SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME   

by

Howard Franklin

Danilo Bach

David Seltzer

Revisions by Danilo Bach

FADE IN:

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - QUEENS - EARLY EVENING

Winter. A celebration. Close friends, cop friends,

family all here to celebrate patrolman MIKE KEEGAN'S

promotion to detective, NYPD.

The party spills through the house -- front room, dining

room, kitchen, with a small fenced backyard visible beyond

that. A community of cops on their off-hours, their

wives, kids. A mix of generations, all the way from

MIKE'S kid, TOMMY, and his FRIENDS, playing among the

adults, to an elderly woman observing quietly from her

chair at the side. The mood's warm, spirited; there's a

lot of friendship here.

ANGLE: MIKE, in the dining room, posing for a photo with

his ten-year-old son, TOMMY, proudly displaying his new

gold detective's SHIELD pinned to his jersey.

MIKE

(calling to his

wife, for a family

portrait)

Ellie! C'mon! Over here!

ANGLE: ELLIE, MIKE'S wife of fifteen years, a local

product, bright and lively, and clearly proud as hell of

her man. She frees herself from the crush of friends,

hurrying to join him.

ANGLE: MIKE, ELLIE giving him a full-mouthed smack on the

lips as he hooks her into his arms.

The picture's snapped, to a chorus of hoots and hollers.

Behind, a banner and poster blowup of Mike in gun and

uniform read: "FINALLY THEY'VE RECOGNIZED YOU, DETECTIVE

KEEGAN."

SCOTTY, a patrolman with the 117th and one of MIKE'S best

pals, puts his hand vigorously, in congratulations, on

MIKE'S SHOULDER.

SCOTTY

(to Mike)

No joke? You're being transferred

to the 19th as your first

assignment? Who the hell loves your

ass downtown?

ROOKIE

(naively)

What's the 21st?

BROOKLYN, a cop about Mike's age, joins in.

SCOTTY

What d'you care? You'll never know.

BROOKLYN

Manhattan. The Upper East Side,

East 59th to 96th.

The ROOKIE stares, impressed.

SCOTTY

(to the others)

Remember Curran from the Sixteenth?

He posted a coupla months there on a

floater outside the French embassy.

He met Jackie Kennedy.

BROOKLYN

Curran, that fuckin' noodlehead. He

probably wrote her up for letting

her dog dump on Rockefeller's

doorstep.

ANGLE ON MIKE, trying to swallow a mouthful of potato

salad as a plump and pretty middle-aged woman (HELEN

GREENING) pulls him into a bear hug, planting a kiss on

him.

HELEN

Mmmmmm-glimmmeee-kisss! I'm so

proud of you! What the hell took

you so long?

MIKE

Hey, don't ask me. Ask the man who

put in the good word.

ANGLE ON T.J. GREENING, Helen's husband, Mike's best

friend. He's forty, stocky, looks up, horsing around with

some of the kids in the next room.

MIKE

If T.J. didn't push for me, I never

would've made it.

BROOKLYN

Bet your ass... I give you six weeks

before you're back on the beat,

Keegan, they got no room for hero

cops...

MIKE

Appreciate, that vote of confidence,

Brook.

BROOKLYN

Hey, am I supportive, or what?

ANGLE ON TOMMY: in the hallway, trying to show SCOTTY'S

date -- a "real" BIMBO, who's spilling out of her woolly

sweater and tight jeans -- how to stand on his SKATEBOARD.

She shrieks a laugh, toppling off. HELEN, passing by with

an empty platter, catches the action.

INT. KITCHEN - SAME

ELLIE, another WIFE at the sink, wives all; HELEN enters.

HELEN

He left Elaine for that?

WIFE #1

And what about little Scotty?

ELLIE continues washing the dishes as HELEN and the WIFE

dry. MIKE enters to get more beers.

HELEN

(still staring)

I'd like to tie her tits together.

ELLIE

That wouldn't be too difficult.

MIKE

(overhearing)

I bet you think she doesn't have a

brain in her head. I bet you think

the only thing he sees in her is one

incredible, dynamite body...

He GRINS at their blank stares... ELLIE'S EYES wryly

following... as he moves on out with his beers.

HELEN

I love your husband, Ellie, but he's

a real dork.

ELLIE

Yeah, but he's my dork.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. MIKE'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Night has descended, PEOPLE talking and laughing quietly,

MELLOW music is playing -- CAMERA FINDING MIKE AND ELLIE,

dancing close, moving sensually. It's impressive. HELEN

convinces T.J. to DANCE. SCOTTY and BIMBO join in too.

T.J., whipped, extricates himself and Helen; tousling

Mike's hair in affection.

T.J.

We're goin'. Get some sleep,

Detective Keegan. You got a new job

tomorrow.

CUT TO:

INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT

MIKE is holding TOMMY asleep on his shoulder.

ELLIE appears, completing the family portrait.

MIKE

(a whisper)

Think I should put the skateboard in

bed with him?

ELLIE

Too kinky.

MIKE smiles and climbs the stairs.

INT. MIKE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

ELLIE in the bathroom, the door open, she brushes her

hair.

MIKE in bed, thoughtful, a happy man.

MIKE

Ellie, you know I think it's about

time we got outa this place, get us

a house of our own. We can afford

it now.

ELLIE

Amen to that. The supermarket's

full of assholes.

MIKE

Take my advice, don't buy any...

MIKE waits for a response. None comes.

ELLIE

Mike?

MIKE

(aware of her change

in tone)

What?

ELLIE

My ass if falling.

MIKE

Your what...?

ELLIE

My ass is falling. It is.

MIKE

(a laugh)

What are you talking about?

ELLIE

(appears in the door;

stricken)

I just saw it in the mirror, it

doesn't look like my ass anymore.

MIKE

Get in bed.

ELLIE

What am I gonna do? I jog, I do the

exercises on TV in the morning...

gravity...

MIKE

You got a great ass! I love your

ass -- now get that falling ass into

bed before it hits the floor.

She does -- the lights snap put. They giggle, she MOVING

into his arms.

ELLIE

(a declaration)

Tomorrow, I start looking for our

house... You love me?

MIKE

(deeply)

You got no idea...

ELLIE

Imagine... I'm sleepin' with a DT.

Another muted laugh -- and they move into an EMBRACE,

CAMERA PANNING WITH THEM, and then STILL FARTHER INTO THE

DARKNESS.

THE DARKNESS HOLDS.

EXT. EAST RIVER - (AERIAL) - NIGHT

... Becoming a darkness pricked with light, as WE FLOAT

over the reflective river, MOVING WEST TOWARD AND OVER THE

CITY.

EXT. MANHATTAN - (AERIAL CONTINUED) - NIGHT

The fabled city, the ultimate object of man's desire and

fulfillment, Oz, the city unfolding itself before and

beneath us, till DAZZLING SHAFTS OF LIGHT sizzling up --

KLEIG LIGHTS -- stab our eyes and bring us down into their

BLINDING BRIGHTNESS...

EXT. CLUB - MIDTOWN - NIGHT

A nondescript piece of rundown city block that's the

hottest thing in town. PERSONNEL regulate the CROWD and

ARRIVALS. There is a public line, and from it the young,

hip and outrageous can look on while awaiting entrance at

the formally dressed, stylishly gowned GUESTS arriving at

the private line.