07x13 - And the Doorknobs Shined Like Diamonds

[bunniefuu]

Well, we're movin' on up
Movin' on up

To the East Side
Movin' on up

To a deluxe apartment
in the sky

Movin' on up
Movin' on up

To the East Side
Movin' on up

We finally got
a piece of the pie

Fish don't fry
in the kitchen

Beans don't burn
on the grill

Took a whole lot of tryin'

Just to get up that hill

Now we're up
in the big leagues

Gettin' our turn at bat

As long as we live,
it's you and me, baby

There ain't nothin' wrong
with that

We're movin' on up
Movin' on up

To the East Side
Movin' on up

To a deluxe apartment
in the sky

Movin' on up
Movin' on up

To the East Side
Movin' on up

We finally got
a piece of the pie

Mmm. Miss Jefferson,
I can't believe all
the money y'all spent

on that new
living room set.

Neither can I, Florence.

I mean, I'm all for
getting new furniture,

but that price was
a bit steep.

A bit? sh**t, for the money
y'all spent, y'all could have
got Chrysler out of trouble.

Well, George wanted the best
furniture money could buy,

so we had to shop at Murrow's.

Ooh, I can't wait
'til it gets here!

Neither can George.

He's been so excited,
he's just like a little kid.

Damn! Damn! Damn!

Well, don't look now,
but his mouth just went
through puberty.

That Willis is a jerk!

I just tried to call and
there wasn't no answer.

Boy, they oughta bring
back the death penalty
for that one.

Can you believe that guy?

I mean, our new living room
furniture is about to be
delivered any minute,

and I can't even find Willis
to make him feel miserable.

Aw, he's gonna be so
sorry he missed that.

George, why can't we just
enjoy our new furniture

instead of rubbing
people's noses in it?

Because, Weezy, in this life,
there are two kinds of people,

the rubbees and the rubbers.

Now, I have spent most
of my life being a rubbee,

but then, by using my head
and rising to the top,

though I may appear on
the outside to be a rubbee,

in here is all rubber.

Wanna take a shot at it?

No, it's too easy.

They're here!

Oh, I'll get it!

No, no, no!
I'll get it, Mr. Jefferson!

Hello, Mr. J.

I was just wondering
if I might borrow...

But never mind,
I've taken enough already.

No, no, Mr. Bentley,
we were just expecting
some new furniture.

Oh, good, this room
could use some.

Oh yeah, well if you want
to see our new furniture,
be here around : tonight.

Oh, no, actually, I planned on
taking Judy out for an elegant
dinner tonight.

I really want to impress her.

Hey, you want to impress her?
: , baby, right here.

I gotta call Willis.

George, I don't think it's
right using our new furniture
just to impress the neighbors.

Oh come on, Weezy.
We're gonna be
sitting on it, too!

Too late, furniture's here.

Is this
the Jefferson residence?

It sure is.
Good.

I've got the delivery
from Murrow's, tell your boss.

Wait a minute, I am my boss.
I am George Jefferson.

You?
Yeah, me.

Well all right, brother.
Jimmy's the name.

Listen, gentlemen. I want you
to be extra careful with
Mr. Jefferson's furniture.

This isn't bargain
basement stuff.

Uh, hi, Jimmy,
I'm Louise Jefferson.

Nice meeting you,
Mrs. Jefferson.

And I'm Florence Johnston.
How are you doing?

Uh, Mr. Jefferson,

could I have a glass of water,
would that be all right?

Sure. Hey Florence,
why don't you give
Jimmy some water?

Sure, follow me.

Oh, George,
aren't they beautiful?

And they go so well
with the new carpet!

Yeah, there's only
one thing missing.

What?
Tom Willis.

No way, Florence.

Even if I could afford
furniture from Murrow's,
I ain't got nowhere to put it.

Oh. Where do you live?

Well, right now, with
my brother, out in Queens.

I used to live in Harlem,
right near the old
Green Light dance hall.

The Green Light?

Yeah, you know where it is?

I sure do, I used to live
next door to it.

No kidding! So I guess
you know they're tearing
down the block, huh?

They are?
Yeah.

The city's putting up some
new buildings down there.

It's just a shame
for the Green...

Oh, excuse me for a minute.

Oh, come on, Willis,
old buddy.

Look, I can't tell you
what the surprise is.

You gotta come down here
and see for yourself.

Aw, man, you can
watch the best of
The Flintstonesanytime.

Uh, George.
Huh?

I just found out they're
tearing down the building
I grew up in!

Oh, that's too bad, Weezy.
So anyways...

George, I know this
sounds silly,

but I never thought
about my building being
torn down before.

Me neither, Weezy.
Anyways, come on, Willis...

I remember when I was
a little girl in that house.

Oh, Lord.

Whenever I got caught doing
something bad, Mother used to
always send me to my room.

Of course, my sister Maxine
could get away with m*rder.

But I must have spent most of
my childhood in that room.

And then, you know,

whenever I got sent to
my room, I'd pretend my old
glass doorknobs were diamonds

and that when I grow up,
I'd take them and
sell them and be

the richest woman in
the whole wide world.

