♪ 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 ♪
Wait, wait.
No, no, no. No, look.
One, two. A-one, two, three, and...
ALL: ♪ Just let me love you Oh, sweet baby ♪
No, hold it.
Hold it! Hold it!
Hey.
There is no line in my song that goes, "Baby, baby, baby, baby."
It's, "Baby, baby, baby."
Yeah, and not only that,
you've got the steps all backwards.
Now, I keep telling you. Please, one more time.
Now, it's like this.
One, two, three.
Hit it. Baby, baby, baby.
And one, two, three.
Hit it. Baby, baby, baby.
Together.
One, two, three. Hit it.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it, hold it, hold it here.
Time out, time out, time out.
Now, I'm the manager of this here group.
That's how come you all get 10% each,
and I gets 95%.
So if anybody's going to
tell them what to do,
I'm going to tell them what to do.
Group, listen to Thelma and Willona.
That is what we call
in the entertainment field, "managering."
Hey, J.J., man, can we take a break?
We've been rehearsing for hours.
Yeah, it's a good thing
you got that contest tonight, man,
because I was getting ready to dump this group.
Hey, J.J. Man, are you sure
that the winner of this contest gets $150?
Hey, brother,
does Reverend Ike have wheels?
J.J., sure would be nice to win that money.
Hey, look here, Michael.
$150 ain't nothing but a little chump change.
See, this gig tonight
could be our launching pad to stardom.
To limousines and private jets.
Hey, concerts at Madison Square Gardens.
Sequined tuxedoes.
150,000 groupies tearing off my clothes.
And my first gold record.
Ooh! Ooh!
Headlining in Las Vegas. You hear that?
150,000 groupies tearing off my clothes.
THELMA: Hi, Ma.MICHAEL: Hey, Ma.
Hi, Mrs. Evans. Hi, kids.
Hi, Willona.
WILLONA: How are you doing?
Hey, from all the enthusiasm around here,
I'd say things are looking good.
Hey, they're looking better than good, Ma.
You're talking about our ticket out of the ghetto.
J.J., how do you expect to get out of the ghetto
on one talent contest?
Well, through the sheer brilliance
of my ebony genius management.
After tonight's contest, it's going to be goodbye ghetto,
hello Hollywood.
Yeah, I can just see myself
lying around the pool in my bikini
getting a suntan.
Yeah, and if you run out of Kool-Aid,
I'll have my chauffeur motor over
in my gold-plated Rolls Royce.
Oh, J.J., don't you think
you're being a little unrealistic?
You're lying around in a bikini getting a suntan,
and you say he's being unrealistic?
Watch it, Willona.
Kids, I don't want to put a damper on things,
but just don't get your hopes up too high.
Ma, with a group like this,
you can never get your hopes up too high.
Matter of fact, I'll have them run through it
one more time, just for you.
Whoo! Come on, Ma.
Well, if they can sing anything like they eat,
this gang is going to be on top of the charts.
Okay, a-one, two, a-one, two, three, go.
♪ Ooh, baby Do you want to do it ♪
♪ Do you want To fall in love ♪
♪ Ooh, baby Do you want to do it ♪
♪ Do you want To fall in love ♪
♪ Just let me love you Oh, sweet baby ♪
♪ Baby, baby Baby ♪
♪ Let's give our new romance A try ♪
♪ Doo-wah
♪ I'll give you so much Sweet tender loving ♪
♪ And we'll never
♪ Ever
♪ No, we'll never, ever Say goodbye ♪
♪ Whoa
♪ Ooh, baby Do you want to do it ♪
♪ Do you want to fall in love
♪ Ooh, baby You and me have found it ♪
♪ Underneath The stars above ♪
♪ Just let me love you Oh, sweet baby ♪
♪ Baby, baby Baby ♪
♪ Let's give our love A better try ♪
♪ Doo-wah
♪ I'll give you so much Sweet tender loving ♪
♪ A-kissin' and a-huggin' Lots of turtledovin' ♪
♪ Baby, baby, you're so fine
♪ Got my arms around you
♪ Oh, so glad I found you
♪ Baby Want to make you mine ♪
♪ Just let me love you Oh, sweet baby ♪
♪ Oh
♪ Let's give our new romance A try ♪♪
Great.
Oh.
Like Reverend Ike says,
how can we lose, with the stuff we use?
[ALL CHEER]
Well, well, well,
let's go down to the talent contest
and sign up.
