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The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
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Jasmine? Jasmine! We gonna be late, come on. Let's go. Why do they have on these suits and we don't? Something's going on right in our face. You're so stuck on those iPhones, J phone 12s or whatever, blow up in your hand. You can't Google what's going on right now. Are y'all paying attention? Why do they have on these suits if we don't? Why? They here to clean this water? When this water been dirtier than the Devil's mouth for 50 years. And now they want to clean it? They got plans for us, man. Looking like George Jetson rejects. 'Cause they weak! Weak hearts! Weak lungs! Can't even breathe up here without a mask. But we was put through Hell to be purified. You know what I'm sayin', brothers and sisters? Man, it's crazy what jail will do to a nigga. They don't care about they water, man, there's something going on, we gonna get to the bottom of it. And they lucky I'm a man of God right now. You think he rehearses this every morning? Or they would catch these hands. Seems a bit more impromptu. 2019 out here! We been yellin' about this water since before they were born. Before they were born! Where's this bus, man? We're not gonna make it. Y'all leave us the hell alone. Unless y'all really here to help us. We'll get there. They got plans for us, man. We're not gonna make it, bro. Not for you and me. So I urge you! Fight for your land! Fight for your home! - Fight for your... - Let's skate. This here? This is the edge, bro! The final frontier of Manifest Destiny. Last edge of the city. Man, two steps further, you'll be drinking that filthy saltwater. But we built these ships. Dredged these canals. In the San Francisco they never knew existed. And now they come to build something new? Whole blocks half in the past, half in the future. But should you venture into their San Francisco, the one they pillaged for gold! Remember your truth! In the city of facades. Take me with you! Hey! Hey! Take me with you, man! Come on, where are we going? Where are we going? Come on, I'm coming! I'm coming! Look at them look at you. Look down at you. But we built them! We are these homes! Their eyes... Their pointed brims... We move if they move. Our sweat soaked in the wood. Gilded in our image. This is our home! Our home! Our home. Thanks. Are you sure they're gone? Jim? I mean, their car is gone. Let's check the back, man. Good morning. How are you? Remember that time they were in the kitchen? Jim! Remember the kitchen? Yeah, sure. But, bruh... Didn't I tell you these railings are periwinkle, not black. Mmm-hmm. Yeah, I got it. We gotta start coming more than every two weeks, bro. This fuckin' garden's a nightmare. I'll bring my grandpa's tools next time. Please do. Wallpaper's chipping. These people are killing this house. You're not goin' in though. Jim? I mean... I mean... No? They're definitely gone, though. Better be quick this time. Hmm? Yeah, I know. Takes time. Yeah, I know. I'll be at my spot. All right. Quick. Okay. - Jesus, man! - Honey. Just get the heck out of here, man. - What the fuck? - He's not hurting anyone, Mar. Oh, he's painting the house now? Well, yeah. Stop fixing my house! I'm almost done, just hold on. Why don't you just paint the neighbors' houses? Theirs are worse than ours. Just hold on one second. I mean, we appreciate it, in some way, but, yeah... It's weird, man! I'm almost done. Look, we will call the cops, man. And I mean it this time. No, we're not gonna call the cops. We're not calling the cops, just stop coming back. I'm almost done, hold on, please, hold on. Ugh! Just get off my fucking birdie bath. No, just... Get outta here, man. - Those were $3. - Fine. I'll finish it next time. - God! - Next time? Oh, just get... Get the heck off my birdie bath! Just water the plants in the back or I will. Oh! Bro! You were supposed to be the lookout! Mmm-hmm. You were the one that was so worried. I got distracted. Bro! What if OG is right though? You really gotta stop eating the fish out there. I think it's fine. All fish has mercury. I know, but I saw a seagull with a dick, bro. Well, so I guess it's a male. No, like, bro, like a human dick. Oh, nasty-ass tumbleweave. Pussy. - Wild, bro. - Wassup, nigga? - Ain't tryin' do nothin'. - Scuff my shoes up, huh? I ain't tryin' do that bullshit... Stop playin' before I slap the shit out your face. Man, shut your ass up, nigga. All right, I ain't finna chase you, you play too much, bro. You lucky I don't beat your ass out here, bro. Kofi! - What's good, brother? - What's up with y'all? Hey, you know I seen Moms last night, right? She was looking like she was missing a little bit on the top. I mean we shower in the same water, Jim. So niggas takin' showers together now? Probably was. That's fruity. I was trying to tell him not to eat the fish, because the water is toxic. Well, duh. That's 'cause they built the atomic bomb right there, nigga. I don't think that's true. What'd he say? - Damn. - First thing, that's true. Bro, them shoes ain't true, I know your Jesus-lookin' ass ain't talkin', bro. - Them things is phony. - They're definitely phony. What