Now Playing: "Moving In" - The 5th Movie Of My Imaginary Acting Career

Welcome back to my imaginary movie career. Part 1 was published about a month ago where I had minor roles getting my foot in the door. Then my most recent movie “On Tour” was a couple of weeks ago. It was the biggest role I’ve had yet and set the stage for my breakout.

This film here could probably be considered my breakout film. A real “He has arrived” to the Hollywood community. I was up against bigger names for this role, but I absolutely nailed my audition. The directors realized I was perfect for the role and took a chance on me. Did it pay off? You be the judge.

The second film in “Phase Two: The Breakout” ….

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Movie #5

Title: Moving In

Poster designed by Quigs

IMDB Rating: 7.6

Rotten Tomatoes: 80%

Domestic Box Office: $178 Million

Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Tom Scibelli, Loretta Devine

Plot: LaTrell (Tom Scibelli) and Brianna (Zendaya) are an engaged couple living together in an Atlanta apartment. I’m (LaTrell) a writer who works from home. I’m working on a book, but write freelance for different publications in the meantime to make ends meet. Brianna is a successful pediatrician. She graduated medical school and became a practicing physician at just 25. While I was 25, I was still living at home (Atlanta suburb) and using my childhood pediatrician where Brianna worked. We actually met because I was her patient (you’re able to see your childhood pediatrician until 26). I went in for a strep throat test, but we ended up falling in love. This will be the opening scene of the movie, my doctor visit. By the end of the scene, it will be clear that there’s a spark between us. We will then flash forward to “18 months later.”

Brianna and I are chilling on the couch watching reruns of “Law & Order: SVU”, one of our favorite shows. I watch it during the day a lot while working from home, so I know most of the endings. Brianna doesn’t know this. I always try to impress her by guessing the right answers. I don’t do it every episode though and will purposely get some wrong. I don’t want her getting suspicious. I’m right enough where it’s very impressive, but also wrong enough so that she doesn’t suspect foul play.

We’re doing some smooching when she gets a call from her parents. Their home just burnt down in a vicious house fire. They live just 20 minutes outside of the city and need a place to stay. Brianna says “Of course you can come stay with us!” as I make an expressive face like “Say what?!?”

Her parents come over late that night – Lawrence (Samuel L. Jackson) and Diane (Loretta Devine) White. I don’t have the best relationship with her parents, especially her father. He thinks I’m a deadbeat without a job and a loser for going to a pediatrician at 25. When Brianna first told them about me, she said “I met this great guy LaTrell at work.” They assumed I was an African American doctor she worked with. You can imagine their disappointment upon finding out I’m a nerdy white guy patient that just happens to have a stereotypically African American name.

They stay over, and the next day we discuss what their plans are, while there is obvious awkward tension between Lawrence and I.

Potential Scene

Diane: “So how’s work, LaTrell?”

Lawrence: “You know he doesn’t work, Diane.”

LaTrell: “Well that’s not totally true. I’m freelance right now.”

Diane: “Oh nice… so what does that mean exactly?”

Lawrence: “It’s just a fancy way of saying he’s unemployed.”

Brianna: “Enough!”

Ultimately, Lawrence and Diane need to stay at our apartment for awhile. Their house is gone, and they can’t afford to live in a hotel every night while they look for a new house. There’s some Hollywood explanation for why insurance isn’t helping them. Lawrence, a former cop, is retired and Diane works as a bookstore clerk making slightly above minimum wage (just to help the pay the bills and because she likes having something to do). Brianna insists on opening our apartment to them. We have two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, and one bathroom. One bedroom is for Brianna and I, but the other is my “work space.” This is where I write during the day. And if you’re wondering, yes my character does wear glasses but only when he’s reading/writing. I’m farsighted in the movie. (I’m actually nearsighted in real life, but hey that’s Hollywood baby).

We turn my work space into a bedroom for her parents, much to my dismay. “Baby, where else am I gonna write in peace and quiet all day?”, I plead with her. Lawrence chimes in, “You don’t need an office when you don’t have a job.” She yells at him – “Dad! Stop!” Brianna hates being stuck in the middle of us.

So they officially move in, and you can imagine the hijinx that ensue. Brianna and Diane both work during the day. Since I work from home and Lawrence is retired, it’s just us two in the apartment together all day. These scenes will make up a good portion of the movie and lead to some classic humor.

