"A Nun's Story," Scene 7

It's the Pizza Bowl, at night:

THERE IS A BANNER ON THE WALL THAT READS: WELCOME BACK CLASS OF '54.  SQUIGGY WALKS OVER TO CARMINE AND LENNY.  THEY'RE LOOKING THROUGH A YEARBOOK.

CARMINE

There she is again.  Right there.  Ain't that Anne Marie?

SQUIGGY CROWDS IN TO LOOK OVER THEIR SHOULDERS.

LENNY

Yeah.  The one with the sombrero and toreador pants.

CARMINE

Imagine... wearing that to graduation.  What a crazy kid.

SQUIGGY

Yeah... what a crazy kid.

LENNY

I'm gonna ask her to dance.  All through high school I wanted to ask her to dance and tonight I'm gonna do it.

SQUIGGY

You're gonna have to go through me to do it.  I'm gonna get the first dance and while we're dancing, I'm gonna blow in her ear and ask her to go to a drive-in.

SHIRLEY, LAVERNE AND ANNE MARIE ENTER.

SHIRLEY

Hi, fellas.  Happy reunion.

THE GUYS SEE THEM.  LENNY AND CARMINE ARE STUNNED SPEECHLESS AS THE GIRLS APPROACH THEM.

LAVERNE

Carmine, Lenny, you remember Sister Anne Marie.

THE GUYS STARE AT ANNE MARIE A BEAT, THEN THEY BOTH LOOK BACK AT THE PICTURE IN THE ANNUAL.

Onscreen, the sign is of course changed to reflect the later graduation date.  Carmine does an acrobatic cheer and then goes to the restroom as Squiggy says he's going to ask AM to dance and the boys end up betting on it.  Then Shirley enters and nervously welcomes the Class of '56 and then says, "Everyone remembers Anne Marie."  Squiggy asking AM to dance is in there of course, and "the others react."

The last page and a half were omitted:

ANNE MARIE

Well... I've kind of lost my touch, Squiggy.

SQUIGGY

Yeah, that happens.  

FRANK DE FAZIO COMES OUT OF THE KITCHEN AND SEES THE GROUP.

FRANK

And who is this?  (HE LOOKS AT ANNE MARIE FROM SEVERAL ANGLES)  It can't be.  Is that you in there, Anne Marie?

ANNE MARIE

Yes, Mr. De Fazio. How've you been?

FRANK

Keeping out of trouble.  I gotta get some pizzas out of the oven.  I'll put a little extra pepperoni on yours.  I mean, you're allowed to eat pepperoni, aren't you?

ANNE MARIE

Sure.

FRANK

Well, you never know.  What with the new Pope and everything.

FRANK GOES BACK INTO THE KITCHEN.

LAVERNE

(BITTER) He never gave me extra pepperoni.

WE SEE LENNY IN THE B.G. STRUGGLING TO DRAG IN A LARGE KEG OF BEER.  

ANNE MARIE

I wish people would just forget I'm a nun and act normal around me.

SQUIGGY

Yeah.  They're all acting like retards.

LENNY

Hey, Squiggy.  Could you give me a hand with this beer?

SQUIGGY

(TOO LOUD) Forget about the beer.  Nobody's gonna be drinking with a nun here.

Thoughts:

• I graduated in the '80s.  No one would've batted an eye if someone wore a sombrero and toreador pants, although I guess it was different in 1954.
• It just feels odd to have Squiggy echo Carmine.  Are we supposed to laugh at Squiggy calling someone crazy?
• I like it better that Lenny wasn't pining for AM in high school, and not only because it should've been Laverne he always wanted to dance with.  It works better to have him call Squiggy a chicken and encourage him to ask AM to dance, and then be very amused when Squiggy goes through with it.  Also, you'd think Lenny would've had a chance to ask AM out if they were setting off cherry bombs together.
• And Squiggy's plans for AM were a lot more ambitious in the script.  I don't know if the censors objected but maybe Lander did.
• Shirley is a lot more casual in the script, and Laverne more teasing of Carmine and Lenny.
• The yearbook is nowhere in the filmed scene, which is fine.
• The Frank & AM part is kind of sweet, although I don't get the Pope line.  Is this a reference to the Vatican II in 1962 to '65?
• Laverne's bitterness about pepperoni is also a little odd.
• AM again is more worried in the script than onscreen, where she seems more at peace.
• Oh, Squig, no, just no.  It's one thing in "Slow Child," where there's a dramatic point to his insult, but as a throwaway? 
• Overall, this scene is definitely weaker in the script, particularly in terms of character.  I realize that Season One was a work in progress, but by the time this was shot, there was a better sense of who these people were, even one-timer Anne Marie.