Olive And Mocha

In 1984, two eight-year-old girls meet in detention after school. Their crime: disrupting the school assembly on sexual education. YOUNG OLIVE (a string bean whose worrying gives her stomach aches) threw up when she saw the diagram of the inside of a penis and YOUNG MOCHA (a feisty brunette with an adult education) chucked her shoe at the screen when the MOM and DAUGHTER in the film made pancakes that resembled ovaries. In detention, the girls are forced to watch the video again, the whole way through. Olive steps out into the hallway to keep from vomiting again and Mocha checks on her to make sure she’s okay. Mocha suggests that she do something to distract herself during the movie, like take notes or blink a lot. They make a pact that they’d “rather be dead than pregnant” and this instantly bonds them as best friends.

Fast forward to present day, two days before Halloween. Best friends and thirty, Olive and Mocha drink at a bar in celebration of “Pre-Halloween”, their annual tradition of starting early in honor of their favorite holiday. Mocha rides the bar’s mechanical bull with reckless abandon. Olive watches from afar, choosing never to do something that dangerous. She doesn’t have health insurance. Mocha has no problem finding men to buy her drinks. Olive, on the other hand, is a nervous mess when a boy even flirts in her direction, something Mocha thinks she does because she’s too afraid she’ll like it. LYLE, a handsome young graphic designer takes a liking to Olive which drives her to huddle closer to Mocha for protection.

The state of the friendship this year, though, is not as it has been. Olive’s been choosing to spend less time with Mocha in order to be with her long-term, live-in boyfriend, SAM (the kind of guy who wants to settle down). Olive finds Sam nice and comfortable. Mocha finds Sam dull. Mocha lets her friend know that not only has she noticed Olive’s absence at her band, Typical Girls’ shows, but Olive’s made a big turn for the boring. Mocha wants her friend back. Getting called out for her being boring hits Olive hard and she makes a promise to herself to take some risks in her life.

Stumbling home late, Olive finds Sam reading the paper in bed. She’s drunk and wound tight for a crazy night of love making. Sam is more than resistant as he’s got to get up in less than four hours to catch a flight. He works as an immigration lawyer, mostly helping to rescue battered women and their families from prosecution in far off places and starts to go into detail about his newest case involving a rape victim. Very erotic. Olive squelches the work talk with a blow job and quickly wins him over. She keeps the promise to herself of spicing things up by mounting Sam, sans condom. It’s the first time they’ve ever had unprotected sex and Sam climaxes almost instantly.

It’s a downward spiral from there. Olive’s convinced she’s pregnant as, “women in her family are very fertile” and in the panic of the moment, Sam proposes to Olive with a ring he’s had on hand, just waiting for the right moment. He couldn’t be happier to move into the next phase of their relationship. But Olive’s not sure she’s ready to take the plunge. A fight ensues when Olive suggests abortion is an option. Sam’s all for a woman having the right to choose when it’s not his baby. If they’re pregnant he wants to keep the kid. Olive won’t be told what to do and hightails it to the one place she knows she won’t be treated like a child, her mother’s house.

In another part of town, Mocha’s taken RICH home from the bar. He’s a good-looking mailman who spent enough on drinks to get into her pants. He seemed cool at the bar, but in the sack his nice guy antics are turning Mocha off. After doing the deed, he would love to cuddle, but Mocha’s not the kind of girl who wants to be held. When it looks like he might try to spend the night, she shoos him out of her apartment by setting off the fire alarm. Mocha texts Olive to say how much fun she had tonight.

Olive reads the text through teary eyes. She’s at LIZ’s house, Olive’s widowed mother, who hasn’t changed a thing in the home since the family all lived there together. Everything’s just the way it was, even Olive’s room. So, it’s no problem for Olive to move back in for a while until things calm down with Sam. Waiting for Liz to go to bed, Olive pulls a worn box out from under her bed, containing a condom, a pregnancy test, a joint and some Mexican money. She takes the test confirming her worst fears… she’s pregnant.

The next day, Olive’s back at her desk at Lavish Magazine, which has written up some of the most famous musicians in history. Olive’s dream is to one day get paid to report for them. But, until that time comes, she’s content just to be the front secretary for their corporate office. Unfortunately she’s been there for almost two years and it’s not clear anyone knows her name. MRS. LAVISH, the owner and woman who created an industry, needs no introduction. But what she does need is someone to take her bratty kids trick-or-treating this weekend. Olive is put on the spot to take the job when Mrs. Lavish notices her for the first time. Excited at the opportunity to be recognized by this journalist giant, Olive agrees.

