♪ Good Times
♪ Anytime you meet a payment
♪ Good Times
♪ Anytime you feel free
♪ Good Times
♪ Anytime you're Out from under ♪
♪ Not getting hassled Not getting hustled ♪
♪ Keeping your head Above water ♪
♪ Making a wave when you can
♪ Temporary layoffs
♪ Good Times
♪ Easy credit rip offs
♪ Good Times
♪ Scratching and surviving
♪ Good Times
♪ Hanging in a chow line
♪ Good Times
♪ Ain't we lucky we got 'em
♪ Good Times ♪
♪ Mississippi, here we come
♪ Right back Where we started from ♪
[HUMMING]
Don't you know the words? Sure, Ma.
[CONTINUES HUMMING]
Of course, how could I forget?
♪ Mississippi here we come
Oh, Ma.
What's the matter?
Ma, you wrapped a gravy bowl
in Clifton Davis.
I was gonna frame it.
Why would you want to frame a gravy bowl?
Oh, Ma, you know what I mean.
Now, look at it.
Clifton's all wrinkled.
Well, now you know
what he's gonna look like
when he gets old.
Well, I'll just have to iron him out.
You can't.
I just packed the iron in Ike and Tina Turner.
Why couldn't you
use the Help Wanted section?
You know, we won't be needing that any more.
Amen to that.
I knew your daddy would do it for us.
I just knew it!
When I got that letter from James
telling us that his uncle had offered him
a half interest in the garage business,
it was like Martin Luther King
saying, "Free at last! Free at last!
"Thank God Almighty.
We are free at last!"
Oh, Ma, now,
if everything is gonna be so great
in Mississippi,
why don't we buy new dishes there,
instead of taking these old ones.
Oh, Thelma,
these dishes are precious to me.
I served your daddy
his first breakfast on them,
the morning after we got married.
[CHUCKLES]
Was he hungry, Ma?
Have mercy.
He was hungry!
♪ Mississippi, here I come
Hey, Ma, this is the only box I could find.
Well, you sure
couldn't have looked too hard.
I looked,
and I asked everybody for empty boxes,
including Mr. Ferguson.
The mortician?
Yeah, but he said he didn't have any empty.
You know, it's not easy
moving on two days notice.
I know, Michael,
but your daddy is getting impatient.
The last letter I got from James
was so full of love,
it could have steamed itself open.
And Willona's party is tonight,
and goodbye telegrams are coming in.
Yeah, I wrote three of them myself.
I can't believe we're really moving.
I wonder what it's gonna be like, being rich.
Now, wait a minute.
We're not gonna be rich,
but we will be better off than we are now.
We can be poor
and still be better off than we are now.
Well, he's home again.
He's outta sight.
Feast your eyes on Kid...
Dy-no-mite!
J.J., when I said we were traveling light,
I didn't mean your head!
It looks like you got corn rows,
only the crop failed.
Oh, you wouldn't talk that way
to Otis Sistrunk, Kojak, Isaac Hayes.
For your information, little girl,
this flip side of the Afro
has a certain daring,
a certain presumptuousness...
A certain baldness.
What is that?
J.J., you're not wearing earrings.
Only one, only one.
'Cause one is a sign of macho.
Two is a sign of la-di-da.
I think it's silly.
Now his head is perfect all around.
Empty on the outside and empty inside.
[GRUMBLES]
Hey, that's my earring!
That's right, that's right... Take it off!
You don't need it.
[BOTH SHOUTING]
Ah-ah-ah!
I'm not gonna have that hassling.
All right, J.J., give Thelma her earring.
Yeah, you old goldfish.
All right.
Don't wear my jewelry anymore.
Now, Thelma, you go and pack those dishes,
and J.J., do something about your head.
All right.
Y'all asking me
to do something about my head?
Check this out.
Here you go.
Presto change-o!
Look at him.
He'd do anything to get out of work.
You big phony. Hey, come on, now.
Hey, Ma, take these people out.
They are right.
This is no time for fun and games.
Now, come and help us with the moving.
[GROANS]
[TELEPHONE RINGS]
Saved by the bell!
I'll get that.
It's probably your daddy.
Hello?
Who do you want to speak to?
Mr. Goosebumps?
[LAUGHS]
That's for me.
Par-ton moi.
Hello there.
Mr. Goosebumps here.
Oh, that Mr. Goosebumps.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Thanks, turkey.
Hey, J.J., why don't you mind your business?
This is private.
Hello?
Oh, hi, Luanne.
Well, I'm helping around the house right now.
Well, I'm the only one here who's working.
What?
Oh, okay, all right.
See you.
Ma, Luanne wants to see me.
She gotta tell me some things.
