Now Showing: Time Out!

 

Time Out!

Genre: Crime/Thriller/Dark Comedy

Directors: Josh & Benny Safdie

Writers: Mo Buck & Chad Taylor

Cast: Patrick Wilson, Michelle Williams, Emma Mackey, Ben Stiller, Kaitlyn Dever, Rachel Sennott, Skyler Gisondo, Eminem, Will Arnett

Plot: April 16, 1995

This Thursday on ABC!

Jimmy Sharpe (Skyler Gisondo) wants to go to a good college. Greg (Patrick Wilson) & Linda (Michelle Williams) just want an empty nest!

All three of them are in for a surprise when Jimmy's older sister Liz (Rachel Sennott) moves back in after her fianceé dumped her.

TIME OUT! 8/7c

Lance (Eminem) turns off the television cursing at the cast of Time Out!, carving something into his coffee table with a hunting knife. He screams at his daughter Willow (Emma Mackey), telling her she can't be late today. She comes out in the bathroom, dressed up as a cook with a name badge with "Margo" written on it. He scans her from head to toe and says it's gonna be ok. They leave their apartment and get in their beat-up car. Lance drives around Los Angeles and he's on the edge, cursing at everyone and burning a couple of red lights. Willow reminds him they can't be arrested right now and he tells her to shut up and do as she's told. He pulls up to a movie studio and he kisses her on the cheek, reminding her not to forget the special package. He looks around and sees a lot of security guard. One of them comes up to his window and asks him to move and he tells him to chill, he's just dropping his daughter off for her first day. He reminds her of the walkie-talkie he gave her to communicate. She opens the trunk and takes a deep breath. She closes her eyes and takes the package before running away from the car and into the studio lot.

Many people are seen running around, yelling orders at each other. Willow looks nervous and confused. She bumps into a young woman named Jessica (Kaitlyn Dever) who tells her that she was nervous too on her first day. Jessica gives her directions to catering and tells her where to go if she wants to visit the set between shooting sessions. Willow thanks her and for her help and sighs as she walks away; at least her outfit is believable. As Willow gets to catering, she hears a woman calling for Phil Bailey, who's late to set, once again and that name gets her attention.

Phil Bailey (Patrick Wilson) is handed a cup of coffee and sits down next to Laura Stern (Michelle Williams), his on-screen wife on the sitcom Time Out!, now entering its fourth season. The two of them are joined by Hank Masters (Ben Stiller), the showrunner, smoking a pipe and carrying a briefcase. He's a ball of energy with a certain hint of intimidation, both of which have gotten him to where he is today. None of them seem too excited for the shoot today as they're already over this whole sitcom thing. Kyle Crompton (Skyler Gisondo) walks by and gives them all a wave. Laura comments "nice kid but I feel bad for him", noting he's probably never going to be able to outgrow this role. Phil shrugs and says the syndication residuals will be nice at least. And says he isn't so sure about that "nice kid" part. Laura gives him a look. Hank's mind seems to be on something else.

After making his early rounds, Phil slips into his dressing room for a moment of relaxation. To his surprise, waiting for him there is Kristen Vander Meer (Rachel Sennott), the actress who plays his daughter on Time Out!, sitting cross-legged in a robe. He jokingly checks the door to ensure that it says his name on it and not hers. She says she's in the right place. Phil lifts her up from the chair and sits in it himself, promptly placing her on his lap. She says today is a big day and he asks why is that. She says there will supposedly be a movie producer from Paramount in the audience as she is under consideration for one of their upcoming blockbusters. So she needs Phil to be on his best behavior. He promises he will and they kiss. She pulls away briefly to ask when he is going to finally break up with his wife so they can be together. He seems a bit annoyed, saying that they need to wait until after Time Out! ends. She pouts but then kisses him again before fulling straddling him. As he starts to unbuckle his pants, they are interrupted by Willow walking in the room with food for Phil. Willow, looking panicked, apologizes and hurries out before taking a moment to regain her composure after what she just saw. Kristen slinks out of the room embarrassed while Willow peers at Phil's name on the door, knowing now is the time to strike.

