ay, this is so much food.
- Oh, man. This is nothing, man.
African kings used to celebrate
by slaughtering the fattest goat
and serving vats of wine
and having music and dancing for days.
It would put the Puerto Rican Day Parade to shame.
- Thanks, Dad. - Just so proud of you, man.
I never had a graduation party.
This why I'ma throw y'all the best one ever.
- Our actual graduation isn't until days away.
- This is not the graduation, ma'am.
This is just the audition,
sorta like my "American Idol" for the tongue.
- Ooh, that's cool.
- We have macaroni balls, syrup sandwiches,
fried bologna and welfare cheese sliders,
and your great-great- great-grandmother's recipe
for honey fried chicken.
- Damn! That's good!
- Bacon ain't got nothing on fried bologna.
- May I? Hmm?
[upbeat music]
[mutters unintelligibly]
Oh. - Mmm, mmm, good.
Bringing us home is my world-famous
dessert loaf dipped in dark chocolate.
- I'll take a piece of that.
- You better take it slow, young Jedi.
♪ ♪
[foot stomps]
I got a hand slap and a stomp
from my baby boy.
- Man, I can't feel my left foot.
- [laughs]
[dramatic sting]
Sonae, I don't know what to say.
Your reading is getting so good.
You hear me?
- Looking good, Leviticus. - Thank you.
Let's get you on the bus, okay?
- Hi, I have packages for Betty Adler and Tray Barker.
- Oh, no, that's me. I'm Tray Barker.
- Oh. Great. Here you go.
- Thank you. Don't I know you?
- Here we go. - No, I'm serious.
I think I seen you in my coma dream.
- [chuckles] At least you're funny.
- What's your name? - Angel.
- Now you tell me who's messing with who.
- Tray!
[banging on window]
Tray, come on, man, get in here!
- I'll be in there in a minute.
- Uh-uh, you getting mail delivered here?
What happened, your mama kicked you out again?
- It's a graduation gift for my kids, you know.
I got them bears.
Bears are powerful, highly intelligent,
and think deeply about family.
So when things get tough, I want these to remind them
to go inside and find their inner bear.
- That's nice.
I thought you was gonna say something corny as shit,
but you flipped it.
- Can't believe my babies are graduating
from high school, man.
Every day, I feel like a different person.
- Yo, listen, I wanna talk to you about something.
And I don't know if I should even be talking about it
'cause it's not, like, official or whatever,
but I applied for a promotion,
and it's looking good, you know,
like I might get it or whatever.
And if I do get it,
then I want you to run this place.
- Veesy, you serious? - Dead ass.
Tompkins-Marcy is my baby,
and I couldn't think of nobody else
that I would wanna entrust this place to.
- I don't think I know how to say thank you.
- That's easy.
Just say "Thank you," or, "Good looking out.
Appreciate you, man. That's what's up."
- Wyatt, is there anything we can do for you?
- Yeah, there's somebody here to see you, Mr. Tray.
- Percy!
- Tray Barker. - What up?
- What's up, baby? You good? - Yes, sir.
- This where you changing lives one meal at a time, huh?
- Yeah, man. Your generosity was dope, man.
But the community center is much more than that.
You gotta see it. Let me give you a tour.
[hip-hop music playing over speakers]
♪ ♪
This right here is the gym, man.
Javi. Come here.
Yo, Percy, this kid right here is so good with the smittys.
Javi, this is Mr. Simmons.
He one of the people responsible
of getting the whole center open.
- Nice to meet you.
Tompkins-Marcy changed my life, Mr. Simmons.
Thank you for all that you did.
- Ah, man, listen, I'm flattered,
but I'm sure you changed your life,
you know what I'm saying?
- Kid is super dedicated, man.
He get up early in the morning just to work out, man.
We gave him a key to open up the gym.
- That's what's up. - Back to work, man.
- All right. - You wanna check out the pool?
We just got it reopened, you know what I'm saying?
- Oh.
- We had a little doo-doo situation.
- [laughs] - A lot of bacteria, man.
Puerto Rican girl was swimming in the water.
One of the doo-doos hit her in the head, man, you know?
- Listen, I need a favor.
- Whatever you want, man, I got it.
- Glad to hear that, because
on top of my hair business, I got a little side hustle.