After work, Olive makes a b-line to the abortion clinic. She’s determined to flex her muscle as a feminist. But, while filling out a survey to help a young mother decide if having an abortion is right for her, Olive is accosted by KATHY VO, a woman she knows from grade school who used to be a huge tattletale and who’s now turned stand-up comedian. Being recognized by someone she knows puts a twist on things she didn’t suspect. Kathy reveals that all of her material is based on real life events and Olive should come see her act as she’ll probably be in it now. Olive retreats from the clinic in a panic and running blindly to cross the street, is hit by a car.

As Olive blacks out she dreams that, because she doesn’t have any children, she doesn’t have an emergency contact. This is eye opening for Olive and although she hates stretch marks, she hates the idea of being alone even more.

That night at the hospital, no one will admit Olive because she doesn’t have health insurance. Mocha arrives to find her in the waiting room and demands the NURSE at the station pushes Olive through at once. The nurse is not impressed but she does allow a PREGNANT WIFE and her HUSBAND through just to, “be in a place where it’s air conditioned for a while”. Olive spills the beans that she’s also pregnant sending Mocha straight into shock.

Post visit, Olive and Mocha hash out these new findings in the parking lot of the hospital. Mocha can’t believe that her best friend got pregnant without consulting her first. They’re bound by a childhood pact. Olive tells Mocha that she’s made the decision to keep the baby and stay with Sam. The stress of dying alone is enough to give her an ulcer and marrying him will give her a home, security, someone to help her with back zippers… all the important things in life. She needs Mocha’s understanding, but Mocha can’t get over, what she sees as the death of their friendship. Mocha’s a second generation party girl and the thought of spending the rest of her life taking long walks on the beach makes her very, very aggressive.

As an “olive” branch, Olive suggests that they continue their plans to celebrate Halloween together like they usually do. Sam’s still gone anyway. YES! Music to Mocha’s ears. This is going to be the best Halloween ever. They’re going to start early! Olive’s got to babysit. They’ll get wasted! Olive’s pregnant. They’ll fuck a stranger! Olive’s still committed to Sam. Mocha doesn’t like the odds, but she gleefully accepts the challenge.

The next day is officially Halloween and Mocha couldn’t be more excited. They’ve got a full itinerary ending in party with college boys and joining them on their quest for the best is ERICA, a blonde in her early twenties who’s packin’ more in her bra than she is in her head and plays drums in Mocha’s band. First stop, the Halloween store to buy costumes. Asking if Olive is “still pregnant?”, Mocha offers Olive some water. Olive immediately spits it out, Vodka! Olive is on to Mocha’s rouse. She’s not getting rid of the baby and if Mocha thinks this day is gonna’ end with Olive having a change of heart about about Sam, then she’s wrong. Inside, they all try on costumes. Olive ends up going as “Cute Cowardly Lion, Mocha picks a “Wet t-shirt contest winner” costume with huge plastic boobs and Erica settles for “sexy hooker”; a.k.a. her underwear.

Mocha becomes trapped in her changing room by an ex-lover, GARY. He’s never gotten over their one night stand together and pressures Mocha to give him another shot. Maybe it’s his neediness, or the fact that he dropped the “I love you” bomb on the first orgasm, but Mocha couldn’t be less interested. Nothing pushes Mocha away faster than the promise of love.

Next stop, Hell House, a Christian haunted house in the valley that does more than scare the pants off of its audience, it shows them the ramifications of defying the lord. One room, in particular, is Mocha’s planned main event. The scene entails a YOUNG, TEENAGE GIRL giving birth to a baby in gory detail. The fact that the DEVIL rips her apart for having sex out of wedlock isn’t the scary party, it’s the pain and blood-gushing agony of pushing a kid through the vaginal canal that makes Olive terrified. Mocha’s plan is working.

Olive, Mocha and Erica show up to Mrs. Lavish’s house just in time to take her twelve-year-old TRIPLETS trick-or-treating. It’s obvious that these children are skilled in the arts of stealing, conniving and deception and Olive’s nerves are only squelched by the  warning Mrs. Lavish gives her children about shipping them off to boarding school if they give Olive a hard time. She’ll be home late and wants to see her girls’ bags full as a sign they’ve been good, actually did as they were supposed to and nothing more.

