Practice Are you my with one clear stress group.
Hi. Are you my 3:00?Mighty Aphrodite · 1995 — Chapter 5 of 15 · 7'28" · B2
Lenny Meets Linda Ash, Explained: in the ballpark
Lenny arrives to meet Linda Ash, the woman he believes is his son's birth mother, and immediately loses his nerve. She tries to guess his job and gets it wildly wrong; he wants to talk, she wants to get to work. The visit turns into a tug-of-war over what this appointment is even for.
What happens
Lenny visits Linda Ash at her apartment, though he is so nervous he can barely speak. She offers him a drink and shows him a gag gift, then guesses he sells rugs — she is not even close. He only wants to chat; she repeatedly turns the talk toward the service he has come for, until the meeting becomes an argument.
Listen for
take a jokemake it bigin the ballparkGet it?
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Phrase of the scene
in the ballpark
approximately right
Rug salesman misses sportswriter by a mile.
Your budget isn't even in the ballpark.
Also in this scene
- take a joke
not get offended by teasing
- make it big
become a success
- Get it?
did you catch the joke
- up close and personal
very close, no buffer
- a show of good faith
a gesture meant to prove trust
Everything marked in this scene
35 notes across 152 lines
"Come on in" is useful here.
- I'm Lenny. - Hello, Lenny. Come on in."spoke on the phone" is useful here.
- 'Cause we spoke on the phone? - Yeah.hilarious; a riot — Rough praise for something funny. Not for polite rooms.
- That. Isn't it a pisser? - Ohh!not get offended by teasing
She licenses the clock gag by claiming she can take a joke.
That's something you're going to find out about me-- I'm funny and I can take a joke."find out about me" is useful here.
That's something you're going to find out about me-- I'm funny and I can take a joke.relative clause: The phrase you're going to find out about me shapes the meaning of the line.
That's something you're going to find out about me-- I'm funny and I can take a joke.Practice going to find with one clear stress group.
That's something you're going to find out about me-- I'm funny and I can take a joke.Practice take a joke with one clear stress group.
That's something you're going to find out about me-- I'm funny and I can take a joke."for a living" is useful here.
I have a great knack for guessing what people do for a living.approximately right
Rug salesman misses sportswriter by a mile.
I'm-- I'm a sportswriter. Because-- - Shit. I wasn't even in the ballpark. - Well, it was not-- Wait. Ballpark. Sportswriter. Get it?Practice I wasn't even with one clear stress group.
I'm-- I'm a sportswriter. Because-- - Shit. I wasn't even in the ballpark. - Well, it was not-- Wait. Ballpark. Sportswriter. Get it?damn; oh hell — Burst of shock or embarrassment when you blow it.
I'm-- I'm a sportswriter. Because-- - Shit. I wasn't even in the ballpark. - Well, it was not-- Wait. Ballpark. Sportswriter. Get it?become a success
A teacher's line is offered as a career forecast.
He says he thinks I'm gonna make it big.nested clauses: The phrase He says he thinks I'm gonna make it big shapes the meaning of the line.
He says he thinks I'm gonna make it big."must-see" is useful here.
Not yet, but I-I-- It's on my list of must-see."get into it slowly" is useful here.
I thought I'd get into it slowly and, you know-- You're married, aren't you?tag question: The phrase You're married, aren't you? shapes the meaning of the line.
I thought I'd get into it slowly and, you know-- You're married, aren't you?very close, no buffer
Study becomes a body-distance invitation.
- You can study me up close and personal. - Oh! Oh."to tell you the truth" is useful here.
I-- No. But yes, I am nervous, to tell you the truth.Practice to tell you with one clear stress group.
I-- No. But yes, I am nervous, to tell you the truth."ahead of time" is useful here.
This is-- I-I-- Oh. Okay. I-- Um, incidentally, Len, I think I should tell you ahead of time I-I get 200 dollars.a gesture meant to prove trust
Cash is labeled a show of good faith.
- Just a-- Just a show of good faith. - Thanks, Lenny. Wow!"right from the start" is useful here.
No, but seriously, you want to know why I liked you right from the start?"johns who come" is useful here.
I can't stand those johns who come here and throw down a couple of hundred...paying sex clients — Trade talk for customers. Cold and insider.
I can't stand those johns who come here and throw down a couple of hundred..."whip out" is useful here.
and whip out a big dick and wave it all over the joint.this place — Casual, a bit seedy: the room, the club, the apartment.
and whip out a big dick and wave it all over the joint.conditional gerund: The phrase If you're-- If you're serious about being a Broadway actress shapes the meaning of the line.
