that was quick.
really? where? she stretches up and peers over the seats. he grabs her shirt.
careful with my blouse.
i don't know. i think she doesn't know anyone anymore.
only a year.
would you marry someone you'd only known a year?
i can't say i have a lot of hope for the whole thing.
we're supporting her.
no. no. i wasn't speaking to her, but i'm over it.
why aren't you wearing your new shades?
you begged for those glasses.
that's ridiculous. claude reluctantly takes out a pair of thin wrap-around punk sunglasses and puts them on. he looks around self- consciously.
you look very cool. he takes them off.
i'm sorry it was such short notice.
it's beautiful, ingrid.
josh's spring break is next week. jim teaches through friday and then they open the house in vermont on the weekend.
oh. good. a car suddenly pulls out of a driveway, but nowhere near their car. malcolm swerves anyway.
no, i wasn't.
no, that's our tree!
you took the swing down.
well, i didn't know what to --
he told me.
this was becky's room. poor becky.
our parents.
i thought he was a musician.
good. i mean, you must be.
wow.
mm hm.
okay.
i may not get to it for a while.
becky's coming?
i was going to say, "i'd really like some white wine."
well, i'm so pleased we're here.
yeah.
i'm sorry you were so angry.
uh huh. but you see when you say, "disappointed" it puts me in a crummy situation. like i let you down.
i don't see it like that.
again, you're making me the aggressor.
i can't believe you've still got all of our old records. ingrid pulls an album toward her. her eyes widen at the scary image on the cover. she quickly turns it over and hands it to her mother.
claude wants to be very famous.
and the pixies.
you only liked top forty.
i don't really listen to music anymore.
was that the guy who liked to rough you up?
our father used to strip down to his skivvies and beat us with a belt.
did she ever. raped by the horse trainer.
i have that. i blank out on certain words now too. like the other day, i couldn't remember the word for.  i've forgotten it again. the stuff in wine. sediment! that was it.
toby, i think you need to have bruce diagnosed.
it's vital. if you keep telling him he's like everyone else he'll wonder why he isn't. he's suffering.
but, that's how autism works. one part of the brain can work fine while the other is damaged.
did you really, though?
i know it must be so difficult for you, but i think you have to --
i left you a note.
no. no. the wedding is on saturday. i'm here for that. i can't really pull out. how would that look?
well, we're speaking now. she is my closest friend despite it all.  you're the one who's been trying to get me to call her.
jim, this guy, malcolm. he's exactly what you'd imagine except i think he's clinically depressed.
not ugly, but completely unattractive. and he has no job. the best i can make out is that he's a letter writer. i don't know, the house looks weird to me. she's trying too hard and it's kind of a mess. they took down the swing.
hello?
no. i don't want to see you -- i feel happier already having done it.
i need to tell him. and we need to tell josh. did he do his homework?
this is happening and you have to get your mind around that.
are you asleep?
will you remember this?
i just talked to your dad.
i'm only going to tell you if you won't remember.
everyone finds you so funny and charming. i always get compliments about you.
are you having fun? is it nice to see pauline?
yeah. she is crazy though.
she's really berserk. maybe it's hormones. you don't notice anything different about pauline?
she's pregnant -- she told me. but she's keeping it a secret -- i mean from malcolm and even ingrid. which i think is unforgiveable. now she'll have to marry him. what's she planning -- to get married and not drink champagne? then she'll just be lying. i guess she's afraid she'll miscarry. she probably will. i think on some level she's ambivalent about the marriage and that's why she's not telling him.
maybe a little.
honey, you're up.
claude, don't just whack it. think about it before you hit.
you took the awnings down.
honey, you're up. he approaches his ball and smacks it toward the double wickets.
you're going the wrong way.
so stupid.
this is why i hate games. i hate what it does to me.
malcolm, do you notice how pauline sometimes can't make eye-contact. how her gaze hovers just above your head.
i always think i have something in my hair. it's not necessarily bad, paul. it's just something you do.
we don't have much opportunity in manhattan.
maybe later.
shit.
i got it.
don't patronize me, claude. margot turns her head to the side and pats on the top of it.
you're laughing in a kind way. claude is taking too much pleasure out of it.
you are. you like to make fun of me. to see me get embarrassed. it's mean.
i've got a fucking bug in my ear, okay?
you know i can't speak in front of people. i'm doing this "conversation" at the bookstore in town on friday and i totally regret having said i'd do it.
yeah, talking about my work in front of a crowd. i didn't invite you because. i thought it'd be boring.
what? say it.
a while ago. i'd said, no, but then when i was coming here anyway and. i guess it helps sales and. so. so.
why? is she seeing someone? she's still obese, i assume.
i bet mom paid for it. we should audit mom.
i did my share.
you want to count?
i think it was the only time we could really feel unselfconscious and get out of our heads.
hey!
be careful!
be careful the way you pull on that child's arm. you'll take it out of its socket.
i don't care how you treat your child as long as you don't hurt him.
she's a little girl!
don't tell me what i can and can't do. that's child abuse.
stop picking on me. everyone.
oh god.
