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We're the Millers · 2013 — Chapter 12 of 21 · 3'48" · B2

The Millers Perform at the Jamboree, Explained: pass the baton

Roped into the Fitzgerald family jamboree, the fake Millers have to perform, and the crowd rewards them with polite praise. Off to the side, David is quietly plotting: "We wait until they fall asleep and then we sneak into their tent."

What happens

At the Fitzgeralds' campfire jamboree, the fake Millers are called up to perform and sing "I Fought the Law." The family earns polite applause, while David uses the noise to plan stealing Don's keys and swapping out the RV's radiator hose.

PartiesSmall talkComplimentingPersuadingStrangersB2mediumamerican
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Listen for

an A for effortget the party startedgive someone a breakpass the baton

00:00 / 03:48
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Phrase of the scene

pass the baton

交接棒；把任务传给下一个人

菲茨杰拉德把画画的任务交给下一个孩子，用接力赛的说法把联欢串起来。

She passed the baton to her deputy before retiring.

Also in this scene

  • an A for effort

    态度分给满分；虽然没做好但心意可嘉

  • get the party started

    开场、让活动热闹起来

  • give someone a break

    饶了某人；别为难人家

  • went too far

    做得过分、越界

Everything marked in this scene

27 notes across 76 lines

Phrase · A2go to community collegeI'm gonna fail and have to go to community college.
Phrase · B2a sack of somethingHeh-heh-heh. - No, no, no. LeBron was a sack of herbs.
Grammar · B1We were just treating it like a real baby

past continuous

We were just treating it like a real baby, a summer project.
Phrase · B2nothing ruins your life like something...nothing ruins your life like children.
Phrase · B2stick to somethingYeah. And it also sends that message to teens, just stick to the big A.
Slang · B2the big AYeah. And it also sends that message to teens, just stick to the big A.
Phrase · B2go too far...that we would treat it like a real baby all summer and we went too far.
Grammar · B2that we would treat it like a real baby all summer

noun clause with that

...that we would treat it like a real baby all summer and we went too far.
Soundwent too far

elision

...that we would treat it like a real baby all summer and we went too far.
Phrase · B1get used to somethingGot used to it. Sorry.
Phrase · B2it's my pleasure to welcome someoneLadies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to welcome you...
Phrase · B2in someone's placeBut in their place this year we have the very talented and wonderful Miller family.
Phrase · B1get the party startedLet's get this party started with a Fitzgerald family favorite.
Soundget this party started

flap

Let's get this party started with a Fitzgerald family favorite.
Grammar · B2I want you to imagine you committed a felony

want someone to do

I want you to imagine you committed a felony, you've been tried and sent to prison...
Phrase · B1get an A for effort- Great, kids. - Well, that was an A for effort.
Soundan A for effort

liaison

- Great, kids. - Well, that was an A for effort.
Phrase · B1sneak into a placeWe wait until they fall asleep and then we sneak into their tent, all right?
Grammar · B1We wait until they fall asleep

until clause

We wait until they fall asleep and then we sneak into their tent, all right?
Soundfall asleep

liaison

We wait until they fall asleep and then we sneak into their tent, all right?
Slang · C1Cut their throatsMm. Cut their throats.
Phrase · B1give someone a breakWho do you think I am, Scarf ace? Give me a break.
Slang · C1Scarf aceWho do you think I am, Scarf ace? Give me a break.
Phrase · B2swap something out...then we take the RV back to the shop and I can swap out their radiator hose for ours.
Phrase · B2plain and simplePlain and simple.
Phrase · B2pass the baton- Passing the baton. - Nice work.
Phrase · C1do something one's brains out- Draw your brains out. - All right, that's a line.

The Millers Perform at the Jamboree, explained

What's really going on

The scene is an undercover job disguised as a family talent show. The Millers have to smile through a wholesome evening while stealing the parts they need, and the gap between the two is where the comedy lives. Casey's line "I'm gonna fail and have to go to community college" is played as a teenager's catastrophe, but it also shows how easily the whole group slips into other people's lives. Then the plotting turns dark for a beat, with "We wait until they fall asleep and then we sneak into their tent," before a misunderstanding makes it sound like murder. Nobody here is who they claim to be, and the jamboree is a performance inside a performance.

Theme

LiesThe family performs wholesomeness on stage while secretly plotting to steal car parts from their hosts.
SatireA polite family talent show is also a cover for a crime, and the film plays both straight.

Listen for

  • went too far — elision
  • get this party started — flap
  • an A for effort — liaison
  • fall asleep — liaison
I'm gonna fail and have to go to community college.

A teenager's exaggerated panic about failing, treating a community college as the end of the world.

Don't lock the baby in the basement.

An absurd cue from a drawing game, made funnier by how calmly it is said.

You thought I was gonna say "cut their throats"?

The misunderstanding that makes the quiet plotting sound like a murder plan.

I fought the law and the law won

The song they perform, whose outlaw line is funny for a family pretending to be wholesome.

Questions about this scene

Why are the Millers performing at the jamboree?

They are posing as an ordinary family, and turning down the invitation would look suspicious. Performing is part of blending in.

What is David actually planning during the show?

He wants to steal Don's keys, take the RV back, and swap its radiator hose for theirs so the Fitzgeralds cannot follow them.

Why does the plan sound like murder at first?

David starts by whispering about sneaking into the tent, and the other character fills in the worst ending. It is a misunderstanding played for laughs.

What does get the party started mean?

It means to begin an event and liven it up. The host uses it as the cue to open the family talent show.

We're the Millers · 21 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 13the birds and the beesKenny's Bad Drawing
Chapter 1what I wouldn't giveDavid Runs Into Little RickyChapter 2a real Sophie's choiceDavid Fights for CaseyChapter 3out of my leagueBrad Offers David a JobChapter 4a huge red flagDavid Recruits Rose for the TripChapter 5in my sleepThe Millers Fly to MexicoChapter 6blend inThe Millers Cross into MexicoChapter 7as we speakDavid Picks Up the Wrong LoadChapter 8be a team playerA Cop Demands a BribeChapter 9look the partFake Family at the Border CheckpointChapter 10save your baconThe RV Breaks Down in the DesertChapter 11a bit of a hiatusHow David and Rose MetWatching · Chapter 12pass the batonThe Millers Perform at the JamboreeChapter 13the birds and the beesKenny's Bad DrawingChapter 14spice things upThe Couple Walks In on ThemChapter 15Mum's the wordCasey Teaches Kenny to KissChapter 16worth way more alive than I am deadPablo Chacon Confronts the MillersChapter 17make a good caseKenny Gets Bitten by a SpiderChapter 18a cheap shotInterrogating Casey's BoyfriendChapter 19dead in a ditchThe Fake Family Falls ApartChapter 20get one's hands off someoneCasey Punches Scottie P.Chapter 21a huge paydayDavid Begs the Group to Come Back
Chapter 12 of 21 · about 42 min to go