Well, I... Thanks. Bye.
Our little brother is growing up, J.J.
We're gonna have to teach him
about the birds and the bees.
Well, I'll deal with the birds and you'll deal with the bees.
Before you deal with anything,
you get those paintings off the wall.
I don't know
if I should trust my life's work
to those moving men, you know?
They're always dropping things,
breaking things, bumping into things.
You think President Ford started out as a moving man?
Just put them in a carton.
As long as you don't mark it "Fragile"
they'll be all right.
Oh... this apartment has so many memories.
You think I'm gonna miss it?
Not me.
The way Daddy writes about Mississippi,
sounds like the Promised Land.
Oh, yeah?
If that's the Promised Land,
what are all those Jewish folks doing in Tel Aviv?
I remember when my folks left the South to come here.
Chicago was going to be the golden opportunity.
I guess a lot of black people felt that way
when they came up north, huh, Ma?
Well, it seemed the only right move at the time.
Do you know when we left Mississippi,
they still had separate facilities
for blacks and whites.
Yeah, but all that's changed now.
Now when you gotta go,
all you gotta do is just raise your hand,
and they'll bus you to another john.
Wouldn't it be awful
if on our way down to Mississippi,
we met some sisters and brothers
on their way to Chicago,
and we both said, "Go back! Go back!"
Well, have no fear,
because once J.J. gets there, the South shall rise again!
Yee-haw!
J.J., you're gonna have Bookman up here.
Hi, y'all.
Hi, Willona. Hi, Willona.
Here's the suitcase I said I'd lend you.
You know, I was saving this
for my next honeymoon,
but the hinges are getting all rusty,
and so am I.
Willona, we're gonna miss you.
I'm gonna miss you and James
and Thelma and Michael.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Something wrong, J. J.?
You almost forgot the unforgettable me.
You know I was just jiving.
Honey, if you were just 20 years older...
Then you'd be 20 years older too, Willona.
Wrong. Wrong.
I'd only be 10 years older.
Willona, you got a lot to learn
about arithmetic.
J.J., you got a lot to learn about women.
Well, then, how come
I got coming to the party tonight.
Samantha the Human Panther,
Wendy the Wonder Woman,
and Olivia the Octopus?
Honey, that ain't no guest list.
That's roll call at a circus.
But that's cool. Invite everybody.
We're gonna have the biggest, bumpin'-est
footstomping-est bash I ever threw.
Oh, by the way, Willona,
thanks for holding the party at our apartment.
Anytime.
Willona, don't make the party too terrific,
or we won't wanna leave.
That's the general idea.
You'll make friends
with the people who move in here.
How am I gonna make friends
with people I hate?
Willona, you don't even know the people.
It don't matter.
I'm not gonna like anybody
that tries to take your place.
Oh, Willona.
I'm so happy for you.
I don't know
what I'm gonna do without you.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Who is it?
Me. Me who?
Me the janitor.
Oh, good, I finally get a chance to tell this dude off.
If he finds out we're moving,
he'll find a way to get us out of here
before we're ready.
You mean I can't get even with this dude for ripping us off
all these years? Later.
Now, get these boxes out of sight.
[KNOCKING CONTINUES]
[HUMMING]
Coming. We're all getting decent!
FLORIDA: Just a minute.
[HUMMING CONTINUES]
Good afternoon, folks.
Well, it was good till you got here.
What do you want, Bookman?
Do I detect a note of hostility?
You detect a whole symphony!
Yeah, well, you'll change your mind
when you hear the good news.
You're going to Angola as a mercenary.
The hot water's coming on again the first thing in the morning.
What do you mean again?
Well, it's being turned off again tonight.
Hey, what are we gonna do about bathing?
Why don't you folks
learn to take cold showers, like me?
Because we're not married to Mrs. Bookman.
I'll remember that remark the next time
your old man asks for a favor.
Look here, Bookman.
I've had the final straw... Not now, J.J.
Bookman is just leaving.
Arrivederci, lardo.
Who do you think
you're calling "Arrivederci"?
I was born right here in Chicago.
Oh, please.
Oh, Ma, how come
you didn't let me tell that dude off?
Because we still got two more days
to live here.
So, unless you wanna sleep
on a concrete mattress, don't make waves!
When I get my chance, I'm gonna make a typhoon!
Michael, are you all right?
Michael, wait a minute, now.
What happened with you and Luanne out there?
Because if I think what happened happened,
this calls for a celebration!
Wait a minute.
Could it be he's got his nose open?
In love? Michael?
He left here a boy, but came back a man.
[ALL SHOUTING]
Cut it out.
Why don't ya'll cut it out?!
I am in love.
