MAN ( on TV ): The kick is up.
It's long enough.
It's no good.
Yes! Yes!
( laughs ) Yes!
Yeah!
Who won?
Who cares? We covered the spread.
Charlie, call me an old-fashioned dad,
but I was hoping my son wouldn't start betting on sports
until he was old enough to have a drinking problem.
He didn't make a bet.
I just gave him a taste of my action.
Nor do I want him tasting your action.
Dad, without action, there's no juice.
All of a sudden, he's Frank Sinatra.
( doorbell rings )
I'll bet that's the pizza.
What's the spread?
Pepperoni.
What's next, Charlie?
You going to teach him how to shoot craps?
He already knows how to shoot craps.
I just wish I could teach him not to bet the hard eight.
Hey, Mr. Harper. Here you go.
Nice and hot.
I threw in some extra garlic puffs as well.
Thanks, pal.
Thank you, Mr. Harper.
If there's anything you ever need,
anything at all, please call.
You know, pizza, dry cleaning,
( quietly ): pot, women.
How much do you tip him?
I don't know. I gave him a 50.
That's... that's like a 300% tip.
If you say so.
I was never good at math.
Oh, yeah, but you can figure out the point spread,
the over-under and the vigorish
on every football game in the country.
What can I tell you?
I've got a beautiful mind.
* Men, men, men, men, manly men *
* Men... *
Morning, Berta.
Need some help?
Yeah, come to my house and explain to my daughter
that we don't put up bail
for cute guys with Costa Rican passports.
Morning.
I got your groceries, Charlie.
You owe me $74.
Why didn't you just use my credit card?
I tried.
Funny story.
My platinum card.
Look what they did to my platinum card.
They decapitated my holographic eagle.
Yeah, yeah, that's sad.
You owe me 74 bucks.
Relax. I'll write you a check.
Uh-uh.
Berta, I'm good for $74.
Well, there's an assistant store manager
with bad skins and pair of scissors
who begs to differ.
Well, he obviously made a mistake.
Leave it to me, I'll straighten it out.
Alan, what do I do?
Uh, call the bank that issued the card
and figure out what's going on.
Good idea.
How do I get the number?
Uh, it's usually on the back of the card.
Okay, now, this may take a while.
Are you sure?
Okay. Thanks.
I don't believe it.
None of my bills have been paid in four months.
My credit is shot.
All my cards are dead.
Well, you don't have to worry
about paying me this week, Charlie.
Thank you, Berta.
I'll just take this espresso maker
and be on my way.
Call me when things pick up.
Charlie, why haven't you been paying your bills?
Alan, I don't pay my own bills.
I've got a guy.
Do you think you might want to call your guy?
Hey, don't talk down to me, Alan.
I'm not stupid.
That's the first call I made.
And...? And...
his number is not in service at this time.
Wonderful building.
What's wrong with it?
Well, the phrase, "reeks of urine"
comes to mind.
Here we are.
That's seldom a good sign.
Hello? Stan?
MAN: Who wants to know?
Charlie Harper.
Charlie!
Hey, it's good to see you.
Come on in.
Just don't rip the tape-- they check.
So, what's going on?
What can I do you for?
Well, Stan, I got a problem.
Yeah, I know the feeling.
Well, sit down.
Talk to me, huh.
All of my credit cards are dead.
And they tell me the bills haven't been paid
in four months.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Uh, excuse me.
Maybe this is none of my business,
but how does something like that happen?
Well, in layman's terms...
your brother ran out of money.
What?
How did I run out of money?
Oh, I knew you'd ask that.
Let me demonstrate.
Think of this water as cash flow,
which for you would be, you know,
royalties from your jingles.
Right?
And, uh, and this cup: your financial well-being.
This little hole...
would be your expenses.
Right?
You dig? Okay.
Now, Charlie, with most people, when money comes in,
it drips out
and pays their bills with a healthy reserve
for emergencies.
See?
But with you, however--
this is what I love about you, Charlie...
...you...
...you spend it as quick as you get it.
You see, you don't drip.
You hemorrhage.
Whoo-ee! Huh.
Look at that.
But when the cash flow starts to slow down...
there's no reserve!
Okay.
But what happened to my money?
Artists, huh.
Where would we be without them?
What I don't understand
is why you didn't warn him this was happening.
Okay, okay, mea culpa.
Look, I've been a little distracted lately.
Slight problem with the Feds.
Are you embezzling from my brother?
Embezzle what?
Hello!
I thought you were the smart one.
No, this is a... a-a totally unrelated
import-export problem.
All right?
I just cannot believe one of the piñatas
actually showed up at a kid's party.
