The Women of Brewster Place (1989)

Jackée Harry: Etta Mae Johnson

Photos 

Quotes 

• Mattie Michael : [referring to Etta's Mae's flirtation with Reverend Woods]  If you had batted your eyelashes any faster, we'd have had a dust storm up in there.

  Etta Mae : You said you wanted me to meet some nice men. Well, I met one.

  Mattie Michael : Etta, I meant a man who'd be serious about settling down with you. Why, you're going on like a schoolgirl. Can't you see what he's got in mind?

  Etta Mae : [in a cold yet angry tone]  The only thing I see is that you're telling me I'm not good enough for a man like that. Oh, no, not Etta Johnson. No upstanding decent man could ever see anything in her but a quick good time. Well, I'll tell you something Mattie Michael. I've always traveled first class, maybe not in the way you'd approve of with all your fine Christian principles, but it's done all right by me. And I'm gonna keep top drawer till I leave this earth. Don't you think I got a mirror? Each year there's a new line to cover. I lay down with this body and get up with it every morning. And each morning it cries for just a little more rest than it did the day before. Well, I'm finally gonna get that rest and it's going to be with a man like Reverend Woods. And you and the rest of those slack-mouthed gossips be damned! They'll be humming a different tune when I show up there the wife of a big preacher. I've always known what they say about me behind my back, but I never thought you were right in there with them.

• Mattie Michael : [Etta Mae flirtatiously accepts an invitation to dance]  Woman, you better stay here and act your age.

  Etta Mae : Ooh, I'm acting it. 35!

  Mattie Michael : Hm! You've got regrets older than that.

• Etta Mae : [re babies]  All yours. Built-in heartache for the next twenty years!

  Mattie Michael : [reprovingly]  Etta...

  Etta Mae : Now me, when I want ready-made trouble, I dig up a handsome man. No diapers to change, and I walk when I'm ready.

• Mattie Michael : [rocking in a chair and sewing]  So, trusting you stay out of jail, what you intend to do now?

  Etta Mae : I guess I could get a couple thousand for the car. That'll tide me over until my next... business opportunity comes along.

  Mattie Michael : You and your business opportunities. Why don't you just settle down and get yourself a regular job?

  Etta Mae : A job doing what? What kind of experience I got? Nothing that's gonna get me a regular job.

  Mattie Michael : You don't know that.

  Etta Mae : I do know it. And why're you on me?

  [Goes over to where Mattie is and takes a drink] 

  Etta Mae : I ain't heard nothin' about you working.

  Mattie Michael : Child, what'd I got to work for? Them days is behind me.

  Etta Mae : Oh, Mattie. I don't need no job.

  [Sits down in a chair beside Mattie] 

  Etta Mae : What I need is to find me a good man and live quietly in my old age.

  Mattie Michael : Uh huh. So where you planning on finding a "good man"?

  Etta Mae : That's the part I gotta figure out

  [They giggle a little] 

  Etta Mae : Problem is, only decent men are either dead or waiting to be born.

  Mattie Michael : Why don't you go to meeting with me tonight?

  Etta Mae : What you gonna do? Pray me up a man?

  Mattie Michael : There's a few decent, civil-minded men in our church. Widowers and such.

  [Mattie gets up and walks across the room] 

  Mattie Michael : Beside, a little prayer wouldn't hurt your soul a bit.

  Etta Mae : I'll thank you to leave my soul out of this.

  [Mattie faces her] 

  Etta Mae : Besides, if your church got all those fine, decent men, how come you ain't snapped one yet?

  Mattie Michael : Child, I done banked them fires a long time ago, seeing as how you still keeping up steam.

  [They laugh] 

• Kiswana : [after an argumentative person just left]  Can we settle down? We still need someone to take the minutes.

  Tenant #2 : The way this is going, they'd better take the hours.

  Lorraine : Excuse me, I'll take the minutes

  [At this, Miss Sophie is fuming] 

  Kiswana : [giving Lorraine the notepad]  Thank you. Okay, we can finally get down to business. Now, Abshu's going to tell us about some money making ideas and then we'll take a vote.

  Miss Sophie : Ain't we supposed to vote over who we wants for secretary? I mean, can anybody just stroll in here and get shoved down our throats and we don;t have nothing to say about it?

  Lorraine : Look, I can just go. I was only trying to help.

  Kiswana : No, wait.

  [to Miss Sophie] 

  Kiswana : What vote? No one wanted the job. Did you want to take notes?

  Etta Mae : Lord, she can't do that unless we all recite the ABC's. And we better not do that too fast!

  [people start laughing] 

  Miss Sophie : [getting up and facing them]  Now listen here. Why should a decent woman get insulted while y'all all take sides with the like of them?

  Etta Mae : I'm as decent as you are, you old bat! And i'll come obver there and land you in the mouth

  [She gets up and starts to struggle while the people hold her down] 

  Miss Sophie : [holding up a statue in defense]  That's right! Pick on me, pick on me! Like I'm the one going around doing all these filthy unnatural things right in front on you. Every one of you seen it. Every one of you been up there and talked about it, not just me!

  [to Lorraine] 

  Miss Sophie : See what you done. Moving here with your nasty ways. Well, you ain't welcome here, you hear me? You ain't WELCOME HERE!

  Lorraine : What has anyone of you seen me do except leave my house and go to work just like the rest of you?

  Miss Sophie : Ha Hah hah!

  Lorraine : Is it so disgusting for me to speak to all of you on the street even though no one ever speaks back to me? Is that my crime?

  Miss Sophie : Oooh, don't you sit there like Little Miss Innocent! I'll tell you exactly what I seen. I wasn't going to mention such filthy things but you done forced me.

  [cackling evilly] 

  Miss Sophie : You forgot to close your shades last night! And I saw you, I saw the both of you! There you was, standing in the bathroom door dripping wet and naked as you please, call onto the other to put down her book and come over and give you a cool towel. She's standing in that bathroom door with your naked behind, I saw ya, I saw ya, I saw ya, I saw ya!

  Ben : I guess you step out of the tub with your clothes on makes it easy on Jesse's eyes!

  [everyone busts out laughing] 

  Kiswana : Okay, stop it! All right, be quiet

  [Lorraine leaves in tears] 

  Kiswana : Everybody SHUT UP! There is nothing funny going on here!

  [She takes the statue from Miss Sophie] 

  Kiswana : Why did you do that? This association is for everyone who lives here, you judgmental, self-righteous old wench! Who do you think you are?

  [as Kiswana is speaking, Ben takes off after Lorraine] 

  Kiswana : If you can't do anything but be disruptive and humiliate people, then you can just get the hell out of my apartment!

  Miss Sophie : Fine. That's just fine with me, sister.

  [she goes to the door] 

  Miss Sophie : This ain;t nothing but a whole bunch of ol' silly mess anyway. JESSE!

  [she leaves] 

  Tenant #2 : [to a man in a hat]  Go on, Jesse.

  [as the man leaves, everyone starts giggling] 

  Kiswana : I don't want to hear another word out of anyone that isn't strictly related to business. Do I make myself clear?