And I'm not going to Mississippi.
Oh, don't worry, it's just puppy love.
Yeah, out of sight, out of mind.
A week from now,
he won't even know who this chick is.
He'll have forgot all about...
I don't care what anybody says.
I'm not leaving Chicago.
Michael, if this is supposed to be
some kind of joke, like J.J.'s wig,
I don't think it's funny,
and you're upsetting Ma.
Michael, you can't stay here by yourself.
Where would you live?
I could stay with Willona.
You can't stay with Willona.
I can so stay with Willona.
Doesn't anyone want to ask Willona?
Well?
Well, leave Willona out of this.
I'm going to get ready for the party.
See you all later.
All right, Michael.
What's this all about?
Well, Ma, I'm in love with Luanne,
and she's in love with me.
That's what she had to tell me.
Oh, Michael, don't you think
you're a little young for all this?
Romeo and Juliet were young.
Michael, you wanna end up O.D.ed like them?
J.J., please don't make jokes.
You've had many girlfriends before,
but this is the first one for me.
Michael, don't be juvenile.
Now, there are a lot of pebbles on the beach.
Except all the beaches are closed
because of pollution.
Well, I don't care. I'm not going.
I don't believe this!
Everything's set for us to go.
The party is tonight,
telegrams are coming in,
and Michael's worrying about his little league romance.
Now stop that, Thelma.
This is important to Michael.
That's right.
It's the first time I've ever been in love,
and it took me 14 years to get to it.
I don't want to wait another 14 years
for the next one.
Michael...
nothing will ever again
be as sweet as your first love,
but you're gonna fall in love
so many times,
you won't be able to keep up count with it.
Michael...
sweetheart, the reason your father went down
to Mississippi
is to make a new and better life
for his family.
Now, I know how important Luanne is,
but your father wants us in Mississippi,
and where your daddy wants us to go
is where we're going,
so you're just gonna have to tell Luanne.
But, Ma, I don't know how.
Oh, the words will come.
You'll see.
Don't worry, Michael.
I'll help you.
We can tell her
and Olivia the Octopus at the party tonight.
[LAUGHS]
I just hope that all that crying.
Olivia's gonna be doing,
she don't water down the Kool-Aid.
I don't know.
Michael...
we can't pass up this opportunity
to get out of the ghetto,
because it may never come again.
Now, if you don't wanna come along with us...
[STERNLY] That's tough,
because you're going anyway,
if I have to drag you by the ears.
[DISCO MUSIC PLAYING]
[SCREAMS IN JOY]
Too much.
Hey, there, Willona, honey child,
sweet magnolia blossom,
this is sure is a nice little cotillion
you all fixed up for us all,
and us all sure appreciate y'all going through the problems.
J.J., are you high,
or is your mouth out of order?
No, Willona,
I'm just boning up on how to talk Southern.
They don't talk like that anymore.
Shows you how much you know.
I got that
from Jimmy Carter's acceptance speech.
Luanne ain't here yet.
Oh, she'll be here, Michael.
Girls like to make an entrance.
They sure do.
In the meantime, get me some ice cubes, okay?
All right,
and if Luanne comes while I'm gone,
you lay off, J.J.,
and no funny looks, Thelma.
She can't help it.
She was born with that face.
Hey, hey, watch out. Cool it.
I told her we were a non-violent family.
Uh-huh.
Whoo, Willona, you sure put on some spread.
Oh, thank you, sugar.
You just better be talking about that food.
Well, well, well, well, uh... Uh...
Err, uh...
Funny, your name just happens to slip my mind.
Yes, that is funny.
Just give me the initials.
I'll come right up with it.
I doubt it.
Oh, hold on, then, just give me your name.
I'll come up with the initials.
Uh, Nancy?
Mary?
Edie?
Roxanne?
Uh-uh.
Uh, Teresa? Linda?
Michelle?
Am I getting warm?
No, you're getting cold.
Hi, Luanne.
Hi, Michael.
Luanne!
I knew I'd come up with it.
Hey, wanna dance?
All right.
Hey, J.J., when are we
gonna tell the girls? Later. Later, man.
Hey, J.J.
Hey!
You have not danced with me all night.
Olivia, you see what's happened
is that there are so many foxes here,
that I have to dance with them in alphabetical order,
and I'm only up to the Gs.
Well, just call me, "Go-livia."
Look out, dancing on.
Turn it around.
Hey, J.J., when are we gonna tell the girls?
Later, bro.
The night is young, and I am so beautiful.
[ALL HOLLERING]
[SCREAMS]
What are you doing here?
I've had some complaints
about the music and the noise.
What?
The music and the noise!
I can't hear you
through the music and noise.
