American Beauty · written by Alan Ball · 1999

Lester pays Ricky for marijuana and teases him as Ricky rolls a joint in the garage.

Scene 119 of 163 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Ricky
Lester

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 1:18 into a 1:37 film

The story so farBefore scene 119

After becoming infatuated with his teenage daughter’s friend, a dissatisfied suburban father quits his job and pursues a more vivid life, unsettling his family and drawing him into the orbit of a troubled teenage neighbor.

Scenes 1–13
Lester is trapped in a suburban routine of corporate work and a marriage performed for appearances.
Scenes 14–31
Family estrangement and his attraction to Angela expose how urgently Lester wants to feel alive.
Scenes 32–75
Lester follows the desire into risky fantasy, exercise and open defiance of Carolyn.
Scenes 76–90
Lester quits and takes a fast-food job while Jane and Ricky begin connecting in parallel.
Scenes 91–102
Lester wins control of his daily life and openly rejects the family's old rules.
Just before
Scene 116
Ricky leaves dinner to return Jane's geometry book, making the Colonel uneasy.
Scene 117
Angela needles Jane about her sex life as they drive through the rain.
Scene 118
The Colonel sees Lester pass Ricky cash through the garage window and misreads the scene as sexual intimacy.
Scene 119
This scene

119INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - GARAGE - CONTINUOUS

Ricky, his hair wet from the rain, puts the cash in his pocket. Lester's arm remains draped around his shoulder.

RICKY

(grins)

You got any papers?

LESTER

Yeah, in the cigar box, right over

there.

(laughs)

You know, put up a fight, dude! You

are such a pushover. "No I can't.

Really. Okay."

And he slaps Ricky playfully on the chest. Ricky grins, then squats down and reaches under the weight bench.

RICKY

You should learn to roll a joint.

Lester sits in the bowl chair and leans back, his hands behind his head, watching Ricky roll the joint.