Permanent

Synopsis: Permanent is a comedy about bad hair, adolescence, and socially awkward family members. It involves life-altering permanents and poorly-made toupees. Obstacles to daily survival ensue.
Genre: Comedy
Director(s): Colette Burson
Production: Magnolia Pictures
 
IMDB:
5.4
Metacritic:
41
Rotten Tomatoes:
38%
PG-13
Year:
2017
93 min
$12,777
Website
98 Views


(whales calling)

Girl 1:
It's called "Sun-In".

You spray it on,

lay out in the sun,

and it makes

your blonde come out.

Girl 2:
I heard

it makes your hair orange.

Girl 1:
No, not really.

Maybe sometimes,

but not really.

Forget "Sun-In",

I'm gonna use lemons.

Girl 1:
This is loads better

than some damn lemons!

I paid good money for it!

(birds chirping)

Who the hell are you?

(scoffs)

Aurelie:
Mom?

Mom?

Mom.

- Jeanne:
Ow!

- Can I get a permanent?

You mean a body wave?

No.

Why not?

'Cause I bet

it's a big waste of money.

And you're stuck

taking care of it every day.

I went to a beauty salon once.

The lady said,

"Jeanne, you want split ends?"

That's because your hair's thin.

Aurelie:
Mine's thick.

A permanent

makes you hair hold curls.

- And you can feather it.

- Really?

I don't know why you spend

so much time

trying to be beautiful!

Just be realistic.

You'll probably

turn out just cute.

Aurelie:

What kind of mother says that?

That's not normal.

You want me to tell you the truth,

or you want me to lie?

I didn't say you were ugly.

I said you were cute.

Cute is very high on the scale!

Just cute?

You're supposed to encourage me.

You don't need encouragement

in the vanity area.

Beauty is a lot of work!

I was always just cute

and it worked out just fine for me.

It's less pressure,

and loads better!

Jim:
You like that picture?

- You've got a great smile.

- Ah, thanks.

Yeah...

Not bad for your old dad.

(Jim chuckles)

Hey, did you ever see this pen?

It's got

Gerald Ford's signature on it.

He gave it to me himself.

I'm gonna hold on to this

until you turn 18.

You know what's another

part of your inheritance?

Jim:

Something I picked up in Brazil.

You know what

I do sometimes

when I've got a little

extra pocket change?

- Put it in the pig?

- Put it in the pig. Exactly.

That way,

when you go off to college,

you'll break it open...

You get to keep all the money.

Dad...

Can I get a permanent?

What?

Why do you want one of those?

Because I'm ugly and

I feel bad about myself.

- Come on.

- I have to be the new girl,

and everyone else

looks like Farrah Fawcett.

Farrah Fawcett?

Who names

their daughter "Farrah"?

Unless, of course,

you're Egyptian.

Dad, haven't you heard

of "Charlie's Angels"?

- They're on TV.

- No kidding, they're on TV.

Yes, one is blonde,

one is brunette,

they go on missions.

What does that have to do with you?

And you're not ugly.

You're a very attractive

young lady.

Can I get one anyway?

Please?

- Don't you want me to be...?

- Jim:
Eh!

- Don't you want me...?

- Jim:
Eh!

- Aurelie:
Gorgeous?

- Eh!

Barry:

You may or may not know,

I'm very good friends

with Miss Dolly Parton.

What people don't know

about Miss Dolly Parton

is she's plagued

by combination skin.

And Miss Dolly Parton also has

what I like to call

the "sub T-zone".

And that's acne with pimples

that occurs

in the bosom region.

Is this a salon?

It's the same thing.

The whiteheads

and the blackheads

are just running wild

up here

in what we call "the T-zone."

This is your T-zone right here.

Wait, it says "Beauty School".

They're students!

We can't waste $40

on some fancy place.

We can't afford a beauty salon.

We all have to tighten

our belts.

Damn it, Jeanne,

why even bring it up?

Jim! You said

you'd talk nice to me!

- Keep your word!

- I am keeping my word!

- Then don't say, "Damn it"!

- Okay.

...and gently press

from either side like so,

and you might even

prick it with a hot needle.

Jim:
Do you want to go home,

or do you want to get your hair done?

Jim:
If all you're gonna do is complain

then we can just forget about it.

Jeanne:
If you ask me

she doesn't need a permanent.

Jeanne:
She hasn't been

very good this week. She's sassed.

- Jim:
What?

- Aurelie:
Come on, please.

- Jim:
Jeanne...

- Jeanne:
Well?

Jim:
Okay.

Come on.

Just pull it,

pinch it, pop it,

and let me show you why.

Here you'll notice

that the whitehead

is just filled with oozy puss.

Barry:

That oozy puss is...

- Hairdresser:
Hey, Come on in.

- Barry:
...you just pull

and pop.

Or squeeze and pop.

Barry:
But be sure...

- What are looking to get done?

- Jeanne:
A permanent.

Have you done

one of those before?

Hairdresser:
Lord, yes.

Absolutely, yes, ma'am!

I have done several perms

and they turned out just fine.

That's great!

See, Aurelie?

Are you a professional?

Five more weeks.

Yes, I am.

O- ray-lie?

That's your name?

It's French.

Really?

So, do ya'll speak French?

No, just English.

Well, her name was

supposed to be Angie.

Then, right when

I was about to have her,

I ran into this French nurse.

She talked me into Aurelie...

At the time,

I liked that it wasn't

just the same old thing.

Yeah, well,

that's real interesting.

Hairdresser:

So, do ya'll want small ones?

- Um...

- Small equals a tighter curl.

I want ringlets, really soft

and natural looking.

The kind I can blow dry

and brush through, to wings.

Yeah, right!

We wanna get our money's worth.

We don't want to spend

20 whole dollars,

and have it all

just fall out right away.

Hmm.

You need help

with anything, hon?

Nope.

Nope, I'm good.

Just looking,

my wife likes these.

Just checking out the styles?

- Yeah.

- Maylene:
Sure.

My name's Maylene.

You just give a holler

if you need anything.

How much you sell them for?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Colette Burson

Colette Burson is an American television writer, screenwriter, producer and director. She is the creator, executive producer and showrunner of the HBO television show, Hung. She also wrote for The Riches and is the writer and director of the 2017 film Permanent. more…

All Colette Burson scripts | Colette Burson Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Permanent" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/permanent_15777>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    Permanent

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.