Hey, Booker, baby,
I don't remember inviting you.
Yeah, didn't you read the sign?
"Come as you are, unless you are the janitor."
Right.
[SHOUTING] You know,
on top of all the other trouble you've caused around here,
[MUSIC STOPS]now th...
On top of all the trouble you've caused around here,
now this.
You know, I've had complaints from two tenants.
Mrs. Evans, you know the rules.
Three complaints, and you're out.
You said you only had two complaints, fatsy.
The third complaint
was when Mrs. Evans said
she couldn't understand what I was saying.
Oh, that's it.
J.J., he's all yours.
Tell him.
Well, Mr. Bookman... Get 'em, tiger.
Mr. Bookman,
or as you're more affectionately known:
"Buffalo Butt..."
[ALL LAUGH]
...you are so dumb
that if you tried to flush a toilet
you couldn't,
even if the instructions were written on the handle.
[SHOUTING]
Furthermore, your dumbness
is only exceeded by your fatness.
Whenever you have to go to the movies,
you have to get two tickets,
one for each side of the aisle.
And talk about mean.
You are so mean,
that if you ever went to get a heart transplant,
you'd be plumb out of luck,
because you wouldn't have nothing to trade in.
That's right.
Okay, that's all right.
You guys have had it.
You're out, spelled O-U-T.
Evicted. Gone. Bye.
Oh, yeah?
Well, you can't fire us, because we quit!
What are you talking about?
That's right.
We're moving to Mississippi,
and you know how that's spelled:
M-I...
ALL: ♪ Crooked letter, crooked letter, I ♪
♪ crooked letter, crooked letter, I ♪
♪ humpback, humpback, I ♪
[ALL LAUGH]
So... you can take this apartment
and stuff it in your furnace.
Maybe some of the other tenants
will get some heat.
I'm appalled.
J.J., you were great.
You couldn't have done it better
if you were James himself.
MICHAEL: Hey, J.J.,
now do we tell the girls that we're leaving them?
Well, now's as good a time as any.
But let me do the talking.
[J.J. CLEARS THROAT]
Uh, ladies, me and Michael have something
very, very, very important to tell you.
Yeah.
See how hard she's taking it, Michael?
Yeah, I see.
See, our whole family,
which encompasses Michael and myself,
are moving to Mississippi.
Oh, no!
I don't believe it!
I believe it.
Hey, Leon!
About Saturday night, it's cool.
Michael, check this out.
She's in a state of shock.
She look like she don't care to me.
Michael, that's the worst kind of shock.
Luanne,
if you don't want me to go, then I don't know what I'll do.
Oh, Michael, of course, I don't want you to go,
but I know you have to be with your family.
I'll write you every day.
And I'll come visit you when school's out.
Come visit me on Easter too.
Yeah, and Christmas.
MICHAEL: Hey, and summers too.
LUANNE: Right.
Hey, J.J., what about the telegrams?
Now's as good a time as any to read them.
Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen.
Lend me your ears
and all the rest that's attached.
We are about to read the telegrams, now.
All right!
We started the evening off
with just seven wires and now we've got 12.
That's what I call inflation.
MICHAEL: I'll take one.
Wow, let me read this thing here.
All right, now.
It says, "Good luck on your move.
"May there always be a place in your heart
"and on your sofa for me.
Signed, Grandpa."
[ALL CHEER]
Whoo! Listen to this one.
"Sounds like a great party,
"but wish it were somewhere else.
Signed, the people downstairs."
Who are not invited.
I've got one. I've got one.
It says here that 10 votes in your name
have been stuffed in a ballot box in Chicago.
Signed, Alderman Fred Davis.
This is a cute one.
Chicago's loss is Mississippi's gain.
Signed, Gladys Knight.
And these three here must be from the Pips.
Hold it!
Here's one from Mississippi!
It must be from James!
From Dad, let me check this out here.
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
If it's from Mississippi, it's mine.
It's probably one of your daddy's:
"Have mercies."
Open it slowly.
Oh.
Mrs. James Evans.
That's me.
"We regret to inform you that your husband,
"James Evans, was...
killed in an automo... ".
Oh, my God.
[DISCO MUSIC CONTINUES]
♪ Mmm
♪ Just looking Out of the window ♪
♪ Watching the asphalt grow
♪ Thinking how It all looks hand-me-down ♪
♪ Good Times yeah, yeah
♪ Good Times
♪ Keeping your head Above water ♪
♪ Making a wave when you can
♪ Temporary layoffs
♪ Good Times
♪ Easy credit rip-offs
♪ Good Times
ANNOUNCER: Good Times is videotaped in front of a studio audience.
♪ Good Times ♪