The triplets live in a very fancy neighborhood where the houses are spread far apart. So they decide to trick-or-treat on an easier block. But, Mocha’s Camaro is too small to fit everyone, so they leave Erica behind for an hour to run the triplets through a better neighborhood. And, if Erica wants to knock on a few doors while she waits, then they could wrap it up faster and have the girls home sooner with just as much candy. Erica’s not psyched, but she takes one for the team.

Olive and Mocha find the perfect neighborhood. COSTUMED CHILDREN and their attentive PARENTS line the sidewalks in a sugar induced joy. The triplets are the only kids for miles who aren’t excited. Olive mistakes their being upset at having to do “baby stuff” for missing their mom and lets them know that she’s qualified to nurture them because she’s pregnant and going to be a mother, too. Mocha lets it slip that after they take the girls home, they’re going to a college party.

Meanwhile, Erica’s made the long trip up the road to a house and rung the bell for candy. Her high heels are killing her feet and made her grumpy. What she doesn’t know is that this house is used to make pornos and right now there are two half naked hookers turned porn-stars, SHANDRA and JENNA, inside being directed by a douche with a camera, DARRELL. Seeing Erica in her underwear out the front window, they mistake her for “one of Lorenzo’s girls.” When they ask Erica what she wants, Erica explains she’s “come for the candy.” They let Erica in to join the action, but Erica “isn’t an actress” and explains that she needs the candy so she can get to this party. Shandra and Jenna wish Darrell was getting parties set up for them like Lorenzo gets set up for Erica. Darrell demands that Erica take them along. She resists until Darrell shows her the candy she’s looking for… a bag full of ecstasy.

Back in suburbia, the gang hits up a second house for candy. DAVE KAPLAN answers the door, to Mocha’s surprise. He’s Mocha’s ex high school teacher and lover. Things get very uncomfortable when MRS. KAPLAN comes to the door and wants to get a picture of Dave with his former student. In the commotion, Olive loses the triplets. They’ve pinched Mocha’s keys and drive off into the night stating, “we’ll see you at the party, sweet face.” Now there’s only one thing to do. Find them! Olive and Mocha hitch a very awkward ride from Dave and are dropped off in front of frat row where Mocha’s car’s been left on a curb. They venture into the madness that is a college party.

Looking everywhere for the triplets turns up nothing. So, Mocha decides to take advantage of being at a party and wanders out to the patio to find the keg. Stressed with a headache, Olive goes in search of a glass of water. Erica, who’s come to the party with Darrell, Shandra and Jenna, finds Mocha draped over a half naked COLLEGE GUY dressed as a Spartan. She explains to Mocha that her new friends have given her a few ecstasy pills and that if she wants more, he’s got a huge bag in his pocket. Erica downs two immediately and just as Mocha is about to pop her two, Olive snatches them from her hand and eats them, thinking they’re Aspirin. Not wanting to upset Olive any further and thinking it might chill Olive out, Mocha and Erica don’t reveal the mix-up and Olive wanders off in further search of the triplets.

In the living room, Olive plops down on the couch to get her head together and ends up sitting next to a guy dressed as a WIZARD. Under the beard and cone hat is Lyle, the guy she met at the bar two nights ago. He’s very charming and although Olive wants to avoid  a conversation right now, she finds him easy to talk to. Their conversation makes her feel strangely better and they have a way of making each other laugh. Little by little the “E” kicks in and Olive starts to find Lyle very attractive. Against her better judgement, they make out. Olive’s beside herself with guilt. On the one hand, she’s very turned on by Lyle but on the other, she’s committed to Sam. Olive wants to stop, but her body feels so good and they both decide to take the party up to the bathroom where they can be alone.

Meanwhile, the triplets have found ways to hide in a sea of people. They steal a joint and journey to the roof to smoke pot for the first time.