Here are some examples:

-Lawrence is in the living room loudly playing classical music. You can hear it through the whole apartment. I come out of my bedroom, where I was writing, and tell him to turn it down. He fires back that it’s good writing music. “Maybe it’ll help you write something actually worth a damn” he says, without peering up from his newspaper as he sips his coffee. “This is my apartment!”, I yell. It doesn’t phase him, and he knows I’ll never actually do anything about it.

-At another point, I’m going through the dryer (we have a small laundry room in our apartment) looking for a shirt to put on. I stumble across a pink thong. It intrigues me. I take it out, hold it up, and think “Hmm. This looks new.” As this is happening, Lawrence walks in and screams, “What are you doing with my wife’s underwear you sick pervert?!?!” and grabs it from my hands. I nervously blurt out, “I can explain!”

-One day, Lawrence goes for a walk. I use this for some much needed alone time in the living room. Our living room has a Smart TV. Our bedroom does not. I used to be able jerk off in the middle of the day with the porn on the big Smart TV. With Lawrence home, I’m confined to watching in my room on a phone/laptop. But I figure he’ll be gone for awhile, and want to use the big screen to rip some tip. I’m scrolling through potential videos and accidentally click on a hardcore, graphic bondage video. Really some of the grossest stuff you’d ever see. Nervously, I fumble the remote trying to turn it off, but drop it and the batteries fall out. As this is happening, Lawrence walks in. He forgot his wallet. He is shocked and appalled at the scene he walks in to. “You sick deranged fuck! Is that what you do to my daughter?” I try to explain the situation, but he’s not buying it.

So there’s some typical hijinx like that throughout the movie. We’re like oil and vinegar, but we do have some nice moments. We begin to eventually tolerate each other. We form a bond over “The Price Is Right.” We both love to watch it every day. We’re watching an episode together and at the same time say, “Man I miss Bob Barker.” It feels like the “Did we just become best friends?” moment in Step Brothers.

Another similar moment is when we cook together. I typically cook dinner since I’m home during the day. One day, when we’re warming up to each other, Lawrence confesses to me that he’s always been fascinated by cooking. As someone who prides himself on being manly, he’s always been afraid to admit it. He confides in me that he actually wanted to be a chef when he was younger, but pressure from society and his strict father steered him away from that and towards being a cop. I tell him he should be comfortable in his manliness and invite him to cook with me one day. For Valentine’s Day, we make a gourmet meal for Brianna and Diane while they’re at work. Salad to start off with my famous homemade dressing. Some antipasto as an appetizer. Then a nice pasta dish – pappardelle with tomato sauce and onions. For the main course – a delicious chicken piccata. They’re surprised and love it. Brianna says ““I’m so happy to see you two getting along.”

Later that night, Brianna is all over me in bed. She wants to reward me (via sexual intercourse) for getting along with her dad and the lovely meal. I’m sheepish, however. I almost feel like it’s disrespectful to Lawrence since they’re in the same apartment. (Earlier in the movie, when Lawrence and I were not getting along, I would try to make moves on Brianna and she was hesitant with her parents in the apartment). Things have really changed. Brianna can’t believe this turn of events.

Time passes by and things continue to go well. The Whites are close to moving into their new house. It’s now April. Our wedding is early June. Brianna wanted to have it Memorial Day Weekend, but I told her how rude it is to have weddings on holiday weekends. She says, “You’re so right. I’ve never really thought of it like that before. Yeah, let’s not be one of those couples.”

But guess what? Th conflict stage of the film strikes. One Wednesday afternoon, I’m writing in my bedroom, sitting up on our queen bed surrounded by our pink walls. Brianna loves the color pink. I was hesitant at first, as I thought the room would feel too girly. But then I thought, “It’s just a color.” Making a concession on the room color is the least I could do for her. It’s little things like this that keep a successful pediatrician from leaving a freelance writer.

Anyway, back to the conflict. Sometimes my character uses marijuana to help write. It gets the creative juices flowing. Typically, I use a weed pen that doesn’t have a strong smell. My friend Jerry had recently given me a freshly rolled blunt though, so I decided to light up in my room and blow the smoke out the window. Lawrence, with those trained police nostrils, gets a whiff of the devil’s lettuce. He barges into my room and sees me puffing down the blunt. He becomes enraged. He lunges towards me, rips the blunt out of my hands, and throws it on the ground.

