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American Hustle · 2013 — Chapter 1 of 20 · 3'07" · B2

Last Resort Loan Pitch, Explained: last resort

Someone uses an office to explain a business built on people who cannot get loans: "I'm their last resort." The talk turns from clever economics to a five-thousand-dollar fee for nothing, and the pitch that follows is less a loan plan than a performance.

What happens

In an office, someone asks whether art is sold there. The answer turns to a loan business for people who cannot get loans. A five-thousand-dollar fee comes up, then an apology, then a polished pitch about London banking connections and being very selective.

MeetingsNegotiationExplainingApologizingCoupleB2mediumamerican
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last resortlousy riskssmarty pantsembezzling

00:00 / 03:07
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  37. ❝ MonologueA regretful self-interrogation6 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

last resort

the final option when all else fails

Asked why he runs this kind of loan business, he calls himself the clients' last resort, half boasting and half excusing his fee.

The all-night pharmacy is my last resort when I forget my prescription.

Also in this scene

  • lousy risks

    borrowers with poor credit

  • smarty pants

    a know-it-all, often said teasingly

  • embezzling

    stealing money entrusted to one's care

  • went too far

    overstepped in words or behavior

  • fucking fantastic

    extremely good, using crude intensifier

Everything marked in this scene

27 notes across 61 lines

SoundWhy'd you

Blend Why'd you into one quick push; avoid a word-by-word rhythm.

Why'd you bring me here?
Phrase · B1get to be something

gradually become

This is getting to be my... My main business, my growing business.
Phrase · B1get a loan

obtain loans

I help get loans for guys who can't get loans.
Grammar · B1guys who can't get loans

relative clause: The clause narrows guys to the group that cannot borrow.

I help get loans for guys who can't get loans.
SoundI'm their

Keep I'm their light and let last resort carry the stress.

You know, I'm their last resort.
Phrase · B2north of + number

above a certain number Literally to the north of; here above a number.

'Cause interest rates are north of 12% and heading to 18%.
Slang · B2smarty pants

a teasing know-it-all — Affectionate teasing among friends; avoid it with superiors.

That's right, smarty pants.
Phrase · B1get someone something

obtain something for someone

Thanks, kid, but how do you get them the money?
Phrase · B1get one's fee

collect my fee

I can't get them a loan, but I get my fee, $5,000.
Phrase · B1a gambling habit

a gambling habit

They got bad divorces, gambling habits, embezzling, all that shit, you know what I mean?
Slang · B2all that shit

that kind of crap — Vulgar shorthand among friends; never in formal settings.

They got bad divorces, gambling habits, embezzling, all that shit, you know what I mean?
Phrase · B2cross paths with someone

to meet or encounter someone, often by chance

The line describes desperate people as bound to cross paths, as if someone is waiting where they will pass.

Everybody at the bottom crosses paths eventually in a pool of desperation and you're waiting for them.
Phrase · B2be too much for someone

be more than someone can take

That was too much, I went too far.
Phrase · B1something ain't for everybody

not suitable for everyone Not 'not belonging to everyone'; not suitable for everyone.

I know it ain't for everybody.
Soundain't for

Link ain't for tightly, with a soft t and a weak for.

I know it ain't for everybody.
Slang · B1ain't

isn't or aren't, colloquial — Very casual speech; avoid it in writing or interviews.

I know it ain't for everybody.
Phrase · A2get to know someone

becoming acquainted with you Not just knowing who you are; the process of becoming acquainted.

I loved getting to know you!
Grammar · B1getting to know you

gerund phrase: Getting to know you is the object of loved: the process, not the result.

I loved getting to know you!
Slang · B2fucked it up

ruined it — Private self-blame; too crude for work or polite company.

What did I do that for? I fucked it up.
Phrase · B1tell someone the truth

be honest with someone

I should never tell a woman the truth, but she's so smart.
Phrase · B1it was nice knowing you

nice to have known me A farewell formula: it was nice knowing you, shifted to me.

You said it was nice knowing me.
Grammar · B1it was nice knowing me

object clause: The clause after said explains what she called nice: knowing me.

You said it was nice knowing me.
Phrase · A2Would you like to + verb

a polite offer or invitation

Would you like to meet...
Phrase · B2be selective about something

be choosy Here it means choosy, not having many options.