about cuz, man? You was supposed to call me last night. - What happened with... - Oh, yeah, dude is a cat. You see his hair, he might be a cheetah. Can I help you? I'd like to see the man in charge. In here. He's walking him into the Chief's office. Oh, dear. I want to report a murder. - Sit down. - Now, who's that? Edgar O'Ryan. Where was this murder committed? - Edmund O'Brien. - San Francisco. Oh. Oh, him, yeah, yeah. Who was murdered? I was. What? - How? - Just watch it. I don't have very much time. Hey, hand me my beer, son. - Yes, sir. - Yeah. Yeah, okay. O'Brien is smoking a cigarette - in his office. - Okay, yeah. - Secretary's perched. - She pretty? Mmm... - Yeah? - I'd say... I'd say she is. You dog. Hey, Mont! - Montgomery! - Mmm? How do I get their old croissant-throwing asses out of the house? What if I peed on their table? Like, what if I climbed up the birdie bath, broke in and just peed all over that stupid little yellow table? Wouldn't that ruin the floors? Yeah, I guess you got a point there. Oh. You think they'd let me live there as, like, a caretaker for the house? No. That's fucked up. I mean, I take pretty good care of the house, I think so at least. Yeah, you do. We like having you here, Jim. I know, bro. But... You know there's no place like home. Yeah. Goodnight, Dorothy. At the family reunion Who we introducing I got a cousin Arrow He used to have a feast He was with the shit Now that nigga is a priest At the family reunion Why they got suits on and we don't? Sir? We're here for your protection. We're here to help you. You here to help me? Me? This water been filthier than the Devil's mouth for years! Sir. Yeah. All right? Small guy. He's perfect. Hey, you get any writing done this morning? Um... Writing is rewriting. It's all part of the process. Yeah, you got it, though. Hmm... Yeah, man. What the f... Y'all been here 12 years, still can't take care of this house. Hey, Paul. Hey! I got you. - Hi. - Eat your banana. - Fuck you. - Hey. You're a nice man. You're a nice woman. But I don't know you. Well, yeah. You know me pretty well, actually. But you aren't my husband. You're a little too young for me. I am young. I'm always young. You're a nice man. Oh, thank you. You're a nice woman. You old marshmallow, cream puff ass, candied yam-ass nigga, cream puff-ass nigga. Shut up, bitch, bro. - You bitch. - Hold this shit. I should snatch your one-ass dread, lookin' like a fuckin' Rastafarian sperm. You got me fucked up. - We got you fucked up! - We did! That's all you gotta say? Man, what I'm supposed to do, take off? I don't care about none of that shit. I know, I just ain't got nothin' else to say. Man, I put that on a fact, that this nigga's a bitch, man. - Is that sure, man. - Man, fuck this nigga. 'Sup, nigga? 'Sup, nigga? How are you, nigga? I hope she's not home. That garden... We have so much to do. We have to rake it. We have to weed it. - We have to... - Jim. Isn't that the car you used to live in? Oh, God. Jimmie! What up, filth-smellin' motherfucker? Do you need a ride? Jimmie! What's happenin', baby? Get your young, old-looking ass in the car. Daddy face. Jimmie! Oh, my God, where is this bus? Man, if you don't get your up the father from Good Times shirt-wearing ass in this car... You really gonna ride in the bus with a shovel? Get your farming ass in this car. Jimmie the farmer with your bitch ass. Come on, laugh a little bit, Jimmie, shit. Still the same. Yep, I like what you and your dad did with it. So much you drove off with it? No, I borrowed it, I didn't, just, come on... I drove off with it... I borrowed it, shit. Matter of fact, I seen your dad the other day. He was good and lonely. By hisself. Okay. I told him you need to get you a cat or a dog, or woman or something, nigga, damn. He's home alone... Well, he ain't at home, but he's alone. He's alone with no home. Well, you live in a car by yourself. Yeah, but I... But I'm not alone. People like me. I'm liked. Lonely ass nigga. When the last time you hung out with your daddy? Couple weeks ago, I dunno. Couple weeks ago? The nigga needs you today. Shit. That's what... That's what people have kids for, so they can have some companionship! Somebody to hang out with. That's why I ain't had no kids. 'Cause I don't wanna be bothered. Your daddy don't want this fuckin' car, man. - Hey. - Hmm? Wasn't that the Savoy House? Oh, sure was. It was 100 motherfuckers in there, rent-controlled. They thought they owned that shit. The landlord burned all of the people outta there. 