This Too Shall Pass

Let's dance in style, let's dance for a while.

Heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies.

Hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever.

We don't have the power but we never say never.

Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip.

The music's for the sad man.

Can you imagine when the space is one?

Dulled and faceless into the sun.

Raising our leaders, engaging in tune.

The music's played by the mad man.

Forever young, I want to be forever young.

Do you really want to live forever, forever young?

Simon Benson, 16, from Syracuse.

You're American?

What are you doing up here in Canada?

Where's your parents?

Hey, I asked you something.

It all started three days ago.

School just broke for summer and...

Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait.

Are you trying to narrate right now?

No good?

Well, it's clichéd, first of all.

And second, I don't think you have the voice for it.

Well, I only got here last summer, so...

Just answer the fucking question, kid.

It's more of a confession.

As I was saying, school just broke for summer.

And for me, it comes with one of my dad's...

rituals.

Please help Simon to open his heart.

We pray for the guidance of the Holy

Ghost as we seek to understand and overcome

the challenges that Simon is having in his life.

In Jesus Christ's name, we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Simon, would you care to discuss the cigarettes

your brother found in your room?

Why was he in my room in the first place?

Simon!

It's all right.

It's okay.

Simon, we meet at the end of

every school year for good reason.

For very good reason, clearly.

You just graduated your junior year.

One more year till you're out in the real world.

Now, I have a very good understanding of the

kind of temptation that children your age face.

Rock music, explicit movies...

video game controllers...

So, other than the cigarettes, any other potential

sins to confess?

Nothing that would make you unworthy?

Are you Catholic?

Mormon.

Mormon?

I thought they were all down in Utah.

They are.

It started south of here.

Since when? Where?

Palmyra.

Okay, and where's that?

South of here.

Kid, your narration leaves much to be desired.

I'm building a world for you.

Okay, so in what world does a smart-ass

Mormon from Syracuse end up in the

back of my fuckin' squad car?

Since there aren't a ton of Mormons in

Syracuse, my life is very...

inconvenient compared to my friends.

My parents only go to church events.

Hate everything else, so...

I enrolled myself in every sport and activity I could.

In eight years, they never once came to a game.

It was terrific.

Seems like a dick move.

Yeah, they can be.

I meant you.

Lying to your parents?

Isn't that, like, one of the main sins?

The thou shalt not lie one?

You drink coffee?

Yeah.

What if I told you your soul was going to hell?

For sipping a cup of coffee.

Simon!

My dear!

Mrs. K?

Come in.

Come in!

Come in!

Everybody, this is Simon!

Simon!

Everybody!

Hi.

Do you want to partake in our little

murder mystery party?

Uh...

It's the opposite of my house.

Tim's parents always threw these extravagant parties.

Then his dad split with a 20-year-old.

His mom pretends like nothing happened.

Mom!

Mom!

Leave him alone!

Why would I leave him alone?

Don't you want to find out who killed

Tim Curry?

No, we don't want to play stupid games.

Oh, right, we're playing stupid games, but you're

the one dressed like it's Halloween.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye, Mrs. K.

Bye, Simon.

Got my sticks?

No.

My brother found them and told my parents.

Dude get the fuck out of here.

Well, why couldn't you just kept them here

like I asked you?

Because my mom keeps lecturing me about cancer and shit.

You're not grounded or anything, though, right?

I think I'm good.

I just have to spend some summer with

my bishop now, so thank you for that.

Camping this weekend still a go, though?

We're a go.

She'll think that she drank it.

This is Chris.

I knew him from the football team.

He's the kind of guy you always want

around, just never around your parents.

I met James on the polo team, where

he would not stop talking to me about movies.

John, like Tim, didn't play any sports, but

he was always a good time.

And the girls.

This is why we had Chris.

What's up, boys?

Tim, Simon.

Meet Shelly and Ann.

Happy end of the school year.

All right, that's cool.

Timothy?

Only if I may partake.

Of course.

See, to the Mormon church, one sin is

the same as a thousand, so if I

already ruined my soul with a sip of

coffee, a puff of a cigarette, music they didn't approve

of, then why not just do all the things?

No, but I'm telling you, his movies are full of shit.

Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, it's not our fucking team's.

They ain't no black dudes in John Hughes' movies.

No shit, it ain't your team's.

Okay, okay, aside from that.

You guys are missing the point.

That's not the point.

The point is, they're about, uh, the optimism of youth.

Did you say optimism of youth?

What does that even mean?

Okay, but what about Fast Times at Ridgemont High?

Jobs, cliques, fucking abortions?

They were surfing during Christmas.

And you're just a movie snob.

And you just don't watch enough of them.

Take Ferris Bueller.

A kid skipping class his senior year.

Pretty relatable, right?

The dude hacks into school computers, changing his

grades, steals his best friend's Ferrari, hijacks a parade,

gets the whole town singing, trashes the

fucking Ferrari, which Cameron's dad probably killed both

of them for afterwards, by the way.

And what did he learn?

Not that, oh, wow, maybe I need to

consider my friends, my family, or my actions.

Not that, I need to work hard for

my dreams to come true.

No, he literally learns he can do whatever

he wants, be a smartass, and things will

magically work out.

That's not optimism, that's ignorance.

Wow.

Yeah, I didn't think of it like that.

I mean, Ferris is a total dick.

No, no, no, no, no.

Don't let him ruin it.

Don't let him do it.

So you think he represents your life?

It's not supposed to be my life.

It's the, wouldn't it be cool if this

was my life?

Because your movie life would be depressing as shit.