##[Continues]
- Can I help you? - I'll have a glass of white wine, please.
- Two beers, Tom. - ##[Continues]
- Erica! - Hi!
- Come, join us. - Okay.
It's good to see you. Erica Benton, Edward Thoreaux.
- Hello. - Nice to meet you.
Erica works over at the Rowan.
Oh, really? I haven't seen the new show.
Oh, it's very controversial. Either you love it or you hate it.
Edward just got back from a year in Rome. He's a painter.
How was Rome?
Oh, it's very controversial. Either you love it or you hate it. I loved it.
How are you, Erica?
Oh, I'm a little weird these days.
- I'm getting divorced. - Ah, I'm surprised.
- Why? - You seem like such a normal person.
Compared to me, that is.
It's the normal people who are getting divorced. Nobody else bothers to get married.
If I got married every time I thought it was serious, I would be in lots of trouble.
[Laughs] How are you?
The work I'm doing is nice.
Edward and I are definitely an item.
- So life is good. - One hates to be thought of as an item.
- [Laughs] - [Laughing]
Hey, what's happening, babe?
- Hi, Charlie. - Hey, Charlie.
- Jean, how ya doin'? - Hi. My name is Edward Thoreaux.
- Charlie. Nice to see you. - How do you do?
- Were you slumming? - I wasn't up till now.
What does she want from me?
There's a party at Tom Whalen's loft. Do you want to come?
Tom Whalen? You mean the guy who paints the turtles?
- [Laughs] Yeah. - I pass. Thanks.
- Erica? - I don't think so.
It was nice to meet you.
Arrivederla.
Arrivederla, my ass.
Listen, what are you doing out by yourself? Where's honey?
- We're getting divorced. - No shit? What happened?
He was buying a shirt in Bloomingdale's, and he fell in love.
- Am I supposed to be sorry or what? - No.
- Buy me another glass of wine, Charlie. - Be right back.
Take me to your loft, Charlie.
Well, you want a cup of coffee? Something to eat?
- Uh-uh. - A bottle of Chianti in the kitchen.
Charlie, let's just do it, okay?
Now, before I change my mind.
Okay, okay.
Let's just get something straight right off the top, babe, huh?
I don't get involved with my women.
I'm a short-term guy.
I don't fall in love. I don't wanna get married.
- Right. - The only thing you can count on me for is sex.
I am what I am. I make no bones about it.
Charlie, I'm very nervous. Your talking is just making me more nervous.
Okay.
- You havin' trouble? - Yeah.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute!
Here. Here. Wait. Hold it! Hold it!
Just a second! You got your thing caught.
- My necklace is in it. - All right, all right, all right, all right.
Careful. There we go.
Oh, what a disaster!
- [Laughing] - Cheer up, will ya?
Yeah. Ahh.
The maiden! Delightful.
Delightful.
Will you stop actin' like some kind of virgin, huh?
Yoo-hoo? Miss? Yo!
Ah, here you are.
Hi.
Charlie, I've only slept with one man in 17 years.
Jesus, I was wrong.
I could've sworn you've had a few affairs.
Oh, man, what a beautiful body.
Come here.
Cheer up, will ya? This is your party.
I'm a little embarrassed.
- When does she stop? - Ow!
What happened? An injury.
- What's the matter? - A splinter.
- Where? - In my toe.
A splinter in the toe? The foot doctor's here.
Let me see. Let me see.
First we'll have to remove the outer garments.
Oh, yes.
Ah, what a lovely piece of equipment.
Hmm? Hmm?
- [Giggles] - [Moaning]
Huh.
[Giggling Continues]
You like that, huh? You like that, don't you?
[Laughing]
Your turn, baby. Hmm? You gonna turn me on?
[Laughing Continues]
[Panting]
- That was nice. Very nice. - I have to go.
I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?
- No. - What's the matter? You mad at me?
- No. - Come back tomorrow night.
- Uh-uh. - Why not?
I don't fall in love, Charlie. I'm a- I'm a short-term guy.
[Laughs] I'll tell you one thing.
Your ex-old man's a fuckin' asshole.
Good night, Charlie.
[Horn Honks]
Hi.
Wait a minute. I want to talk to you.
- Call me. - Hey, come on.
Hey, you wanna give me a heart attack or what?
