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Rob admits they cannot do the Michael Sheen parts. Steve says the albatross on his neck has Sheen's face. An ironic dessert lands as a chocolate inverted comma. Rob's Small Man in a Box app has not launched; it is about to. They quote Woody Allen on terrible food and such small portions, the complaint that still wants another plate. The table is two working comics measuring themselves against a neighbour who already got the big role, and against a product that never quite ships.
S
Steve Coogan lead comedian
R
Rob Brydon travel partner
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Chapters 20 parts · AI-cut 00:00 / 04:24 1× English only
00:00 Don't make her like the chef from the Muppets. 00:02 # Though it's herding me # 00:05 He was Swedish. 00:06 He wasn't in Abba. 00:07 # Now it's hissstory # # I played all my cards # Now you sound like the Nazis from Inglourious Basterds. 00:15 - Who I look like. - Yes. 00:17 # I played all my cards # Now it's hurting me, and now I'm going to kill some Jews under the floor. 00:24 Und that's what you've done too. 00:27 That's what you've done too. 00:28 The winner takes it all, Mr. Bond. 00:31 Come, come, Mr. Bond. The winner takes it all. 00:34 Come, come, Mr. Bond, you enjoy playing all your cards just as much as I do. 00:39 When I play my cards, I play for Benny and Bjorn. 00:44 I find the song quite moving . 00:56 Your roast cod with truffle ravioli and a spiced cauliflower. 01:02 A saddle of Nidderdale lamb with mutton pudding. 01:04 - Thank you very much. - Thank you very much. 01:06 Thank you. 01:07 Yeah. 01:08 Hopkins, Sheen, Brydon, Burton, the Port Talbot four. 01:15 - That's what we're known as. - Really? 01:16 Yeah, Michael Sheen. 01:19 How are you? 01:20 Good evening. 01:24 We couldn't have done that the way that Michael does it. 01:27 Let's face it . 01:28 - We could not have played... - We? We? We? 01:30 We couldn't. We couldn't. We're not the same. 01:32 We're different animals . 01:33 We couldn't play those parts. 01:34 No, you're not the same as him. 01:35 I'm more similar to him. 01:37 Well, why don't you do the sort of roles that he does? 01:39 Because no one will give those roles to me. 01:42 I've got an albatross around my neck , and it's got the face of Michael Sheen . 01:46 Do you try for those roles? 01:49 Yeah, and Michael Sheen gets them all. 01:51 Michael Sheen is very good. 01:52 - Michael Sheen is always... - Brilliant. 01:55 He's not brilliant; he's good. He's solid. 01:57 He is brilliant. 01:58 I'm fucking brilliant! 02:01 Yes, but not in the same way as... 02:03 Michael Sheen couldn't do what you do. 02:05 Michael Sheen couldn't play Alan Partridge. 02:07 Michael Sheen couldn't play Pauline Calf. 02:09 All right? 02:10 But equally, you couldn't play David Frost. 02:12 Huh? 02:13 I don't believe that you really believe that I couldn't play David Frost. 02:17 I think you could play it. Of course you could play it. 02:19 Bloody hell. The waiter could play it. 02:21 But how well are you gonna play it? 02:23 Very well. 02:25 Hello. 02:29 I mean, Michael almost doesn't have to say the words. 02:31 He can just go... 02:35 And you know what he's doing. 02:39 You were just jutting your chin out . 02:41 Mm, that's me. 02:42 If Michael did it, people would go, " Fucking hell , it's David Frost." 02:46 Well, you know, I got down to the last two for Peter Sellers. 02:50 Yes, you did, and on that count, as I've told you many times before, you would have been better than Geoffrey Rush. 02:55 You know, I was actually in that film? 02:57 Have I told you this? 02:58 I played Dustin Hoffman. 03:00 Oh, yes, when he got his Oscar. 03:01 I had to do a speech as Dustin Hoffman. 03:04 - Really? - Yeah. 03:05 He says... and I learned this, right? 03:07 I refuse to accept that I'm better than Jack Lemmon, than Peter Sellers, than whoever else the other one was. 03:14 He could have turned down the award. 03:15 He could have turned down the Oscar if he refused to accept... 03:18 Yeah, all right. That's not the point. 03:20 I'm just saying that I was in it, and I got cut out . 03:27 Oh, wow. Thank you very much. Look at that. 03:30 It's a chocolate inverted comma . 03:32 He's got an ironic dessert . 03:33 Thank you. 03:35 Your apple Breton with lemon sorbet and croque monsieur. 