I can't get the image of snot out of my head now.The Trip · 2011 — Chapter 6 of 20 · 5'17" · B2
Bond Impressions Over Dinner, Explained: the king of understatement
On the surface this is a tasting menu and a James Bond bit. Underneath, two men keep correcting each other's performance: one wants it real, the other gets called out for cranking it up. "Yeah, whereas you are widely regarded as the king of understatement" lands as an insult dressed up as a compliment.
What happens
At a very formal restaurant, someone walks two diners through ornate courses: shellfish broth, scallops described as resting, artichoke. The pair cannot leave the language alone. They joke that the scallops' resting days are over, then slip into competing James Bond impressions, arguing about who is hamming it up. A phone call from the fancy dining room turns to a Las Vegas writing job.
Listen for
cooked in their own juicesthe king of understatementfluff the linefancy-schmancy
00:00 / 05:17Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
the king of understatement
the master of saying far less than the truth
罗布在排练模仿台词时，反讽地对史蒂夫说，他是公认的轻描淡写之王，用恭维的语气损他。
She called him the king of understatement after he described a disaster as a bit of a nuisance.
Also in this scene
- cooked in their own juices
cooked in the liquid they release themselves
- fluff the line
to stumble over or botch your lines
- fancy-schmancy
pretentiously fancy
- have been and gone
to be over and done with
Everything marked in this scene
36 notes across 103 lines
That was lovely. Really nice.Very nice indeed, yeah.At the bottom of those little sacks, you've got some diced smoked hare as well as shredded radishes covered with a very smooth duck foie gras mousse.So your next course is what we call the Humphrey's pool.cooked in the liquid they release themselves
clams, cockles, which are cooked in their own juices before to be garnished with a shredded local seaweed.clams, cockles, which are cooked in their own juices before to be garnished with a shredded local seaweed.non-restrictive relative clause
clams, cockles, which are cooked in their own juices before to be garnished with a shredded local seaweed.Imagine that, eh? It's a lovely thought, isn't it?I'll be honest, I don't think I could muster more than a thimbleful.They are resting on grilled baby gem and parsnip coulis as well as a light, creamy horseradish sauce.present continuous for personification
They are resting on grilled baby gem and parsnip coulis as well as a light, creamy horseradish sauce.Rather optimistic to say they're resting.to be over and done with
Their days of resting have been and gone.Drinking the wine makes me feel quite sophisticated.weak form
Drinking the wine makes me feel quite sophisticated.A bit like, you know, James Bond ordering a martini.You look very worried.You should take a look at your face.liaison
You should take a look at your face.Try and do it real.Shut up. Don't tell me how to act.- Well, I bloody should do. - Why?Because sometimes you tend to sort of, you know, crank it up a bit.the master of saying far less than the truth
Yeah, whereas you are widely regarded as the king of understatement.liaison
Yeah, whereas you are widely regarded as the king of understatement.to stumble over or botch your lines
As a rule, it's more effective if you don't fluff the line.comparative with a conditional clause
As a rule, it's more effective if you don't fluff the line.As a rule, it's more effective if you don't fluff the line.I'll deliver it with a nice bit of understatement.Fucking yeah.When I kill, I kill for queen and country, though I admit, killing you...Hey, how's it going?pretentiously fancy
Yeah, I'm at the fancy-schmancy restaurant.Yeah, I'm at the fancy-schmancy restaurant.I'm gonna go do this really interesting piece on prostitutes in Vegas, that kind of, like, good girls gone bad Vegas style story.Bond Impressions Over Dinner, explained
What's really going on
The food talk is already a competition. Someone's pretty phrase, scallops resting on grilled lettuce, gets punctured at once: "Their days of resting have been and gone." The diners are not discussing dinner. They are showing who hears a phrase faster and who can turn a menu into a joke. That reflex takes over the Bond routine. "Shaken, not stirred" becomes a fight about craft. One man is told not to caricature it and not to fluff the line. The comeback calls him the king of understatement. Praise, in that tone, means the performance is small. Each correction is also a bid to own the bit. The phone call keeps the same contest going. From the fancy-schmancy restaurant, a Las Vegas piece on "good girls gone bad" is answered with a joke that the writer might become the story. Taste, status, and who directs the scene never leave the table.
Theme
SatireMenu poetry and a Bond routine are both punctured, as if good taste were just another performance to mock.
PrideEvery note about hamming it up or underplaying is really a claim to be the better actor at the table.
What you'll learn
- Order shaken, not stirred like Bond
- Hear crank it up as overacting
- Resting on a menu can be a joke
Listen for
- makes me — weak form
- look at — liaison
- regarded as — liaison
Their days of resting have been and gone.The scallops are not resting on the plate. They are dead, and the gentle menu wording is the joke.
I'll be honest, I don't think I could muster more than a thimbleful.After hearing that shellfish are cooked in their own juices, someone jokes about producing barely a thimbleful of juice.
Yeah, whereas you are widely regarded as the king of understatement.During the Bond impressions it sounds like praise and lands as a dig: the other performance is famous for staying small.
As a rule, it's more effective if you don't fluff the line.Midway through flubbed Bond lines, the point is simple: the impression works only if the words come out right.
Questions about this scene
Why do they keep repeating the James Bond line?
They are not stuck on it. Each pass is a correction. One wants the reading to sound real, the other is told he cranks it up, and both keep taking the line back to prove they can say it better.
What are they actually arguing about during the impressions?
Not the plot of a Bond film. They are arguing about scale. "Don't caricature it" and "do it real" pull toward a smaller reading. Calling someone the king of understatement answers that by mocking a performance that stays too dry. Whoever sets the size owns the bit.
Is calling him the king of understatement a compliment?
It is shaped like one. It comes right after a complaint about cranking it up, so at the table it works as sarcasm: your whole style is playing things down.
What is the Las Vegas call really about?
Someone has a writing assignment in Las Vegas, a "good girls gone bad" story about prostitutes. From the restaurant, the reply is a jab: what if you become a good girl gone bad yourself? The call breaks on that, not on the food.
The Trip · 20 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 7living the dreamTelling Steve He's Living the Dream
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
Watching · 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
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 6 of 20 · about 72 min to go