“You don't know you have to sing Happy Birthday twice to get the germs off?”
Why it's great
He states a fake hygiene rule as if everyone should know it.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
You don't know you have to knock twice to be let in?
00:00 / 04:57
00:00 / 04:57
Boris Takes Melodie In, Explained
Whatever Works · 2009
Chapter 3 of 16 · 4'57"
A runaway from Mississippi begs Boris for food on the street, and he lets her up for two minutes that turn into a meal. He insults her constantly, warning that she will not survive the city, yet he is the one who feeds her and listens.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:26–1:23
Boris Takes Melodie In
56s - 2:56–4:11
❝ Monologue · 4 lines Boris Warns Melodie About New York
75s
Boris Takes Melodie In, explained
What happens
On the street, a hungry young woman named Melodie asks Boris for something to eat. He assumes she is a scammer, but takes pity and invites her upstairs, where he feeds her sardines and lectures her about how badly she will fail in New York.
What's really going on
The chapter pairs two people who have nothing in common and lets them talk anyway. Boris is at his most hostile here, calling Melodie brainless and warning her she will end up on the street, but every insult comes with a meal and a place to sit. His cruelty is a kind of honesty, and Melodie, who has no idea who he is, simply keeps talking. The line that captures the arrangement is his own backhanded admission: "You'd be dead now of starvation if I hadn't a heart as big as all outdoors." The film's joke is that the man who claims to despise everyone is the one who opens his door, and the relationship that drives the whole story starts with a can of sardines.
Key lines & what they mean
- “You don't know you have to sing Happy Birthday twice to get the germs off?”
- Boris turning a hand-washing joke into a lecture, his way of caring without admitting it.
- “No, I haven't. Not even the people who live there have heard of it.”
- His deadpan put-down of her hometown, establishing the tone of the whole conversation.
- “You'd be dead now of starvation if I hadn't a heart as big as all outdoors.”
- The backhanded way he admits he helped her, framing kindness as a burden.
- “You're 21 like I play for the Yankees. Twenty-one!”
- His mockery of her claimed age, using the most absurd comparison he can think of.
- “I just need a place to stay for a few nights, till I get on my feet.”
- Melodie's plain request, the beginning of the arrangement the film is built on.
Theme
- Loneliness — Two isolated people, one bitter and one lost, end up sharing a meal because neither has anywhere better to be.
- Identity — Boris tries to scare Melodie with what the city will make of her, revealing his own harsh view of the world.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level1/7
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“No, I haven't. Not even the people who live there have heard of it.”
Why it's great
The joke is that even locals have never heard of his hometown.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
Not even the people who live there have heard of my village.
“You'd be dead now of starvation if I hadn't a heart as big as all outdoors.”
Why it's great
He saves her life and insults her in the same breath, then praises his own heart.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
You'd be lost now if I hadn't written it down for you.
“You're 21 like I play for the Yankees. Twenty-one!”
Why it's great
Comparing her age to his baseball lie calls the bluff with a straight face.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
You speak French like I cook like a chef.
“I just need a place to stay for a few nights, till I get on my feet.”
Why it's great
It asks for almost nothing while quietly asking for everything she needs.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
I just need a room for a few nights, till I find work.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Boris's brutal assessment
Stupid beyond all comprehension, but you'll never survive here. You got nothing going for you. Zero. Zilch. You know, you may be beauty contest material in the Deep South, but this is the big time. Here, you're a three. A five maybe after you bathe.
He runs through her brains and looks like a ruthless rating, and the numbers land like punchlines.
Up next · 04spare me the detailsThe scene: Boris's Runaway Tells Her PastTakeaways
What you walk away with- Boris insults her and feeds her in the same scene.
- A pun on tricks lets two people talk past each other.
- Melody's soft request hides how little she has.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does Boris let Melodie into his apartment?
He thinks she is running a begging scam, but she looks genuinely ill and hungry, so he lets her come up for what he says will be two minutes.
Why does Boris keep insulting Melodie?
It is how he talks to everyone. He calls her brainless and predicts she will fail in New York, but he also feeds her and hears her out.
What does Melodie want from Boris?
She wants food and a place to sleep. She tells him she has nowhere to go and asks to stay a few nights until she can get on her feet.
Why did Melodie leave home?
She says she is never going back. Her mother kept entering her in beauty contests, so she barely went to school and left Mississippi for New York.