'Cause see, Jimmie, you never really own shit. This car ain't mine. But it never was yours. You never own shit! What the fuck? Hey, what's goin' on, man? No se, bro. Uh, sir... What's... What's going on? Oh, God. She's moving. Fighting like crazy with her sister. When someone dies in the family, that's what white people do. This is for her, this is for him, this is mine. Who's gonna have the house? So they lost the house? Who's gonna possess the house? They're just fighting, and fighting, and fighting. What's gonna happen to it now? Why'd they have to move out 'cause her mom died? I don't know. They were tasteless, but at least they didn't fuck it up. Well, that will be $10, hun. Since when? Since that's the best deal you're gonna get on 60 Twix. I didn't say 60 Twix, Auntie. I said 16. How I'm gonna eat 60 Twix? I don't know your life. You act like you in Costco or something like that. You ain't Costco. Hey, you can go to Costco if you need to. - You Rosco. - Go right now. Sixteen, first time you had a check, when I was 16. Jim. Jim. Jim. Jim? So, gentlemen. What can I do for you? Yeah, we're curious about a house on Golden Gate near Fillmore. - Mmm-hmm. - It's 959. It's the gray, it's got the gold trim. - Uh... - Yup, yup. Yup, with the, um... The witch hat. Yeah, exactly. Yeah! I know exactly what you're talking about, - that place is very special. - Hmm. I used to drive past that house on the way to school every day. What school did you go to? I went to St. Ignatius. You from here, too? Yeah, third generation, I went to Reardon, actually. - Really? - Yeah, we used to play y'all in football all the time. Fuck you, you used to kill us in football. Yeah, yeah. I didn't wanna say that, but... That's awesome, right on. But, so, it's for sale? I didn't hear about that. Well, I'm not sure. It seems like the owner and her sister are fighting over it. But I guess her mom died. Ah, man. I don't know, that sounds like an estate thing. That's a sucky situation. But, I mean... With a house like that, they could be fighting over that for years. While it just sits there. It's a pity. So it's really just... Just empty? It's fucked up, right? So fucked up, like I... Bothers me, there's all these people in the street and these big old houses are just sitting there collecting dust. But shit, what else can you say? The fucking injustice of it! Yeah. Mont! We here, baby! Spoiling all the fun, leveling most of this neighborhood in the name of Urban Renewal. Sorry about your homes and your funky shops. You can set up a shoeshine stand in front of the parking lot at Safeway. But you distinguished truth-seekers want to know about the real hep cats who hung out here, in the "Harlem of the West," where a few of these homes did survive. Like this beauty here, which was built clear back in the 1800s. Before the black thing, this was all Japanese, till FDR's stormtroopers rounded them up into camps. This house was built in the 1940s. Say hi to our neighbor here, everybody. Hi. That would actually be about 100 years late for this style. We can see from his gingerbread trim, this was built sometime in the 1850s. Uh, 1946! I'm gonna have to disagree with you there, dude man. No architect in the 1940s was building in this style. That's probably true, but this wasn't built by an architect. My grandfather built this. He came here World War II, he bought this lot and he built this house. The stairs. These windows. The columns. The archways. The witch hat. The balustrades. The fish scales. This balcony. That wall to keep y'all the fuck out. All of it. By Jimmie Fails I, with his own two hands. In 1946. Wow. That's pretty amazing. Well... Let's move on to our next stop. The closet Patty Hearst willfully hid herself in, before trotting on down... What's good with that? What's going on? Feel like the King of England. King Jimmie. Wave. Wave to the General. - Hey, General. - Yeah, but it's like a circle, with your... With your elbow. Yeah, and then cup the air. That's kind of the thing there. - Oh, yeah. - Yeah, that's good. It's a beautiful house, Jimmie. More beautiful than I could have imagined. Yeah. It's not quite there yet. I mean, enough Dickens. Charles Dickens. Philistines, bro. Proust! Plath! Hughes! Jimmie! Langston Hughes! They left him! Bro! Philistines! Mont. Mont. Wake up. Got a plan. It's crazy. Last time I was here, these weeds was taller than me. She's expecting us? Yes, sir. - Auntie! - Jimmie! Yes! Oh! So good to see you! - You look good! - Thank you. - Hey! - This is Mont. Nice to meet you. Oh. Y'all not hot? Like, you want... - It's hot as hell out here. - Take your jacket off. Ain't nobody gonna steal your jacket. This is a nice neighborhood. Man, he better not break my damn board. Shut up. You should be thanking him. He's the one that helped me pick out that board. And besides... Sometimes it's just nice to watch. Mmm. Ricky, do that trick you used to do, baby. Nice, baby. Y'all hella cute. Aw, thank you. So, how much of this stuff do you still have? Really? How much of this stuff do you have? You just, no segue or nothin'? You just came to see the stuff, huh? Auntie... I got my first place. Whoa. Really? In the city? In the city. Look at you! Y'all must be doing pretty well to afford a spot there. Yeah, we got lucky. - Mmm-hmm. - It's super empty, though. Your daddy didn't send you here, right? - No. - You sure? I swear to God. 