Playworld

Griffin attends Elliott and Lynn Bar’s anniversary party in Great Neck with his parents and younger brother, Oren Hurt. Elliott is the psychologist for every member of the Hurt family. That evening, Griffin and Naomi end up “alone together for the first time” (4). Griffin is a child actor, and Naomi asks about his acting in The Talon Effect. Delighted by her attention, Griffin gets into character and tells her about playing Peter Proton on the television series The Nuclear Family, too. He also lies and says he slept with the director’s assistant, Liz. Naomi is intrigued by his interest in older women but draws back when Griffin tries to kiss her.

Griffin and Oren secretly explore the house together. Afterward, Naomi’s husband, Sam Shah, takes the boys and Shel for a drive in his sports car. When they return, Griffin runs into Naomi again but tries ignoring her the rest of the night.

After all the other guests leave, the Hurts, Shahs, and Lily’s friend Al Moretti sit around discussing politics and the upcoming election. On the way back to Manhattan later, Griffin looks out the window and thinks about Naomi. Oren reveals that he stole Sam’s driving gloves.

Griffin recalls a childhood memory from 1973 when he “was six and Oren four” (17). The Hurts were living at Lincoln Towers on the Upper West Side, and Al and his lover Neal were their neighbors. One night, Griffin and Oren were up late playing in the closet when Griffin knocked over a candle, catching Shel’s coat on fire. Terrified, the brothers hid. Meanwhile, Shel and Lily ran to Al and Neal’s for help. Eventually, they vacated the building. The Hurts lost many valuable things in the fire.

In the wake of the fire, Shel worked with an insurance agent named Nick Salvatore. Griffin noticed how Lily responded to him and, in retrospect, wonders if Shel was jealous of Nick. Ultimately, Shel spent an exorbitant amount of money paying Nick.

The Hurts moved to a larger apartment on 88th and West End, where Griffin and Oren got their own rooms. They only stayed there for two years before returning to Lincoln Towers because the building was too expensive. Griffin blamed himself, but within a year, he’d start acting to help his family financially.

A few weeks after the Barrs’ party, Griffin spots Naomi’s Mercedes outside of Juilliard, where her daughters are rehearsing for The Nutcracker. They take their first drive together. While Naomi drives, Griffin shares the story of the fire and the expensive apartment. Naomi listens attentively. When she stops the car, she touches Griffin’s face. In retrospect, he can’t remember what he thought and felt. He had many secrets at the time.

A week later, Griffin and Naomi take another drive. This time, she pulls over sooner and kisses Griffin on the cheek after they talk. Griffin considers the role he’s playing while with her.

On Saturday, Shel takes Griffin and Oren to see Elliott as usual. Griffin meets with Elliott after Shel and Oren’s sessions. Griffin launches into boring descriptions of school until Elliott suggests a walk. During their walks, they visit the diner and discuss acting. This time, Griffin asks why adults have affairs. Elliott’s response only confuses him.

Throughout October, Griffin starts looking forward to his drives with Naomi. He knows their relationship is risky, but Naomi listens to him and treats him tenderly.

Griffin continues acting in The Nuclear Family. His schedule is grueling, as it has been for the past two years. One day, Griffin is so distracted during taping that he keeps flubbing his lines. Liz stands up for him, but Andy Axelrod, the actor who plays Griffin’s dad on the show, gets frustrated.

Taping runs over, and Griffin is late for school. While he is racing to class, his wrestling coach, Mr. Kepplemen, stops him and demands to see him during his free period. In English, Griffin gets a failing grade on a paper. After class, his teacher scolds him for plagiarizing and insists he see the principal. In the hall afterward, Griffin chats with his friend Cliff. Cliff informs him their classmate Simon Pilchard ratted Griffin out for plagiarizing.

Kepplemen weighs Griffin in the locker room, scolding him for gaining a pound. He hasn’t put on weight but is growing rapidly. At lunch afterward, Griffin, Cliff, and their friend Tanner Potts confront Simon for telling on Griffin. Just as Simon is about to apologize, Cliff hits Simon in the face with a bat.

Griffin goes to see Principal Fistly. Griffin tries to explain, but Fistly gives him a detention. In math class afterward, a secretary gives Griffin a note from Shel instructing him to call his agent Brent. On the phone, Brent informs Griffin that the famous director Paul Mazursky wants to work with him.

After school, Griffin goes to see Shel at the studio he rents near Carnegie Deli. He demands to know how much longer he has to keep acting. Shel reminds him that when he began acting, Griffin signed a contract with him so that the profits would pay for his tuition at Boyd. Griffin tries a new tactic, informing Shel he saw him with a woman earlier that day; then he insists he won’t audition until wrestling ends in February.

Griffin meets up with Naomi again. He tells her about his acting frustrations, and she suggests he quit. Griffin can’t because his acting earnings pay for his private education at Boyd.

Over the following weeks, Griffin and Naomi see each other every day. They go on regular drives and talk openly. One day, Naomi asks how Griffin started acting. Griffin tells the story: When he was in second grade, he was invited onto Candid Camera. After the segment aired, he received an offer from Billy Kidd Talent Agency and started working with Brent. Then, Griffin shares a story about a fight his parents had when he was applying to Boyd.

At the end of October, Kepplemen takes Griffin to his apartment. Inside, he gives him kneepads and a subscription to Wrestling USA. Then he sexually abuses Griffin. Such incidents have happened before: Kepplemen insists they practice together, but the practice quickly turns lewd and violent. Shortly thereafter, Griffin sees Naomi. She gives him new ties for school. Griffin hides the ties and kneepads in his locker.

When The Nuclear Family finishes its fourth season, Griffin takes a girl his age named Deb to the wrap party. They struggle to talk, and Griffin wonders if he can’t relate to girls his age. The next time he sees Naomi, she asks about Deb. Griffin admits he can’t talk to Deb the way he talks to Naomi. However, he informs her that he can’t keep seeing her because of wrestling.

Over the following weeks, wrestling consumes Griffin. He tries to keep his weight down, trains constantly, and barely eats. During one match, he fights hard and wins. The experience makes him feel real.

Throughout November, Griffin’s parents keep up with election news. Griffin knows little about the candidates but listens intently when the adults discuss Carter and Reagan. His parents are shocked when Reagan wins.

On Thanksgiving weekend, Griffin visits The Saloon restaurant with his family, the Barrs, Al, and the Shahs. Noami tries engaging Griffin, but the conversation shifts to the group. At the end of the night, Griffin doesn’t say goodbye to her.

Griffin continues attending classes, running, and wrestling. Meanwhile, Kepplemen’s abuse continues. Griffin still doesn’t say anything. He knows Kepplemen abuses his teammates, too, and they all stay silent. One night, Lily scolds him for not eating his dinner. (Griffin is trying to lose weight for his upcoming tournament.) The next day, Kepplemen yells at him for messing up during practice. Afterward, Griffin tells Naomi all about his recent experiences. He’s glad for her comfort but doesn’t oblige when she demands a kiss.

At Griffin’s tournament, he faces off with a senior, Vince Voelker. Griffin fights hard but loses. Despite the loss, he tries hard in his subsequent matches. He almost wins one match but gets cocky and loses. Kepplemen says he’s proud of Griffin for competing.

After the tournament, Griffin and his family go to the Shahs. Griffin asks if he can shower, and Naomi leads him upstairs to the bathroom. She runs a bath and tells him to undress. She touches him in the steam and tells him how much she’s missed him. Before he responds, she leaves.