I'd love to help you with your loan, but, of course, I have to be very selective.
Grammar · B2didn't think you were coming back

negative raising: The negative sits on think, but in meaning it denies the coming back.

I didn't think you were coming back.
Phrase · B1not going anywhere

was not leaving Literally not going to any place; here it means not leaving.

I wasn't going anywhere.
Soundwasn't going

The t in wasn't often drops; listen for the negative beat before going.

I wasn't going anywhere.

Last Resort Loan Pitch, explained

What's really going on

The scene keeps dressing up a simple extraction as expertise. "I help get loans for guys who can't get loans" sounds like a service; "I can't get them a loan, but I get my fee, $5,000" reveals the actual transaction. The excuse is that the clients are "lousy risks" with bad divorces, gambling habits, embezzling—bad people, so the fee feels less like theft. Then the apology and the later pitch change the temperature: "I have royal banking connections in London" is pure performance, and "I have to be very selective" turns the person asking for help into the one being judged. The office is introduced through a question about selling art, but the real product is confidence.

Theme

MoneyThe scene turns desperate borrowers into fee-paying customers.
DeceptionA loan pitch is dressed up as expertise while the fee is the real point.

Listen for

  • Why'd you — Blend Why'd you into one quick push; avoid a word-by-word rhythm.
  • I'm their — Keep I'm their light and let last resort carry the stress.
  • ain't for — Link ain't for tightly, with a soft t and a weak for.
  • wasn't going — The t in wasn't often drops; listen for the negative beat before going.
I help get loans for guys who can't get loans.

The speaker describes the business as a service for people shut out of normal credit.

I can't get them a loan, but I get my fee, $5,000.

The fee is collected even when the promised loan never materializes.

Everybody at the bottom crosses paths eventually in a pool of desperation and you're waiting for them.

The speaker frames desperate people as inevitable customers who will come to them.

I should never tell a woman the truth, but she's so smart.

The speaker blames honesty for the trouble while praising the other person's intelligence.

I'd love to help you with your loan, but, of course, I have to be very selective.

A polite offer of help is immediately balanced by the claim that only a few are worthy.

Questions about this scene

Why does the speaker call the business a last resort?

The line explains it: "I help get loans for guys who can't get loans" and "I'm their last resort." The business claims to serve people with nowhere else to go.

Does the loan business actually get people loans?

The dialogue says no. One line is "I can't get them a loan, but I get my fee, $5,000," so the fee is collected even when the loan does not happen.

Why does the speaker call the clients bad guys?

The line "these are bad guys" comes with a list of "bad divorces, gambling habits, embezzling." Calling them bad guys makes the fee sound justified, even though "I can't get them a loan" is admitted earlier.

Why does the speaker regret telling the truth?

The line links the trouble to honesty: "I should never tell a woman the truth, but she's so smart." The speaker treats the truth-telling as a mistake while calling the woman different.

American Hustle · 20 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 2the Picasso of passive-aggressive karateA Sun Lamp Starts a Fight
Watching · Chapter 1last resortLast Resort Loan PitchChapter 2the Picasso of passive-aggressive karateA Sun Lamp Starts a FightChapter 3mess with your judgementFBI Reveal at the Loan MeetingChapter 4off the beaten pathThe Jail Cell ConfessionChapter 5on a first-name basis withEscape Plan Argument Over DannyChapter 6quit while you're aheadThe Fake Rembrandt RevealChapter 7out of his leagueThe Deal Gets Too BigChapter 8grease someoneA $75,000 Bribe for the MayorChapter 9can't get enough ofGuests Smell Nail Polish, Talk BusinessChapter 10back on its feetThe Atlantic City PitchChapter 11the life of the partyRosalyn Cuts In on the CallChapter 12right off the batThe Ocean Room PitchChapter 13keep the upper handCasino Pitch at a PartyChapter 14falsified my recordsSydney Reveals Her Real NameChapter 15get over onI Should've Gone Away With YouChapter 16get someone on a wireNegotiating the Sherman SuiteChapter 17let something die to let something liveA Wife Spills Secrets Over DinnerChapter 18knock some sense intoIrving Pitches the Two Million PlanChapter 19pay somebody offThe Lawyer Takes the WireChapter 20make this rightIrving's Apology Goes Wrong
Chapter 1 of 20 · about 61 min to go