Phil has his back turned to Willow, as he pours himself a drink from his personal mini-bar. He says he doesn't recall calling for food and it's not lunchtime yet, so why doesn't she tell him why she's here. Willow lies and says she just came around to make sure he didn't need anything and Phil turns towards her. He looks her straight in the eyes and reminds her that she didn't see anything and she's not going to speak out about what she "didn't see" to anyone, or he'll have her fired and he'll make sure she never works in this town again. He then orders her out of his dressing room, but Willow drops the nice girl act and closes the door, saying she'll decide when it's time to leave. Thinking she wants to sleep with him, Phil says he's happily married, which Willow scoffs at. She pushes her cart in front of the door to block it and reveals what's hiding underneath. Phil tries to ask her if it's a bomb and Willow says she'll do the talking now. She orders him to undress as she explains what's going to happen today. She will strap this homemade bomb on his chest and she's going to do as she says or else she's going to press that little button in her pocket and he will explode into millions of pieces. If he wants to take it off, he needs to do exactly what he's told from the man who's going to call him in a few minutes. She'll follow him around all day and he better not think about trying to call the cops or anything. She asks if he understands and Phil nods nervously. She wishes him well and leaves Phil dressing room.

Kristen, Laura, and Kyle are practicing line readings for today's shoot when they notice they let the audience in the studio. Kristen's eyes shift to Phil's dressing room and she wonders what is taking Phil so long. Since Kristen seems nervous (on the outside), Laura squeezes her hand and says that she'll do great today as usual. Kristen nods. Kyle, meanwhile, is distracted by Jessica walking by. He follows her and says he didn't know that she was coming on to the show full-time. She says she must've passed the test - although it probably didn't hurt having her dad as the lead of the show. They are interrupted when the phone rings. Jessica picks it up and it is the studio's switchboard operator, who says there is a call for Phil. Jessica puts it on hold and goes to retrieve her father. She knocks on Phil's door and there is no response at first. She says that it's his daughter. After another beat, Phil opens the door and he is visibly sweating. She asks if everything is alright and he says yes before whispering that he's suffering from withdrawals. She is conflicted how to feel about this; happy that he's clean but sad about the effects. She tells him that there's a phone call for him. He silently nods and goes to retrieve the phone. It is Lance on the other line.

Phil answers the phone, his hand visibly shaking. Lance asks Phil to confirm that he's alone. He signals Jessica, who was peeking standing in the door frame, to leave him. He smiles, trying to reassure her, but she leaves feeling uneasy. Lance says tells Phil that he must do exactly what he says or else the bomb he's carrying will explode. Phil asks who he's talking to, but Lance doesn't answer, saying it's not his business. Phil tries to argue, but Lance says that all he needs to know about him is he has a short temper and he's starting to test his patience with all his questions. He orders Phil to steal Hank's briefcase and give it to his daughter, then she'll remove the bomb. Phil says it's impossible, he carries that briefcase everywhere, it never leaves his sight. Lance says if it was easy, he'd do it himself, so Phil needs to find a way, or he knows what's going to happen. Phil asks him what happens if he gets caught, or if anyone else sees the bomb and Lance answers that if it were to happen, he'll not hesitate to harm anyone he loves and yes, that includes his dear Jessica. Phil tries to argue back, but Lance issues him one last warning. He adds that he has until the end of the day and he hangs up. Phil, profusely sweating, drinks all his drink. Still shaking, he dresses up, then wipes the sweat off his forehead. He takes a deep breath and leaves his dressing room.

The first sight that Phil is met with is Kyle flirting with Jessica. Phil gets in his co-stars face and warns him to stay away from his daughter. Kyle is taken aback as this seems like a departure from Phil's usual light-hearted demeanor. Jessica is pissed and asks what his problem is. In the corner of his eye, Phil sees that the live studio audience is beginning to shuffle in. This includes Guy Tolliver (Will Arnett), the producer from Paramount. He quickly turns his head and sees Kristen staring intently at him, indicating he needs to be on his best behavior. He starts rubbing his temples as Laura walks up and asks if everything is alright. He says it's just a headache but, then on second thought, whispers that he's in danger. She asks why he's whispering and he again says he's in danger. He has a bomb strapped to his chest and he needs to steal Hank's briefcase. Laura steps back at the sound of "bomb" and Phil frantically looks to see if Willow noticed. He says that she needs to act normal. After taking a breath, she asks if she can just pull Hank aside for a conversation and then Phil grab the briefcase. He says Hank takes it everywhere and, if he notices it's gone, he would shut down set. They're interrupted by a call for actors to report to set as filming is about to begin.