All right!
♪ Baby, baby, baby Baby, baby, baby ♪
It's not... ♪ Baby, baby, baby
It's... ♪ Baby, baby, baby ♪♪
[HUMMING CHORUS]
Good luck. Good luck.
I know you'll do good. I know it.
Thelma, they are moving real good.
Thank you, Ma. Oh!
And, Willona... Mm?
Girl, that song is out of sight.
Where did you get the idea?
Well, you know how in the laundry room
none of the machines have the same rhythm?
The one on the right goes...
[BEATBOXING IN MID-RANGE]
The one in the left goes...
[BEATBOXING IN BASS RANGE]
And the one in the middle goes...
[BEATBOXING IN HIGH REGISTER]
♪ ...Eh! ♪
And that's where you got the idea, huh?
No, it was too noisy down there,
so I went to my apartment and wrote the tune.
Hey, wait a minute.
Hey, what are we gonna wear to the contest tonight?
Oh, girls, that is a problem for me.
I don't know whether to wear
my Gucci, my Pucci, or my Nucci.
Ma, what's a Nucci?
A dress I borrowed from Ella-Mae Nucci.
[ALL LAUGH]
Where is this contest gonna be?
Oh, it's at a place called the... the Blue Frog.
Yeah, it's a new bar they opened in the loop.
A bar?
Did I say something wrong?
Oh, there is no way
I'm gonna let Michael sing in a nightclub.
Oh, now, both of you
should know better than that.
Wait!
Willona, you said something wrong.
Well, well, well.
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Well, take a look around, gang,
because the Blue Frog is gonna
turn into our golden goose.
Moving on.
Excuse me, miss. Are you in line?
Are you kidding?
I am the line.
No, but if you want to,
you can go ahead of me, because everybody does.
Hey, that's not fair. You were here first.
No, look.
I'm know I'm gonna lose,
so I might as well stall it
as long as possible, right?
So go ahead. Go ahead.
All right.
Okay, uh, who's next?
Forget about the rest,
because you're looking at the best.
Presenting the winners
of the talent contest tonight...
Michael and the Dy-No-Mites.
Okay, all you guys over 18?
It is to laugh.
It is to ask. What about the little guy here?
Oh, him?
He's only 15,
and he's coming with his mama.
Is she kidding? Who is she?
Uh, see, this is another one
of my acts here.
One of the funniest comedians of all time.
Say something else funny.
If Michael isn't on his way out of here
by the time I count to three,
he won't be able to sit down for a month.
That's funny enough for me, Ma. Really funny.
J.J., I'll see you at home.
You know Michael is too young
to work in a nightclub.
What?
Are you trying to get my club closed down?
Well, er, uh...
J.J., man, you ain't nothing but a jive turkey.
Hey, man, look. We quit.
Now, you can keep your "baby, baby, babies,"
and you know what you can do
with your "doo-wahs."
Hey, wait a minute, gang!
What about our gold records?
Boo! Boo!
Sequined tuxedoes?
150,000 groupies tearing off my clothes?
[GRUMBLES]
Welcome to the losers' table.
Yeah.
Listen, I'm Judith Cohen.
I hope to be a singer.
I'm J.J. Evans.
I used to be a manager.
You're feeling bad, huh?
Well, I know that feeling.
The day I was born, it rained,
and it's been downhill ever since.
You really have a bummer attitude.
I'm a realist.
I mean, look at me.
Well, if you feel that way,
why do you want to be in show business?
Well, they took away my longshoreman's card.
See, if you want to make it
in this business,
you got to have a more positive attitude,
you see? Like me.
Now, see, I know I'm a great manager,
and will be the greatest.
If I had someone like you,
then things would be different.
So... you say you sing, huh?
Well, I open my mouth and something happens.
That's exactly what happens with Aretha.
Ha, ha, ha.
Yeah.
I'm a manager without a group.
Well, I'm a group without a manager.
Well... to a fantastic future.
Tell me a little bit more about yourself.
Well, my last job, I was a balloon
in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.
Well, that's a good start.
There ain't no place we can go but up.
[SIGHING] I'm sure I did the right thing.
Still, I just can't help feeling a little guilty.
Flo, you've got nothing to feel guilty about.
You did what you had to do.
J.J. understands. Thelma understands.
Michael's outside playing basketball,
so you know he understands.
And you?
I understand.
I understand I blew my gold record. Pow.
