"got the feeling" is useful here.
Derek, I got the feeling you came here and obviously moved...Mighty Aphrodite · 1995 — Chapter 10 of 15 · 3'41" · C1
Lenny Negotiates With Ricky, Explained: level with you
Lenny visits Linda's pimp under an assumed name and tries to buy her out of the life. The pimp answers with threats, and Lenny survives the meeting by offering what the man really wants. "If you want to discuss a deal with Linda, I can get you courtside seats" is the trade that turns a standoff into a negotiation.
What happens
Lenny goes to see Ricky, the pimp who controls Linda, using a fake business name. Ricky responds with threats, and a chorus of ancient Greeks urges Lenny to stand firm. He does, then changes tactics: he offers Ricky courtside Knicks seats if he will sit down and talk about Linda.
Listen for
level with youAchilles heelFar be it for mefuckin'
00:00 / 03:41Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
level with you
speak without the act
The sportswriter act drops; he tries a straight line.
I'll level with you: the tickets are not courtside.
Also in this scene
- Achilles heel
a single weak spot, flipped into a whole body
- Far be it for me
I would never presume to advise
- fuckin'
an angry fence around my business
- the Knicks
New York's basketball team
- common interest
something all parties share
Everything marked in this scene
35 notes across 78 lines
Practice got the feeling with one clear stress group.
Derek, I got the feeling you came here and obviously moved..."caught up" is useful here.
Did you get caught up, maybe, with a little bit of this Knick, Excuse me.existential construction: The phrase there comes a time in the life of every young woman shapes the meaning of the line.
there comes a time in the life of every young woman, not just Linda, but everyone,relative clause: The phrase comes a shapes the meaning of the line.
there comes a time in the life of every young woman, not just Linda, but everyone,"make a change" is useful here.
that they-- they want to perhaps make a change in their life."settle down" is useful here.
They maybe want to settle down or explore alternative lifestyles."good influence on" is useful here.
I don't think you've been a very good influence on Linda, Mr. Weinrib."for business purposes" is useful here.
Weinrib. Right. So Gildersleeve is a name I use for business purposes."a point well taken" is useful here.
That's a point well taken. Excuse me, you're-- you're-- Excuse me."three-way trade" is useful here.
Yes, well, there's gonna be a three-way trade.Practice there's gonna be with one clear stress group.
Yes, well, there's gonna be a three-way trade.that's a lie — blunt, vulgar no
Bullshit."kid you not" is useful here.
No, no, no. I kid you not. I know. It's in the air.Practice kid you not with one clear stress group.
No, no, no. I kid you not. I know. It's in the air.something all parties share
Linda is renamed a shared interest.
You see, we have a common interest, the three of us.going nowhere — street put-down
Oh, yeah, yeah. That girl's goin' no place."work ethic" is useful here.
You obviously have a work ethic that's specific to your needs.relative clause: The phrase that's specific to your needs shapes the meaning of the line.
You obviously have a work ethic that's specific to your needs."Take it easy" is useful here.
Take it easy. Take it easy.Practice Take it easy with one clear stress group.
Take it easy. Take it easy."about to" is useful here.
I'm about to have an out-of-body-experience here."Stand firm" is useful here.
Power is all they know. Stand firm.speak without the act
The sportswriter act drops; he tries a straight line.
Look, I'm gonna level with you.stranded preposition: The phrase What are you so interested in Linda for anyway, huh? shapes the meaning of the line.
I want to discuss this Linda Ash thing and I-I-- What are you so interested in Linda for anyway, huh?"strictly platonic" is useful here.
No, we have a strictly platonic relationship."do me a favor" is useful here.
Hey, look. Would you do me a favor and go back to Athens?Practice Would you do me with one clear stress group.
Hey, look. Would you do me a favor and go back to Athens?cheap small-time pimp — insult in a fight
You gonna let your son's mother remain a white slave to this two-bit pimp?seats on the floor by the court
Floor seats become the currency for her freedom.
If you want to discuss a deal with Linda, I can get you courtside seats.conditional clause: The phrase If you want to discuss a deal with Linda shapes the meaning of the line.
If you want to discuss a deal with Linda, I can get you courtside seats."much less" is useful here.
I'd fuckin' give you my mother for courtside seats, much less this cheap little whore.Practice give you my mother with one clear stress group.
I'd fuckin' give you my mother for courtside seats, much less this cheap little whore.vicious slur for a woman — don't use it
I'd fuckin' give you my mother for courtside seats, much less this cheap little whore."haggle over" is useful here.
It's silly to haggle over details.Lenny Negotiates With Ricky, explained
What's really going on
The scene is a negotiation dressed up as a visit, and its comedy comes from the mismatch between Lenny and the room he is in. Ricky speaks in threats — 'She walks on me, I'll disfigure her and I'll fuckin' kill you' — while Lenny answers in the language of a therapist and a fan. The two of them find common ground over basketball, which is exactly the opening Lenny needs, and he turns it into leverage: courtside seats in exchange for a conversation about Linda. The chorus pushes him to 'show strength,' and in a way he does, though his strength is cleverness rather than force. The scene also quietly advances the plot: the boy's mother is still trapped, and the only way to free her is to out-negotiate the man who owns her.
Theme
PowerThe pimp rules by threat, and Lenny can only move him by offering a status symbol he wants more than money.
MoneyThe deal is not about cash: hard-to-get courtside seats are the currency that actually buys Ricky's attention.
What you'll learn
- Use level with you to introduce a frank point
- Turn a common interest into bargaining leverage
- Understand courtside seats in basketball talk
- Use haggle over details for small disputes
- Notice how "level with you" changes the exchange.
Listen for
- got the feeling — Practice got the feeling with one clear stress group.
- there's gonna be — Practice there's gonna be with one clear stress group.
- kid you not — Practice kid you not with one clear stress group.
- Take it easy — Practice Take it easy with one clear stress group.
Look, I'm gonna level with you.Lenny's signal that he is dropping the act and getting to business, which is also a way of buying a moment of calm in a hostile room.
If you want to discuss a deal with Linda, I can get you courtside seats.The offer that changes the meeting: Lenny trades a hard-to-get perk for Ricky's willingness to negotiate about Linda.
Well, if you're a friend of hers, don't be putting stupid ideas in her head.Ricky's warning to Lenny: he may call himself a friend, but he should not encourage Linda to leave, because she will get hurt.
This guy's gonna put me into 27 separate Mason jars.Lenny's panicked aside about Ricky's threats, joking that he will be chopped up and stored in jars if the meeting goes wrong.
Questions about this scene
Why does Lenny visit Ricky?
He wants to help Linda leave sex work, and Ricky is the man who controls her. Lenny comes under a fake name to negotiate her release from that arrangement.
Why does Ricky threaten Lenny?
He sees Lenny as a threat to his business. He warns that if Linda leaves, he will hurt her and kill Lenny, which is how he keeps control.
How does Lenny get Ricky to talk?
He offers courtside Knicks seats, which are nearly impossible to get. Ricky wants them badly enough that the threats stop and a negotiation begins.
Who is the chorus urging Lenny on?
A group of figures from Greek drama appear to advise him, telling him the pimp respects only strength and to stand firm, like Achilles.
What does the deal actually accomplish?
Lenny does not buy Linda's freedom outright; he gets Ricky to the table. The exchange shows what Ricky really values, and sets up the next step in freeing her.
Mighty Aphrodite · 15 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 11gave up on youLinda Says She's Starting Over
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
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
Watching · 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 10 of 15 · about 17 min to go