Acapulco: The End

Monday, November 12, 1990

A couple of short scenes before the opening credits roll ...

At the bar in the Hotel El Reale, ROGER has just left HOLLY alone with ROSS.

HOLLY [piteously, quietly]: Please, Ross. Try and understand

Back in room 416, ALEXANDRA prepares for a night—or rather, afternoon, of sex. She’s fixing her lipstick.

ALEXANDRA [to herself]: He didn’t sleep with her--kept his vows.

A grim ROGER steps into the room.

ALEXANDRA: I’m so glad you’re back.

ROGER [coldly]: You set me up.

HOLLY sits down with ROSS at the bar, and tries to make him “understand.” But Ross understands everything better than anyone else involved, and he’s not a happier man for it.

HOLLY: Alex told you?

ROSS: Yeah.

HOLLY: Did she explain?

ROSS [playing with the edge of his glass, not looking at her]: About the set-up? “The plan”? Yeah, she did.

HOLLY: And you told Roger?

ROSS: Uhm-hmm.

HOLLY : Is he furious?

ROSS: What do you think?

HOLLY [sighs]: What’s he gonna do to Alex?

ROSS [coolly, getting up]: Why don’t you go find out?

HOLLY: Oh, Ross, I was just afraid that ...

ROSS: What? He’d hurt her? Hurt you? Maybe you should have thought of that before.

HOLLY: We did. Didn’t Alex tell you? She had somebody from Spaulding security, this Perkins—

ROSS: We’ve met.

HOLLY: Then you know? Nothing was going to happen.

ROSS: Mr. Perkins is in the hospital with a heart attack. You were on your own.

HOLLY: I know. [she looks at the bar a little ironically.] It backfired.

ROSS [quietly]: Do you know what Roger was doing just now? Lying for you. He was so afraid I’d get the wrong idea.

HOLLY: That’s because nothing happened.

ROSS regards her coolly for a moment, and then asks, “What does Roger get for passing the test? A new car? Or do we give him our half of the television station? Was it double or nothing for you, too?”

HOLLY [shamed]: Well, that’s better!

ROSS: What?

HOLLY: I know you’re so mad at me, Ross. Just get it out. Yell at me, scream at me, do whatever it takes.

ROSS puts some money on the bar and turns to leave.

HOLLY: What are you doing?

ROSS: I’m going home.

HOLLY follows ROSS.

Back in 416 . . .

ROGER: You set me up.

ALEXANDRA: I had to know.

ROGER: What? Know what?

ALEXANDRA: If you were really my husband.

ROGER: Why do you think I’ve stayed here all these months? You’ve freezed me out of your bed; you’ve freezed me out of your life. But I hung in there, trying, trying to figure out what the hell you want. Was that all a smokescreen?

ALEXANDRA: What?

ROGER: All that, “Prove yourself to me; I’ll know it when you’ve done it” garbage. Was that all a cover for the real test?

ALEXANDRA: No, I--

ROGER [mocking]: “No, I.” There’s no answer to this, Alex. You shipped me down here with my ex-wife, and it’s all a grand scheme to prove what? If I did sleep with Holly, what do you learn from that?

ALEXANDRA: I would know.

ROGER: You would know—that if you set out to annihilate a marriage, you can annihilate it. That if you make something impossible, it will be impossible. What kind of a monster are you?!

ALEXANDRA: I’m not a monster—I’m a woman!! And you hurt me! [ROGER listens carefully to this.] You lied to me; you demeaned me. Made me feel ordinary. I couldn’t just bounce back from that—unless I knew—

ROGER [yelling]: Knew what?!!

ALEXANDRA: That our marriage was built on something!

ROGER: What if I had failed the test?

ALEXANDRA: Then I would know.

ROGER: Uhm-hmm. And then, what happens after that? I will have broken the prenuptial agreement.

ALEXANDRA: You would have betrayed me.

ROGER: And you would take back everything, leaving me without a dime. Is that what you hoped for? Were you out to destroy me?

ALEXANDRA is stony-faced.

ROGER: Answer me.

ALEXANDRA reaches for the phone, but ROGER grabs her wrist, makes her put it down, and yells, "ANSWER ME!!”

ROSS comes into the room at this minute.

ROSS: ROGER! ... If you want to fight someone, fight with me.

ROGER is astonished, seemingly at the inanity of ROSS’S suggestion.

