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We're the Millers · 2013 — Chapter 10 of 21 · 4'03" · B2

The RV Breaks Down in the Desert, Explained: save your bacon

Stranded and arguing, the group watches its plan fall apart while Pablo Chacon's men hunt for a white guy with a bad haircut. On the surface it's a breakdown comedy. Underneath, every insult lands on the same wound, that nobody here has a plan, and help arrives only when someone else says, "We're here to save your bacon."

What happens

After the RV breaks down, the group is stranded with no signal and no plan. Casey and Rose walk off to find help, and the men are left arguing. Chacon's men are meanwhile searching for the gringo with the bad haircut. The Fitzgeralds arrive by chance and offer to tow them.

Travel & hotelsArgumentsComplainingConfrontingFriendsB2mediumamerican
IMDb ↗

Listen for

use your headthe middle of nowheresave your bacondrive someone crazy

00:00 / 04:03
Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it

Phrase of the scene

save your bacon

救某人于危难、帮人脱险

两个搭车客开着拖车出现，自称是来救大卫一家脱险的，用这句话把好心说得豪爽。

You really saved my bacon by lending me that money.

Also in this scene

  • use your head

    动动脑子、用点心

  • the middle of nowhere

    荒郊野外、前不着村后不着店

  • drive someone crazy

    把某人逼疯、让人抓狂

  • crash with someone

    借住在某人家、蹭住

Everything marked in this scene

27 notes across 72 lines

Phrase · B2go as plannedI decided to bring the gringo myself to make sure everything goes as planned.
Grammar · B2to make sure everything goes as planned

infinitive of purpose

I decided to bring the gringo myself to make sure everything goes as planned.
Phrase · C1the haircut of a somethingThe gringo with the haircut of a donkey.
Phrase · B1get pulled overCalm down, I'm going the speed limit. We won't get pulled over.
Soundget pulled over

flap

Calm down, I'm going the speed limit. We won't get pulled over.
Phrase · B1use one's headJust use your head, David. I don't think you think things through.
Phrase · B2think something throughJust use your head, David. I don't think you think things through.
Grammar · C1I don't think you think things through

negation raising

Just use your head, David. I don't think you think things through.
Phrase · B1work out- Seems to be working out. - Oh, great.
Soundworking out

liaison

- Seems to be working out. - Oh, great.
Phrase · B1get a signalI can't even get a signal.
Phrase · B1the middle of nowhereNo shit. We're in the fucking middle of nowhere, dude.
Soundmiddle of nowhere

flap

No shit. We're in the fucking middle of nowhere, dude.
Slang · A2dudeNo shit. We're in the fucking middle of nowhere, dude.
Phrase · B1wait up- Wait up! - Ugh. Ridiculous!
Phrase · B1am I rightWomen, am I right?
Phrase · B1drive someone crazyAnd he's so smug. Ugh. He drives me crazy.
Grammar · B2golden advice did you follow that ended with you on the streets

relative clause with that

What golden advice did you follow that ended with you on the streets?
Phrase · B1crash with someoneI don't live on the streets, okay? I crash with friends.
Phrase · B2between couchesSo you were kind of between couches when David and Kenny found you.
Grammar · B1when David and Kenny found you

when clause

So you were kind of between couches when David and Kenny found you.
Slang · B2you little shitAll right, you know what you little shit? I swear--
Phrase · B2save someone's baconWe're here to save your bacon.
Phrase · B2saddle upSaddle up, little ladies. Ha-ha-ha!
Phrase · B1all aboardAll aboard the Fitzgerald Express. Honk, honk!
SoundAll aboard

liaison

All aboard the Fitzgerald Express. Honk, honk!
Slang · B2tampinsSo my friend bought me a box of tampins.

The RV Breaks Down in the Desert, explained

What's really going on

The scene is the trip at its lowest, and it plays like a comedy about competence. Casey and Rose argue about whose life choices are worse, landing lines like "What golden advice did you follow that ended with you on the streets?" while David insists everything is under control. Even the rescue is accidental: the Fitzgeralds happen to drive up and offer help. Their line, that they are there to save the day, is sincere and funny at once, because the group is so far from being saved. Structurally the chapter resets the Millers as people who cannot manage without luck.

Theme

SurvivalStranded with no signal and a broken RV, the group depends on a chance rescue to keep moving.
Family conflictCasey and Rose trade insults about their lives, exposing the tensions under the fake family.

Listen for

  • get pulled over — flap
  • working out — liaison
  • middle of nowhere — flap
  • All aboard — liaison
Just use your head, David. I don't think you think things through.

A blunt criticism of David's planning, telling him to think before he acts.

"Oh, I have a plan." Really? Good plan. You don't have any plans.

A mocking replay of David's boasting, undercutting his claim to have thought everything through.

No shit. We're in the fucking middle of nowhere, dude.

A sarcastic agreement that they are stranded, with crude emphasis on how remote the spot is.

What golden advice did you follow that ended with you on the streets?

A sharp retort that turns the other person's life choices into the real failure.

We're here to save your bacon.

The rescuers' cheerful announcement, treating a dangerous mess as a favor to a stranger.

Questions about this scene

Why are Pablo's men looking for the gringo?

They are hunting the man who took the shipment, and the only description they have is a white guy with a bad haircut. That detail is how they plan to find him again.

Why do Casey and Rose leave the RV?

The two argue about the failed plan and end up walking off to find help. Their fight, and David's smug confidence, are what push them to leave the stranded group.

Who rescues the group?

The Fitzgeralds pull up and offer to tow the RV to a mechanic, announcing that they are there to save the day. Their arrival turns the crisis into another running joke.

What is the joke about the Fitzgerald family?

They treat the rescue like a cheerful outing, calling it the Fitzgerald Express and pretending to be a train. Their wholesome energy is comic next to David's mess.

We're the Millers · 21 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 11a bit of a hiatusHow David and Rose Met
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 CheckpointWatching · Chapter 10save your baconThe RV Breaks Down in the DesertChapter 11a bit of a hiatusHow David and Rose MetChapter 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 10 of 21 · about 52 min to go