Jesus, Martin! What do you want?
Well, I just wanted to tell you that I had a nice talk with Patti.
- She's okay. - I know.
How are you?
I got laid last night.
- Remember Billy Higgins? - Uh-uh.
Yeah, you do. He's that big, tall, blond guy, worked for Merrill Lynch.
- Tennis player. About my age. - Right, right. Yeah.
He had a heart attack last week. He dropped dead.
- That's too bad. - You look good.
[Sighs] Would you try to have a linear conversation, Martin?
Look, wait a minute. I just want us to be friends.
I mean, if not for my sake, then for Patti's.
I don't wanna be your friend!
- What the hell do you want me to do? - Just leave me alone.
Well, Billy was supposed to go out to L.A.
- Now they want me to take his spot. - Take it.
- Well, it means I'd have to move out there. - Good.
If I do go out, can Patti come out and spend some time with me?
You'll have to ask Patti.
[Children Chattering]
Herbert, what do you think?
It looks a little high on the right to me.
High on the right. Hmm. What do you think?
I-I think the whole thing is too high.
I like it where it is.
[Erica] If you liked it where it is, then why did you ask me?
[Saul] Why don't we talk about it over lunch?
Where would you like to go for dinner?
I can't, Saul. My daughter's coming home from school. We're eating at home.
- Well, give her a call. Tell her to join us. - No!
- Well, she doesn't have to know I'm your lover. - You're not my lover.
Well, uh- [Clears Throat] You, you know what I mean.
[Chuckles] I'm not very good at hiding my feelings, Saul.
What are your feelings?
Well, I- I just slept with a man that I barely know.
- I mean, casual sex is not my- - No, no.
- I-I don't- - No, it's not- I don't sleep with every woman I meet.
I'm experimenting. I'm- Well, I know it sounds a little cold...
but that's... the way it is these days.
I just want to see how it feels to make love to someone that I'm not in love with.
How does it feel?
Sort of empty.
Well, at least you're honest.
The sex was very good. You're a very nice man.
You have a bizarre way of handing out a compliment.
It was the best I could do.
Why did you flirt with me at the gallery?
I think it was mutual.
Ah, silly games we play.
[Sighs] There's no need for them, you know.
- Do you want to know how I really feel? - Yes, I do.
As soon as the sex was over, I wanted to leave.
- That's very hostile. - I don't feel hostile. I like you.
Perhaps you'd better go home. I'm getting a very big headache.
My husband used to get headaches whenever I didn't want to have sex.
- Poor bugger must have had migraines. - [Laughs]
- You-You got a coat? - Yeah.
I'll see you later.
[Door Closes]
- Behave yourselves, ladies. - Oh, yeah?
- We'll try. - I'm always good.
Just show me the bar.
- Ah. - That did it.
I've gotta go home pretty soon.
- Hello, Erica. - Hi, Edward.
Nice to see you.
- These are my friends. This is Elaine Liebowitz. - How do you do?
- Edward Thoreaux. And Sue Miller. - How do you do?
- And Jeannette Lewin. - Nice to meet you.
- Hi, Erica. - Can I take your coats?
- You look wonderful! - Thanks.
I'm Jean Starret. Erica has told me about your, uh, club.
[Laughs] This is Jeannette and Elaine and Sue.
- What club? - Do you know anything about consciousness raising?
- Not really. - Neither do we.
We just kind of get together once a week and complain a lot.
- That's very American. - Aren't you an American?
I'm from Cleveland, but I try to forget it.
- I was hoping you'd show up. - How's your headache?
I had it ever since you left.
How's the party?
Usual.
Well, whenever you put about 50 artists together in one room...
you get a really pleasant combination...
of gossip, paranoia, envy, fear, trembling...
hatred, lust and pretense.
It's, uh, wonderful.
Tell me some good gossip.
Good gossip, eh? Hmm.
Oh. You see the short, wiry fellow in the corner?
The one with his arm around Lady MacBeth?
Well, his name is Conrad Zweiback. He's Hungarian. Very intense. Very ambitious.
- Can't paint for shit. - Who's the woman?
She's the wife of Henry Gebhart, the critic.
- Oh, I've never met him. - Oh, he's a spider.
Sets traps for young artists, using his wife as bait.