Before returning to set, Laura goes out for a brief smoke break. Outside, she breaks down crying out of fear before lighting up her cigarette with trembling hands, smoking for a quick beat, and then cleaning up any sign of tears.

Hank comes up to Phil, flauting his briefcase as usual. He says today is a very Phil-centric episode, so they need him at his best today. Phil jokes that he hasn't been at his best since the third season and Hank jokes back that no one here cares about this show anymore, they're only here for the money, pointing at his briefcase. Phil closes his eyes and contemplates making a grab at the briefcase before Laura squeezes his hand, letting him know he's got her support. The studio announcer calls Phil on the stage and he comes out in front of the live studio audience to roaring applauses. He tries to crack a joke as he usually does, but he can only let out faint stammering. All the cast eventually joins him on stage before the filming officially starts. We see Guy Tolliver maintaining eye contact with Kristen, who reminds Phil that she can't have him mess up her opportunity like this. The cast leaves the stage and they start shooting the first scene, where Phil is reading his newspaper in the living room and Kyle enters the house, prompting Phil to say his catchphrase, but he can't say it. They try the scene again, but Phil can't say his line again. They try it yet again and Phil just repeats Kyle's line. The crew gets increasingly frustrated, as does Kyle. There's complete silence in the studio, unusual for a Time Out! taping. They try the scene again and after Phil messes up his line again, a furious Hank yells that they're taking a break and turns off the lights. Phil lets out a sigh of relief and stays out on the couch as the curtains close.

During the break, Laura slowly makes her way to the catering table, where Willow helping with setting up lunch. Laura compliments Willow's shaved head haircut, which takes Willow by surprise as her dad hates it. Laura shrugs and says it doesn't matter much what others think. Her parents wanted her to be a nurse and when she left nursing school to become an actor, they stopped talking to her for three months. She shrugs and says her acting bought them a brand new house. She then asks Willow what she's passionate about. Willow says she loves engineering. She grew up always tinkering with things and finding out how they ticked. But her dad never made much money, legally at least, so she never went to college. Laura puts her arm around Willow and says there's always time.

Hank sits down next to Phil and asks if his star needs a little boost. Phil scoffs at this, saying he's been clean for almost two years now and he plans to keep it that way. It's probably just the withdrawals that are getting to him. Hank, seeing his star needs a pick-me-up, offers to show Phil something cool. He pulls out his briefcase and, to Phil's surprise, opens it up. Instead of money, what Phil sees is a slightly-rusted Colt .45 in a padded case and his heart skips a beat. Hank asks if it looks familiar and Phil nervously shrugs. Hank says this revolver belonged to John Wayne on the set of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Phil asks if it is functional and Hank says of course it is, which is part of the reason he carries it around everywhere. If there's one thing he's learned about Hollywood, there are shady characters everywhere so it doesn't hurt to have a little back-up at all times. But he also just likes to feel like he has his hero, The Duke, with him everywhere he goes. He asks Phil if he wants to hold it. He declines the offer but thanks Hank for showing this to him and promises that he'll be better during filming.

Right after his conversation with Hank, Phil begins to frantically wanders around set to find Willow, but it's Kristen he sees first. She asks him what all that was about. She warned him that he had to be at his best tonight the best is certainly not what Guy Tolliver saw. If they can't make it past Phil's scenes, she won't be able to get up on stage. Kristen wants to keep going, but Phil cuts her off mid sentence and leaves. From a distance, Jessica, who's flirting with Kyle, sees her father frantically looking around and gets distracted. Kyle tells her not to worry about it, he'll take care of her old man so they can be together, but she scoffs it off. Phil is then approached by Guy Tolliver who jokingly asks him if the pressure got to him, before reminding him that his movie career is already over, so he doesn't need to worry about that. Phil makes a passive-aggressive dig at Guy before being pulled aside by Willow. She tells her father on the walkie-talkie that Phil still doesn't have the briefcase. Phil then explains to her that there's a John Wayne revolver in the briefcase, not money. She relays the information to Lance, who realises the gun is much more valuable then the drug money Hank owes him. Willow then tells him that he still has to go through with the plan, Lance wants the revolver now. Phil asks her how he can steal a gun from a lunatic and she says it's not her business and she leaves.