That's cute, Weez.

So, look, Willis...hello?

Willis? Damn it, he hung up!

I gotta go get him.
George.

Would you take me to see
my building before
they tear it down?

Yeah, sure, Weez.

You better hurry.
They're tearing it
down tomorrow.

Tomorrow? Oh, George,
we gotta go see it tonight!

Tonight?
Weez, we can't go tonight.

We've got new furniture.
Bentley's coming.
The Willis' coming.

This is a big night for them!

Oh, Miss Jefferson, I made
fresh coffee for everybody,
you want some?

No. I'll be back, Florence.

Where are you going?

To my room.

To her room?

Hey!

Ain't you taking the long way?

Hello?

Anybody here?

I have a dog with me.

Stay, Bloodfang!

Boy.

I'm glad my mother's not
here to see this room.

She would have probably
made me clean it up.

Mmm, my favorite corner.

Oh, and my dresser used to
be right here next to the bed.

Whenever I woke up,
I'd always have my toy dog
Roo-Roo to watch over me.

Hey, I wonder what ever
happened to Roo-Roo.

Oh, yeah.

Maxine pulled his front
paws off that time
she tried to dance with him.

Of course, Maxine
always was hard-headed.

I just wonder why she never
seemed to get in any trouble.

It was always me.

Always me.

MRS. MILLS:
Louise, I told you about
pulling on Maxine's hair!

LOUISE: But Mama,
she pulled mine first!

MRS. MILLS: I don't care
who started it.

Now get into that room
and don't come out
till tomorrow morning.

Do you hear me, child?

Well, what about supper?

You heard what I said, now.

Maxine started it.

sh**t.

I don't care.

I didn't want
no supper anyway.

Keep your raggedy supper!

Come on, Roo-Roo.

We don't care if
Maxine gets supper.

'Cause she don't know that
we could sell those doorknobs

and be richest as
Lena Horne, right?

And then we can run away
and never see Maxine again.

Mama would like that
cause she likes Maxine
better than us, right?

Yeah, I know.

So, what do we do now?

We have to just stay in here
and never eat again,

so Mama will feel
sorry for us, huh?

Yeah, you're right.

Just because we're never going
to eat again, it doesn't mean
we have to starve to death.

Who is it?

Who's there?

Oh, thank God.

Oh, there you are!

Now, how did you get in there?

Aw...

Somebody still thinks
this house is good
enough to stay in.

I used to live here
myself, you know.

As a matter of fact,

that hole in the wall
over there

used to be the heating duct
where I kept my diary.

And of all the entries
I ever put in that diary,

there's still one
I remember the most.

Dear Diary, guess what?

Today is the day I finally
kissed Dennis Walker.

Whoever said
kissin' was neat sure
never kissed Dennis Walker.

He leaned his head
the wrong way,

the gap between his teeth
kept making me laugh,

and he even kisses
with his eyes open.

I know, 'cause I peaked.

But all I know is,
kissing sure isn't as great
as Maxine says it is,

and I'm not gonna do it again
for a long, long time.

Signed, Louise Mills.

PS...

But then again, why should
I suffer just 'cause
Dennis can't get it right?

Dennis Walker must have
finally got it right.

Last I heard,
he had kids.

I don't believe it.

Yep, that's the alarm,
all right.

It's still there!

Oh, no matter what we were
trying to get away with,

that alarm was
a hotline to Mama's room.

One time my cousin Debra was
spending the night with me,

and we were sneaking in late.

LOUISE: Oh, it was about :
or : in the morning.

Come on, Louise, be quiet
before you wake your mother.

I can't help it, Debra.

It's just so funny the way you
and that lanky David Taylor
looked at the dance tonight.

I mean, he's got to be
eight feet tall!

He's six feet five and fine,
thank you.

Six-five, maybe.
Fine? Forget it.

Hey. Let's not talk about
boyfriends,

'cause that George Jefferson
ain't exactly no Cab Calloway.

You're just jealous because
George is going to join
the Navy like a man.

David could have
joined the service,

but they said
he had flat feet.

Yeah, they match his butt.

Jeez, Louise, you've got
a mouth on you as bad
as Maxine's!

Look, I don't talk
about my sister since
she ran off and left us.

Okay.

Okay.

All I'm saying is that if your
mother heard you talking like
that, she'd smack your face.

sh**t, Mama don't scare me.
I'm grown.

Now, let's get to bed
before she wakes up.

Okay.

Watch out for the alarm!

Huh?

MRS. MILLS: Louise?
Ooh!

Come on!

I'm trying!

MRS. MILLS: Louise?

Hurry up, Debbie!

Okay, okay.

Louise!

Where have you been?

Don't "huh" me.

You was out running
around with that sorry old
Jefferson boy again.

No, Mama.
Child, if you lie to me,
I'll skin you.

Okay, I was, okay.

Girl, you gonna do what
I tell you to do.

As long as you stay black,
you're gonna obey me, Louise.

But, Mama!
Now, just hush up.