I’m surprised at how mad he is. I know he’s an old-school former cop, but it’s only marijuana. In Georgia, it’s still illegal though. (Fun fact: the film was originally set in Denver, but with their marijuana laws, we realized that Lawrence’s freak out would be less justified).

He launches into a rant. “Do you know how many guys I’ve put behind bars for this shit? Do you know how many fellow cops have fallen fighting this war? My younger brother was a marijuana dealer, and he eventually got killed for it! Don’t disrespect me like this!” Drugs are clearly an issue near and dear to Lawrence’s heart. I’m still being a bit of a wise-ass. “It’s weed man. I’m not shooting up crystal meth. It grows in the ground!” Lawrence storms out.

When Brianna and Diane get home, Lawrence explains the situation and says they’re leaving. “I won’t stay in an apartment with illegal drug use!” They pack up their things and head to a hotel. The next day, Brianna goes to visit them and Lawrence says he’s not coming to the wedding. He gives a big rant on me. “He has no job. No redeeming qualities. No prospects on the horizon. And he’s a drug addict. As long as that’s the man you choose to marry, I will not be walking you down the aisle.” Brianna is crushed.

We move on with our wedding plans anyway. Diane is still coming. If Lawrence doesn’t want to be a part of our special day, then so be it. I can tell it’s still hurting Brianna though. She breaks down in tears the night before our wedding, “I just can’t my believe my own dad won’t walk me down the aisle.” It kills me to see her like this, and I know I have to do something.

The night before the wedding, I show up to their hotel room. Brianna has been visiting them so I knew where it was. Diane isn’t there. After the wedding rehearsal, she went to get drinks with her sister, Loraine, who is in town for the wedding. Loraine is six years younger than Diane and going through a tough divorce. Not relevant to the film but important to say. 

I knock on the hotel door, and Lawrence opens up. He immediately tries to close the door in my face, but I stop it and put my foot in. “What do you want?”, he mutters. I launch into a passionate speech.

“Look, I know you don’t like me. From the second we’ve met, you’ve looked at me as a disappointment. I get it. I’m not a doctor. I’m not a lawyer. I’m not an accountant. I’m not who a dad traditionally hopes is daughter to marry. I’m a freelance writer who likes to cook and watch The Price Is Right. But I love your daughter and she loves me. Deep down, you know that. You know I take great care of her. And you know she’s happy with me. I know that you know that. Why you insist on hating me anyway? That I don’t know. But I don’t care. We’re getting married tomorrow. She would like you to walk her down the aisle. Don’t break her heart.”

I storm away confidently. Lawrence looks impressed at the confidence I showed standing up to him.

It’s wedding day. Still no sign of Lawrence. Brianna is about to walk down the aisle. He bursts through the front door of the church. “Need a hand?” he says with a smile. He walks her down the aisle. Lawrence and I lock eyes and give each other a head nod as they get to the alter. 

At the wedding reception, I go over to Lawrence and thank him for coming. He apologizes for some of his actions, and I apologize for some of mine. I say, “Price Of Right marathon tomorrow?” with a smirk and he laughs. We’re clearly on the right track.

There’s a “Six Months” later flash on the screen. It’s Christmas and we’re over at Brianna’s parents’ new house. Everyone is getting along. It’s time for gifts. I hand Lawrence a wrapped gift. He is embarrassed and says he didn’t need anything. He unwraps it – a cookbook written by me. “This is the first copy. I got a publisher. Will be on sale after New Year’s.” I finally put my two favorite things together – writing and cooking. It’s a unique book. There are cooking recipes, but there are also funny stories along the way about times I made the dish. It’s really unique and should be a hit.

“Oh, one more thing.” Brianna is pregnant! Lawrence and Diane are elated. The movie ends with Lawrence and I watching The Price Is Right yelling at the TV screen guessing prices as Brianna looks on and smiles.

Reviews: It’s an absolute hit! Critics and fans both love it. People love the plot and the acting. The comedic rapport between Samuel L. Jackson and I is particularly praised. Everyone hopes we collaborate again. As for me, like I said, I’ve arrived baby! This movie has me on the brink of stardom. I’m now considered one of the hottest young comedic acting commodities in Hollywood. They can’t wait to see what I do next.

What’s YOUR take on the movie? Leave your feedback in the comments or on Twitter.