to town. i'll be back for dinner.
dick and his daughter asked us over to swim tomorrow.
you're not really friends.
he's doing the interview with me in town on friday. did i tell you, he and i are collaborating on a screenplay, an adaptation of one of dick's novels.
i did so. it doesn't matter. i lost anyway.
i got him.
it's okay, my baby.
now we're even.
you've got a problem.
i don't like the girl and i don't like the way malcolm looks at her.
you didn't see it. i saw it. you've got a problem.
he won't want to do it. it's too late.
are you supposed to be doing that?
it wasn't really about mom.
i didn't say i didn't want him to. why do you care? it's not in his life -- we're new yorkers. if he wants to learn when he's older, he can. i'm curious why you're so interested in the whole thing.
but are you really friends?
i'm not a celebrity.
to a very few people.
i guess i didn't realize it was a compliment.
i think you smell nice. you smell real.
it causes cancer.
yes. it's got chemicals and things that are extremely harmful.
no, you'll get it somewhere else. like your stomach or your testicles.
don't laugh, that's a serious thing. who told you this, anyway? maisy?
i hope you're not interested in that girl. i find her insufferable.
it means i can't suffer her. she's loud and stupid. she goes on about things of which she knows nothing about.
stupid people get into harvard early all the time.
barnard. i just don't think you should do anything with her.
if you do, use a condom.
out with paul and malcolm and dick.
it's true. i used to think i might have some kind of brain defect.
i'm still not sure.
it's very possible, paul.
malcolm, can you slow down.
my license elapsed. but i know how.
yeah. tell that one a lot.
it's meant to be funny.
malcolm! dick grabs the lit butt and chucks it in the road.
watch it!
you should go after her.
i've got claude.
she's pregnant. dick leans over to margot's neck. he licks her.
what are you doing?
where would i be?
we've been through this. go to bed. claude slides down to the floor. he hesitates.
no, honey.
okay. just for tonight.
when you were a baby i wouldn't let anyone else hold you. i think that may have been a mistake.
hey. i'm just looking at pauline's incense and self-help books. i don't understand it. this junk makes her look stupid and she's not. i don't like to think of her this way.
she's such a hypocrite. somehow i'm a kook for going to therapy, but she's got enough drugs here to medicate a.  . an elephant. and she's always with these losers.
claude. think about it.
what makes you think he's cool? i'm more talking about her investment in things like the forum and ashrams.
like a cult.
years ago. she and lenny also followed some guru who was a follower of the mukdananda who made her drink his bath water. who knows what she's doing now.
wizard! here, boy!
how long has he been gone?
oh boy.
i don't know.
i guess i said something.
he wants to know. if i don't tell him, he figures it out.
why would you think i'd do something like that? that's awful.
that's a terrible thing to say to me.
woa!
no, i.  i should've looked.
oh, yeah. besides wizard getting --
we won't.
yeah.
oh god, this is the same toaster we had here as kids. paul is so weird.
yeah. congratulations.
you're welcome.
besides the thing with dick?
how about you?
nobody fills the ice cube trays.
sorry, what were you --
no, what were you saying?
okay.
you asked me.
he's not a good test taker.
really?
i never sit down in a public place. i squat and hover.
i get self-conscious opening presents in front of people. this weekend is about pauline.
thank you.
i already have slippers.
it makes me sad to get a present that i already have.
it makes me feel like you don't know me.
i asked you not to come. i was so clear and you did it anyway so blithely.
okay, so we're here. i'm giving you this time.
keep driving.
no. no. no. jim, no.
jim.
careful, he might bite you!
oh, god.
i can't stand her.
you paid, didn't you?
i don't give a fuck about roger. and. that makes me feel like shit. you make me feel like shit. i wouldn't have stopped.
no, i wouldn't've. i would have kept driving. i hate myself when i'm with you.
you're just like claude in that way. you make me feel guilty. sometimes i find you so despicable. margot stubs out the joint on the car roof. jim suddenly removes his sweater and puts it around her shoulders. he fishes into his pants pocket for his keys. tears start down margot's cheeks.
i don't know. before you gave me your sweater i think i didn't realize i was cold.
take me home and go away.
if it were someone else i'd understand it, i'd feel sympathy even. but since it's me, i just feel bad. and horribly critical. i haven't been able to tell claude what's happening. and i have to. i'm going to. how can i be all these people? how can i be married to jim. and fuck dick. and want them both and then neither of them.
what are you saying?
me too.
come on, pauline. you make it sound like i'm using you.
did i get it?
paul, what are you doing getting married to this guy? he's not good enough for you. he's so coarse, he's like guys we rejected when we were sixteen. you know. don't make a mistake like this. i'm sorry, maybe i have no right to say that, but you know i'm truthful so.  would you rather i lie?
hey! hey, you! you pick that up. i will call the police. this is our property. pick that up.
creeps.
woa, don't run so fast.
who bit you?
let me see.
i'm calling the police.
claude, this isn't my fault.
claude, you're being a jerk.
jim was here.
i told him to go to vermont without me.
i'm not joining him. i'm going to stay here and then. we'll see. right. okay?