Hey, everybody!
Don't tear up those tickets.
Our train out of the ghetto
is still chugging down the track,
on schedule.
J.J., what are you talking about?
I want you all to meet
the future winner of tonight's talent contest.
Presenting for y'all,
the singing sensation of the decade...
Everybody, this is Judith Cohen.
Judith, this is my sister, the choreographer of the group,
Thelma.
Hi. Hi.
And this is our best friend,
songwriter for the now-defunct Dy-No-Mites,
Willona Woods.
Nice to meet you.
And, of course,
you remember my mother, the defuncterer.
Hello, Judith.
Nice to meet you. Same here.
Well, it's really nice to meet you, Judith.
Why?
Uh, see, you got to understand Judith.
She has a little lack of confidence, see,
so I'm loaning her a little of mine
to pick up the slack.
So, uh, just make yourself comfortable.
Yeah. Yes, do please sit.
Thanks.
So... J.J. is planning to manage your career?
I'm telling you, Ma,
you got to hear this young lady sing.
I tell you, we've hitched our wagon
to a star.
You hitched your wagon to a wagon.
Oh, come on, Judy.
You don't have to have a great figure
to be a star these days.
Look at Kate Smith.
Oh, I envy her shape. She's so...
Well, Judy, honey,
since J.J. has so much confidence in you,
have I got a song for you.
Ooh, and have I got choreography.
Can you move?
Can I move?
Well, I run up to the microphone, you know,
and I make a dead stop.
Well, my feet, they stay where they are,
but the rest of me just keeps on moving.
Well, Judy, you know, you got to have hopes, you know?
Oh, well, I used to hope
that I could be paid a dollar a pound,
but then I met J.J., and he believes in me.
You know, that's a lot more than I can say for myself.
Well, Judy, I hope everything is gonna turn out all right,
but you know, show business is hard,
and I just don't know exactly what J.J. can do for you.
Oh, yeah?
I'll show you what I can do.
Talking to one of the top managers
in the business here.
I'll get right on the case.
I'm a full-service agency.
Hello. Chez Pierre?
Yeah, let me speak to the owner.
Watch this top managerial move.
Hello, Mr. Chez?
Yeah, this is James Evans, Jr., the third, Esquire.
J.J.
Look here, man.
I think you ought to do yourself a favor
and make a hop, skip, and a jump down to the Blue Frog tonight.
Yeah.
I got the singing sensation of the nation down there.
Yeah.
You've heard of Aretha Franklin?
Diana Ross?
Natalie Cole?
Well, tonight, I proudly present Miss Judith Cohen,
the Great White Hope.
Hey, Judith.
Now, now, now, just relax.
You're gonna kill 'em.
You ain't got nothing to be nervous about.
Well, I'm not nervous,
but will you look who one of the judges is?
Who?
Jack Simmons.
Who?
Jack Simmons.
He's agent for all the big stars.
Oh, yeah, Jack, my main man.
[APPLAUSE]
Well, here we go.
I'm gonna introduce you.
Yes, yes, yes.
[CACKLES]
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters,
every once in a while in the annals of showbiz,
there comes a singer
of a fine lyriolotist, fine versiolity.
We happen to be present on one of these occasions
when a great millennium has taken place, and...
The final contestant, ladies and gentlemen,
Judith Cohen.
[APPLAUSE]
♪ Be a clown Be a clown ♪
♪ All the world Loves a clown ♪
♪ Oh, act the fool Play the calf ♪
♪ And you'll always Have the last laugh ♪
♪ Oh, wear your cap And your bells ♪
♪ And you'll rate With all the great swells ♪
♪ If you become a doctor
♪ Folks will face you With dread ♪
♪ And if you become a dentist
♪ They'll be glad When you're dead ♪
♪ You'll get a bigger hand
♪ Because you can stand On your head ♪
♪ Be a clown, be a clown Be a clown ♪
[TEMPO SLOWS]
♪ Isn't it rich?
♪ And are we... a pair?
♪ Me here, at last On the ground ♪
♪ And you, in mid-air
♪ Send in the clowns
♪ Quick
♪ Send in... the clowns
♪ And isn't it rich?
♪ And isn't it queer?
♪ Losing my timing
♪ This late in my career
♪ But where are the clowns?
♪ Oh, we have to have clowns
No.
♪ Don't bother
♪ I'm...
