I'll run in, pick up a duffel bag, a suitcase or something and we'll be on our way.We're the Millers · 2013 — Chapter 7 of 21 · 4'23" · B2
David Picks Up the Wrong Load, Explained: as we speak
David walks in to grab a small pickup and walks out with two tons of weed, while Brad on the phone insists everything is under control. On the surface it's a comic phone call. Underneath, the calm line "I don't see what could possibly go wrong" is the exact moment the trip turns dangerous.
What happens
David tries to pick up the drugs by name, gets mocked by the men, and realizes the order is far larger than promised. Kenny panics as the RV is loaded with tons of marijuana. Brad, cheerful on the phone, says he has bribed a border guard so they will breeze through. The chapter ends with the group deciding they are in trouble.
Listen for
the welcome wagona smidgewhat could possibly go wrongbreeze through
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Phrase of the scene
the welcome wagon
欢迎委员会（讽刺地指来迎接的一群人）
大卫开车到毒贩大院，看到一群人迎上来，用这个词调侃这场迎接。
A whole crowd came out to greet us like a welcome wagon.
Also in this scene
- a smidge
一点点、一丁点儿
- what could possibly go wrong
还能出什么岔子呢（其实一定会出岔子）
- breeze through
轻松过关、毫不费力地通过
- set foot
踏进、走进（强调进入某个地方）
Everything marked in this scene
30 notes across 80 lines
I'll run in, pick up a duffel bag, a suitcase or something and we'll be on our way.Hi. Now come on. See, it's the welcome wagon.Yeah, I'm here to pick up for Brad Gurdlinger.liaison
Yeah, I'm here to pick up for Brad Gurdlinger.You are the White Gringo with the haircut of a donkey.Yeah. Yeah, mucho white-o. Very, very gringo. Yeah.Yeah. I know, I can't believe it either.elision
All right, big fella, where's the smidge of weed everyone's talking about?All right, big fella, where's the smidge of weed everyone's talking about?- This is a little more than a smidge. - Oh, dear.Calm down. Okay? We're gonna be fine.All we're doing is smuggling two metric tons of marijuana...all ... is + gerund
All we're doing is smuggling two metric tons of marijuana...I don't see what could possibly go wrong! Ugh!noun clause with what
I don't see what could possibly go wrong! Ugh!Okay, uh, I'm gonna make a phone call real quick.I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. I'm like an amazing sculptor.It's an orca and he's breaching and I'm balls deep in his blow hole.Okay? They're using a goddamn bucket brigade to put it on the RV as we speak!Everything's gonna be fine, man. I greased the guard in lane one at the border.He'll let you breeze through, I'll see you in the morning!stress
He'll let you breeze through, I'll see you in the morning!Can I change the subject for a second?be like as a quotative
...you're gonna look at it and be like, "Whoa, those balls are huge."I mean, I don't know whether I'd put it in those terms.Well, as long as no one sets foot inside the RV...as long as clause
Well, as long as no one sets foot inside the RV...flap
Well, as long as no one sets foot inside the RV...We're totally fucked.David Picks Up the Wrong Load, explained
What's really going on
The pickup scene runs on a joke about underestimation. David says the pickup is routine, then the men load the RV with a haul big enough to "kill Willie-fucking-Nelson." The scale is the punchline: everything David says is fine is visibly not fine, and Kenny's line about the bucket brigade makes the danger literal while it is still happening. The "I don't see what could possibly go wrong" that follows is the script's way of inviting the audience to brace. Brad's phone call, promising a greased guard and an easy crossing, doubles down on the false calm, which is exactly why it reads as a warning rather than reassurance.
Theme
DeceptionDavid bluffs his way through a pickup and the group ends up smuggling far more than they agreed to.
SurvivalKenny's panic over two tons of weed shows how close the plan is to disaster.
Listen for
- pick up for — liaison
- smidge of weed — elision
- breeze through — stress
- foot inside — flap
I don't see what could possibly go wrong! Ugh!Sarcastic self-reassurance in the face of obvious danger, inviting the audience to expect disaster.
You reject my mother's gift?A mock-serious line over food, treating a small refusal as a grave insult.
Okay? They're using a goddamn bucket brigade to put it on the RV as we speak!Kenny's panic that the loading is happening right now, line by line, faster than they can stop it.
You got me moving enough weed to kill Willie-fucking-Nelson, man!A comic exaggeration that measures the absurd scale of the haul against a famous stoner.
You are the White Gringo with the haircut of a donkey.The dealer's mocking introduction of David, underlining how out of place he looks.
Questions about this scene
Why does the dealer call David the white gringo?
David shows up with no clue who Pablo Chacon really is, so the men mock him as a pale outsider with a bad haircut. It signals how out of place he is.
Why is there so much weed in the RV?
David asked for a small amount, but the men load the RV with tons of marijuana. Kenny's complaint, that it is enough to kill Willie Nelson, spells out how badly the pickup went wrong.
Why is Brad so calm on the phone?
Brad insists everything will be fine and claims he has already paid off a guard at the border. His confidence is comic, since the RV is packed and nothing has been squared away.
What is the joke about greasing the guard?
Brad promises a smooth border crossing because he bribed a guard in lane one. It is the kind of false reassurance that sets up trouble later in the trip.
We're the Millers · 21 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 8be a team playerA Cop Demands a Bribe
Chapter 1what I wouldn't giveDavid Runs Into Little Ricky
Chapter 2a real Sophie's choiceDavid Fights for Casey
Chapter 3out of my leagueBrad Offers David a Job
Chapter 4a huge red flagDavid Recruits Rose for the Trip
Chapter 5in my sleepThe Millers Fly to Mexico
Chapter 6blend inThe Millers Cross into Mexico
Watching · Chapter 7as we speakDavid Picks Up the Wrong Load
Chapter 8be a team playerA Cop Demands a Bribe
Chapter 9look the partFake Family at the Border Checkpoint
Chapter 10save your baconThe RV Breaks Down in the Desert
Chapter 11a bit of a hiatusHow David and Rose Met
Chapter 12pass the batonThe Millers Perform at the Jamboree
Chapter 13the birds and the beesKenny's Bad Drawing
Chapter 14spice things upThe Couple Walks In on Them
Chapter 15Mum's the wordCasey Teaches Kenny to Kiss
Chapter 16worth way more alive than I am deadPablo Chacon Confronts the Millers
Chapter 17make a good caseKenny Gets Bitten by a Spider
Chapter 18a cheap shotInterrogating Casey's Boyfriend
Chapter 19dead in a ditchThe Fake Family Falls Apart
Chapter 20get one's hands off someoneCasey Punches Scottie P.
Chapter 21a huge paydayDavid Begs the Group to Come BackChapter 7 of 21 · about 64 min to go