Hi. If it's okay, may I use your phone please?
- Go ahead. - Thank you.
Sarah? It's Nour.
I know. I messed up.
"Number Two Late at Night"
Can't play hard to get?
You answered because you miss me. I was just checking on you.
I'm fine. I'm at the hotel. I'm unpacking and waiting for the girls to get here.
- I could cancel and come over though. - What? No.
We agreed we wouldn't see each other until the wedding.
Fine, spoilsport. Maybe you shouldn't even come to the wedding.
You'll get bored of me when I'm around you all the time.
So listen, what are your plans tonight?
Nothing. I'll have a drink or two at home. Then I'll shower and go to bed.
Okay. Can you go light on the drinking? tonight? Please?
For my sake? We agreed. Don't make me come there.
I'm going to take a shower now. Have fun with the girls. I love you.
Me too.
- Hey! - Hi.
You're overdoing it. Come in quickly before you embarrass me.
We're trying to spice up this lame party.
If we'd gone to a Jazz lounge, you'd have invited half of Zamalek.
Since when do you throw a party with just the three of us?
Weird atmosphere. When are you going to quit these antics of yours?
I'm not really okay so I don't need a big crowd. Just us three is fine.
- It's hardly the first time, Nour. - I know that mood.
- Thinking about your ex? - No, not at all. Forget it. I'm fine.
- I'm starving. Do you two want to eat? - It's your night, bride.
- Hello? - You're really doing this?
- It's your night, baby. - I'm not the bride. I'm her friend.
- Can I order a burger? - Get me any salad.
- And a salad, please. - I want fries.
And one order of fries.
Chapter five.
The handful of men stared in awe and rose as one.
Hey, gorgeous. Tonight's going to be magical.
- Cheers! To the bride. - Cheers!
By the way, where are you spending your honeymoon?
On top of each other.
- Watch it. - It's obvious!
As if they were waiting for marriage to do that.
What is this? Have you two lost your minds? What's wrong with you?
Food.
So? What's the groom like? We want to know that you're in good hands.
Is he in good working order or does he malfunction?
This means he malfunctions.
In good working order. Full-time.
Haven't you seen his muscles? He could take us on easily.
And he's gentle and funny and had an excellent upbringing.
- What's going on, Sarah? - We should all share, Nour.
They don't make them like that anymore.
Congratulations, groom. Take care of her.
Isn't this better than the gym though?
Nothing beats team sports.
Don't be a stranger after the honeymoon. Unless this is it?
I can't make any promises, but I know I'm going to miss the team spirit.
Can you hand me that thing behind you?
He pushed open the sheikh's door, which opened without resistance.
He walked in and shut the door.
He found himself in the unroofed yard when...
"I have a gift for you."
The palm tree stretched up into the sky all the way to the shooting stars.
So he said to himself, "What a great hiding place."
"I have a gift for you. Which room are you in?"
Aren't you going to show us your dress?
Go look. It's hanging there.
Thank you.
By Jabotian?
Amazing. What, 18 or 20 grand? Amazing.
The best thing about Maged is his generosity.
What's the best thing about Karim then?
Where did Karim go, by the way?
If he found out you're getting married tomorrow, he'll probably kill himself.
It's a good thing you never got officially married. You broke the guy.
Yeah, but I'm not going to marry someone likeable. He'll be boring.
The best thing about Maged is that he's a Casanova. Like Daddy.
Not like Daddy.
You know what I mean. He convinced me to marry him.
Maged is something else.
It's not like I'm going to marry a cute innocent guy after the life I've lead.
I can't believe you're about to get married. You'll be a missus.
Stop, I can't drink, I can't party. Next thing you know you're pregnant.
- No - Baby!
Stop it or she'll get nervous and ruin the evening.
Can we take a picture together? A picture with the bride.
Let's.
- Nice. - I like this one.
Someone wants to see you.
- Who? - Karim.
We can take a break while you put on the other dress.
Okay. Thank you.
Hi.
I think you should set up your wedding session here.
- The photographer seems good. - What is it, Kareem?
Everything's fine. I saw your car outside so I wanted to congratulate you.
- Thank you. - I'm impressed.
You had enough time to meet, date, and get engaged to what's-his-name,
And set a wedding date. You don't waste any time.
Do you know how many people were invited to our wedding?
- Do you know how much it cost? - Karim,
I don't think there's any need for this kind of talk.
- It's over. We're... - We still have a score to settle.
Those who work in the stock exchange don't forget their losses, Nour.