'Cause I hope he's done dragging you into his schemes. Auntie, this is for us. Okay. Okay. I'm proud of you, Jayboe. - Really am. - Thank you. I miss that city. Oh! Ooh! You still look good though, baby. You still look good! Mmm. Oh, my goodness. Mmm. Damn, I knew you had some of it, but is this everything? Everything your dad didn't smoke up. Sorry, came out a little harsh. I'm fine. You really got all of this. Yep! Got as much as I could. Open that. That's amazing. Yeah, I knew that, out of everybody in this family, you would be the one that come looking for this stuff. So... I can... Everything? It's yours. - Thank you. - Hell, yeah. Ricky, get the truck! You guys good back there? Bye. Thank you. So, Ricky never lived in the house? No, Wanda didn't meet him until after we lost it. - Hello, sir. - Hey! I'm Jimmie Fails, we haven't had the chance to meet yet. - Oh. Oh, yeah. - Yeah. Welcome to the neighborhood. Yeah, oh, yes... Welcome. Tim! Tim Ellory. Sure, sure, nice to meet you, man. It's a fast-moving market, I don't even remember a sign going up. Oh, it didn't need to, but... Look, Tim, I want you to know I'm going to be the best damn neighbor you ever had. Well... - All right, Jimmie, thank you. - My pleasure. Uh, well, you'll have to pardon me, we've got lots to do, but... - Of course, oh, yeah. - Very nice to meet you, yeah. What the fuck was that all about? I wanna drink my coffee and scratch my ass while I read the paper. You don't read the paper, Jimmie. 'Cause I never had a home to read it in. Shit. We could throw parties. You could put on one of your plays. We could yell. - The neighbors, Jimmie. - Oh, the neighbors? - Hmm. - I got neighbors now. Attaboy. This nigga is a bitch. I'm a soft nigga. Run the fake, nigga! On everything, bro. Man, this kid was a straight sucker. You lyin', bro, on everything, bro, straight sucker, bro. Tell him what happened. I swear to God. Man, last night, a white van pulled up. I swear to God, bro. This nigga Kofi ran like a straight bitch! - He not lyin'! - He gonna get us killed! You niggas sayin' I ran? I didn't run, nigga! Man, fuck what you niggas talkin' about. Shut the fuck up, bro, he's a straight sucker, bro. Hey, hey, man, he got us looking like bitches, bro. If I've gotta get on this thing, I'm gonna be questioning you! You supposed to be my cousin. I'mma bet you supposed to not run, nigga, and that's what you supposed to do. All right, all right, all right, all right, bro. All right, everybody shut up, bro. All right, everybody shut up, bro. Kofi, what happened, bro? Tell him. Uh... Why? - Tell him! - Did you run, nigga? Nah, I didn't run, nigga. I told you! - Lyin', lyin'. - Man, fuck you, nigga. Get on him! Wow. - Hit me, bro. - Man, what? Hit me, bro. Hit me, bro. And for what, you supposed to be my folks. Hey, Kofi, hit that nigga, bro. Yeah! Come on, bro! Yeah! Let's go! Let's go! Get on him! Hit me, bro! Hit me, bro! This nigga's a bitch! Hit me, man! Come on! Guys! Guys! Great, it's great. Very good, very good. Cut! Very good, very good. Good, good, excellent. Good. Hey, great news is you're all doing marvelous work. - What? - Congratulations, it's not easy. I believe you. But I know it can be deeper. - Fuck you talkin' about? - Hey. Remember Stanislavski. Fuck are you doin', man? Grotowski or Slavski... Chekhov, bruh. - These are the greats. - I'm confused, bro. You're okay there. You're okay there. Bro, you're not a director, bro. Man, take your weird ass outta here. Keep building it. Nigga, I don't like when that nigga come around here, bro. Bro, this nigga's a bitch. Say the word, I get on this nigga, bro! Here we go. Watch this for me real quick, bro. I know. I seen your cousin, Al, the other day. Aight, "Hey, Uncle James!" I look like, "Man, I don't know you, "down there struttin' around, like a Frisco fruit cup." I know his daddy mad as hell. You still skateboarding? Nah. Hmm. What? Come here, help me cut these out. And make sure the color bleeds all the way through, no white edges, aight? Yes, sir. Same as always. Yeah. Same as always. Hey, you remember that, uh, warehouse we squatted at? After we lived in the El Dorado? We lost that ' cause we didn't pay taxes, right? Hell, nah. I paid our fair share of tax on that. But who cares, old drafty-ass roach nest. Shit, it was that, or sleeping on the street with your little ass. Well, I appreciate it, Dad. Mmm-hmm. So, say I'm at a place now and the owners left it, I'm gonna pay taxes on it... And you put gas and electric in your name? Right, I'm gonna do that next, you know I know. Okay, doin' it like your old man. That's good. And nobody's come to check on it? Nope. It's empty. Good. That buys you time. And they been gone three years? Nah, just recently. Wait, what? You were workin' on it while they were still in it? Yeah. Where is this house? It's the house in Fillmore. Wow. Our old house. What the fuck you mean, our old house? Have you seen that house? Well, yeah, I mean, I be over there all the time. Then you know that's not your old house and that's not your black-ass neighborhood. Little disrespectful lyin' ass. - What are you talking about? - Nigga, I know you skateboard! Yeah. Yeah, I see all that shit out there. Everybody's little path. I'm like 30 steps ahead of y'all. Go on. Get! You know we don't talk about that house no more. Put the shit down and go! Hey, you been waiting here long? Hella long, bro. I might just skate. Well, that"s nice. This guy fucks. Hey, Sundeep. Sundeep, bro, this guy fucks. This guy fucks! This guy fucks! This guy fucks! This guy fucks! This guy fucks! This guy fucks! This guy fucks! This guy fucks! Oh, this city. I already know, bro. Fuck! Are you okay? Yeah. Yeah. What is all this? Wow. A little room I used to come in when my dad was