- Is he gay? - Oh, no. No, not at all. That would make sense.
No, it appears he likes to watch his wife make love to other men.
Now, if the other man is pleasing to Lady MacBeth...
he becomes the new discovery of Gebhart.
- How do you know all this? - I was discovered by Henry Gebhart.
[Laughing] I'm kidding.
No, but it's true. The story's true.
- You're very beautiful tonight. - You look very good yourself.
Shall we dance?
You're full of surprises.
Remember, we don't really know each other.
- Tanya! - Erica!
- How great to see you here. - What are you doing here?
- I'm an old friend of Jean Starret's. - Ohh.
And I'd like to have you meet my friend, Sophie Windham.
- Hello. - Erica Benton.
Uh, this is Saul Kaplan. Tanya Berkel.
- Hi, Saul. - Hello. Hi. Hi.
- Nice to meet you. - And we're looking around for Jean, so we'll go along.
- I think she's back there. - Okay, but I see something to eat in there, so we'll go in there.
- Okay. - See you later. Have fun.
##[Band: Jazz]
- Who was that woman? - Oh, that was no woman. That was my therapist.
[Laughing]
- Having a good time? - Yeah. You?
- Hey, what do you say, babe? - Charlie! God.
- Do you know each other? - Yeah.
Charlie tells me he's a great artist.
Uh, this is Elaine, and this is Jeannette.
- Hello. - This is Charlie.
- Hello. - This is Saul Kaplan.
Saul Kaplan? The Saul Kaplan?
Oh, let me get over there.
Hey, this is a real honor. I mean, really!
Hey, I bow at your feet, man.
Now, this guy's a real fucking artist.
Thank you. You may rise.
- Thank you. - You're drunk, Charlie.
Yes, and stoned.
[Sucking] Great combo.
- Is he dangerous? - Oh, ask her if I'm good, babe.
- Shut up, Charlie. Jesus! - Ohhh, we really got it on one night.
I mean, dynamite. [Chuckles]
And she slams the door in my face. What did I do to deserve such a rotten fate?
I balled my ass off; the lady won't see me again.
- It's getting to be a '60's party. - What, is it raining?
What happened? What happened? [Laughs]
- Why don't you go home, Charlie. - Why don't you fuck off!
- I'll wipe the floor with you. - Up yours!
- Come on. Let's leave. - No, no. No. He leaves. We stay.
Oh, I get it. You're ballin' her too.
If you don't mind your dumb fuckin' manners-
[Shouting, Grunting]
[Indistinct Shouting]
I thought you were gonna kill him.
No, I wouldn't give the bastard the satisfaction.
If he made the front page of the Daily News, he'd end up famous.
His work is good, actually. I was surprised.
Well, you can be a bastard and have talent.
Where'd you see his work, eh?
His place. You disappointed in me?
I don't know you well enough to be disappointed in you.
But if you ever do it again, I'll kill you.
You're a strange man.
No, I'm a simple man really. Got very simple tastes.
I like Titian, Rembrandt, Botticelli, Kojak...
Camembert cheese...
expensive shoes-
I have bad feet-
London, Vermont, New York about half the time.
- [Laughing] - And being madly in love.
And I've been without that for a long time now.
What's so funny, eh? What the hell are you laughing at, eh?
I bare my soul, and you laugh at me. What is it?
You stepped in dog shit! [Laughing Continues]
[Laughs, Groans] I think this is poodle shit.
Oh, yes, after a while, you can tell one kind from another.
I can even tell the difference between an East Side dog...
an uptown dog and a Village dog.
Now, East Side dogs shit only the best...
and Village dogs shit art.
In London, they don't shit at all, you know.
I don't think they're allowed to, no, no.
In London, I think they have an underground passage where all the dogs shit.
I was born in London, you know.
My mother and my father had a shop near Stepney Green.
That's the Lower East Side of London.
One day when I was about six, my parents had a row, you know.
My mother, she threw a pickled herring at my dad, and it, uh, missed.
Splattered all against the wall.
I took one look at that pickled herring...
and that's when I decided to become an abstract expressionist.
[Sighs]
Your work does remind me of pickled herring.
Mmm.
Hey, I want to know about that man you lived with.
Were you passionate with each other?
- You mean sexually? - I mean in every way.