Out on the patio, Darrell’s not happy with Erica. Shandra and Jenna aren’t getting anywhere with the boys here and Erica owes him money for the drugs he gave her. If she’s not gonna’ trick, then he’s gonna’ get violent. Mocha steps in to save Erica, and Darrell pulls a gun. The whole party stops. But, Mocha’s pickpocketed his bag of ecstasy from his coat pocket and she throws a handful into the air. Suddenly, a hundred drunk COLLEGE KIDS are barreling for Darrell and it’s just the distraction the girls need to get away.

Olive and Lyle the wizard are already bumping uglies when Mocha finally finds them in the upstairs bathroom. In spite of being excited for Olive’s triumph, Mocha pulls her into the hallway where they can hear Darrell yelling at the bottom of the stairs. No time to explain! Erica opens another door and they all pile in to hide inside.

This room belongs to a, very messy, scary movie buff. Old movie posters line the walls, clothes are dumped all over the floor and gory masks sit on Styrofoam heads. Outside Darrell bangs on the door. The girls panic. Using brute strength, Darrell forces the door down and inside he finds, what looks like, two fully dressed FRAT GUYS in monster masks having a stand-up threesome with a girl in a “Cute Cowardly Lion” costume. Convinced these aren’t the droids he’s looking for, Darrell moves on.

Olive, Mocha and Erica escape the house and run out onto the front lawn. Just when they think they’ve lost their pursuer, Darrell screams out, “freeze or else.” This is it. Nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide. It seems the end is near and they’re gonna’ die at the hands of a pimp. From behind them, a young girl crying can be heard. Now two. Then three. The triplets! “Please sir, don’t hurt our mommy. Our father is dead. We’ll be orphaned.” Darrell is touched by the young girls’ plea. “I was an orphan.” He lets down his guard long enough for the triplets to attack! One bites him in the ass, another grabs his gun and the third punches him right in the crotch. Knock out. Shandra and Jenna get a kick or two in themselves. Olive is furious at the children and Mocha doesn’t know who to root for. She wants the triplets to throw one last punch to Olive’s belly. Olive doesn’t think this is funny and our heroes jump in the Camaro, speeding off to safety. That is, until the car runs out of gas.

At this point, Olive is crazy mad. She’s been drugged, she’s cheated on the father of her child, had a gun pointed in her face, she realizes the triplets ARE HIGH, and now it seems she’ll be walking home. Olive’s got nothing but venom and she’s spitting it all directly at Mocha. The fight is epic. They verbally duke it out in the street. In the end, everyone loses.

Mocha and Erica walk a few blocks to a gas station to get gas. On the way, Mocha evades getting mugged when she recognizes the voice coming from under the ski mask as one of her recent hook-ups. SLADE is embarrassed he didn’t recognize her and thanks Mocha for their wonderful night together, apologizing for crying on her during sex. Mocha’s doesn’t regret any sex she’s ever had, but it’s becoming obvious today that maybe she should pick better guys to sleep with. Olive drags the triplets to a CVS to buy them some candy where Liz picks them all up to take them home. The triplets agree to keep it all a secret, more fearful of their mother finding out than Olive is.

Olive finally divulges her pregnancy to her mom and the fears she’s having about settling down. Thrilled to be chosen as confidant to Olive in her time of need, Liz tries to make her feel better. She says that it’s a gift to be a good wife and mother and tells Olive that she’s the best thing that ever happened to her life. This is both hopeful for Olive and a warning as her mother now spends her time making life-size replica dolls of the family she’s lost.

The next day Sam comes home from his business trip and Olive apologizes for threatening abortion and for acting like a crazy person, something Olive now knows she does not want to be. She accepts his proposal, if it’s still valid, and the couple kisses on the promise of their new future together.

It’s back to routine for Olive. She goes to work at the magazine where Mrs. Lavish now knows who she is, but now abuses Olive like a bad personal assistant. Because Olive did such a good job watching the triplets, she wants Olive to babysit more often. During work hours. Olive makes a failed attempt to explain that this isn’t a promotion. Her workmates still barely notice her, so Olive makes the effort to find new friends there and gets invited to a baby shower. At night she comes home to discuss the politics of women’s rights in Uganda and has gentle, boring sex with her fiance. She and Sam have even started planning the wedding; church, white dress, shrimp and the “Electric Slide.” It’s the American dream, and Olive’s resigned herself to it.

CAMERON is Olive’s new friend from work. She’s the one having the baby shower and just loves being pregnant. There are so many gifts involved! At her house, surrounded by WOMEN WITH KIDS squealing over c-section stories and tales of the time their taints were ripped open by the hands of their doctors, Olive is immersed in the reality of suburban motherhood and it’s making her nausea kick in.

