WinkLingo
Log in

Auto Focus · 2002 — Chapter 4 of 16 · 3'37" · C1

Bob and John's Party Night, Explained: copacetic

On set, a voice explains the new video recorder in painstaking detail; off set, the real entertainment begins. Bob is nudged to pick a girl from the party, insists "I'm a one-woman man," and then quietly starts to negotiate. The charm is all surface, and everyone in the room knows it.

What happens

After a dry technical introduction to the video recorder, the scene moves to a party in Los Angeles. Bob and John are surrounded by women, and John offers Bob the first choice. Bob protests that he is a one-woman man, but the evening is clearly heading somewhere else.

PartiesTeasingTeasingSuggestingFriendsC1slowamerican
IMDb ↗

Listen for

crack me upa one-woman mancopaceticpull that crap on someone

00:00 / 03:37
Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
  1. ❝ MonologueHow the recorder sees light4 linesPractice page ↗
Tap a line to replay it

Phrase of the scene

copacetic

一切妥当、没问题

约翰问鲍勃对分女孩的安排满不满意，自己先答了一句 Copacetic，鲍勃跟着磕磕巴巴地学了一遍。

If everything is copacetic, let's sign the papers.

Also in this scene

  • crack me up

    make someone laugh a lot

  • a one-woman man

    a man who is faithful to one woman

  • pull that crap on someone

    跟我来这一套、拿这种把戏糊弄我

Everything marked in this scene

20 notes across 55 lines

Phrase · B1never seen anything like itI've never seen anything like this.
Phrase · B2be a prototypeIt's a prototype.
Phrase · B1Name it.- Do you got any jazz? - Name it.
Phrase · B1Close enough.Close enough.
Phrase · B2freshen someone's drinkUh, you want to freshen the girls' drinks?
Phrase · C1get it onThese girls are ready to get it on,
Phrase · B2You're the man.and you're the man, so I figured you get first choice.
Phrase · B1get first choiceand you're the man, so I figured you get first choice.
Phrase · B2if it's all the same to youWell, if it's all the same to you, I'm gonna hit on the blonde.
Phrase · B2hit on someoneWell, if it's all the same to you, I'm gonna hit on the blonde.
Phrase · C1Copacetic?Copacetic?
Phrase · B2another hit of somethingI'll have another hit of that vodka.
Phrase · A2get someone another drinkUh, can I get you another drink?
Phrase · B1be done with somethingI'm not done with this one yet.
Phrase · C1do the bunny dipCan you do the bunny dip?
Phrase · A2Watch this.Watch this.
Phrase · A2What's the matter?What's the matter? Don't you like me?
Phrase · B2be a one-woman man

a man who is faithful to one woman

I'm a one-woman man.
Phrase · B2crack someone up

make someone laugh a lot

Oh. [laughs] Oh, Hogan, you crack me up.
Phrase · B2pull something on someoneYou can't pull that crap on me.

Bob and John's Party Night, explained

What's really going on

Two halves of one idea sit side by side. The opening narration about tape and electron beams is the language of a machine that will soon record more than television, and the party is where that promise turns personal. Bob's line, "I'm a one-woman man." is the tell: it is exactly the sort of claim a man makes right before he stops being one, and the room laughs at it. His weak "Co-Copacetic." gives the game away, and the girl's flat "So am I." answers his excuse with a cooler one. It is a seduction played as comedy, and the joke is how little resistance the marriage vow puts up.

Theme

MarriageA married man insists he is faithful while drifting straight into what he claims to avoid.
DeceptionThe scene runs on polished surfaces, from the promo narration to the easy excuses traded at the party.
I'm a one-woman man.

His self-description, delivered as a joke and then contradicted by the rest of the night.

Just don't tell anybody there's a war on.

A wink that the role is a game everyone is in on, said in the later scene where the two flirt.

You can't pull that crap on me.

A blunt rebuff, refusing to be fooled by the other person's excuse or act.

Of course not. That's the point.

The dry answer about the prototype: nobody has seen a machine like this, and that is exactly why it matters.

I'm not done with this one yet.

A small refusal that keeps the drink and the moment going rather than moving on.

Questions about this scene

Why does the scene start with a technical narration?

It introduces the video recorder that becomes central to the story, showing the technology before it turns personal. The dry delivery makes the cut to the party the joke.

What does "I'm a one-woman man" mean in context?

It is a claim to be faithful. The scene undercuts it at once, since the party is arranged for the opposite, and everyone treats the line as a gag.

Who are Bob and John?

Bob is the married TV star the party is built around, and John is the friend who keeps pushing him toward the night's temptations.

What happens after the line about being a one-woman man?

The woman answers that she is married too, then laughs at him and says he can't fool her. The evening clearly keeps going anyway.

Auto Focus · 16 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 5light years ahead ofBob Crane's New Video Camera
Chapter 1a career-killerLenny Pitches Bob a SitcomChapter 2get the messageAnne Confronts Bob About the MagazinesChapter 3always been my thingBob Meets the VTR SalesmanWatching · Chapter 4copaceticBob and John's Party NightChapter 5light years ahead ofBob Crane's New Video CameraChapter 6clear enough for youBob Catches John on TapeChapter 7pull a stunt like thisThe Demo Fails SpectacularlyChapter 8what went downJohn Carpenter Repairs Bob's VTRChapter 9go around onceBob's Wife Accepts an Open MarriageChapter 10dead airBob's Party and Career BlowupChapter 11Run it by meJohn's Wild Idea and Bob's Big CallChapter 12word gets aroundLenny Warns Bob About a ScandalChapter 13a complete professionalBob Goes Too Far on Live TVChapter 14get in circulationBob Asks His Agent for WorkChapter 15take it for grantedBob Visits His SonChapter 16lower the boomBob and Carpenter's Falling Out
Chapter 4 of 16 · about 28 min to go