Well, we were married for a very long time.
- Well, I was married for nine years. - Really?
Eight of those years were very passionate.
[Chuckles] Well, "passion's" a mild word for it, really.
It's-Well, it was more like war.
How did your marriage end?
Not with a whimper, but with a bang.
Matilda- Her name is Matilda-
She wrote poetry for her soul, and she swam a hundred laps a day for her body.
Now, this was after we had the two children.
- Boys? - My son is 12. My daughter's nine.
Well, one day I came home, and I found her in bed...
with a high diver from the local pool.
- Oh, God. - I wanted to kill the poor sap, but something kept me from it.
- What? - He was about seven feet tall.
Oh, you know something? I-
I wasn't angry.
I felt relief, really.
I was glad it was over- for both of us!
Well, I wasn't a very good husband.
My work means everything to me.
I don't think I believe that.
Don't you miss your children?
I love them. Sometimes I miss them.
But I see them every summer. We have a place up in Vermont. You'll like it.
You seem to have my life worked out for me.
For us. I want you.
- You know that? - Yes, I'm getting the message.
Do you want me?
My head tells me to slow down.
But I don't think my pulse is normal.
You know, there are three things that we could do right now.
You could call a taxi and go home.
Or we could go on walking, and, uh, I could lecture you...
on the real dilemma of modern art.
Or we could go to my place, and we could thoroughly enjoy each other.
You want hot sauce on your eggs?
Please.
- Grated cheese? - Everything.
I feel great.
I feel... happy.
I-I don't know what's going on. This is craziness.
[Sighs] I don't understand anything anymore.
I feel- I like to do things, you know.
- I want to travel. - We'll travel.
I want to see Greece. I want to see Persia.
I'd like to go to Tibet.
I'd like to open up a little restaurant.
Nothing fancy. Just a little something where I sing under a spotlight.
- ## [Humming] - You ever thought about skateboarding?
[Laughing]
I do want to go to India!
India I can do without.
Why?
I like a nice bathroom.
I may go back to school.
What's wrong with the gallery?
Oh, I need more money. I don't want to depend on Martin forever.
Also, I could use a real challenge in my work.
Live with me. That'd be a real challenge.
I could use a challenge in my work.
Living with me is work.
Hey, this is really delicious.
I'm serious.
So am I.
Does it still feel empty?
No, but it tastes like hot sauce.
Why do you only have one child?
Do you want to have a child?
No, no, no.
Well, I had two miscarriages after Patti.
I quit trying. Why?
Because... I want to know everything there is to know about you.
Mm. Paint! Paint!
Paint! Please, paint!
- [Laughing] - You are the most delicious woman I've ever met!
- I have to go. - There's something so damn Victorian about you!
Will you ever, ever spend the whole day...
followed by the whole night with me in this room?
[Screaming] I don't know!
[Laughing]
Look, I'll come over to your place if it's any easier.
There's just something so nice about sleeping...
and waking up with a person that you like.
You really know how to rush a girl, don't you?
Erica, underneath this haunted, driven shell of a man...
there lives a warm homebody...
who likes to watch TV and chew cashews...
while the woman he loves is finishing a good novel.
Sounds like my marriage.
I want to meet your daughter.
- Now? - Whenever.
Come to dinner tomorrow night.
Don't know the address.
I like your style.
A girl in my school got an abortion last week.
- How old is she? - Sixteen.
- It's not that unusual. - Do I know her?
Mm-mm. Cost 200 bucks. She said it was awful too.
The doctor kissed her on the mouth right after the abortion.
- Oh, God! - Two hundred bucks!
What about her parents? Do they know?
- No way! - Well, who paid for it?
We all chipped in.
- What about the boy? - She was too embarrassed to ask him.
- That stinks. - [Doorbell Rings]
- Here comes Casanova. - Oh, I'm warning you.
- I'm warning you. - Shake it.
- Hello. - Hi.
- All right? - Thank you. Uh-huh. Come in.
This is Patti Benton. Saul Kaplan.
- Hello. - Hi.
I saw one of your paintings in the Museum of Modern Art.
Oh? Did you like it?
I didn't understand it.
- Hmm. Well, I'm gonna like you. - She never lies.
How old are you?
- Forty-two. - You don't look it.
- You look older. - Patti!
