strengthen one's character
A birthday shift is quoted back as character-building, turning an old excuse into a petty jab.
'Cause you said working on my birthday would help me build character.Clerks II · 2006 — Chapter 3 of 17 · 2'47" · C1
Transformers Argument at Mooby's, Explained: more than meets the eye
What starts as teasing about a nineteen-year-old's ride from his mother turns into a theological argument: someone reads online that a live-action Transformers movie is coming, someone calls the cartoons 'more than meets the eye,' and the reply brands them 'an unholy curse.'
What happens
At Mooby's, one person needles a nineteen-year-old about still getting rides from his mother and kissing her goodbye. Another person is in a suspiciously good mood: a live-action Transformers movie is coming, and he has the online handle Optimus Prime. The conversation spirals from teasing into a debate about whether the Transformers are a gift from God or an unholy curse.
Listen for
build characterwhy the fuckI wish I didn'tmore than meets the eye
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Phrase of the scene
more than meets the eye
more than is obvious
When the Transformers are dismissed as bad, this slogan is fired back as both a defense and a transforming wink.
There's more than meets the eye to her quiet blog—half the posts are detective stories.
Also in this scene
- build character
strengthen one's character
- why the fuck
why on earth (vulgar)
- I wish I didn't
I'd rather not know
- beat the pants off
defeat easily
- as it turns out
it happened that
Everything marked in this scene
30 notes across 49 lines
be driven by someone
Why the fuck are you still getting rides from your mother?Let are you blur together and land the stress on still.
Why the fuck are you still getting rides from your mother?kiss someone in farewell
And even worse, what the fuck are you kissing her good-bye for?what the hell (vulgar) — Use only when venting strongly; not in formal settings.
And even worse, what the fuck are you kissing her good-bye for?fucking (intensifier) — Casual and vulgar; never in polite or professional talk.
What is she, your fuckin' prom date?feeling very happy
I'm in too good a mood.The article a is almost swallowed; good and mood carry the beat.
I'm in too good a mood.Link the d in slipped into you; keep the verb ending audible.
Because your mom slipped you the tongue?gave someone a deep kiss — Vulgar teasing; do not use with strangers or at work.
Because your mom slipped you the tongue?movie with real actors
No, because I just read online that there's gonna be a live-action Transformers movie.username
Well... I mean, as you know, my online handle is Optimus Prime.the best username available
I'm, like, positioned or whatever with the best possible Net handle and e-mail address for when the movie comes out.swimming in sexual attention (vulgar) — Crude locker-room talk; avoid in public or mixed company.
Oh, you're gonna be rolling in the pussy, man.deep kissing — Jokey and crude; keep it among close friends.
Says the guy who was just playing tonsil hockey with his mother.stop bothering someone
Leave Elias alone, Randal!Let meets the run on; stretch eye for the punch.
They were more than meets the eye.be permitted to watch
I thought you weren't even allowed to watch a lot of TV in your house 'cause you're all Christian and shit.negative passive: The passive with not says someone was denied permission; even sharpens the complaint.
I thought you weren't even allowed to watch a lot of TV in your house 'cause you're all Christian and shit.and stuff (vulgar) — Casual filler after a list; too crude for formal talk.
I thought you weren't even allowed to watch a lot of TV in your house 'cause you're all Christian and shit.it happened that
After a challenge about his Christian household, he uses this phrase to pivot from suspicion to an explanation.
Well, as it turns out, cars and trucks that turn into...change into something
because my pastor says that machines can turn into other machines, and it's not a sleight against God.object clause: The that-clause is what the pastor says, not a separate claim by the speaker.
because my pastor says that machines can turn into other machines, and it's not a sleight against God.formal causal conjunction: It opens the reason for the accusation and sounds deliberately formal in this crude rant.