♪ ...here
♪ Me... a... a clown
[TEMPO QUICKENS]
♪ Sure, be a clown, everybody
♪ You know why
♪ All the world And everybody in it ♪
♪ They love a clown
♪ You act the fool
♪ And you play the calf
♪ But, hell, you always Have the last laugh ♪
♪ So wear your cap And your bells ♪
♪ And you'll rate With all the great swells ♪
♪ If you become a farmer
♪ You've the weather to buck
♪ And if you become a gambler
♪ Honey, you're stuck With your luck ♪
♪ But Jack, you'll never lack
♪ 'Cause you can quack, quack Quack like a duck ♪
♪ Be a clown, be a clown
♪ Be a clown, be a clown Be a clown ♪
♪ Be a clown...
♪ Yeah! ♪
Whoo! Whoo!
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
[WHISTLING]
Thank you!
Ladies and gentlemen,
may I have your attention, please?
The winner is... [DRUM ROLLING]
[CYMBAL CRASHES]
Miss Judith Cohen!
[SCREAMING]
[APPLAUSE, WHISTLING]
J.J... J.J.!
[CHEERING]
Excuse me, Judith,
but I'm Marty Mitchell from the Chez Pierre.
Oh, uh, do you mind pardoning us?
This is a high-level business conference here.
Uh, hey, there, Marty, baby.
I'm Judith's manager.
Didn't I tell you she was great?
She's sensational.
Hey, listen, next week's opening act
canceled out,
and I'd like Judith to fill in.
Really? Oh!
Wow! A week at the Chez Pierre!
[CACKLES]
Wait a minute, there.
Got to see if we can work this thing out here.
We can work it out.
Great!
Hey, Jack, how are you?
Marty, how are you? Fine, uh, sit down, Marty.
I'm gonna buy you a drink.Right.
Pardon me. Judith...
Judith, my name is Jack Simmons, and I'd like to represent you.
You're gonna go places.
Sounds good to me, Jackie, baby.
Just take a walk.
Wait a minute! That's my manager.
Oh.
Who?
Me.
I'm James Evans, Jr., but you can call me J.J., baby.
[LAUGHING]
This skinny little kid?
Judith, what can he get you,
a gig in a rib joint?
This skinny little kid got me
a week's engagement at the Chez Pierre.
Wasn't nothing, Jack.
Chez Pierre?
Lots of luck, kid.
All right.
Man, who's that turkey think he is, anyway?
Ain't nothing but a little gobble-gobble.
All right now, here.
Hey, gang. Great news!
I got Judy a week at the Chez Pierre.
Yeah. J.J.!
Yeah, now, we all gonna go celebrate.
Kool-Aid is on me.
All right!
Uh, could I have a word with you?
Sure. Sure.
Another high-level business confab.
I'm afraid you're gonna have to forget
about the Chez Pierre engagement.
What?
I'm sorry, kid,
but Simmons wants Judith Cohen.
If I book her,
I'll never get another one of his acts.
You don't need another one of his acts.
You'll have Judith.
It won't work.
Oh, hey. We don't need the Chez Pierre.
I can always take her to the Night Owl Room.
Simmons has got that locked up too.
He ain't got every room in town.
I'll take her to The Mayfair Room.
Simmons.
The Blue Night?
J.J., let me give you a little tip.
Simmons's got a lot of power in this town.
Got an awful lot of muscle.
If he doesn't sign Judith Cohen, she'll never work again.
I'm really sorry, kid.
When things happen, well, they happen.
Hey, what's going on, J.J.?
Hey, Judy, uh...
I was just talking over your career
with Marty over there,
and, uh... we made a decision.
We think that you should go with Jack Simmons.
Oh, come on, J.J.
It's you and me working together.
Hey, Judy, this is a great opportunity.
Now, take it.
Now, look, J.J., you're my manager.
It's you and me together.
Judy, the name of this business is to keep on keeping on.
Now, this is a great opportunity.
Go over there and talk to the man.
But, J.J...
Judith, go over there with Jack.
Well, gang. Let's go!
All right.
J.J., where's Judy?
You said we were going out and celebrate.
Uh, I dumped her.
You what?
Honey, what are you talking about?
Hey, come on, let's go.
I found her and I dumped her.
You know, let's go. Come on.
Now, performers like Judy Cohen are like streetcars, you know?
If you miss one...
another one will be along in about...
a hundred years.
[MELANCHOLY PIANO PLAYING]
♪ 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