WinkLingo
Log in

We're the Millers · 2013 — Chapter 9 of 21 · 4'38" · B2

Fake Family at the Border Checkpoint, Explained: look the part

The fake Millers reach the U.S. border and have to talk their way through a vehicle inspection. Small talk and a fake family story buy them time, but a stashed joint and a squeaky-clean act send them to secondary inspection, and they still have to bluff their way out.

What happens

At the U.S. border, the group poses as a wholesome family to pass a vehicle inspection. They trade pleasantries with another RV couple, hide a joint, and try to keep their story straight. It ends with the vehicle pulled aside for a secondary search.

Travel & hotelsPolice questioningSmall talkPersuadingStrangersB2mediumamerican
IMDb ↗

Listen for

look the parta bundle of joya real soft spotfollow my lead

00:00 / 04:38
Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it

Phrase of the scene

look the part

样子上要像那么回事

过检查站前，大卫让肯尼拿帽子，提醒大家外表上先像一家人，免得别人怀疑。

Wear a suit if you want to look the part at the interview.

Also in this scene

  • a bundle of joy

    小宝宝；带来欢乐的小家伙

  • a real soft spot

    特别偏爱、特别吃那一套

  • follow my lead

    跟着我来、照我说的做

  • make your acquaintance

    结识某人、与某人相识

Everything marked in this scene

30 notes across 80 lines

Soundhere we go

liaison

Okay, here we go. This is it.
Phrase · B2wave someone throughYou said the guard was just gonna wave us through.
Phrase · B2look the partHe will. But let's look the part so the others don't get suspicious.
Grammar · B2let's look the part so the others don't get suspicious

so clause of purpose

He will. But let's look the part so the others don't get suspicious.
Phrase · B2make a sceneOkay, he's really honking and it's making a huge scene. I think he just wants to say hi.
Phrase · B2quite a rigHowdy-doody! Quite a rig you got there, amigo.
SoundQuite a rig

flap

Howdy-doody! Quite a rig you got there, amigo.
Phrase · B2as often as one used toWe don't take her out as often as we used to when our girl was small.
Grammar · B2as often as we used to

as ... as comparison

We don't take her out as often as we used to when our girl was small.
Phrase · B2be such a bear to do somethingIt can be such a bear to carve out quality family time but you gotta do it, don't you?
Phrase · B2carve out somethingIt can be such a bear to carve out quality family time but you gotta do it, don't you?
Grammar · B1you gotta do it, don't you

tag question

It can be such a bear to carve out quality family time but you gotta do it, don't you?
Soundcarve out

liaison

It can be such a bear to carve out quality family time but you gotta do it, don't you?
Phrase · B2make someone's acquaintance- How handsome. - Pleased to make your acquaintance.
Slang · C1smoldering wifeDon Fitzgerald, my smoldering wife, Edith...
Slang · B2jointI got a joint here.
Phrase · B1get rid of somethingGet rid of it! Oh, my God!
SoundGet rid of it

flap

Get rid of it! Oh, my God!
Phrase · B1be so close- Oh, that was so close. - You have a baby!
Phrase · B1a bundle of joyOh, look at that gorgeous little bundle of joy!
Phrase · B2have a soft spot for someoneI was against the name at first, but the missus has a real soft spot...
Grammar · B2prima donnas who'll never be as good as Jordan

relative clause with who

...for prima donnas who'll never be as good as Jordan.
Phrase · B2be dying to do something- I'm dying to see his face. - Sir, pull forward to lane two.
Slang · B1a fucking idiot- My God, I feel like a fucking idiot. - That's the idea.
Phrase · B1follow someone's leadHey, hey, hey, hey. Everybody smile and follow my lead, all right?
Phrase · B2the promised landI'm gonna take us to the promised land. Here we go. Here we go.
Phrase · B1got thisShh. Shh, shh. I got this one.
Slang · B1poopedI mean, these kids are pooped and we've just--
Phrase · B2search something top to bottomLast chance. I'm gonna search this vehicle top to bottom.
Phrase · B2sorry to inconvenience someoneSorry to inconvenience you, folks. This happens a lot.

Fake Family at the Border Checkpoint, explained

What's really going on

The scene is a con played in broad daylight. The group's only plan is to look harmless, which someone spells out: "But let's look the part so the others don't get suspicious." Everything after that is performance — borrowed names, a borrowed baby, chirpy small talk about quality family time. The humor comes from the gap between the wholesome image and the panic underneath, as when a joint is quietly stashed while a stranger coos over the baby. The officer's warning, "I can't help you," makes the stakes clear: the act has to hold, or the trip ends here. It does hold, barely, because everyone commits to the role.

Theme

DeceptionThe whole crossing is a performance: fake names, a borrowed baby, and small talk meant to look harmless.
Family loveTo sell the act they invent a warm family, using lines about carving out family time as cover.

Listen for

  • here we go — liaison
  • Quite a rig — flap
  • carve out — liaison
  • Get rid of it — flap
It can be such a bear to carve out quality family time but you gotta do it, don't you?

A bit of friendly small talk about how hard it is to find family time, used here as camouflage to look like ordinary parents.

He will. But let's look the part so the others don't get suspicious.

The plan in one line: the guard may wave them through, but they still have to look convincing to everyone watching.

Sorry to inconvenience you, folks. This happens a lot.

The officer's polite, practiced line that treats a tense search as routine business.

I'm gonna take us to the promised land. Here we go. Here we go.

A leader-style pep talk as the group prepares to move, borrowing a biblical phrase for a very unholy errand.

Questions about this scene

Why do they need to look like a normal family at the border?

Because a clean, ordinary family draws less attention. Their cover story only works if everyone plays the part, so they copy other travelers and chat about family life while smuggling.

What is the joke about the baby's name?

They blurt out "LeBron" for a white-looking baby, then call him "a little French fella," which makes no sense. The awkward lie is part of the scene's comedy about improvising.

Why are they sent to secondary inspection?

The guards get suspicious and order the vehicle pulled aside. Before searching it they give a last chance to confess, which raises the pressure on everyone inside.

Who are the Fitzgeralds?

A friendly couple in another RV who chat with the group at the checkpoint. They are ordinary travelers used to show how the fake family has to keep up a convincing front.

We're the Millers · 21 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 10save your baconThe RV Breaks Down in the Desert
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 BribeWatching · Chapter 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 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 9 of 21 · about 56 min to go