ROGER turns and looks at ALEXANDRA, and then at ROSS. HOLLY enters the room, and ROGER can't hide his pain when he sees her. She looks at ROGER and at ALEXANDRA individually, and then both together, and sighs.

Quietly, ashamedly, HOLLY says, “I’m sorry. I’ll be in my room.” She leaves through the door adjoining the two rooms.

ROSS: So, what’s it gonna be, Roger?

ROGER [Everything is dust and ashes—he laughs a little.]: Oh. I’m going for a walk.

He leaves through the front door.

After ROGER is gone, ALEXANDRA hesitantly asks ROSS, “Think he’s ... going to find Holly?”

ROSS responds to this as though to an irritating and dim-witted child.

ROSS: He’s already passed that test, Alex. I think he went for a walk to cool off.

ALEXANDRA: Thank you, Ross. I appreciate you coming. Roger’s just upset ... understandably so, I guess.

ROSS: You guess? You’re really something. As much as I hate that man, I almost feel sorry for him.

ROSS leaves. ALEXANDRA picks up her negligee and rips it from top to bottom.

When ROSS goes back to his room, he finds HOLLY sitting on the bed “Indian-style,” waiting for him. She seems particularly small and fragile as she sits there, but he tries to ignore her as he puts on a fresh shirt.

HOLLY: You want to do this? [No reply.] Do you remember when you came to the studio—was that just a week ago? I don’t remember. You had some papers; you were in a rush; you were only there a few minutes. After you left, I was walking back across the studio floor, and Gilly was grinning at me, and I said, “What?” And Gilly said, “I don’t know. You two just make it look so easy. Must be love.” And I realized she was right—It was finally so easy. I remember the first time we went out when I thought this could turn into something, and I was just a wreck. I mean, you were so completely together. I almost ran out of there, I was so terrified. You’re just so steady, both feet on the ground. [HOLLY comes up behind ROSS at he looks in the mirror.] And I was, I was retreating from a bad move towards Ed, and I was ready for something solid. I felt like I had finally landed. [She puts her hands on ROSS'S arm.]

ROSS examines their reflection in the mirror for a moment. Then, he walks away.

HOLLY: That’s why your disapproval is just cutting me like a knife. Ross, do you just hate me?!

ROSS: No, and that’s the problem.

HOLLY looks hopeful at this; she comes toward him and tries to put her arms around his neck. ROSS, however, deliberately and coolly takes her by the wrists and holds her at arm’s length from him.

A calmer ROGER comes back to room 416, where he finds ALEXANDRA looking out from the patio.

ROGER: Sorry for the outburst. It won’t happen again.

ALEXANDRA [solicitously]: Oh, Roger, I understand that.

ROGER: I’m tired. If you don’t mind my being here, I’d like to take a nap.

ALEXANDRA: Of course. Are you hungry? Would you like for me to order some food?

ROGER: No. Just sleep.

ROGER takes off his shoes. ALEXANDRA sits down beside him on the bed.

ALEXANDRA: I know how furious you are, and you have every right to be.

ROGER: Yes, I do. You know, there’s a lot of ways to violate a marriage. This plot of yours is more despicable than any spontaneous biological response I might have had.

ALEXANDRA: Can you try to understand why I did it? [He looks at her expectantly.] I loved you so much, Roger, and I felt like such a fool. I thought everything you’d done was part of your business plan, me included. And I felt like a stupid, deluded, ridiculous woman.

ROGER: I laid it all at your feet. Have you forgotten that? I put myself in your hands. I told you everything, that night on the girders.

ALEXANDRA: Not quite everything.

ROGER: Everything that I could. I was scared, too. Did that ever occur to you? That I was afraid that if you knew everything you would leave me?

ALEXANDRA: Or go to the police? [ROGER sighs.] You see, that’s what I didn’t know. I didn’t know if you were worried about me, your wife, or the CEO of the company.

ROGER: I was your husband, Alex. When did I ever give you cause to doubt that?

ALEXANDRA: Any time Holly walked into a room. [ROGER rolls his eyes.] There was something in your eyes, behind all the anger. Something you never gave me. Maybe never could.

ROGER [shutting down his thoughts]: Okay, look. I’m real tired. The words are just swimming around. I can’t even hear what you’re saying.

ROGER lies back on the bed.

ALEXANDRA: I’m sorry.

ALEXANDRA gets up, but then thinks of joining him. He turns his back to her.

In the other room, ROSS wipes a tear from HOLLY’S face, but pushes her farther back.