doing his thing. It's cool, right? Yeah, man. Did you see him today? How'd it go? He said this was a bad idea. Thought you said he was an idiot. Nah, he's just mad 'cause he lost the house. But what if we shouldn't be here? Who should be here more? Hmm? Some millionaire? They'd want it 'cause it looks nice. You're the reason it looks nice, Jim. I don't know. What the fuck? I invited somebody. What's good, nigga? Glad you could make it. What's goin' on? Be back in a sec, pardon me. Y'all got an organ? Columns and shit. It's just y'all here? Yeah. It just makes noises. Oh, okay. It's nice to see you in that chair, I didn't know you'd pick that one. Thanks a lot, bro. Kinda awkward, but this place is cool. Yeah. Jimmie's been doing a lot to fix it up. How'd y'all get this? It's Jimmie's. His grandpa built it. He was the first black man in San Francisco. That's what they call him anyways. Oh, shit. - This that house? - Hmm. Hey, Jimmie used to talk about this spot all the time. But you know how niggas be in the group home. Overexaggerating and shit. Trying to be all special. You weren't lying about this one, though, huh, Jimmie? You were in a group home? Yeah. For like a year. Yep. You guys wanna go for a schvitz? A what? Wait, your grandfather made this too? Nah. Nah, these white people did. Uh-huh. Well, how you know he was the first one, though? Nigga be lyin'. Bro, he came over here from New Orleans. There was hella Japanese people, bro. And then they got thrown into little war camps and he wasn't tryin' to move into nobody else's shit, so he built this, bro. This is great. You still skate, bro? Nah. No, I don't skate no more. Oh, shit, I mean, you used to be hella raw. Yeah. I don't know, I'm, uh... Hey, you remember Gunna? Remember when he got caught stealing from the candy lady? Yeah, he's an ugly-ass crier, really. Oh, man. Hurt as fuck! Hey, remember, uh, Ms. Homer, the one that ran the group home? - Oh yeah! - And she cut that nigga hair, had his line crooked! Hella much! He goin', "Damn, that white lady couldn't cut no hair!" Had that nigga's shit lookin' like Lombard Street. That nigga said Lomb... Aw, man, you niggas gonna make me piss on myself. Oh, shit, y'all got a bathroom up in here, man? In this big-ass house? It's down the hall. It's the room with the little claw-foot tub. Aight, this cool as shit, big-ass house. Mans... I wish I had a grandpa like you. Need me some shit like this. This shit is enjoyable. Right on, bro. I'm proud of you niggas. You too, Mont. Crazy-ass. Just living the life, man. Y'all niggas just really done made it, man. Aw, shit, I"m gonna go use this bathroom real quick. You a funny motherfucker, Jimmie. "You a funny motherfucker, Jimmie." You should, uh... You should have your own room, bro. That's okay, Jim. Nah, seriously, man. I been in your space forever. This place is yours, too. Any room? How about this one? Are you sure you want the dining room? Yeah. It's perfect. Dream big, bro. It's yours. Wow. Yeah, we're gonna have to figure something out. I don't have that much time. It's a complicated situation. No, the power's been on, I just need the bill in my name. Uh-huh. Okay, great. Well, when will I get the first invoice? And you can't mail that any sooner? All right, yeah. He's talking about paying some bills. 'Cause I wouldn't say no if he offered to chip in a little more. He already pays half, Grandpa. Well, he's been here for a while, you know? And he is not exactly family. I think he knows that. Let's hope so. What's all this noise up in here? I'm just packing some stuff. It's for a project. Since when? I mean, we haven't even talked about the characters yet. You know how much I like that. Yeah, well... I'm still working on it. Don't quite have a plot yet. Well, we can brainstorm a little bit. You know, that's where I think we the best at. When we brainstorming. I think I gotta brainstorm this one by myself right now. But I'd love to talk about it soon. You 'bout ready, bro? Mmm-hmm. Well, um... Whatever it is, uh... I'm proud of you. Wow, look at him. What type of shoes are those? Yeah, you should start rocking like that, bra-bra. What the fuck is up with your hat, Jimmie? You look like a human cigarette, I can't handle it. Jimmie, is that a bowling ball? It's the black Alice and Wonderland. Hey, Monty, bro, I heard you be whippin' out that little weenie on all the girls. Bro, with that hair, you look like a Simpson. Nigga, shut up, bro, your one-shirt-havin' ass. Jimmie, you wear the same shirt every motherfuckin' day. You look like a fiend, Jimmie, come on! Hey, just like your daddy! I remember! Your crackhead-ass daddy. And your dumb-fiend-ass mom. Family of fiends, dog. I done sold him a rock back in the day. Hey, what you got up in there? Some lace curtains for that whole beautifyin'-ass house that y'all been makin' up and shit? Okay, Kofi! Okay, what else? Hey, look! These niggas the other day, - they pulled up the other day. - Uh-huh. Niggas had all types of feminine shit goin' on in that house, bro. Jimmie, what two men do that? Just 'cause you in that big ass house, you not better than us, Jimmie. - Never. - You're not better than us. Hey, what is those, lace curtains you gonna beautify the house