If you decide to walk out on your wedding, you know where to find me.
Congratulations, bride.
Hello?
I want some water.
Good evening.
I think I dialed the wrong number.
Maybe you called the right number at the wrong time.
Maybe.
- Are you drunk? - And thirsty.
- And bored. - Feel better soon.
Do you have any water?
I mean, whoever invented the phone
must have been thirsty or bored.
Or lonely. Goodbye.
Hello? Can I speak to Mr Lonely?
You're a disaster. Or you've caused one.
- I've caused many disasters. - Murderer?
Actually, given all the corpses around me
you could call the cops on me.
And your conscience woke up and you need to confess.
You confess. Are you alone?
Somewhat. I'm with myself. And you?
There are two other people with me.
- Two? Friends or work? - Girls.
Your birthday.
- My wedding's tomorrow. - How heartbreaking.
Where's the groom?
I don't know.
Why are you still up so late though?
- I don't have school tomorrow. - Neither do I.
Didn't we agree that you'd stop smoking?
No ice even?
Why are you still up so late? Isn't your wedding in a week?
This time around don't go crazy and see it through please?
- I wasn't thinking of my wedding. - Even better.
- What's wrong? - Why didn't you marry again after mom?
Why would you bring her up?
Listen, do you know why they compare marriage to a watermelon?
- No. - Because it has seasons.
My season's gone. I got a beautiful daughter out of it though.
Really? You're such a diplomat.
What about the 50-ish London beauty? What season was that?
Have some shame, kid.
- I mean, winter in London is hard. - Ew, Daddy!
Don't worry. You look happy this time.
And I think Maged loves you.
And anyway, if you go nuts as usual and decide you've changed your mind,
Hop on the first flight and come here and I'll handle it. Okay?
Really?
You're the best dad in the world.
Did you lose a bet or something?
Yes, something like that.
Now will the friend of our show tell me his name?
- Let's agree on something first. - Are you going to tell me or not?
How about neither of us asks the other?
You won't know who I am and I won't know who you are.
Very cautious. Fine, agreed.
Then pick a name I can call you if I need something.
What's that accent? Where are you from?
Tonight, I'm Shukri Sarhan.
That's an ancient name. Wasn't he someone famous?
Of course. He was a 60s heart-throb.
Well,
in that case I ought to pick an old name as well.
Someone sexy. What was her name? That girl from the Ramadan riddles?
They always said I look like her. Nelly?
Come on. Tell me.
What are you doing here?
I'm someone whose worked his entire life.
This means I'm traveling most of the time.
I have a business in Europe, but to be honest I prefer working in Egypt.
I love the Egyptians so much.
Whenever I need to take a break, I come here.
They love me here.
- You could say I'm boring. - Married?
Marriage is like the flu. It comes and goes.
You seem to take excellent care of your health.
- What's a man without his health? - Filthy much?
It's past midnight. What are we going to talk about? Global warming?
Also, 75 percent of married couples get divorced because they're prudes.
Also, scientists have discovered... That open-mindedness
helps keep human relationships going.
No kidding.
You sound close-minded though. You're probably adorable and beautiful.
- How can you tell if I'm beautiful? - Because you have an ugly voice.
Thank you. I should've hung up on you in the first place...
Who are you talking to?
Go back to sleep.
- What do you want? "- How is the party going?
- Me? - You are missed."
"- So send me your location. - I want to be entertained.
So turn on MBC.
If you want to talk, though, I'm listening.
At least apologize to the people before you leave.
Call the mother of that boy you humiliated, In front of his family and friends.
And tell her what? I'm not the only runaway bride in the world.
What do you want me to tell them? That my daughter lost her mind?
That she discovered at the last minute that she doesn't love their son?
Isn't that better than me marrying him,
Only to get divorced and come back here a month later?
Then we'll both be divorced. We could start a Kattameya MILF club.
Shut up. I won't have your father's insolence here. What happened to you?
Do I have to be like you? Do I have to make the same choices?
Your choices are amazing, after all.
You picked a diplomat with a roving eye you can't stand to live with.
And now you get drunk with other women at the club. Bravo!
Why do you care so much? Why are you so upset about it?
Because I denied you the opportunity to meet your girlfriends.
And boast that your daughter got married to Karim El-Sergany.
What's wrong with Karim? All your picks are awful, by the way.
You've never met a decent man. You've brought shame upon me.
You had no upbringing.
Because you gave me all your time, huh?
What did you expect your kid to be like? Ghandi?
- Why do we fall in love? - Why do we get married?