Oh, boy.
This has been a blast-- don't get me wrong--
but I have-I have a plane to catch right now so, uh...
Hey, I'll tell you what.
Just feel free,
and browse through all your files.
And listen, Charlie,
I'm running a little short on cash.
So maybe you-- look who I'm asking!
Look who I'm asking!
It was great meeting you, sport.
Ciao.
And you were worried.
Well, the good news is that a substantial amount of royalties
is going to come in in the next couple of months.
Great.
Problem solved. Let's go out to dinner.
No. Problem not solved.
But I'm hungry.
Get used to it.
It's going to take a while
to pay off all the bills your accountant ignored.
So, until then, you're going to have to cut back.
But you said I got money coming.
Shall I go get the paper cup?
Okay. What do we cut?
Well, let's look at your expenses.
First thing is, we stop paying your accountant.
That's a little cold, isn't it?
He's a great guy. I've known him for years.
He's just going through a rough patch.
Charlie, you're broke.
You're right-- screw him.
What's next?
Um, you have a gardener.
Why do you have a gardener?
To tend my garden.
Garden?
You mean the two potted palms on the deck?
Water them yourself.
Okay, but I'm going to have to buy a hose
and one of those watering things,
so isn't that kind of a push?
Gone.
Ultimate Premiere Satellite package?
Oh, that's really cool.
I get every sporting event in the world.
If a kid in Madagascar throws a rock at a tree,
I can see it and bet on it.
It's gone.
Oh, man.
We can keep the cable though, right?
You have satellite and cable?
Sometimes there's solar flares.
Okay, you can cut back to basic cable.
Basic cable?
That's what they get in prison.
Hey, whatcha doing?
Bad time, Rose.
Money problems, huh?
How did you know?
I bought your espresso maker from Berta.
I got a great deal
'cause she didn't want to carry it on the bus.
( sighs )
Wonderful.
Charlie, miscellaneous cash expenses?
What exactly is that?
I don't know.
Go see a movie, buy a hot dog, stuff like that.
It was $80,000 last year.
Oh, that.
That's women and gambling.
Gone and gone.
Oh, great.
Why don't I just shoot myself?
You can't afford a gun.
You know, I could lend you some money, Charlie.
That's very sweet, Rose,
but I don't really want to shoot myself.
Charlie, the way I see it,
you're either going to have to slash expenses
or find the money to pay your bills someplace else.
Okay.
I'll borrow on the house.
You've already got three mortgages.
Is that a lot?
Not if you have three houses.
Let me ask you a tough question.
What would you think about going to Mom for a short-term loan?
Hmm, interesting idea.
Mm.
I think I'd rather have a pack of hyenas
tear out and devour my intestines.
Yeah, I know, I know.
I can't afford hyenas.
Look, you know I'd help you if I could,
but all my money's going to my former wife,
my former house,
my former wife's current lawyers
and all their descendants.
So, if you don't want to go to Mom,
you're going to have to drastically change
your lifestyle for a few months.
Fine. You win.
I win?
What do I win?
How is this a win for me?
Whatever.
I'll cut back, like you said.
Now, come on, let's all go out for a nice dinner.
I'm buying.
Oh, great. Then after, we can stop by my place for espresso.
Good idea.
That's a money saver.
"Save 50 cents on one regular-sized Hamburger Helper
when you buy two of the following 10.5-ounce..."
Aw, screw it.
Hi.
How do you like that cabernet?
Oh. It's very good.
Ah. I'll have to try it sometime.
And excuse me for saying so,
but you really don't need the Lean Cuisine.
Well, thank you.
So, how do you like this...
cheese?
Oh. Yeah, well, I do a little volunteer work
making sandwiches for a homeless shelter.
Yeah. I don't know if you know this,
but a lot of those homeless fellas
like a little snort once in a while.
Okay, seek and ye shall find.
24 rolls of toilet paper for $3.99.
Now, I know what you're thinking-- it's single ply--
but at this price, you can double up, triple up, go wild.
Okay, have a nice day.
I can't do this anymore, Alan.
I quit.
You can't quit poverty, Charlie.
I want the good stuff.
I want cheese that isn't air-dropped
into third world countries.
I want ouchless toilet paper.
I want vodka that doesn't look like
Fred Flintstone would drink it.
I want my life back.
Fine, then swallow your pride,
call Mom, and ask her to lend you some money.
Yabba-dabba-doo.
Who's the favorite?
Green Bay.
Did you bet them?
No.
You took the Redskins?
Uh-uh.
No action?
None.
Then why are we watching?
Beats the hell out of me.
Anybody want a snack?
