- Bella and Spencer, a smart and cool teenage couple have a conversation over breakfast at a New Jersey diner on New Year's Day, 1985. Apparently they have been through a turbulent teen romance and have reunited, at least for now. Spencer shares his recent 'transformation' from a juvenile delinquent to a sales ace in a shady street sales operation. Spencer confides in Bella that although he is experiencing success, he is experiencing feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. Spencer shares his six-month long account of insane motivational speeches and intense mentoring. As the conversation develops, Spencer rediscovers his love for Bella and hopes for a permanent reconciliation.
- Bella and Spencer, a smart and cool teenage couple, are having a conversation over breakfast at a New Jersey diner on New Year's Day, 1985. They have been through a turbulent teen romance and have reunited, at least for now. Bella had broken up with Spencer primarily because of his juvenile delinquent behavior triggered by an unexplained tragic incident, the event that became a turning point in both of their young lives.
Bella explains that Spencer's troublemaking spree was out of control, and even though she loved him, she had to quit him. She chooses the people who are going to be around her, even if that means people see her as stuck up, untouchable or being alone. Spencer tells Bella that he's transformed from the confused and troubled teenager and is now sales ace in a street sales operation. That he's a leader of a group of grungy, crude and crass street sales guys, who literally pitch people on the streets and sell merchandise out of the trunks of their cars to anyone who will listen. He confides that, although he is experiencing success, he is experiencing feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt.
Spencer's close friend, Timmy, is a potential sales pro, but is overly brash, bold and aggressive. Timmy is verbally roasted and taunted by the office bully Frankie. Instead of reacting and fighting Frankie, he learns to internalize the abuse and use it as his motivation to win a sales contest.
Corrado Banda, the 'Godfather' of street sales operations doesn't interact directly with the marketers. As his gift to his former student Rich, the owner of the company, on special occasions Banda visits the office and delivers one harsh and crude motivational speech after another. We see Spencer and the others respond vehemently to the older, slick, polished master. Banda's rationale is that it takes massive motivation to get us to do the things that are difficult to do like staying pumped up to sell crap all day on the New York streets, so more and hard is always best for these young street hustlers.
In the diner, Spencer shares his six-month long account of insane motivational speeches and intense mentorship with Bella. As the conversation develops, Spencer rediscovers his love for Bella and hopes for a permanent reconciliation. Spencer asks Bella to give the relationship another try. He asks her to meet him at a club on Saturday night for a celebration of the click's dance 'Destinova.' If she shows, he knows they are back together. If she doesn't, well, they are back where they were at the diner, which is nowhere.
Spencer and Timmy are on their way over to a night club where Spencer hopes Bella will show. In the car it is apparent that, although Timmy constantly cracks sarcastic jokes, he is becoming more and more wise. Spencer, now not as reluctant to share feelings of inadequacy, expresses his concerns and the lessons he has learned. Timmy, by letting Spencer to simply talk it out, helps him to come to his own conclusions. During the conversation, Spencer explains 'Destinova' to Timmy. The entire purpose in life of a kid is to grow up. They are always thinking of what they are going to be or do when they 'grow up.' Destinova is that point in time. It's a term the kids used to describe that point in time, when a kid comes of age.
Spencer explains that there is also a dance, with affirmations in the lyrics that help to create 'Destinova' for a kid; that helps a kid to understand the happiness of being a responsible, caring person, basically, to 'grow the hell up'. The ultimate destiny of a kid is to get to responsible adulthood. Spencer explains that they are headed to the club to celebrate Destinova and get that 'Destinova Feeling'.
Through his experiences, the counsel of the 'wise beyond her years' Bella, and Timmy just listening, Spencer comes of age right before our very eyes. He understands the core truth of living a happy life: becoming a conscious person, caring about his world and the people in it. He realizes how making conscious, thought-out decisions, taking action, and caring about the resulting consequences creates his happiness. In the end, Bella shows at the club for the Destinova celebration; a grand display of eighties fashions and music featuring the high school click and many of the marketers, dressed to the nines and happy. Spencer and Timmy arrive. As the couple's reconciliation is consummated, Laurie cryptically prophesizes about an incident where Bella 'may not be so perfect after all.'
Timmy seems okay, at least for the time being.
Laurie thanks the audience for asking about her (which we never did) and assures us that we will be hearing a lot more about her in the future.
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