- How old do I look? - I already know. You're 15.
- Do I look it? - You look much older.
Good.
- Can I have some? - With dinner.
Give her half a glass. Cut it with water.
- Yeah, that's what the French do. - We're not French.
Booze is worse than grass. I smoke grass once in a while.
- So do I. - Got any?
Now, don't be precocious, Patti.
I'm not being precocious. I'm just a normal 15-year-old girl.
Actually, I'm not normal. I'm still a virgin.
Patti, come into the kitchen with me.
Excuse us.
- You're being very rude! - I guess I'm just nervous.
- This is the first time you've brought a man home. - Do you like him?
It's too early to tell. He's cute.
This is-This is really delicious.
Your mother's a very good cook.
How can you tell from one dish?
She made eggs for me the other night.
With hot sauce and grated cheese?
- That's right. - Hmph.
- She really likes you then. - [Laughs]
I don't think I'm having fun at this party.
I am.
Relax.
I know that you and Saul are lovers.
- [Laughs] - It's not funny.
What's the matter? You always told me to tell the truth.
It's obvious that you invited Saul here to prepare me.
Prepare you for what?
Um, look, I'm the one who asked to come here.
- I wanted to meet you. - I have a father.
I don't want to be your father.
I'm not marrying Saul. I-
- Marry him! I don't care! - He's my friend.
So marry him. It doesn't matter to me.
Nobody's asking you to stop loving your father.
Well, you know, it would be easier if Daddy could see me here sometimes.
Okay.
Sorry.
I behaved like a 15-year-old.
I do it all the time.
## [Playing Chords]
# Maybe I'm a man Maybe I'm a lonely man #
#Who's in the middle of something #
#That he doesn't really understand #
# Maybe I'm a man #
# Maybe you're the only woman who can ever help me #
# Baby, won't you help me understand #
# Maybe I'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time #
# Maybe I'm afraid of the way I need you #
# Maybe I'm amazed at the way you help me sing my song #
#You right me when I'm wrong #
# Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you #
# Maybe I'm a man Maybe I'm a lonely man #
#Who's in the middle of something #
#That he doesn't really understand #
# Maybe I'm a man #
# Maybe you're the only woman who can ever help me #
- # Baby, won't you help me under-## - [Laughing]
- [Sighs] - Good morning.
Hi. How come you're not jogging?
Oh, I had an early appointment with this guy.
What's, uh-What's up?
Well, I've decided that you can come to the apartment...
to see Patti whenever you want.
- Oh, good. I'm glad. - Just call first.
Okay. Oh, I meant to tell you. I'm not going to California now.
- Why? - Oh, a lot of things. Mostly, no money.
Well, you know, I've, uh- I've stopped seeing my therapist, and...
well, I'm looking around for a better job, so...
the money thing will be a lot easier for you.
We could make it real easy if you want to.
What do you mean?
Well, I broke up with Marcia.
I'm surprised.
Yeah, I am too, kind of.
Well, the truth of it is she left me.
I don't know. I mean, the minute I moved in there, we stopped having fun.
It's craziness.
I'm sorry.
Are you really?
Yeah, I'm sorry for you.
- I want to come back. - No.
- Will you think about it? - No, Martin.
I mean, I was thinkin' you could think of me...
as this guy who was sick for a long time, you know, and then recovered.
[Laughs] Think you could do that?
It doesn't work that way, you know?
Yeah. Patti said you have a boyfriend.
[Laughs] Yeah. We're goin' steady.
Well, I'll call you.
Bye.
Bye, Martin.
Patti's gonna have to spend more time alone.
Oh, she can cope with that.
Yeah. I worry about her.
I have to. I have to.
- You don't have to. - I do.
I have enough money for both of us.
I don't want your money, Saul.
Look, I'd take your money, if I needed it... and if you had it.
But, you-you're an artist.
Oh, yes. [Sighs]
What's Patti doing this summer?
Oh, she wants to go to summer school.
Well, you know what would be nice- what would be very nice indeed-
would be if both of you came up to Vermont...
for the whole of the summer.
I can't leave the gallery.
I can't.
He'd let you go for the summer.
Well, maybe for a week, but not for the whole summer.
- It's very beautiful. - Oh.
Want one?
- Yes, sir. - Oh, um, one lemon, please.