yeah, well i was very interested in exploring a father-daughter relationship. while he clings desperately to her, suffocates her really, he also silently resents the responsibility of parenthood.
he craves isolation really. i always thought of him as someone who so over identifies with everyone around him that he begins to lose all sense of himself.
right, that's true. that's true.
my father was a loving person. he had his days, of course, but. he was devoted to us as children. i wouldn't have written this portrait were it true.
umm. i don't.  why do you assume it's based on.  we all take from life. i had to have our refrigerator repaired the other day at our apartment in manhattan. i was alone with a guy, i think he was puerto rican, sent over by. whirlpool, i think it is who made our fridge. although he said he worked for an independent organization who whirlpool subcontracts. i think he was retarded. there was an anger in him and suddenly i became afraid for my life. i called jim at nyu. i asked him to come home.
it might be frigidaire.  i'm sorry.  i don't.  i'm not sure what i'm.  i think i need to take a moment.
you're an asshole.
i need to be alone right now, okay?
i don't know. i'll tell you sometime. go on.
yes. go with mom. i'll see you later.
but you know what i mean. go with pauline. jesus, do i. do i need to spell it out for you? go. with. her.
i told paul i didn't want you guys to come.
what did paul say?
yeah, right. did you talk about me afterwards?
i can tell you're lying.
i don't trust her.
pauline told me she's very disappointed in you.
she thinks you laze about the house. ingrid is always offering to help clean or cook. she made bracelets for all the guests. even malcolm puts up the tent. you just wait until everyone else does it for you.
it is true. you're never helpful. i wish i had taught you better manners.
don't bother. she looks at him with grave disappointment.
i just see how much you've changed. your body language. you used to be rounder and more graceful. you're so stiff now. so blase.
i can't explain it.
it's okay though.
you're still handsome.
come with me to new york.
okay, but you can't marry him. you have to go now. we can think about what to do with the baby --
don't turn vague, listen to me --
what?
don't take this out on me? i'm on your side.
i've kept my mouth shut because --
okay, i told you and i was right. he's done an insane thing. you don't know this man. what he did is criminal.
it's pedophilia.
what? what are you saying? i don't recognize you -- it's like you're channelling someone.
i can drive. why does everyone say that? i used to drive.
you do smell.
shit.
i don't think.  no.  we don't have brakes.
what do you think it means?
i ruined these shoes. pauline's face screws up. she's suddenly in pain. she races behind a tree. margot follows.
it happens to everyone. not just babies. it'll happen to you too someday.
i don't think mom knows how to work the machine. margot puts her pinky in her ear.
i can hear it flapping.
sweety, there's a bus that leaves to vermont from town tomorrow morning. i just talked to your dad and he's going to pick you up.
no.
i have to help out paul and ingrid.
you're going to be fine.
you don't want to live there. it's all young people.
maybe. let's see. you know if you don't want to come with me, i'm sure mom will let you stay with her
don't say that. come on, you'll come home with us.
nothing. just then i felt so much love for you.
hey!
i wasn't writing about you.
give it back.
you're not wearing any underwear.
you're not hot, your feet are cold.
you have a fever.
get used to it.  mom and becky share a bed -- you and i will probably get the other.
i was thinking -- you know if you want -- you and ingrid could go to vermont. keep claude company and jim adores you.
will you do it?
did you two talk about me in town? what did you say?
i'm sorry, sweety. there's something wrong with me.
no. don't. i'm telling you.
he should get the hell out of our house.
i told you she can't work the machine --
i'm coming, i'm coming. what did he say?
what did he say?
don't worry, i got it.
don't look. keep walking.
we have to get you to your bus.
what do you mean, do something?
pauline has transferred all her stuff onto me. i don't understand her anymore. why'd she pick this man? it is really berserk. and you know, she referred to me as her closest friend. we never see one anoth --
i mean we're not close. even if we want to be. you know?
no! how many times do i have to say it? jesus. you think so little of me. it's good you're going. you shouldn't be around me either. i'd go if i were you.
i don't know. maybe i'll go to church.
no, honey. i'm not mad at you.
everything's fine. i'm not mad at anyone.
no, you know that. we should talk about the next few months a little bit and what's going to happen --
your dad will be very happy to see you. and i'm sure josh is dying to hang out.
claude, stop it. okay? she watches a man sustain a long embrace with another man. margot closes her eyes. she breathes deeply.
you used to need me to watch you when you played.
when you first started to play with friends, you wouldn't do it unless i watched you. you were afraid i would go out the back door. i don't know where i would go. our yard didn't lead anywhere anyway.
you don't have to tell me, sweety.
you've got to go.
i don't know. i'll see. maybe dick can drive me to the.  jesus, i lost the word for a second. the train.
come on. you always don't want to leave me and you always have a good time once you do. i think you like getting away from me.
they make your face look too wide.
bye, sweety.
you're acting like a baby.
don't worry. i don't think he wants to see me anyway.
don't call me that.
wait!
wait! wait!
did you see me running out there?
Good. That was a lot of running. I'm out of breath. Claude turns away from his mother and looks out the window.