- What?
- Man, we caught a little something on 47th Street,
diamond district, you know?
So I'ma need you to hold some shit for me, man.
- You said you was out the game.
- This is coming from a guy who took my money
to rob a public official, right?
- See, that was different, man.
That was for the greater good, man,
to help prepare the community
that me and you helped damage so much.
- Whatever to help you sleep at night, man, that's cool.
But this ain't a request.
My man gonna come see you.
- All right, I'm gonna ice your cake.
- Oh, in the hot tub. Very creative.
- Yo, Dad, what's up?
- Hey.
Hi. Nothing. Nothing. I'm a grown man.
I can watch whatever I want in the afternoon.
Why? What?
- I was chosen to give
the class maverick speech at graduation.
It recognizes entrepreneurial spirit.
- The kid who originally got picked
got arrested for selling weed.
- I mean, that's--that's definitely entrepreneurial.
- Sounds like someone's jealous.
- Please, of sloppy seconds? - Face it, Amira.
For once, people see us for who we really are.
I'm a risk taker and a maverick.
You're just basic. - Hey, guys, come on.
I wish you guys would stop competing.
You should be friends.
- Are you kidding me?
After I graduate, I am so looking forward
to never having to deal with this annoying jerk again.
Ugh.
- She'll come around. Give her some space.
Shahzad, I'm proud of you.
I can't wait to hear your speech.
- Oh, man.
I only got two days to write a speech.
- That...
kinda killed the mood.
- "Original You."
"I'm not as fast as a cheetah..."
- What's wrong with you? Stand up.
What's wrong with your feet? Stand up. Stand up.
Stand up. Get up.
You see that man over there reading to them chillen?
Remember, he went to prison for 15 years
so you wouldn't have to.
Go ahead, over there. Go ahead. Do something.
- "That's okay, because all I have to be
"is the one and only...
original me."
[cheers and applause]
- Read it again.
- What's up, O.G.?
Mind if I read to the kids?
- Sure, youngblood.
- "I'm not fast like a cheetah..."
[dramatic hip-hop music]
- You should count 'em.
- What's your name? - Daveon.
- Daveon, I'ma tell you like I told your motherfuckin' boss.
Tompkins-Marcy Community Center is off-limits.
- Is everything all right, Mr. Tray?
- Everything is all right, Emmitt.
You just in time to walk my friend out the door.
- Oh, it's like that, O.G.? - It's like that.
- Your funeral.
- You really think I'm scared of a nigga named Percy?
Get the fuck outta here, nigga.
♪ ♪
- Tell me what the fuck is going on,
and do not bullshit me.
- After we went before the board
to get the center reopened,
I found out we was gonna lose the vote,
so I bribed one of the commissioners.
- And I'm guessing you didn't take out a bank loan.
- No.
But the guy that gave me the money,
I thought was legit, and that's word is bond.
- We wouldn't be here if the man was legit.
- Veesy, you tell me what the fuck
I was supposed to do, nothing?
If I'd have did that, we wouldn't have
no community center at all.
- Tray, if we didn't get that vote,
we would've just figured it out,
done something else.
What hurts me is that you just went on ahead
and did it behind my back.
- I know you tired of hearing this.
I'm sorry, a'ight? I'm sorry.
Give me one more chance to make this right.
I know I could.
- How?
How could you possibly make this better?
How big is this, really?
What else are you not telling me?
I don't even trust you.
And I don't work with people that I do not trust.
So pack up your shit and leave.
Dead ass, you're fired.
Matter of fact, give me your security badge.
Leave the keys at security.
Come on.
Everything we been through,
you haven't learned nothing.
♪ ♪
- What is a maverick exactly?
I mean, when was the last time
you used the word "maverick" in a sentence among friends?
I looked it up, and according to Merriam-Webster--
- Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there.
What if you started with a joke?
- His being picked is the joke.
- You guys, you have to help me fix this.
- Oh, I would help, but I'm too basic.
Remember?
- Cool. Cool, cool.
Is the graduation still outside?
- Yeah. - Oh, if it was
in the auditorium, I could pull a fire alarm.
- Not helping.
♪ ♪
[car horn beeps]
- Tray! Our ride is here!
- Ma. - Hey.