Olive gets a call from the doctor who treated her at the hospital. The test results have all come back and… “I don’t know how to say this, but, you’re not pregnant.” What? Olive can’t figure out what’s going on. Her head spinning, she runs back to Liz’s house and digs her pregnancy test out of the garbage. The expiration date on the box reads, 1996.

Olive calls Mocha to tell her the news, but Mocha isn’t interested in being friends anymore and hangs up on Olive before she can get to it. The reality of the situation sinks in. She’s chosen her path and there’s no going back.

The next day, Olive’s babysitting the triplets again who have nothing but respect for Olive after she set the stage for them to get crunked up. Olive is upset and they want to help cheer her up. They want to know, what’s the one thing that would get Mocha to change her mind about Olive? Olive knows, nothing short of Mocha’s band getting featured on the cover of Lavish magazine would heal their friendship. The triplets agree that their mother would never pay attention to a new band in a million years. They all hop on Google and discover that Mocha’s band is playing at the famous room, the Roxy, tonight! “They should go.” Maybe if they like the show, they can pressure their mom to listen to the band. But the show’s sold out and Olive doesn’t want to bring the underage girls to a bar. The triplets laugh. Their last name can get them in anywhere. Doesn’t she want to save her friendship? The triplets are very convincing.

Olive and the triplets are on the VIP list and jump to the front of the line. The bouncer is brusque until he recognizes the Lavish last name. Olive’s warned to keep the kids close. Inside the place is packed. It’s the first time Olive realizes how well Mocha’s band’s been doing. They all squeeze their way into the pack of people to watch Mocha’s band play their first song with Mocha on lead and guitar. Rock ‘n roll isn’t dead. Olive demands the girls stand in front of her so she can keep an eye on them. They agree, but Olive doesn’t catch them squatting down, one by one, in order to drink the booze from random straws that hang from the hands of unsuspecting audience members standing around them. A DRUNK MAN whose vodka drink has been pilfered by the triplets makes a fuss and gets in Olive’s face. Others around him, realizing they’re drinks are gone too, and by children no less, join the noise and Mocha notices from stage.

Holy shit! Olive’s come. Mocha stops the show to try and help her friend. The audience is not excited and boo’s the band. Drunk Man, aggressive and ornery, looks like he might get violent and Mocha stage dives right at him. The entire place erupts in mayhem.

Later that night, Mrs. Lavish pushes her triplets into a limo as reporters try to snap pictures of the drunk, and now famous, children. Olive and Mocha watch from the back of a cop car. Olive’s fired for good and Mocha will never be asked back to play the Roxy again, but they both agree, it feels great to get into trouble together. Mocha thanks Olive for “bringing Mrs. Lavish to the show” and apologizes for all the things she said on Halloween. Olive agrees that it was stupid to fight. Getting into trouble with her best friend feels good especially since the past week been very somber with the weight of living a “normal” life resting on her shoulders. Olive’s done some real soul searching and it turns out, life’s no fun without Mocha’s unpredictability. Olive always dreamed that Mocha’s band would get famous and she could make her career by following them around recording their antics. Now that she’s fired from her dream job, she’d like to do just that, even if Mocha’s band is banned from every club in LA. “What about the baby?” Olive reveals that she’s not pregnant. Thrilled, Mocha cries for the first time ever. She’s really missed having a partner in crime who keeps her grounded. Olive tells Mocha that she’s not pregnant. They hug it out. The universe is as it should be. “How does Sam feel about all of this?” The question lingers in the air.

In jail, Olive stands at the pay phone rubbing two quarters together. She’s got one phone call to make and Sam is the obvious choice. But she’s got cold feet. The receiver in her hand, she knocks it against her forehead a few times and then hangs it up.

Olive and Mocha get released from jail. Mocha wants to know if Sam’s coming to pick them up and Olive shakes her head “no.” Outside, Lyle is there to meet them. Mocha can’t believe it! Inspired by her best friend, Mocha calls the mailman for a second date. Who knows, maybe she’ll give a nice guy a chance.

The credits roll as they drive off into the sunrise, passing the triplets on a street corner who pimp for Shandra and Jenna.