THE STRUGGLE IS REAL
VANCE TUCKER
INT. BAR - NIGHT
A quaint little hole-in-the-wall dive bar.
At a table sits CLARENCE and SMITTY, finishing up their
burgers and beers.
Sitting across from them is JOHN, weary-looking, wearing
Wrangler jeans and a button down shirt as he sips his beer.
Clarence takes a look at his watch.
CLARENCE
We best be headin’ out. Next bus
leaves in thirty.
JOHN
(off-screen)
Can I get another beer over here?
SMITTY
C’mon John, we’re gonna be late.
JOHN
I ain’t going in today.
CLARENCE
What do you mean you ain’t going
in?
JOHN
What’s the use, it don’t make no
difference I go or not.
SMITTY
Tell me you’re not thinkin’ of
quittin’.
CLARENCE
Don’t you wanna make America great
again?
JOHN
Damn straight I wanna make America
great again, but no matter how many
black guys I punch in the face it
just don’t seem to make a bit a
difference.
2.
SMITTY
But you ain’t never been more
passionate bout nothin’ in your
life.
JOHN
I used to wear superhero underwear
too but everybody’s gotta grow up
sometime.
Smitty and Clarence both look at each other, confused.
JOHN (CONT’D)
Every night I come home from a long
day of rallying, my hands sore, my
elbows stiff and fer what, to turn
on the TV and find out that there’s
now a black Rocky movie.
CLARENCE
That’s not true.
(to Smitty)
Is it?
Smitty gives a disappointed, but confirming, nod.
JOHN
And the other day I caught my boy
listenin’ to music from some rapper
calls himself “Drake.” And get
this: he’s Black, Jewish and
Canadian.
SMITTY
Jesus Christ.
CLARENCE
First a Muslim President and now
this.
Clarence bangs his fist on the table.
JOHN
Don’t you see, things ain’t
changin’. If anything they’re
gettin’ worse.
SMITTY
Ain’t nobody ever said change was
gonna be easy.
JOHN
They ain’t say it was gonna be damn
near impossible neither.
3.
BARTENDER brings over a beer for John and exits.
JOHN (CONT’D)
And what about you Clarence? What
you thinks gonna happen to that
Wall Construction Company you
started if we can’t get Mexico to
pay for it.
CLARENCE
Oh they’ll pay for it.
John leans in close to Clarence.
JOHN
But what if they don’t?
A look of concern washes over Clarence’s face.
JOHN (CONT’D)
Nah, it’s time I stop chasin’ this
dream and get me a real job.
CLARENCE
What are you gonna do?
JOHN
I dunno. Maybe follow in my Dad’s
footsteps and become a Cop. He’d
like that.
SMITTY
You can’t seriously be talkin’ bout
selling out.
John takes a swig of beer.
JOHN
The way I see it this is a losing
battle. I’m the only one man enough
to admit it.
SMITTY
A real man doesn’t give up when
things get tough. A real man sticks
to his beliefs no matter how
politically incorrect and outdated
they might be. And yeah, we are
losing. We’ve been losing for a
long time now. But damnit, aint it
bout time we started winning.
CLARENCE
It’s time America started winning.
4.
John starts to nod.
SMITTY
That’s why the world needs people
like us, John. People willin’ to
fight for what’s right no matter
how long it takes.
JOHN
You’re right!
John stands up, motivated.
SMITTY
Now you get back out there and you
sucker punch. You sucker punch like
you ain’t never sucker punched
before!
John reaches into his bag under the table and pulls out his
black leather vest and cowboy hat. He puts on the vest.
JOHN
Thanks for talkin’ some sense into
me Smitty. You always know just
what to say to keep me on the
straight and narrow.
John kisses Smitty passionately.
He then puts on his cowboy hat all suave-like and saunters
out of the bar like a cowboy leaving a saloon.
Clarence looks at Smitty, dumbfounded, shaking his head.
CLARENCE
Damn... You’re one lucky guy.
Smitty smirks and takes a swig of his beer.
Blackout.