What's wrong? You're asking these questions before your wedding?
Why am I talking to you in the first place?
Doesn't matter.
God created the universe in six days.
Are you worried?
Tell me a story. A secret, for instance.
Don't ask these questions.
I don't need questions to figure you out.
I could get bored of you in a second.
Spoilt. You do whatever you want. Most likely an only child.
- So wild. - Sorry?
Your imagination.
And here I thought this call was going to get raunchy.
You're probably all about phone calls and uglier than sin.
What, you're getting married to James Dean?
Maged? He's the handsomest man you'll ever come across.
Why would I meet him? You could tell me how you met though.
- How old is Nour? - Thirty.
Hussein Pasha Kamel's grand-daughter. Sports edition.
Her dad doesn't worry about her and lives abroad.
Her mom is a bridge champion at Gezira Club.
It's the way foreigners divorce. A really fluffy family.
- Fluffy, huh? - She's an only child
and her whole life is on Instagram.
What's she like? How do you get in? Drugs?
A little. She likes to travel and party.
But keep in mind, her ex is obsessed with her.
- Let him. So is she single or what? - Because it matters to you?
Do you know that about me?
Honestly I had my eye on him even before we got introduced.
After we talked, though, I felt like he was a real man.
At yoga? Are you that shallow?
Don't mock me.
I bet the moment he saw you he looked into your eyes.
And promised you he would be the center of your universe.
This is so cliché
I just can't believe love happening by sheer coincidence.
Granted, coincidences can be nice, like this phone call.
But you'd be an idiot if you decided to marry someone that... flexible.
You want to know a secret?
Before we got introduced to each other, I saw him with another girl.
It drove me wild. We were together a month later.
Women pick men for only three reasons.
First, another woman has to have picked him before you.
- What do you mean? - I mean he's in working order.
You know, you should've partied with us tonight. You'd have liked it.
And what's the second reason, philosopher?
That he's bold.
Okay, can you hold on for a second? I want to wake up.
- I'm back. So what's the third thing? - What room are you in again?
- Forget it. - I can picture your room right now.
There are empty bottles all over the floor.
Fries. Food crumbs.
You definitely ordered burgers and you must be parched.
Oh, and feathers.
Lucky guess. This doesn't mean you're devious, by the way.
Hang on a second.
- Did you miss me? - Very much so. I'm pining.
Can you tell me why a sweet bride is so annoying, depressed, and boring...
- On the eve of her wedding? - Depressed and boring? What?
No compassion whatsoever?
You know when you want
to escape everything happening in your life?
Why do you think I'm here? You must be the smartest of your siblings.
- I don't have any siblings. - Me neither, but my childhood was happy.
- All the good stuff was mine only. - Selfish.
And paunchy.
Probably not fat, though.
You're probably here because you're cheating on your wife.
Bravo. I'm not married though.
That's what all married people say.
You're probably wearing red boxers.
You watch a lot of Arab movies, don't you?
What do you do again?
What's up, buddy?
Did you get anything?
It's genuine. You don't need to check.
- Where's the other one? - The machine only made one.
What, she only had one ear?
Won't you tell me where you get this stuff?
- Luck. My mom prays for me. Cash. - Ask her to pray for me then.
I'm only paying for the stone.
Wait for the box.
I'm lucky. I don't need to work. Tell me, what did you dream of doing?
Deep question.
I wanted to study psychology
because I wanted to understand myself.
I wanted to understand my parents more.
After their divorce, I saw a therapist.
She was really good at her job.
But, you know when you see a therapist
and while you're speaking,
You can see them smiling at you.
And you notice their eyes slipping to the clock behind you?
And then they look at you and say, "Sorry. Our time is up."
"We'll continue next time."
I've never felt like I took my time.
- Even in love. - You think your parents are the reason?
Hang on, you never answered my question. What do you do?
I'm the owner of this hotel. Are you happy with your stay?
Look, Nelly. Big hotels now have this new policy.
They have a resident psychiatrist.
For the guests here alone. If they're bored or need to vent.
If they need a shoulder to cry on. All that post-midnight stuff.
It feels like I'm talking to a pandering presenter.
First of all, I'm not alone.
Second, I'm fine.
I'm great.
I'm the happiest woman on earth.
- Liar. - What?
- Hang on a second. - "Open up."
- What are you doing, Casanova? - I'm nothing of the sort. Give it here.
- Off you go. - What's wrong?
- Nothing. Later. - Do it until I come back.
- Stop talking. - Call me when you're done.
Where were we?