with? Come on, man, soft-ass nigga. I know who you is, Jimmie, remember! Hey, you know what y'all need to do? Y'all need to disappear like a motherfuckin' magic trick, nigga! Rabbit out the hat, get the fuck out here. Fuck outta here! Jimmie! Jimmie! Go home! You're really drawing them? They just talk shit. Well, you talked shit when I met you. I did? You did. It's fine, though. Why'd you hang out with me, then? You care about things. I liked you. You really don't give a fuck what anybody says? I shouldn't get to appreciate them 'cause they're mean to me? That's silly. Oh. Phew. What are you doing here? What are you ever doing here? Uh... Didn't you move out, though? Yeah. They changed the fuckin' locks on me. I'm sorry, that sucks. What do you want, man? How long you gonna be here? I don't know yet. I'm just tryin' to... Let go. Okay, well... I guess we'll just come back tomorrow then. Great. That's nice. Come on, Jim, we'll go to my house. In this crazy fuckin' city, you're still here. Man, those damn kids dropping bubble gum all over the place, it'll get all over your seat, man. You know what I'm sayin'? Think she'll stay there all night? Watch, we'll come back and she'll be painting the windowsill. Yes, baby. Yes, I will be there. I've been clean for three years, I know where those meetings are. All right, you got it. I'll be there 15 minutes early. Yes. Yes, I told... Jayboe? Jayboe. Uh... Hi, Mom. Hi. Wow, Mom. Good to see you. - Hi. - Wow. - Um, yeah. Uh, I'm sorry. - That's all right. I thought you and Ron were in LA. Oh, no, we been back for three months now. Uh... This is my friend, Mont. Oh, hi, 'scuse me, I'm Jimmie's mom, nice to meet you. Pleasure to meet you. - You too, sir. - Yeah, well... We been staying at the house. If, uh, you know... You should stop by. You know, come check it out. Oh, that's nice. Yeah. The house, my dad's old house. Oh, your family house, - on Golden Gate? - Yeah. Okay. Well, I got your number, I'll call you. Try to come over there tomorrow. Oh, I don't have a phone. Well, I just have to come over there, then. What's the best time to come? I'll be over there tomorrow. Well, yeah, whenever. Come... Yeah. Tomorrow, yeah, fuck it. Okay. - Cool, I'll be there tomorrow. - Okay. Yeah. Well... Our stop's coming up, but... Uh... It was really nice to see you, Mom. Well, it was good to see you too, son, okay? Yeah. - All right. - All right. - All right, bye now. - Okay. Okay. Oh, my God, you taller than me now. - Yeah, uh... - Okay, bye, son. Yeah, bye. Uh... Why? Why? What happened? Why? What the fuck? What happened? - What the fuck happened? - He got shot. They shot him. Who? Who shot him? Who? Bay niggas. For what? For what? He was talking shit to the wrong niggas. Tried to bluff some niggas out. Tried to bluff them out? Man, what's with all the questions, bro? I just don't get it. I just fuckin' seen y'all. And nigga? And I don't fucking get it! Tsk. Man. Get the fuck up outta here, bro. Me get the fuck outta here? - Yes, nigga, go! - It's your fucking fault! That's my fuckin' friend, too! - All right, nigga. - Get on this nigga! All right. Push up on this nigga, bro. You finna let him say that? That poor boy and his friends. I'm sorry, Jimmie. I hope I never made you feel like you weren't welcome here. No, I... I never felt like that. 'Cause I don't care where you been. You don't have to tell me. It's just, you two stick together. You know, I was writing a play about him. You don't have to stop now. "You a funny motherfucker, Jimmie." I know it sounds weird, but... I kinda feel like that could've been me. If not for the house. Man, I wanna go home. Filthy, fishy salt water. Water been funkier than the Devil's mouth for 50 years. Now they wanna clean it up. They've got plans for us. We was made to be put through Hell. Purified... We was made to be put through Hell. Be purified. Fuck! Oh, God. Fuck! How did she toss all of our shit? I don't think it was her. Fuckin' traitor. Okay. Can you stay here and watch the shit? Yeah, where you going? - Where you going? - I'll be back. I'll be back. Jimmie! Sorry, uh, how can I help you today? Uh... - I want to buy a house. - A house? That's exciting. Uh, are you working with an agent? No. Do I need to? No. Not necessarily. Um... Do you have a price range in mind? I have a house in mind. Oh. Um... It's on the market, I assume? How much are they asking? At least $4 million. Uh... And how much are you willing to put down? How much is usual? Well, typically, we'd be looking to secure at least 20%. I wouldn't have that. That's understandable. It's going to be hard to land a place like that. But suppose I ask instead, uh... No, no, look. I get it. I'm young. Uh, I'm black. I'm not rich. I came here knowing all that. But let's be real, you also got a quota to meet. Now I'm not calling you - a predator... - Sir. But you're trying to make your money. - So let me help you do that. - Sir. That's not the way this works. You can give me whatever deal you gotta give me. I don't care what it is. 