your last home-cooked meal...

So we thought we'd bring you one of ours.

Oh, you didn't have to go to that much trouble.

Oh, it was no trouble, Mr. Gage.

It was already cooked.

Yeah, go ahead, Mr. Gage, dig in.

That's awfully nice of you.

Would you folks care to join me?

Oh, no, son.

You go ahead and eat it all up.

We get our pleasure out of watching you.

Well, well, here's to good eating.

Uh, Mr. Gage, before you start,

we've got two little surprises for you.

One, Mr. Coggins here is from the Food Administration Office.

JAMES: And two,

that's leftover meat from the roast

we bought here in your market.

Uh, uh, hey, man.

Hey, hey...

Oh, no, no, no. Go ahead and eat.

You know, but I got a lot of things to do.

I gotta take care of whole lot of things.

Yeah, well, I'm sure it can wait.

I, I, I really like this good food,

but I just can't neglect the store.

You understand, Mr. Evans.

I gotta work. I gotta go to places here.

I'm the manager. I've gotta do what I can.

Oh, well, Mr. Gage,

if you're not going to eat it, I will.

You know, there's nothing

like a firsthand taste of the product.

Give me something to report

down at the Food Administration office.

Oh, no, no, no!

That's nice!

Eat it all up.

Delicious!

Don't it make you feel good

to see a man enjoying his food, baby?

It sure does.

[LAUGHS]

Well, thank you very much

for coming, Mr. Coggins.

I'm sure you have other appointments.

Oh, you're right, Mrs. Evans. Any time.

You know, it was nice to meet you, Mr. Gage.

I'll be seeing you, Mr. Evans.

Thank you very much, Mr. Coggins.

All right.

[DOOR OPENS]

Yummy, isn't it?

Yeah, make a happy plate.

Well, Mr. Gage, you got to come over

for dinner sometime.

Oh, James!

Any time, Mr. Gage. Any time.

Florida, James, that was the best!

I tell you.

But you know,

now I've gotta get back to work,

because this food administrating job

has made me late for my job at the garage.

I'll see you later, now.

All right, Warren. Take it easy, man.

Take care. All right.

Well we did it, baby.

Yeah, but you know

Borgen ain't gonna change nothing

because of that, don't you?

Yeah, I know...

but, Florida, we got even.

Just for once we got even.

Yeah!

[***]

* Mm-mm-mm *

* Just lookin' Out of the window *

* Watching the asphalt grow *

* Thinkin' how It all looks hand-me-down *

* Good times Good times *

* Keepin' your head Above water *

* Makin' a wave When you can *

* Temporary layoffs Good times *

ANNOUNCER: Good Times is recorded on tape

before a live audience.

* Ain't we lucky we got 'em *

* Good times **