03:38 And your chocolate dessert is a warm chocolate fondant, chocolate tier, chocolate Neapolitan, and a chocolate and caramel tart. 03:43 Thank you very much indeed. 03:44 Can there be any more chocolate? 03:46 You want some of that? 03:47 Okay, yeah. 03:49 Good, isn't it ? 03:50 I'm sure people think we're gay. 03:52 I don't care . 03:53 No, I don't either. I don't care . 03:57 Where are you? I don't know where you are. 03:59 Somebody get me out of here . 04:01 Who'd have thought that would catch on , eh? 04:03 Got an iPhone app with that on it now. 04:04 Really? 04:05 Haven't launched it. About to launch it . 04:07 What, to launch an iPhone app with your... 04:09 Rob Brydon, Small Man in a Box. 04:11 I'm not a good businessman. 04:12 I'm an artist. 04:13 I'm cursed to be flawed in my business ventures , but... 04:16 I got to tell you, the food here is terrible, and such small portions . 04:23 Sex without love is an empty experience, but as empty experiences go, it's one of the best. Language points Click a card to jump to its moment in the video All 28 Collocation 20 Grammar 3 Pronunciation 4 Slang 1
P Collocation A2 ↩ 00:39 play for someone play for someone
play on someone's side When I play my cards, I play for Benny and Bjorn. P Collocation B1 ↩ 00:44 quite moving quite moving
genuinely stirring I find the song quite moving . P Collocation B1 ↩ 01:24 the way that someone does it the way that someone does it
how someone does it We couldn't have done that the way that Michael does it. P Collocation B1 ↩ 01:27 face it face it
admit the ugly fact Let's face it . S Pronunciation ↩ 01:27 face it elision Let's face it . P Collocation B1 ↩ 01:32 different animals different animals
not the same species We're different animals . P Collocation A2 ↩ 01:35 similar to someone similar to someone
closer to that person I'm more similar to him. P Collocation B2 ↩ 01:42 an albatross around someone's neck an albatross around someone's neck
a burden you cannot drop I've got an albatross around my neck , and it's got the face of Michael Sheen . G Grammar B1 ↩ 01:42 it's got the face of Michael Sheen of-phrase I've got an albatross around my neck , and it's got the face of Michael Sheen . S Pronunciation ↩ 01:42 albatross around my neck stress I've got an albatross around my neck , and it's got the face of Michael Sheen . P Collocation B2 ↩ 02:39 jut one's chin out jut one's chin out
sticking the chin forward You were just jutting your chin out . ↗ Slang B2 ↩ 02:42 Fucking hell holy shit — shock; drop it in formal talk If Michael did it, people would go, " Fucking hell , it's David Frost." P Collocation B1 ↩ 02:46 the last two the last two
final two names Well, you know, I got down to the last two for Peter Sellers. P Collocation B1 ↩ 03:15 turn down something turn down something
refused the prize He could have turned down the Oscar if he refused to accept... G Grammar B2 ↩ 03:15 He could have turned down the Oscar could have He could have turned down the Oscar if he refused to accept... P Collocation B1 ↩ 03:20 get cut out get cut out
left on the floor I'm just saying that I was in it, and I got cut out . P Collocation B2 ↩ 03:30 inverted comma inverted comma
a quotation mark It's a chocolate inverted comma . P Collocation B2 ↩ 03:32 an ironic dessert an ironic dessert
a dessert that winks He's got an ironic dessert . P Collocation A2 ↩ 03:49 isn't it isn't it
right? Good, isn't it ? P Collocation A1 ↩ 03:52 care care
give a damn I don't care . P Collocation A2 ↩ 03:59 get someone out of somewhere get someone out of somewhere
pull me off this table Somebody get me out of here . P Collocation B1 ↩ 04:01 catch on catch on
catch on with people Who'd have thought that would catch on , eh? G Grammar B2 ↩ 04:01 Who'd have thought that would catch on who would have thought Who'd have thought that would catch on , eh? P Collocation B1 ↩ 04:05 about to do something about to do something
one step from shipping Haven't launched it. About to launch it . S Pronunciation ↩ 04:05 About to launch liaison Haven't launched it. About to launch it . P Collocation B2 ↩ 04:13 business ventures business ventures
side businesses I'm cursed to be flawed in my business ventures , but... P Collocation A2 ↩ 04:16 small portions small portions
tiny servings I got to tell you, the food here is terrible, and such small portions . S Pronunciation ↩ 04:16 small portions stress I got to tell you, the food here is terrible, and such small portions .