Transformers were a total sleight against God, inasmuch asrepay or get revenge
The crucifixion is framed as a debt, and humanity's repayment is mocked as terrible cartoons.
and all we did to pay him back was make terrible fucking cartoons like the Transformers.all-cleft: The all-cleft narrows the response to one damning action: making those cartoons.
and all we did to pay him back was make terrible fucking cartoons like the Transformers.a godsend
...the Transformers are like a gift from God, Randal.a cursed, evil thing
They are an unholy curse from the beast we call the Desolate One.the foremost fallen being
The first of the fallen, the spoiler of virgins, the master of abortions!evil supernatural powers
You know I don't like to talk about dark forces, Randal.Transformers Argument at Mooby's, explained
What's really going on
The teasing about a grown man kissing his mother is partly a status game: one person keeps needling the nineteen-year-old about the ride and the goodbye kiss, and the answers keep coming back. The mood shifts when someone says a live-action Transformers movie is on the way. What sounds like a silly pop-culture argument becomes a contest over who gets to claim authority: one side cites an online handle and the movie tagline 'more than meets the eye,' while the other cites a Bible-camp flow chart and a pastor to argue the robots are 'a gift from God.' The reply turns that religious logic against the claim: 'They are an unholy curse from the beast we call the Desolate One.' The scene lets the characters use faith, fandom, and insult to win a pointless argument.
Theme
FaithReligious language gets used to argue about a cartoon: a pastor's ruling and a Bible-camp flow chart are both deployed as proof.
SatireThe debate treats a live-action Transformers movie as a theological crisis, making the characters' earnestness the joke.
Listen for
- are you still — Let are you blur together and land the stress on still.
- too good a — The article a is almost swallowed; good and mood carry the beat.
- slipped you — Link the d in slipped into you; keep the verb ending audible.
- meets the eye — Let meets the run on; stretch eye for the punch.
'Cause you said working on my birthday would help me build character.The line quotes an old justification: working on a birthday was described as character-building, and that phrase is now thrown back at the person who said it.
Says the guy who was just playing tonsil hockey with his mother.A comeback that turns an accusation back on the accuser: the person calling something gross was just making out with his mother.
They were more than meets the eye.A defense of the Transformers using their own tagline: they were not just simple cartoons; there was more to them than surface appearance.
They are an unholy curse from the beast we call the Desolate One.A mock-religious condemnation: the Transformers are not a divine gift but a demonic curse.
Questions about this scene
Why is the nineteen-year-old being teased?
He still gets rides from his mother and kisses her goodbye. The teasing starts with his age and working on his birthday, then moves to the ride and the kiss.
What starts the Transformers argument?
One character says a live-action Transformers movie is coming and that his online handle is Optimus Prime. Later, someone says the Transformers sucked.
Why is 'more than meets the eye' used as a comeback?
The line answers the claim that the Transformers sucked: it says they were more than they appeared to be, so it works as a defense.
Why does the Bible-camp flow chart come up?
It is offered as proof that since God created man and man created the Transformers, the Transformers can be seen as a gift from God.
What is the reply to 'a gift from God'?
Someone rejects it outright: 'They are not a gift from God,' then calls the Transformers 'an unholy curse from the beast we call the Desolate One.'
Clerks II · 17 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 4sow your wild oatsCan't Be Friends With Your Boss
Chapter 1take issue withCoworkers Argue Over Wheelchair Blogger
Chapter 2hit the jackpotDante and Emma Argue Over a House
Watching · Chapter 3more than meets the eyeTransformers Argument at Mooby's
Chapter 4sow your wild oatsCan't Be Friends With Your Boss
Chapter 5Say what you will aboutTrilogy Showdown at Mooby's
Chapter 6give someone the time of dayDante and Becky Debate Marriage
Chapter 7at its finestPlanning a Donkey Show for a Send-Off
Chapter 8piece togetherRandal Grills Elias About Sex
Chapter 9bet dollars to donutsLance Dowds Visits Mooby's
Chapter 10blow off some steamA Slur at the Mooby's Counter
Chapter 11term of endearmentRandal Defends a Slur
Chapter 12tie your life to someoneWedding Jitters, But Only About Dancing
Chapter 13You and what army?A Man Confesses He's the Father
Chapter 14at its finestGoing-Away Party Turns Into a Stage Act
Chapter 15smooth things overDante and Randal's Jail Blowup
Chapter 16take a bullet for someoneFriends Fight Over Moving Away
Chapter 17pan outFriends Negotiate the Quick Stop LoanChapter 3 of 17 · about 44 min to go