'Cause I told you what time
to be in this house.

Now, I'm gonna get the belt.

But Mama, wait!

Debra-Ann, too!

'Cause if she was asleep
for real, she would have
woke up by now.

You know,
I don't know
what was worse,

the beating itself,
or the speech
that came with it.

Oh, but Mama
wasn't all that bad.

She loved us.
We loved her and we all
loved this house.

Oh, it always was
a hard place to leave.

MRS. MILLS: Louise?

Can I come in?

Um, sure, Mama,
come in, it's open.

Oh, let me see my baby!

Oh, Louise, that dress looks
every bit as good on you
as it did the day I wore it.

Thanks, Mama.
Oh, I'm so proud of you!

Oh...

Oh, honey, what's the matter?

Don't you feel well?

I don't know.

You've got the butterflies,
don't you?

I guess.

Well, that's natural.

But don't worry because
you've got a good man and
that's the important thing.

But when George and me got
engaged, you kept saying,

"With so many fish in
the sea, how come you
had to catch a guppy?"

Oh, sh**t,
I was just teasing, child.

I knew you wouldn't
listen to me anyway.

But something else
is troubling you, ain't it?

Go on, then, you can tell me.

Well, Mama.

It's just that
I don't feel right
leaving you all alone.

With Maxine gone,
you'll be all by yourself now.

Girl, is that all?

I just remember how upset you
got when Maxine ran away.

Listen, Maxine was different.

Maxine was always different.

I know.

Louise.

I never told you this before,

but you remember all them
times when it looked like I
was favoring Maxine over you?

Yeah.

Well, you probably won't
believe it, but I was really
favoring you over Maxine.

Oh yeah.

And when you're
a mother, you'll see why, too.

You're gonna be able to look
at your children

and tell which one
has the goodness in her

and which one doesn't.

And as sure as
I'm sitting here,

you're gonna treat that
good child just the way
I treated you.

But shouldn't they all
get treated alike?

Yeah, they should,
but they don't.

Maxine wasn't a bad child.

She always had a little
devilment in her,

so, when she tried
to drag you in her mess,

I would just jump on you
a little harder 'cause I knew
you knew better.

Do you understand?

Now, don't get me wrong,
when Maxine left,

I was upset 'cause it hurt me.

But you ain't running
away, Louise.

Oh, you're making me proud.
And you know, you should
be proud, too.

'Cause you ain't hardly losing
a home, you see.

I've heard that Jefferson
boy run his mouth.

It's like dating
another me.

Now, go on.
Go on, fix yourself up.

That preacher see you looking
like that,

he's gonna think that
that man's been knocking you
in your head. Now, go on.

What's the matter?

Nothing. I was just thinking.

You know what I used
to do when I was little?

What?

I used to pretend these
doorknobs were diamonds

and all I'd have to do was
sell them and I could buy
anything I wanted to.

It's so embarrassing,
all that kid stuff.

Uh-uh, child.

You just keep right on
hoping for the future.

That Jefferson boy's
got potential.

sh**t, you never know.

He might accidentally amount
to something one day.

But no matter what happens,
Louise, always look ahead,
you hear?

You're on your own now.

So don't look back.

Don't you ever look back.

GEORGE: Hey, Louise!

It's George.

Louise, it's : .
That preacher charges
by the hour.

Hurry up.
Oh, God.

Oh yeah, honey,
you're gonna do just fine.

GEORGE: Louise,
come on.

Weezy!

Weezy!

Weezy!

Weezy? You in there?

Huh? George?

Is that you, Weezy?

Yeah, I'm in my old bedroom.

So there you are!
Hi, George.

I've been worrying
all about you!

You shouldn't be running
around these buildings
this time of night!

You could be hurt
or something!

I'm sorry, George.

But I just had to come back.

What for?

Oh, just to look around
and reminisce.

This old building holds
a lot of memories for me.

Smiles and sighs.

Laughs and cries.

You been cutting those poems
out of Reader's Digestagain?

I knew you
wouldn't understand.

It's just that when
they tear down this
building tomorrow,

it'll be like I'm losing
my whole childhood.

Oh, that's not true, Weezy,
just because they're
tearing down this building,

their ain't a wrecking ball
in the world that can
tear down your memories.

I guess you're right, George.

Hmm.

You know, this must
have been a pretty nice
little room in its day.

Yeah, you never got to see it.

Are you kidding?

Your mother wouldn't allow me
within feet of this room.

She'd go, "Look, boy,
if they wanted you there,
they wouldn't have put

"the doors on the room."

Yeah, I forgot about that.

Me too.

Well, uh, look, um,

I got a taxi downstairs,
if you're ready.

Oh, I think just a second.

Oh, would you take
this cat and turn him
loose outside?

I'm afraid that they might not
see him tomorrow when they,
you know.

Oh, yeah, sure, Weezy.

I'll be out in a second,
I just want to say goodbye.

Okay?

Oh, okay.

Uh, you know, just take
all the time you need.

Look, Weezy, if it makes
you feel any better,

I really hate to see them
tear it down, too.

Thank you, George.