- Make it two. - I'm sorry. No lemon. Vanilla.
- Okay. That's all right. - Fine. Good.
- Your children will be there, won't they? - Yes, they certainly will!
Yes. Well, we'd have a lot of fun.
- Madame. - Fine.
I can't.
You keep saying you can't.
- [Laughing] - How much are these, please?
- Twenty cents each, please. - Twenty cents each.
- "I can't." - Thank you very much, sir.
- Well, I can't. - Oh, you can.
What am I gonna do up there?
Watch you paint? Go fishing? Go swimming?
Well, it sounds nice, doesn't it?
Ah, yeah.
I'll come up for a couple of weekends.
Life is very complicated.
[Sighs] I've been on vacation for 16 years.
Oh, look, listen. I-I know you want to get out on your own.
And I approve. I wouldn't try to stop you.
- What do you mean, you approve? - What?
- I don't understand that word. Why are you saying you approve? - Oh, look.
- I'm not doing this for your approval, you know. - No, listen. Let me finish.
- No, that's really not what I have on my mind. - Please. All I meant was-
- I hate that. - Yes. All I meant was that if-
Well, spending a few weeks with someone you like- that's not out of line.
How do you know? How can you say that?
How do you know what I need, what I want to do for myself?
I think we need a marriage counselor.
##[Steel Drum]
Why don't you come back here every weekend?
Because if I stop painting for a few days...
I may stop painting altogether.
Do you really believe that?
Absolutely.
[Horn Honks]
Men!
- ## [Jazzy Blues] - Women.
##[Man Singing, Indistinct]
You know what I did yesterday?
I threw out a whole new jar of blackberry jam.
Martin loved blackberry jam.
I think the problem was that I didn't do things as myself, you know.
I did things as this-
Martin and Erica, Martin and Erica.
It wasn't his fault. I- I liked it.
Saul and Erica will be different from Martin and Erica.
- You want to see other women? - I want you!
- You're free to. - I don't want to.
Then don't.
Do you want to see other men?
Not today.
I'm getting a headache.
I have to go back to work.
So do I.
[Siren Wailing]
Would you rather go back to bed?
Mm-hmm.
Yes?
- [Door Squeaks] - This thing needs oil.
See, I'm gonna put those pillows, you know, from the sofa around there.
- Mm-hmm. - Carpet.
- Has a lot of outlets. - Yeah, a lot of outlets.
Ta-da!
Another fireplace!
It's nice, isn't it?
- I can afford it. - Then take it.
I don't know what to do with Saul, you know.
He wants me to go to Vermont. He goes there for five months!
- Then don't take it. - You're a lot of help.
Why don't I go to Vermont?
You stay here, work your ass off and be sensible.
I'll go pick berries and dance in the woods with Saul.
It's confusing, Elaine.
Since I started taking Lithium, I feel more sensible than this month's Good Housekeeping.
No more black, moody lows. But I sure as hell miss my highs.
- You want my advice? - Yeah.
Do you know how rare a man like Saul is?
You know how many jerks there are out there?
He's smart. He's funny.
- Is he a good lover? - Eh.
- [Laughing] - [Snorting]
[Laughs] Start packin', honey.
I finally settled down. I gotta tell you this.
Oh, it's crazy.
It's okay, honey. It's really okay.
[Door Opens]
You're looking very beautiful.
But you're traveling awfully light.
How do you pack pickled herring?
I'll definitely come up for holidays.
Do you know what it's like up there in the woods all alone?
- Paint. - Hmm.
Perhaps I'll find some nice, warm moose to keep me company.
Am I only a sexual object to you?
No.
No, you're a bright, willful, curious woman...
who is also a sexual object.
I hope it's the hottest...
muggiest, most miserable summer on record.
You're so damn stubborn!
I'm not. I'm really not.
Come with me, for Christ's sake!
I can't.
- Independent. - Trying to be.
Woman.
- Vicious. - No. Honest.
You're driving me crazy.
[Sighs]
Okay, Mario, I've got it!
- Will you hold this a minute? - Yeah.
- Have you got it? - I got it.
- Bye. - What about this?
- Oh, that's for you. - How the hell am I gonna get it home?
Take a taxi.
[Engine Starts]
[Chattering]
Ripped by: SkyFury