Teaching points Review right after watching My level A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
✦ Idiom B2 ↩ 01:42 albatross around my neck a burden you cannot drop above my level In the scene Steve hangs Michael Sheen's success around his own neck.That viral clip is an albatross around my neck at auditions. In daily life The first product is an albatross around our neck. The nickname followed him like an albatross around his neck. ✦ Collocation B1 ↩ 04:05 about to one breath from happening auto-pauses In the scene Rob's box-man app has not launched; it is about to.The page is about to go live. Don't refresh yet. In daily life We're about to miss the last bus. The milk is about to boil over. ✦ Discourse B1 ↩ 01:27 let's face it say the hard bit out loud auto-pauses In the scene Rob, on Sheen: they cannot play those parts.Let's face it. The budget is the script now. In daily life Let's face it, the joke died in the room. Let's face it. We can't afford the garden. ✦ Idiom B1 ↩ 04:01 catch on take off with the crowd auto-pauses In the scene The little-man-in-a-box gag catches on, even as an iPhone app.The catchphrase caught on before the app did. In daily life That emoji caught on in the wrong channel. The handshake caught on in a week. ✦ Irony B2 ↩ 03:32 ironic dessert a pudding that comments on itself above my level In the scene A chocolate inverted comma arrives; someone calls it an ironic dessert.A comma of chocolate is an ironic dessert after a lecture on grammar. In daily life The 'deconstructed' biscuit is an ironic dessert. Diet cola after steak is an ironic dessert. ✦ Collocation B2 ↩ 03:15 turned down the oscar refuse the prize above my level In the scene They talk Hoffman: he could have turned down the Oscar.She turned down the prize on principle, then cashed the cheque. In daily life He turned down the promotion to stay on the tools. They turned down the keynote, not the dinner. ✦ Idiom B1 ↩ 01:32 different animals not the same kind of creature auto-pauses In the scene Against Sheen they call themselves different animals.She's a closer. I'm not. Different animals. In daily life Studio rats and tour rats are different animals. Sales and research are different animals in that building.
Golden lines A great line in its own right — why and how to use it “I've got an albatross around my neck, and it's got the face of Michael Sheen.”
Why it's great
He turns a colleague's win into a bird he cannot take off.
Use it yourself
That early hit is an albatross around my neck.
The family shop is an albatross around his neck.
◈ Create share poster ↩ 01:42
“Haven't launched it. About to launch it.”
Why it's great
Two beats: it is not out, and it is always next.
Use it yourself
Haven't launched. About to launch on Friday.
The second site is about to launch.
◈ Create share poster ↩ 04:05
“I got to tell you, the food here is terrible, and such small portions.”
Why it's great
The old joke: hate the plate, still want more of it.
Use it yourself
Terrible soup, and such small portions.
Terrible finale, and such small portions of plot.
◈ Create share poster ↩ 04:16
Takeaways What you walk away with Albatross as a hanging burden About to as the next second Small portions as a borrowed gag
People also search Questions, then the lines Where does albatross around my neck come from? The poem: a killed bird hung on the neck. A burden you cannot drop.
How is about to different from will? Nearer. The next second. The app has not launched; it is about to.
What is the small portions joke? A Woody Allen line: terrible and too little. Complaint as appetite.
Is let's face it polite? Blunt. It presses an unwelcome fact. Here: they are different animals.
