Lemonade Mouth Puckers Up (28 page)

A. 1955: ROSA PARKS, the future icon of civil rights, stands alone at a bus stop on a drizzly day in Montgomery, Alabama. A white couple walks past, ignoring her, as a bus approaches.

B. 1936: The astronaut NEIL ARMSTRONG, still a little kid, gazes at the sky as his arguing parents change a flat tire behind him.

CHARLIE (V.O. while the clips continue)

Things happen for a reason. Sometimes a new idea, like a rocket, takes a little time fizzing quietly in the background just before it blasts off and demands our attention.

C. 1902: THE WRIGHT BROTHERS, soon-to-be inventors of the airplane, try unsuccessfully to fly a crazy-looking jalopy, kind of like a giant lobster trap on wheels. It rolls for a distance but doesn’t leave the dusty ground. A solitary newspaperman shakes his head and walks away.

D. 1860: ABRAHAM LINCOLN, future president and world changer, wipes the sweat from his brow as he hammers up a sign announcing that he’s running for president. Behind him we see the sidewalk of a bustling town. People rush past without even looking.

E. ONE MILLION YEARS AGO: A bunch of CAVEMEN in a frozen landscape look bored and cold as another caveman rubs two sticks together to make fire. There’s a sudden spark, but only one or two of the cavemen see it. Most don’t even notice.

The music fades to …

EXTERIOR. A QUIET BEACH—EARLY MORNING, THREE YEARS FROM NOW

Barefoot Charlie strolls along the empty beach talking to the camera.

CHARLIE

The online notes thanking us for our Chet Anders appearance were still coming in, more and more of them each day. It was as if no one was used to hearing a message like ours and people needed time to process it before they were ready to react.

Hands in pockets, he continues walking in thoughtful silence. A seagull calls. Waves crash. Close to the camera, Charlie stops.

CHARLIE (CONT’D)

But then, to our surprise,
Howit Iz
, the third-largest independent news and culture magazine in the country, ran an opinion piece about us, calling us “champions for the unappreciated, a long-missing voice for the unpretentious.”

(a pause …)

I had to look up what that even meant.

INTERIOR. BRUNO’S PIZZA PLANET—AFTERNOON

Naomi Fishmeier holds open a copy of
Howit Iz
and reads aloud as the members of Lemonade Mouth, sitting with her in a semicircular booth, listen in stunned silence.

NAOMI

“Whether you’re tall or short, skinny or full-figured, bespectacled, bedraggled or bald, Lemonade Mouth wants you to know that
this is your moment
. The until recently unknown high school band from Rhode Island …”

NTERIOR. SMALL, MESSY LIVING ROOM, OPEQUONSETT, RI—AFTERNOON

Lemonade Mouth’s old nemesis, RAY BEECH, oversized and sad-looking in a faded Mudslide Crush T-shirt, sits at one end of a worn-out sofa. In his hand he holds the same article, and he reads it with an expression of both shock and defeat. Perched beside him on the sofa, oddly enough, is a large pink pig. The pig gazes over Ray’s shoulder at the article and seems just as forlorn as Ray.

RAY (V.O.)

“… has just opened the door for all of us, challenging people everywhere to redefine who and what we accept as cool, to take on the narrow notions of style and beauty that have been handed down to us from the bigwigs at …”

INTERIOR. THE OFFICES OF DECKER AND SMYTHE, BOSTON, MA—AFTERNOON

JENNIFER SWEET, assistant to Earl Decker, swivels her computer monitor slightly so Earl won’t see what she’s looking at—an online version of the same article. Earl is nearby, visible in his office, talking angrily on the phone. Jennifer continues to read silently, leaning into the screen.

JENNIFER (V.O.)

“… self-interested corporations. These kids seem to be saying that women don’t have to …”

INTERIOR. MUSIC ROOM, BLOCKSTON BAPTIST CHURCH, BLOCKSTON, DE—EVENING

In the out-of-focus background, church musicians are setting up for practice. In the foreground, GLENDA MAY and GLENDA LEE PUTRIDGE, the solidly built banjo-playing twins from
American Pop Sensation
, are seated cross-legged on the floor with their banjos at their sides. They’re staring at the
Howit Iz
article.

GLENDA MAY AND GLENDA LEE (V.O.)

“… have hourglass figures to be attractive, and men don’t have to be body builders.”

INTERIOR. BIOCHEMICAL LABORATORY, OPEQUONSETT, RI—MORNING

While BEVERLY DeVITO, lab tech at Stella’s mom’s lab (twentysomething, glasses, heavyset, friendly face), waits for a plant cell test to run, her rapt attention is on the article.

BEVERLY (V.O.)

“So you don’t own all the latest fashions? So your cheekbones aren’t prominent? Stand proud!”

EXTERIOR. A SMALL BOAT ON WHITEFISH LAKE, WHITEFISH, MT—MORNING

Fishing alone in the middle of a peaceful lake surrounded by mountains, Opequonsett High School’s vice principal,
MR. BRENIGAN, appears stunned at the article he’s stumbled onto. Even vacationing in an isolated part of the country, he hasn’t escaped Lemonade Mouth. He gapes at the page.

MR. BRENIGAN (V.O.)