( doorbell rings )
Pizza's here. Pizza's here.
You ordered a pizza?
Charlie, you're supposed to be cutting back on expenses.
Alan, it's a pizza, not a hooker.
Hey, Mr. Harper.
Good to see you. I threw in
some of those garlic puffs you like.
Grabbed a bottle of house red.
I don't think they'll miss it.
Thanks, buddy.
Here's for the pizza.
And, uh...
ALAN: Charlie...
can I speak with you for a minute?
Hang on a sec.
What are you planning on tipping him? I don't know.
Give him two dollars-- that's 15%.
I can't do that.
You have to.
I can't. Did you see his face?
Go.
There you go.
Oh, thank you, Mr. Harper.
These are ones.
I can break a hundred.
Yeah, uh, I-I-I'm having kind of a cash flow problem.
Oh, yeah.
Well, we had a good run.
Hey...
Here.
No, keep it.
You need it more than I do.
So, Deborah said that Julie had
an addiction to cosmetic procedures,
and I said, "Well,
then she needs to go to Botox detox."
Everyone laughed and laughed.
But of course
You couldn't tell,
'cause none of their faces were moving.
That's pretty funny, Mom.
Uh...
listen, uh...
Oh, right, you wanted to tell me something.
Yeah. Maybe you should sit down.
Oh, what now?
You got some girl pregnant?
You're gay, you're on drugs?
Ten bucks says pregnant.
Jake, go to your room.
I'm giving odds.
Go.
Okay.
Here's the thing.
Hey, would you like a drink?
I suppose.
A screwdriver might be nice.
I can't go through with this, Alan.
Sure you can. She'll just make
a couple of snide comments about your frivolous lifestyle,
which, luckily, she doesn't know the half of
and you'll just suck it up,
pay her back in a couple of months,
and that'll be that.
With Mom, that is never that.
The guilt is always there.
To this day, she still reminds me
how much she had to sacrifice
just so I could get braces.
Like I deliberately had crooked teeth
so she'd be forced to drive a domestic car.
All right, then just drop it. It's dropped.
Don't ask her. I won't.
Let it go. It's gone.
By the way, they're about to repossess your Jaguar.
Mommy?
Mmm, very nice.
How much do you need?
I admit that my lifestyle
has been a little frivolous,
and I probably should have been paying
closer attention to my expenses...
All right, how much do you need?
This is just a temporary thing; couple of months.
How much?
You'll get it back.
This isn't like the braces and the Mercury Capri.
Honey, give me a number.
I really appreciate this, Mom.
No more need be said.
You'll pay it back when you can.
Thanks.
All right, now that that's taken care of,
why don't I take my boys out to dinner?
There it is!
Everything's got a price.
Charlie... No, no, no, no, no.
You can't just do something nice.
There's got to be strings attached.
Nothing's given out of love.
Everything's got a hook in it.
Well, you can keep your money, lady,
because I'm a free man, and I can't be bought.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go hide my car.
( playing slow, jazzy blues )
* They're gonna take my Jag away... *
( knock on window )
Charlie, can I talk to you for a minute?
I guess.
How come it's so dark in here?
Do you have any idea how much electricity costs?
No.
I didn't either,
but it turns out it's quite a racket.
Listen, I know you're going through a tough time,
and I really want to help you out,
so, please take this.
This is a cashier's check.
Where did you get a cashier's check?
From my dad's bank, silly.
Your dad owns a bank?
Well, not all by himself.
Me and my brother and sister own 49%.
Really?
What about your mom?
Well, she doesn't have a bank.
I see. She's in oil.
So, you really have...
Yup, more than God.
Huh.
Didn't figure that when you dumped me, did you?
Rose, it wouldn't have mattered.
I know.
That's one of the things I love about you.
You discard women regardless of their financial status.
Thanks. But I can't take this.
You think I'm crazy, don't you?
Well...
My dad and brother said I was crazy,
but I think that was just to form a power bloc
to squeeze me off the board of directors.
Shame on them.
I told them that you'd help me if I needed it.
I mean,
you're the first guy I've ever met
who hasn't cared about my money.
Who slept with me because he was drunk,
not because I was rich.
I only wanted to help you
because I thought that we were friends.
Maybe I was wrong.
Maybe I am crazy.
No, no, no, no, Rose, it's fine.
I am your friend, and if it means
that much to you, I'll take the money.
Oh, thank you, Charlie.
How can I ever repay you?
Don't worry about it.
And I will pay you back.
I know that.
Better I should owe you
than my manipulating, scheming mother.
That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me.
Hang on; I'll grab you a tissue.
Thank you.