'Cause unlike all the other people that default, this is the only house I'll ever want. So I'll never miss a monthly bill, ever. You can give me your highest interest rate. I completely understand how you feel, sir. You can give me your highest interest rate, okay? - Fuck... Fuck me. - No, I completely... You don't even have to feel bad. You don't even have to feel bad. Okay? I will pay back every single cent. I'm sorry, sir. I will pay back every single cent. Okay, okay, you win! Okay, yep, it's yours. You charming bastard, okay. Talk to you soon, buh-bye. How's it going, man? Fine, sir. I noticed the house we discussed is now for sale. There are some alarming elements in your literature I thought you would like to know. And certainly the Bureau of Real Estate would. Uh-huh. This claims the property has a view of the Golden Gate. Which... I don't think is true. Well, it isn't. It isn't true. It also claims to have all the original "fixtures, floors, and faucets." Isn't true. And are you planning on disclosing that there's no septic tank? Which means, any day now, the garden could be flooded with shit. Where's this going, man? Well... All this together seems like false advertisement. Which is grounds for void a sale. Potential revoke of license. I thought it might've been you guys. What's your deal, man? Don't have a deal. Hmm. Look... Somebody on this floor would've gotten that house if it wasn't me. At least I'm from here, right? I put your stuff on the street - as a favor. - Okay. I could've had it trucked away, but I left it out for you. Look, dick wad. I'm not fucking around, I will report you. For what? Listing a view of the bridge? And fixtures? Everybody does that. I literally copy-pasted that shit. Well, you're lying about the history of the house. I'm not lying about that. Yes, you are! You say it was built one hundred years earlier than it actually was. Look, I'm not making this up. Yes, you are! James Fails built this house in 1946. - James? - Fails! What are you talking about? Look, man. Deed of Trust, 1857. Architect Gil-hoo-ley, some shit. Your guy Fails lost it in the '90s. See, right there. Look, man. If you need a week to find somewhere else, then take it. But... Don't go pulling some squatters rights shit on me, man. I got your mail. I know your name. I don't want to call the cops. I don't want to do that to you. Where'd you go? Doesn't matter, bro. I got everything inside. Except the couch. That shit almost fell on me. Jim... I spoke to the realtor. Yeah, fuck that guy. He's gonna throw us out. And eventually call the cops. I don't know how much longer we can keep doing this. I understand if you can't. I do. But I'm not leaving. - Jim, he said your grand... - Where am I gonna go? My dad's in the SRO. My aunt's out in bum fuck. My mom... Bro, I don't even know where my mom is. I'm not leaving, bro. I'm the last one left. We have my house. I can't go back there, bro. Mont, this house... This is what I do. Hey, it's what we do, Mont. This is our shit. We can't give up now. We gotta fight. Right? Yeah. I'm with you, bro. You always been with me. Oh, shit, you're writing? Yeah. Uh... I think I cracked a play. I'd like to put it on next week, if that's all right? Hell, yeah, get it, bro! Hey Hey, yeah If you're going to San Francisco Be sure to wear Flowers in your hair If you come To San Francisco You're gonna meet Some gentle people there Gentle people Gentle people there Gentle people Will be a love-in there For those who come To San Francisco Summertime Will be a love-in there In the streets Of San Francisco Yeah. How'd you write all this that fast? There's more. But I'd rather you saw the rest in person. If you come to San Francisco Summertime Will be A love-in there - That was good. - Thank you, sir. What else you got? I got five on it Oh, yeah. Grab your four... - Oh, I'm sorry. - No, keep going! Mont? Hella fuckin' early. Here we go. Why are you dressed like a white boy? Oh... It's for your little show, huh? Man. You mess up my daddy's chair, Montgomery? Huh? No. No, sir, we... We were just... What you stuttering for? You got stage fright already? Huh? No. I don't care about the chair, son. But be easy with it. Thank you. Carry on. Phew. My daddy hated when I played that shit. Yeah, come on in, don't be shy. His grandpa built it. Not bad for a black man, huh? Oh, no. Very good. Very good. So, this is gonna be interesting. This is nice. - Nice crowd, too. - Yeah. You make a lot of money on candy? Sell candy? - I used to, for years. - Oh, yeah? Most of these new white people that's moving in these black neighborhoods, they don't even know they standing in the kitchen - where a dude got shot at. - Mmm. I didn't know he was doing a play and shit. He just invited us, I don't know what weird shit they got goin' on, but it's pretty weird. What I'mma hit you for? You my folks. All right. All right. But I can't have soft niggas hanging around me. Hit me. Nah! Nah! For what, nigga? Hit me. Man up, nigga. Man up! No, bro! No! No, bro, no! Oh, you soft. You soft, nigga. They gonna call you a bitch at your funeral. I ain't no bitch! I ain't no bitch! I'm a man! Then hit me. Hit me, bro. Hit me. Hit me, nigga. All right! All right! Yeah! Here, nigga. I don't give a fuck. Come see me, nigga. Who out there hiding? Man up! Man up, nigga! - Man up! - Hey! No words. No words! Please send e-hugs. Hazel Greene. One hundred and thirty-five likes. Damn! Damn! Just