“Would you please, with cherries on top, marry me?”
Por qué es buena
A marriage proposal delivered like a dessert order; the sweetness is also the joke.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
Would you please, with sprinkles on top, give me a hand?
00:00 / 03:54
00:00 / 03:54
Andrew Makes Margaret Propose, Explained
The Proposal · 2009
Capítulo 4 de 14 · 3'54"
Margaret needs a husband to stay in the country, so she offers Andrew a fake marriage. He doesn't say yes; he prices the deal. "Promote you to editor? No, no way. Then I quit and you're screwed," he says — before trading his silence for a promotion and a proposal with her on one knee.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:53–2:22
Andrew Makes Margaret Ask Nicely
89s
Andrew Makes Margaret Propose, explained
What happens
At the office, Margaret, a book editor facing deportation, asks her assistant Andrew to marry her for a green card. Andrew turns the favor into a negotiation: he wants her job for him, a real proposal, and the engagement announced on his terms. Later, in her apartment, the two cram for the immigration interview.
What's really going on
What looks like a green-card favor is really a power struggle, and Andrew is the one holding the leverage. When Margaret offers to marry him, he doesn't take it as a gift; he makes her pay. "Promote you to editor? No, no way. Then I quit and you're screwed," he tells her, and she knows it's true — he is the only person who knows her well enough to pass the interview. So she trades: an editor's title, a real manuscript deal, a proper proposal on her knee. The scene is about two people who say they are faking a romance while negotiating the terms of a real one, and neither admits the deal is starting to matter.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Would you please, with cherries on top, marry me?”
- A sarcastic proposal: he asks her to marry him while mocking her demand that he ask nicely, adding a fake-sweet 'please' on top.
- “And you probably live at some squalid little studio apartment with stacks of yellowed Penguin Classics.”
- Margaret sneers at his cheap apartment and his used paperbacks, using his reading habit to put him down as poor and pretentious.
- “Say it like you mean it.”
- Margaret wants a sincere proposal, not a line read off a card, but by demanding it she reveals she cares about the words.
- “Ask me nicely to marry you, Margaret.”
- Andrew flips the power: the woman who is technically his boss must ask him properly, by name, as he holds out for respect.
Theme
- Power — A green-card favor becomes a negotiation in which Andrew sets the price and Margaret pays.
- Deception — Both agree to fake a marriage, but the terms they haggle over are the real deal they are making.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel1/4
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“And you probably live at some squalid little studio apartment with stacks of yellowed Penguin Classics.”
Por qué es buena
A whole biography in one sneer: poor, bookish, and self-serious.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
You probably live in some tiny flat stacked with old paperbacks.
“Say it like you mean it.”
Por qué es buena
Six words expose insincerity: it isn't the words that are wrong, it's the delivery.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
Don't just mumble sorry; say it like you mean it.
“Ask me nicely to marry you, Margaret.”
Por qué es buena
She turns the proposal into an order, taking charge of both the wording and her own name.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
Go on, ask me nicely to help you.
Siguiente · 05a meal ticketLa escena: Margaret Meets the Paxton FamilyIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- Use if-clauses to negotiate a deal.
- Use fall for it for being fooled.
- Soften a request with with cherries on top.
- Recognize first run as a book's initial printing.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy does Andrew make Margaret propose on one knee?
Because she is his boss and he has resented taking her orders; the proposal is his chance to make her ask for something from a position of less power.
Is Andrew bluffing when he says he'll quit?
Partly. He knows Margaret cannot pass the immigration interview without him, so quitting would sink her. He uses that leverage to win a job he actually wants.
What does 'with cherries on top' mean here?
It comes from ordering a sundae with a cherry on top. Andrew adds it to his proposal to mock Margaret's demand for sweetness, as if extra flattery were a topping.
Who has the upper hand in this negotiation?
Andrew, mostly. Margaret has the title and the money, but he has the knowledge she needs, so he keeps raising the price until she names him editor.
Why does Margaret agree to publish his manuscript?
It is another of his conditions. If she marries him and he plays the fiance for the interview, he wants a career out of the deal too, not just a favor.