Phil darts over to his daughter and pulls her away from her conversation with Kyle. He tells her to take the rest of the day off. Take her mom out for a meal or something. She is confused, saying she could get in trouble before noticing the seriousness in his eyes. He pleads with her to leave and says that he'll make sure she's not punished.

Jessica walks over to Laura and asks if something's wrong with her dad. Is he on drugs again? Laura contemplates an answer before pulling Jessica aside and telling her about Willow and the bomb. A look immense fear rushes over Jessica's face. Laura is now trying to calm her down and says that she thinks that Willow is only doing her father's bidding here. They had a short conversation and she seemed like a sweet girl. Jessica agrees and volunteers to help convince Willow not to detonate.

Phil stands in a corner, with Willow staring at him from his left and Kristen staring at him from the right. He's surprised by Hank and Phil's eyes are immediately drawn to the briefcase. He wants to make a move, but he just freezes. Hank tells him that he better be ready because the audience wants to be entertained and he wants to leave as soon as possible. They signal everyone to report to the set. Before Phil gets back on stage, Kyle stands next to him and asks him to do his job this time. Phil scoffs and takes a big breath before taking his place on the couch. They start to film and the spotlights make Phil profusely sweat. The scene goes relatively smoothly and they're able to get a take. They transition for another scene featuring Kristen and Laura, but right as they're about to start filming, Phil, who doesn't have a newspaper covering his face anymore, sees Jessica is still on set and talking with Willow. She realises he saw her she tries to move out of his sight, but he chases after her. Hank can't believe it, thinking Phil is about to throw up because he's sweating so much.

As he tries to chase Jessica backstage, he knocks over a water fountain. Willow, who was following Phil is asked to clean the spill, as she mutters under her breath. Phil is still frantically looking around for Jessica and he ends up back where Willow is cleaning the spill. Realising she's busy and can't follow him around, Phil makes a run for an exit, but he's caught by Hank who went out to smoke with crew members. As Phil decides to make a move, Kristen is now next to him, berating him because he's throwing away her chance at a movie career. She starts to scream at him, saying it's not because he couldn't have the career he wanted that he has to deny her the opportunity. Hank starts to make a scene trying to break the fight between them and it catches Willow's attention. She drops her mop and leaves the spill unattended.

Willow contacts her dad and lets him know that Phil is trying to sacrifice himself by leaving. Lance is irate and tells her to detonate the vest now. "What about me?," she asks. "What about you?," he retorts. He then realizes what she means and tells her she should leave before detonating. Willow isn't listening though. She's looking out at Jessica nervously pacing. Laura pretending to practice her lines. Kyle fiddling with his character's skateboard. What did they do to deserve this? She tells him that she's not doing it and shuts off communication.

In a moment of clarity, Phil apologizes to Hank and Kristen for his behavior and says he has a confession to make. Silence falls over the set as Phil asks for everyone's attention. He starts to unbutton his shirt when a commotion can be heard in the background. Lance comes bursting on the scene and yells that it didn't have to be this way. Hank freezes upon seeing his drug dealer, whom he owes a massive debt to. Lance takes his hunting knife from his waistband and throws it at Hank, hitting him in the neck. Blood starts to spurt on the cast and crew, prompting Kristen to scream in horror and Kyle gag at the sight of blood. Phil scrambles to get the gun from Hank's briefcase before Lance is hit in the head by a fast-swinging boom mic. The camera rises to reveal Willow standing above him. Security rush on the scene and tackle Willow as Laura pleads with them to take it easy on her. Paramedics rush to Hank's side but the blood loss indicates it's too late.

Phil lays down flat on his back. Laura rushes to his side and removes his shirt, revealing to everyone the bomb underneath. Kristen, realizing Phil's predicament, is profusely apologetic and joins Laura at his side. Jessica calms the crowd by saying she knows how to disarm it before mouthing "thank you" to Willow for teaching her how in their earlier conversation. With the three of them by his side, Phil takes a break from his labored breathing to ask if they want to hear something funny. They give him a curious look.

"I think I'm having a heart attack."

The camera pans up to a flickering "Applause" sign.