If you're-- If you're serious about being a Broadway actress, what are you wasting your time with all this porn for?Practice what are you with one clear stress group.
If you're-- If you're serious about being a Broadway actress, what are you wasting your time with all this porn for?"in front of the camera" is useful here.
How? Making it with a woman in front of the camera is good experience?gerund subject: The phrase Making it with a woman in front of the camera shapes the meaning of the line.
How? Making it with a woman in front of the camera is good experience?Practice let go of me with one clear stress group.
- You could have a family. - Hey, let go of me!"bought the time" is useful here.
- I bought the time. - Then you get your money back."giving it back" is useful here.
- I'm giving it back. Refund. - No, keep the money.Lenny Meets Linda Ash, explained
What's really going on
The scene is a comedy of crossed expectations. Lenny has come to find the mother of his adopted son, but he can't say that, so he fumbles through small talk; Linda assumes he is a client and moves straight to business. Every offer — a drink, a gift, a guess at his job — lands wrong, and the mismatch keeps widening. Her blunt 'What's it to you?' when he criticizes her life is the turning point: it names the fact that she never asked for his opinion. Lenny's lecture about making it big and having a family is sincere and also condescending, and it is what gets him thrown out. The scene works because both people are decent and neither can hear the other.
Theme
ClassA wealthy suburban man lectures a sex worker about how to live, while she sees him only as another lonely client.
IdentityLenny hides his real reason for coming, so the whole meeting runs on mistaken assumptions about who each person is.
What you'll learn
- Use take a joke to say you accept teasing
- Hear make it big as a dream of success
- Catch the flirtation in up close and personal
- Tell humor from possessive control
- Notice how "take a joke" changes the exchange.
Listen for
- Are you my — Practice Are you my with one clear stress group.
- going to find — Practice going to find with one clear stress group.
- take a joke — Practice take a joke with one clear stress group.
- I wasn't even — Practice I wasn't even with one clear stress group.
That's something you're going to find out about me-- I'm funny and I can take a joke.Linda's way of saying she is easygoing and won't be offended — the first hint that she reads the visit as casual and friendly.
- Why? - 'Cause I'm always attracted to losers.Her blunt answer about liking Lenny: his lack of confidence is exactly what draws her, which he takes as an insult.
Put it down as a religious contribution.Her joke about accepting his money — she reframes a payment for sex as a church donation.
It's sweet. I like that in a man.Her verdict on his shyness, said warmly, even as it undercuts him by calling him sweet rather than confident.
A little nibbling makes me... go crazy.Her matter-of-fact disclosure about what she likes, which lands in awkward contrast to Lenny's nervous small talk.
Questions about this scene
Why is Lenny so nervous when he meets Linda?
He has come to find out whether she is the mother of his adopted son, but he can't admit that, so he fumbles through small talk while hiding his real motive.
Why does Linda think Lenny is a client?
He made an appointment and showed up, so she assumes it is business. She keeps steering the conversation to the service she expects he paid for.
Why does Linda call Lenny a loser?
She means he has no confidence, and she says she is always drawn to men like that. It flatters him and insults him at once.
Why does Lenny criticize her job?
He thinks she is too attractive and capable to live that way, and he says she could make it big and have a family. She hears it as condescending meddling.
How does the meeting end?
Linda refuses to be lectured, gives his money back, and tells him to get out — shutting down the conversation before Lenny can explain what he really came for.
Mighty Aphrodite · 15 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 6gone straightLinda Tells Lenny Her Backstory
Chapter 1out of left fieldLenny and Amanda Debate a Baby
Chapter 2put my foot downLenny and Amanda Name the Baby
Chapter 3old passionLenny and Amanda's Hamptons Fight
Chapter 4Let sleeping dogs lieLenny Wants to Find Max's Mother
Watching · Chapter 5in the ballparkLenny Meets Linda Ash
Chapter 6gone straightLinda Tells Lenny Her Backstory
Chapter 7long shotLenny and Linda at the Races
Chapter 8a hundred percent definiteLinda Reveals She Gave Up a Child
Chapter 9a way with wordsLinda Asks Lenny for a Favor
Chapter 10level with youLenny Negotiates With Ricky
Chapter 11gave up on youLinda Says She's Starting Over
Chapter 12killer instinctLenny Visits the Boxing Gym
Chapter 13drove me up the wallLenny Sets Linda Up With a Farmer
Chapter 14superfluousLinda and Kevin's Blind Date
Chapter 15flew off the handleKevin Blows Up at LennyChapter 5 of 15 · about 35 min to go