Oh, very nice. Very beige.The Trip · 2011 — Chapter 12 of 20 · 4'49" · B2
The Michael Caine Impressions, Explained: not a lot of people know
They check a beige room, then sit down with Yolanda and start doing Michael Caine. Someone calls the trip "one of the most enjoyable periods of my life," but the bit is really a contest over whose voice is better. Under it sits a smaller worry: people remember meeting him, and he does not remember them.
What happens
In a beige room, someone asks whether he has met Yolanda before and tells the other not to ask her. At the table the talk turns into a Michael Caine guessing game: "She was only 15 years old," a man who might as well fix boilers, and films dubbed in Spain. The pair riff on a lonely walk, crampons, and whose jokes anyone can quote.
Listen for
not a lot of people knowmight as wellpop to the looup there with
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Now
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Phrase of the scene
not a lot of people know
a self-satisfied aside after sharing a fact
旅店房间里，罗布用迈克尔·凯恩的腔调逗大家，把这位演员的招牌口头禅学得惟妙惟肖。
He paused, then added that not a lot of people know that.
Also in this scene
- might as well
used when there is no better option, or to belittle
- pop to the loo
to go to the toilet quickly
- up there with
at the same high level as
Everything marked in this scene
25 notes across 102 lines
I don't know. Maybe before my time maybe.We need to get some sort of a system going,they remember meeting me, and I don't remember meeting them, so that can get embarrassing.Look a bit like that guy off Top Gear.superlative with one of the most
I can honestly say it's one of the most enjoyable periods of my life.I'll give you a clue. It's not a Muppet.You're a big man, but you're out of shape.liaison
You're a big man, but you're out of shape.to go to the toilet quickly
On the way, I had a bit of a Zulu, so I had to pop to the loo, and then, then, I... I...weak form
On the way, I had a bit of a Zulu, so I had to pop to the loo, and then, then, I... I...a self-satisfied aside after sharing a fact
Not a lot of people know...He might as well be the guy who comes and does his boiler.weak form
He might as well be the guy who comes and does his boiler.Because if he is an actor, in Spain, they dub the films, so I really...No, no, it's a rough approximation.Such an ass.You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off.past continuous for a tentative suggestion
I was thinking I could take the photographs up in the hills.Yeah, well, that sounds a bit like I'm lonely.wouldn't for advice
I wouldn't wear that in the hills.I've got proper walking gear.Oh, might like to go for a nice ramble, Lyn, up Helvellyn.No, you fool, crampons.You could have written for the show, 'cause it's so up there with the best stuff.The Michael Caine Impressions, explained
What's really going on
The beige room is a status check. "Very beige" sounds mild and means the place has no personality. The Yolanda worry is sharper: he wants "some sort of a system" because other people remember meeting him and he does not. Dinner turns that into a voice contest. "I can honestly say it's one of the most enjoyable periods of my life" is too polished to be a real review; it performs a good trip for the table. When the listener cannot name the actor, the famous voice shrinks. Dubbed films mean the actor "might as well be the guy who comes and does his boiler." "Wandered lonely as a cloud" gets waved off because it "sounds a bit like I'm lonely," and praise that the bit is "up there with the best stuff" dies in the next line: the executive producer still cannot quote any of it.
Theme
FriendshipEvery pause becomes a contest over whose Caine is better and who lands the last line.
IdentityA famous voice collapses when the listener cannot place it, and dubbed films turn the star into a boiler man.
What you'll learn
- Hear the crampons/tampons mix-up
- Before my time as a job-history dodge
- Out of shape for body or form
Listen for
- out of shape — liaison
- pop to the loo — weak form
- might as well be — weak form
You're a big man, but you're out of shape.A Michael Caine clue in the guessing game: the old tough-guy line, not a dig at anyone at the table. The voice is meant to give the name away.
You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off.Another Caine impression, the Italian Job line, used once the name is out to show which voice is sharper. It is the movie quote, not a plan about doors.
I can honestly say it's one of the most enjoyable periods of my life.The reply to how the trip has been. It is so smooth and public that it plays as a performance for the table, not a private confession.
Look a bit like that guy off Top Gear.A clothes check that turns sour. The outfit is said to resemble a Top Gear presenter, and the second guess is treated as worse than the first.
Questions about this scene
Why do they start doing Michael Caine?
Yolanda is asked if she knows who that is, and two voices run the same bits: "She was only 15 years old," a croaky later Caine, and "Not a lot of people know." It stays a guessing game until someone says "My name is Michael Caine." Calling Rob's version entertaining but less accurate shows the real stake: whose impression wins.
Why doesn't the listener recognize the voice?
It is called familiar, then the guesser asks whether it is even an actor. The reason given is practical: in Spain they dub the films, so the English voice never arrived. A separate jab adds that he might as well be the man who fixes the boiler. The name only lands after it is spoken in full, when the listener says "I do recognize him now."
Is the line about the most enjoyable period of his life sincere?
It answers how the trip has been, on the heels of "Rob?" It is polished and said at the table, not offered as a quiet aside. The voice contest and the later digs make that cheer sound like part of the routine.
Why does "Wandered lonely as a cloud" get shut down?
It is offered, along with "a lone walker," as a pose for photographs in the hills. The reply is immediate: that "sounds a bit like I'm lonely." The poem is acceptable until it describes the man in the picture too well.
The Trip · 20 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 13Cut to the chaseSteve Takes His Agent's Call
Chapter 1have someone down asSteve and Rob Set Off
Chapter 2part of its charmSteve and Rob Share a Room
Chapter 3take a long, hard look in the mirrorThe Michael Caine Impression Duel
Chapter 4in a troughSteve Calls From the Trough
Chapter 5put someone on the back footCalls on the Road to Cartmel
Chapter 6the king of understatementBond Impressions Over Dinner
Chapter 7living the dreamTelling Steve He's Living the Dream
Chapter 8method in my madnessSteve and Rob at Greta Hall
Chapter 9contend withSteve and Rob Rank Their Careers
Chapter 10not unlikeTurned Away at Dove Cottage
Chapter 11at first lightSteve and Rob's Costume Drama
Watching · Chapter 12not a lot of people knowThe Michael Caine Impressions
Chapter 13Cut to the chaseSteve Takes His Agent's Call
Chapter 14don't come running to meShushed on the B Roads
Chapter 15a wee bitA Phone Call by the Lake
Chapter 16an albatross around my neckCoogan and Brydon Compare Careers
Chapter 17as empty experiences goDad Phones Joe About Drinking
Chapter 18stick the knife inMock Eulogy at the Grave
Chapter 19if push came to shoveHiring Divers for the Gesture
Chapter 20as broad as it's longSteve Leaves His ParentsChapter 12 of 20 · about 41 min to go