ROSS: I can’t ... feel very sorry for you.

HOLLY: I don’t want your pity.

ROSS: I don’t feel anything. I know you’re hurt; I know you’re in pain, but I just don’t feel it. And you did this, all by yourself. You did this to me. No matter what you thought you were doing—getting, evening the scores with Roger—no matter what you told yourself, you did this to me.

HOLLY: I did it for you. I wanted to get rid of him. I wanted us to go on with our lives together.

ROSS: People live with problems all the time. Everyone, including me. They have good days; they have lousy days; they have days in between. People have emotional problems. But there’s help. They ask for help, and they get it.

HOLLY: I couldn’t.

ROSS: Why not? Because it wouldn’t be easy?

HOLLY: I couldn’t, because I was afraid you would run away from me.

ROSS: Because you weren’t perfect? I never thought you were, and that’s not what I wanted. Did you believe that I would think less of you because you asked for help?

HOLLY: I couldn’t, Ross. It was just so deep.

ROSS: So deep that you expected to cure it in one night? Did you really think that this was going to work, that driving Roger out of town was going to solve the problem?

HOLLY [fiercely, her voice rising]: Yes! I wouldn’t have to see him anymore! I wouldn’t have to wake up with all this anger! Do you realize what it’s like to have to live with this?!

ROSS [moving away from her, with a bit more heat]: I think I’m about to find out.

HOLLY [coming back to him]: Ross, I love you. I want us.

ROSS: Now, don’t ... don’t you justify. I wanted to blame Alex, or Roger. I wanted to think you were drawn into it, that you were some innocent victim.

HOLLY shakes her head: I wish I could say, "You’re right." I just hated him so much.

ROSS finally loses his temper.

ROSS [yelling]: Stop it! Just shut up! You cannot give me that anymore!

HOLLY: What?

ROSS: When Alex and I walked in on you, I saw it.

HOLLY: What are you talking about?

ROSS gets in HOLLY’S face, and accuses her:

ROSS: When Alex and I walked in on you, I saw a happy woman. You ... were with Roger Thorpe ... and you were happy.

The accusation hits HOLLY in her weakest spot, her curiously-developed sense of shame, and ROSS has done this deliberately, out of his extreme anger at her. He has no compassion for her at all, but has sat in judgment on her, and condemned her. HOLLY goes into hysterics, talking twice as fast as she usually does, and with half as much sense. Some of her gibberish is mighty revealing, though.

HOLLY [grabbing him by the arms]: Ross, no! I don’t know what you saw, but that wasn’t happy! I was, I was relieved that nothing had happened, and that we had a success.

ROSS: I’ll leave my key in the door.

HOLLY: Ross, c’mon! Now, I don’t know what you saw. But Roger, you know, he’s changed, really. He’s not the animal that he was—but that doesn’t mean—I wasn’t happy, Ross! I was just—Oh, what are you doing?—You crucify me like this?! It hurts me so much! If you keep this up, Ross, what’s gonna happen to us? I —

ROSS [cold]: I hope that’s not an ultimatum.

HOLLY : No!

ROSS: Because it’s too late. We’re finished.

In 416, ALEXANDRA turns and lays a hand on ROGER.

ALEXANDRA: We can get past this. Please give me a chance.

ROGER turns around on the bed and looks at her ironically: Is that what you want? You want to make love?

ALEXANDRA: I always wanted to, but I couldn’t.

ROGER [Grins sardonically]: I know the feelin’.

ALEXANDRA: Are you saying—we don’t have a marriage anymore?

ROGER gets up and puts on his shoes.

ROGER: Of course we do: the same marriage we’ve had for months. You’re over there; I’m over here, and the door between us — is locked.

ROGER leaves.

Meanwhile, HOLLY tries to prevent ROSS from leaving.

HOLLY: Ross, no!

ROSS: I’ll have your things from my place sent to the Lakeland Hotel.

HOLLY: No. Don’t say things you’re gonna regret.

ROSS: I thought about sending them to the studio, but I don’t think the studio should know about our personal problems.

HOLLY [quietly, in tears]: Stop it! Stop it! C’mon, Ross!

ROSS [ice cold]: Holly!

HOLLY: Don’t leave me now!

ROSS: It’s over. We all have things we can’t live with. You couldn’t live with how much you hated Roger, and I can’t live with what you did about it.Goodbye.

ROSS leaves, and HOLLY collapses in tears.

Back To
The Roger & Holly Worldwide Webpage