“So your hair isn’t perfect? So you’re not as young as you used to be? Hold your head high!”

INTERIOR. HIGH-RISE OFFICE, NEW YORK, NY—MIDDAY

With his feet up on his messy desk and a view of New York City skyscrapers, Chet Anders chuckles to himself. He’s reading the article too.

CHET (V.O.)

“The New Cool has arrived. Lemonade Mouth has ushered in a new era, and we are all invited to join them in being fabulous—just the way we are.”

INTERIOR. BRUNO’S PIZZA PLANET—AFTERNOON

Still in the booth listening to Naomi read, the members of Lemonade Mouth appear to be at a loss for words—except maybe Stella, who fidgets as if getting ready to say something. Naomi holds up her hand to stop her.

NAOMI

Hold on, Stella, there’s more.

(pause)

“And if that kind of revolution still isn’t enough for you, just wait until you check out the sound track. Lemonade Mouth’s mix of oddball instruments, together with their honest, emotional approach, creates a musical vibe that transcends description. It’s a sonic boom, a wild riot and a bright summer day all rolled into one. It’s quirky, raw and utterly unlike anything you’ve ever heard before—not to mention danceable as all get-out. So hold it high! Raise it up, America! Prepare yourselves for the revolution!”

Naomi lowers the article and sweeps her eyes across the five faces of Lemonade Mouth, who are all too dumbstruck to speak.

NAOMI (CONT’D)

(dead serious)

Guys, strap yourselves in. I believe you’re about to take off.

DISSOLVE INTO: A television set. Three beautiful women stand at a podium in the front of a crowded room. The women are surrounded by microphones, reporters and flashing cameras.

CHARLIE (V.O.)

(over the television sound, which is inaudible)

It was just the beginning. A few days later, three of the most famous supermodels in the world—Jara Shé, Rubia and Karen Sasky—got together for the first time ever to make a big announcement. The media was all over it.

SUPERMODEL #1: JARA SHÉ

After years of abusing our bodies through chronic starve-dieting, unnecessary surgeries and other unhealthy behavior, all just so we could achieve an unnatural look we were told was required by the industry, we are now announcing the launch of a new movement … a movement that demands change!

The crowd cheers. Fist-pumping.

SUPERMODEL #2: RUBIA

(thick Brazilian accent)

We here to protest the kind of corporate manipulation that idealizes a warped reality! We not gonna go along with it no more! We here to promote consumer demand for
healthier
body images in the media!

More shouts of approval. More camera flashes. The audience is eating this up.

SUPERMODEL #3: KAREN SASKY

Join us! Celebrate your individuality—the real, natural, beautiful
you
! Because nobody needs to be what they’re not! And none of us need to be …

(dramatic pause)

 … 
Freaky Fakey Phony
!

The crowd goes nuts. Behind the models a curtain rises, revealing a lineup of ordinary-looking people—women and men, boys and girls—all smiling and looking confident in their ordinariness. Above them a giant sign reads: SN
A
P! R
EAL IS THE
N
EW
B
EAUTIFUL
! Cameras flash like crazy.

CHARLIE (V.O.)

They didn’t mention us by name, but it was obvious where the idea came from. They called themselves “Supermodels for the New Pretty,” or “SNaP,” and they urged everyone, no matter their age, size or shape, to tap into their “inner supermodel.”

As the cheering and applause continues, we see a montage of shots of people watching the scene on TV:

A. Somewhere in middle America, four or five scruffy-looking truckers in a donut shop diner, all of them staring in disbelief at a screen above the counter.

B. Somewhere else, a group of preteen girls at a sleepover party, all arranged on a carpet lined with pillows. Their eyes are wide as they watch.

C. Seated on a leopard-spotted sofa, SISTA SLASH, Stella’s activist/anarchist, guitar-slinging hero (late thirties, spiky black hair with orange stripes, biker-tough), takes a bite from an apple and studies the television with interest. At her knee is an open copy of
Howit Iz
. Behind her we can see her huge, fancy-glitzy living room, which is decorated with dozens of wild-looking guitars and mementos from her impressive career. Far away, near the opposite wall, a young worker-guy vacuums a rug.

Back to …

The TV screen with the grinning supermodels. They’ve joined the line of ordinary people, and all of them are now waving at the ecstatic crowd.

CHARLIE (V.O.)

Watching all this play out … well, it was incredible. And surprising, even for us. It wasn’t like any of us ever
expected
our song would set off that kind of a reaction.

EXTERIOR. QUIET BEACH—EARLY MORNING, THREE YEARS FROM NOW

Barefoot Charlie, deep in thought, is strolling along the waterline again, except this time the camera is at his side and moving along with him, with the ocean as the backdrop.

CHARLIE (CONT’D)

(to the camera, like a conversation with a friend)

It was like we’d tapped into a well of pent-up emotion across the country. And with all this publicity, our songs were getting an increasing number of downloads—not
chart-busting
numbers, but still. For a bunch of kids with no corporate backing it was more than we’d dared to hope for.

He looks out across the water. The wind ruffles his hair.

CHARLIE (CONT’D)

But as amazing as all of this was, our excitement was tinged with sadness. The time had come to say farewell to a friend.