smoked with you the other day! Crazy! John Bishop. Two hundred and sixty likes. Ten shares. Are these the people who knew Kofi? Got yelled at by my bitch boss for being late! Sorry! There's no timer for grief. Leah Tanaka, 320 likes. Man! Man! Can't believe we lost my bro! But you wouldn't want me to be sad, Ko, so I put my pain into my music! Make sure you like the post. Ro-Ro-Ro-Rodney Tuck. Mr. Tuck moved to Florida ten years ago! Are these the people who knew Kofi? Kofi had dimensions. More than a... A post could reflect or a play could capture. So I summon you. Celebrate the life he lived. Not through those who speak the loudest. But through the memories he left us all. Ma'am! - Me? - Mmm. How will you... How will you remember Kofi? Um... Um... He, you know, he used to come and walk my niece home from school when she first moved up here. He was a little gentleman, or whatnot, you know, sweet, um... It's just sad. Mmm. - I coached Kofi in Pop Warner. - Mmm-hmm. He stayed behind and helped me pack up. Every day. Yeah. And how 'bout you, young man? Shit, man. I don't know. Did I push him too hard? Kofi was my nigga, man. Did I push him too hard? Mmm. How 'bout you? Well... My last memory of Kofi was him talking shit to me. He said some of the most fucked-up shit anybody's ever said to me. But Kofi also got jumped for defending me against the older kids in the group home. He didn't like to fight, but he fought for me then. People aren't one thing. That. All... All of it. What would have happened if Kofi could've showed himself? All forms of himself. The world put him in a box! And he never pushed beyond it. Let us. Let us break the boxes! Let us give each other the courage! To... To see! Beyond the stories we are born into! Let us all really look at Jimmie Fails IV. Self-taught historian. Carpenter. Gentle, loving man. A true survivor. Jimmie! How many places have you lived? And if they kicked you out tomorrow, you would still be all those things! You exist beyond the... These walls, you extend beyond your... Your... Your forefathers! You are more than this house! Jimmie, you are not these... These walls! You're not these floors, you're not this ceiling! - It's time you know! - Bro, what are you doing? - What are you doing? - It is time! - It is time you know! - I don't need to know, I don't need to know. Let's stop. Let's stop. - Jimmie... You don't! - Enough, stop! - Please, stop. Mont! - Jimmie! Your grandpa didn't build this house! Enough! He didn't build it, Jimmie! Yes, he did. - He built this house! - He didn't, I saw it, man, I saw the deed. I saw it. I don't know what the hell that thing was. Then he shoots a left. Psh! Ha! Man, let 'em leave. They don't deserve to be in here anyway. Neither do we. You gonna really listen to what another-ass nigga tell you what's true? Come on, Jayboe, get your spine up, son. - Have some pride, man. - I've been doin'. But you say it. Say what? The truth. What? That grandpa didn't build this house. Tsk. Man, get outta here with that bullshit. Come on, Jayboe. Just say it. Can't tell you shit. I'm outta here, man. You sit in that bullshit if you want. Jayboe. I been telling people he built it for so long. Almost forgot it wasn't true. This was ours. And then it wasn't. So you just tell yourself what you need to make you feel like it still is. Shit. I did it, too. It makes you feel special. But you got a chance to get out from underneath all of that now. I don't want to. I just want it. Is that what you really want? To spend the rest of your life working for this? Fighting for this? I believe that you could make this place yours. I really do. But if you leave it's not your loss. It's San Francisco's. Fuck San Francisco. - This city blows. - Big time. I mean, whatever, I'm not above living in a former crack house, you know? But, I came here for Janis and the Airplane, not to work at a fucking startup. Dude, I've been saying for months, let's just move to East LA. This city's dead. Nah. Seriously, fuck this city. 'Scuse me? You don't get to hate San Francisco. I'm sorry, what? Yeah, dude, I mean... Sorry, but I'll hate what I want. Do you love it? It's... I mean yeah, I'm here. But do I have to love it? You don't get to hate it unless you love it. Classic Muni shit. Who call the money man, come on now, hurry up. Pay attention! Alexander the Great was a black man. They don't teach you that in the devil school system. I can't take another day of this bullshit. Oh, Jim. I'm sorry I did that. It was a stupid play. Nah. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I just wanted it to be true. It felt so good, you know? It's okay. Hey, Jimmie. Are you hungry? Fucking starving. He's giving up. I can't take no more. He's breaking down. Oh, wow. He's really tearing this apartment apart. This looks exciting though, you know? - Yeah. Yeah, it is. - Yeah? Oh, yeah? - Oh! I got it now. - Oh! He seems like he's horny or something. He's banging on the door again. I will. I'm leaving San Francisco today, but I'll be back in about a week, I'll take care of it for you then. Well, I've seen him worse. Well have a nice time, Bert. - Yeah, thanks. - Why don't you... |
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