this sure is a friendly town

"Hey lady, you wanna [go to bed]?"

In the film Body Heat, the character Ned Racine is bold with sexually-charged humor in his address to Matty Walker -- it's humor they passionately share when they are together...

but when Matty turns around -- it isn't her.  She's a similar height, and hair about the same length -- an easy mistake.  As the strange woman turns her head and her face becomes visible to Ned, he drops back a step, on the grass by the gazebo, looking up at her.  His eyes are wide with surprise -- he's startled, realizing he's just been rather -- rude -- to a woman he's never seen before.  "I'm sorry" is written all over his low-key, sardonic face....

{So -- the question was , Want to [make love]...?}

MARY ANN
(her voice is rich with a rounded tone, provocative, musical to listen to)
Gee -- I don't know...!
(looking him over; strutting confidently, slowly, a few steps in Racine's direction, with an amused smile)
Maybe.
(now the rich, textured voice has a small giggle under it)
This sure is a friendly town.

Racine doesn't know what to do.

RACINE
I'm sorry.

MARY ANN
(in a funny voice)
You are?  You mean the offer's no good?

RACINE
(seeing the humor, still feeling stupid...)
I feel like a jerk.

Mary Ann gives him a salacious smile.

MARY ANN
Maybe you were supposed to deliver it next door...?
(a beat)
You must be looking for the lady of the house.

Matty Walker has arrived on the scene.  She walks past Ned, toward the gazebo.  In her right hand she has an envelope, well-filled and sealed.

MATTY
(with a polite smile)
Ned, this is Mary Ann.

Matty hands the envelope to Mary Ann.

MARY ANN
(smiling)
We were just meeting.  Ned made me feel very welcome.

RACINE
I -- am an idiot.  Uh--nice to meet you.
(switches his voice up to polite-daytime-nothing-happened-forget-the-last-two-minutes)
Are you staying in town?

MARY ANN
No, just passing through.  Nice area.  A little hot for my tastes.

RACINE
(with a glance at Matty)
It's unusual.  We're famous for our cool breezes.

MATTY
(to Mary Ann)
Do you want to stay for dinner?

MARY ANN
No -- got to go.  Got to go.

They do a little hug-kiss-goodbye, and Mary Ann stands for a moment, looking at Ned and Matty.

MARY ANN
You two have fun now.

She walks across the lawn, gets into her little sports car, and drives out to the road.

RACINE
(with an exasperated, worried exhalation of breath)
I didn't see her car.  I'm sorry.  I've got to be more careful.

MATTY
(smiles, but with a little concerned look under it)
Mary Ann's an old friend.  She's like a sister to me.  She wants me to be happy.

She touches his shoulder, by the neck, with affection, still looking out to where Mary Ann's car had been, moments before.

EXT.  SECOND FLOOR PORCH - WALKER PLACE - NIGHT

Thick fog.  The wind chimes TINKLE softly.  Light seeps out from Matty's bedroom windows.  She's in the bedroom putting on a long white robe.  Ned Racine is out on the "porch of chimes" (apparently the bedroom opens out onto that...), leaning against the rail.

RACINE
How do you know?

MATTY
I saw the will once.  He showed it to me.  He was trying to prove something . . . how much he loved me or something.

RACINE
(impatiently, with diffused frustration)
How'd he get so fat?

MATTY
The stock market, investments, real estate.  He doesn't tell me much, but I've picked up a little.  I know they own a lot of land along the shore here.

RACINE
Who's "they"?

MATTY
He's never introduced me to anyone.  I'm not sure if they're all legitimate.

RACINE
(amused snort, at the odds of that)
I wonder what they call themselves.  Maybe I've heard of them.

MATTY
They own that old place in Miranda Beach, The Breakers . . . I know that.

RACINE
(surprised)
The Breakers?  I thought Maury Fisher owned that land.

MATTY
(shrugs)
Edmund mentioned it once. 

RACINE lights another cigarette and gazes off into the fog, thinking.  Matty presses her cheek against his chest and closes her eyes tight.

MATTY
Ned, it scares me to talk about these things.

RACINE
Why?

MATTY
You know.

RACINE
No, I don't.

MATTY
Let's just not, okay?  Let's not think about all he's got.

RACINE
(pressing)
What is it, Matty?  Tell me exactly what frightens you.

MATTY
I'm afraid . . . because when I think about it, I wish that he'd die.  That's really what I want.  It's horrible and it's ugly.  And it's what I most want.

Racine looks off into the night for a few beats, then he lifts her face so he can look into her eyes.

RACINE
That's where we're at, isn't it?

MATTY
What do you mean?

RACINE
That's what we're both thinking -- how good it'd be for us if he were gone.  It'd be real sweet for us.

MATTY
Don't talk about it, Ned!  Please don't.  Talk is dangerous.  Sometimes it makes things happen!  It makes them real.

RACINE
Don't let it scare you.  Because he's not gonna die.  There's nothing wrong with him, is there?  There's no reason to think he's gonna die, is there?

Matty shakes her head "no," and lays it on his chest again.

RACINE
That's right.  So we might as well forget about it.  It's not gonna just happen to make things nice for us . . . It won't just happen.

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{excerpts, Body Heat, screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan; director, Lawrence Kasdan, 1981.  The Ladd Company / Warner Brothers.}

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