- You seen the gifts I got the kids?
- No, I haven't, but you could give them the gifts later.
Come on, we gotta go.
- I need to give 'em to 'em now, Ma.
I think I left 'em at the community center.
Shit. - Then we can stop by
the community center on our way there.
- You go ahead. I don't want you to be late.
I'll meet you at the graduation.
- What's going on? Uh-uh.
You acting a little strange now.
- I'm not acting strange, Ma.
I just want everything to be perfect, okay?
Amira and Shahzad, they deserve this.
- Well, graduation is not just for the kids.
It's for the parents too.
So just take a breath and let us enjoy this day.
- Ma, can I be honest with you? - What?
- I just feel bad that I never
got to give you a day like this.
That's all.
- Okay. Stop.
Now... [chuckles]
I gotta admit that I used to be angry about it.
But look at my baby now. You got your life on track.
You got a good job at the community center.
You're finally the man I always knew you could be.
Come here!
Oh, God, my baby.
All right, I'ma save you a seat.
- All right. - Hurry up, though. Come on.
- All right, Ma. All right. - Okay?
- Our whole class is gonna remember me
as the dumbass with the boring speech.
- Shahzad, I've never told you this,
but I really admire the way
you're willing to let people think you're weird.
- I don't know if that's supposed
to make me feel better or worse.
- You're an original. Own it.
Lean into your strengths with that speech.
Don't try to impress people or sound smart.
Just be you. - [laughs]
Okay, now I'm sure you're complimenting me
by insulting me.
- I am. And I'm never gonna stop.
[both laugh]
- Man, I can't believe I lost my keys.
- You just called me after my workout.
I gotta run home and change. - Yeah.
- See you at graduation. - Yeah.
- Yo.
You said ain't nobody afraid of no nigga named Percy, huh?
How 'bout a nigga named Poison?
- What, you gonna shoot me? That's your plan?
Think I'm afraid of you?
Poison, you think I'm scared to die?
- Nigga.
- I've been on the other side before.
- Hey!
- What the fuck is wrong with you?
- I'll get you, motherfucker. - Are you fuckin' crazy?
- Nigga, I'ma fuck you up.
- [yells] [gunshot]
- [breathing shakily]
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- Javi. Javi.
- He was about to kill you. - Oh, shit.
No. Javi.
- This is bad, man. This is bad.
- Javi, give me the gun. Give me the gun.
Now, I want you to tell me.
Did anybody else see you come in here besides me?
- I don't think so, no.
- You don't think, or do you know so?
- No. I know. No one saw me.
- Okay.
I want you to listen to me very, very carefully
'cause your life is gonna depend on this.
Do you understand me? - Yeah.
- You gotta go.
You gotta get your ass to the Poconos.
You never look back. You understand me?
You were never here.
- But what about-- - You were never here.
You understand me?
All this is my fault. I can handle it.
Now you gotta go.
Come here.
Oh, man.
Go.
[sighs]
♪ ♪
- [chatters excitedly]
♪ ♪
- Shay.
Shay, can you see it now? Right here.
How about--how is this? Shay, can you hear--
[phone beeps] - I don't see Tray anywhere.
- He's gonna be here. - I know he's gonna be here
'cause he would not miss this for the world.
- That's what I'm saying.
- Oh, gosh. - Shay!
[cheers and applause]
- We're so glad you can be here today...
- Hey, hey, Ma.
Did Shahzad do his speech yet? - Not yet.
- Now, our first student speaker this morning
is our class maverick, Shahzad Birkeland.
[cheers and applause]
- Whoo! You go, bro!
- Heroes come in lots of forms.
They can be presidents,
teachers, activists,
even TikTok influencers.
Well, my hero
has been recently incarcerated,
and that hero is my dad.
In the short time we've known each other,
my dad has taught me a lot--
not like trigonometry, 'cause we both suck at that.
[laughter]
He taught me that success isn't about money or power.
It's about your impact on people--
how you improve lives, not just your own.
That's your legacy.
Do you care about how much you can get
or how much you can give?
Are you greedy, or are you good?
By that measure,
my father, Tray Barker,
is the most successful man I know.
My dad is a good man.
And whatever I do with my life,
that is what I hope people will say about me.