By the way, if you're busy we can hang up. It's fine.
You know, some girls want to fall in love.
Some girls want someone to fall in love with them.
But marrying the guy you love? That's a movie ending.
It doesn't happen to everyone.
Does he love you?
Divorce is like takeout nowadays, anyway.
Does this mean you were married once?
You know how people have a TV set at home,
But some like to watch the game at the café?
Little fun on the side, then?
If you met the women in my life, you'd call the cops on me.
But no, I'm not married, and no woman will be able to fool me.
- And my fun is none of your business. - Where do you get that self-confidence?
Maybe because we don't know each other. People appear stronger from a distance.
Hang on a second. I'll get the door. Don't hang up.
- Nice move. - On the house.
And this is the third thing about a man. Kindness.
How kind.
"- How's the party going? - You're missed."
"I'm here. Come on down. Unless you want me to come up?"
- How did you find out my room number? - Shame on you. You're in my house.
Still. Tell me. Why aren't you married?
Not everyone can stand marriage.
We live to dream, love,
be happy, travel, dream,
love.
And be happy again.
Hang on a second. Where are you going?
I'm going to get something for my headache from my car.
Sorry, the girls are really hung over.
- Clearly you were up to no good. - They can't handle it.
Where were we?
What time is it by the way? No way.
How could we possible have been talking for so long?
Why are you acting like it's a crime?
If this were a decent foreign movie, you'd be in my room by now.
Dream on.
I'm curious to know what you look like.
Your voice says you're old. In your forties, for instance.
This whole thing about appearances and what I'm wearing...
It's dangerous given the timing, and I have a reputation to maintain.
Okay then.
- Do you want to play a game? - Let's go.
What thing did you do a long time ago that you wish you could do now?
I have a photo album. Only one.
It's full of pictures of Mommy and Daddy and me when I was little.
Before their divorce.
I wish I could open that album and relive each and every picture again.
To feel that I have a family one more time.
- What are you doing here, Karim? - I missed you so I came to see you.
- You're here for me? Or Nour? - For you obviously.
- Looks like it was a great party. - What do you want?
I don't want anything.
But I have something really cute and I had to show you.
I can't make any promises, but I know I'm going to miss the team spirit.
- The bastard. - Can you hand me that thing behind you?
How did you get this video?
You're going to the wedding, right?
Make sure to grab a front-row seat when it's time for the newlyweds' video.
You're despicable.
We're all in the same prank boat.
I'll tell you a story. Are you into art? Are you an intellectual?
- I've been to half of the world's museums. - Bravo. Whatever.
The story's about an unknown artist. He only drew women.
People said he wasn't talented. He never sold a painting.
One day, he drew a painting of a man and a woman.
All he did was add himself to the painting.
Because he wanted to live a love story if only for a moment.
- Then his life changed. - And did he really live a love story?
When he saw himself, he was able to love.
That painting became one of his most important works.
It's hanging behind you, by the way.
You're kidding. How did you know?
The Kiss by Gustav Klimt.
Many girls are like Klimt.
They can't see themselves with a man.
Even though they long to find a man who loves them,
A man they can love and see themselves with.
Can you see yourself with Maged? I don't think so.
- Why would you say that? - You can't see yourself with him.
You can see someone who looks like you playing your part next to him.
How...
How can a perfect stranger who has never met me,
Who doesn't even know my name...
How can he understand me so well?
Can I ask you the same question from your game?
If there's a moment that you'd love to relive, what would it be?
I... wish I could travel.
I'd love to eat fillet at Le Meurice.
To have my coffee in Portofino
on my room terrace at the Belmond.
To drink a bottle of Cháteau Pétrus.
Then another bottle.
To smoke my last cigar at the Garden Pavilion.
To feel a woman's warmth in my cold bed one more time.
I wish...
I wish I could look into the eyes of the woman I love most on earth.
And have her see me like I can see her.
If only once.
Can I see you?
Of course. It's almost time for breakfast.
Hang on while I get the door. I'll call you back.
Good morning.
Once more he breathes the air of freedom,
But the air is full of suffocating dust and unbearable heat.
He found his blue suit and rubber shoes waiting for him.
The world comes rushing back,
And the door of his deaf prison gets farther and farther away.
The sun-drenched roads
and this insane car,
People walking by and people who are sitting down.
- How are you, mom? - How are you, dear?
How could you, Ahmed? You didn't finish the novel.
Forgive me, mother.
Actually, today I have a better story for you. I'll read it in person.
Tell me. Everything's sounds wonderful in your voice.