That is a lesson for us all.
[cheers and applause]
- That was actually a good speech.
- The Rothman School...
- That's it, baby. Go on.
Let it out. Let it out.
He's proud of you.
- Julia Bansoff. [cheers and applause]
Raymond Bird.
This is a little unusual,
but these two have asked to go together.
Amira and Shahzad Birkeland.
[cheers and applause]
- Amira!
My kids' graduation was supposed to be
one of the happiest days of my life.
My son's up there telling people I'm a good man.
Now I'm not so sure.
My community did change me.
But am I changed for the better?
- How long has that camera been there?
- I just had that installed.
- Captain. - Yeah.
- I said I did all of these things for the community.
Did I do it for them, or did I do it for me?
- Oh, my grandchildren
are officially high school graduates.
- Best speech I ever heard, man.
My heart is filled. [laughs]
I just wanna say I'm so proud of you and your sister.
You two are the best children any father could ask for.
- Okay, we gotta take pictures,
or your mother is gonna kill me.
- Yes, yes, yes. - Let's start with Tray here.
Big smiles. It's a big day.
[siren chirps]
[siren blipping]
- Hey, guys, I got something to tell you.
- Yeah?
- Hey, buddy, you can't park there.
Move aside.
- I just wanna say I love you and I'm proud of you.
- [yells] [gunshot]
- The shooter's not visible from this angle.
- That's all we got.
- I gotta call this in.
- That is what I hope people will say about me.
- You did it. - Were you nervous?
- Yeah. - Yeah, I was too.
- Of course you were nervous. - "Don't mess up."
- If you're not nervous, it's not gonna work.
- Yeah. - And you pulled it off.
Look at that. - Oh.
- Amira, you ain't finished your dessert.
- Javi never came to my graduation.
And I can't find him.
He's not answering any of my texts.
I just thought he'd be there. I can't believe it.
- Hey. [glass clanging]
I wanna make a toast.
To Amira and Shahzad,
who worked so hard this year
and every year to get great grades in school.
And I wanna thank someone else
who co-parented with me all year.
My partner in crime-- [knock at door]
- Who is that?
- I saw what happened on the security footage.
- Footage?
- I had a security camera installed after I fired you.
- How much you seen?
- Enough to know that you shouldn't have ran.
- So you know? - Who you trying to cover for?
Nah.
The camera didn't show that part, but I know.
- I wouldn't expect you to understand.
- If you don't say nothing, Tray,
with your rap sheet, they gonna put you in there
for a very long time.
- Ain't nothing I ain't been through before.
- Yeah, but the only difference is,
you ain't do nothing wrong this time.
- Tell that to your brother.
I owe you, a whole bunch of other people.
- You are a good man, Tray Leviticus Barker.
- Oh, you a ally now?
[chuckles]
- Maybe I am.
The cops saw the same footage I did.
They're gonna be coming for you.
They gonna try to make you flip.
- I know how the game go.
[soft dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Where have you been?
I've been worried sick.
- Look, there's something I wanted to tell you.
- Oh, Tray, that was some dinner, huh?
- It was, Mommy. - You know,
if I don't say it enough, I want you to know
how proud I am of you and I love you.
- I love you too, Ma. I'ma take out the trash.
- Okay.
- [exhales heavily]
[taps trash can]
[tires screech, siren chirping]
- [breathes deeply]
- ♪ Ooh, la, la, ah, oui, oui ♪
♪ Ooh, la, la, ah, oui, oui ♪
♪ Ooh, la, la ♪
♪ Lookin' for Ms like I lost a friend ♪
♪ Jump out of my bed like, "Where the bread?" ♪
♪ You gon' hold the egg, waiter, bring the check ♪
♪ When we talk, we Kalashnikov ♪
♪ Keep us in your thoughts ♪
♪ Fully dressed at the crack of dawn ♪
♪ Weapons letting off ♪
♪ I can hear them from the block ♪
♪ See them creeping through the fog ♪
♪ Season's greetings, now feeding season can start ♪
♪ Oh, my God, look alive ♪
♪ Lookin' like I live life on a crooked line ♪
♪ Doin' fine, you want maximum stupid ♪
♪ I am the guy ♪
♪ Ah ah, oui, oui ♪