on the verge of doing
As soon as you've prepared a nutritious, yet savory, meal that I'm about to eat you can listen to whatever you like.American Beauty · 1999 — 第 2 / 14 章 · 2'04" · B2
The Burnhams' Cold Dinner, Explained：come right out and say
Lester tries small talk over dinner and gets a sarcastic "It was spectacular." from Jane. He complains about the office's new efficiency expert, the man brought in to make layoffs look reasonable. Carolyn barely listens, and the table turns into a fight about who neglects whom.
あらすじ
At the dinner table, Lester tries to talk to his daughter Jane about school, and she answers with a sarcastic "spectacular." He then describes the efficiency expert his company has hired, a friendly man named Brad whose job is to make firing people look justified. Carolyn and Jane shut him down, and the meal collapses into an argument.
注目の表現
efficiency expertcome right out and sayMother of the Yearnobody's fault
00:00 / 02:04Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
このシーンの表現
come right out and say
state it bluntly, no hinting
Lester mocks a company that cannot state its real reason for firing people.
Just come right out and say you want the job.
このシーンの他の表現
- efficiency expert
a consultant hired to trim staff
- Mother of the Year
sarcastic praise for a fine mother
- nobody's fault
no one is to blame
- spectacular
amazingly great, said flatly here
このシーンのメモ一覧
26 行のセリフに 22 件のメモ
only once something is done
As soon as you've prepared a nutritious, yet savory, meal that I'm about to eat you can listen to whatever you like.relative clause: The that-clause narrows down which meal counts here.
As soon as you've prepared a nutritious, yet savory, meal that I'm about to eat you can listen to whatever you like.Practice linking I'm about to into one smooth /aɪməbaʊtə/.
As soon as you've prepared a nutritious, yet savory, meal that I'm about to eat you can listen to whatever you like.how something turned out
Well, you want to know how things went at my job today?corporate jargon for a cost-cutter — Office jargon, often sarcastic; keep it out of formal writing.
They've hired this efficiency expert.state it bluntly, no hinting
Lester mocks a company that cannot state its real reason for firing people.
He's there to make it seem like they're justified in firing somebody because they couldn't just come right out and say that.have good reason to do it
He's there to make it seem like they're justified in firing somebody because they couldn't just come right out and say that.infinitive of purpose: The to-infinitive explains why the expert was actually brought in.
He's there to make it seem like they're justified in firing somebody because they couldn't just come right out and say that.Link make it into /meɪkɪt/ before seem.
He's there to make it seem like they're justified in firing somebody because they couldn't just come right out and say that.not care at all
So they've asked us. You couldn't possibly care less, could you?tag question: The tag turns the statement into a pointed challenge.
So they've asked us. You couldn't possibly care less, could you?suddenly, out of nowhere
You can't all of a sudden be my best friend just because you had a bad day.for the mere reason that
You can't all of a sudden be my best friend just because you had a bad day.reason clause: The because-clause gives the excuse that the sentence then rejects.
You can't all of a sudden be my best friend just because you had a bad day.Because often reduces to /bɪkəz/; keep just short.
You can't all of a sudden be my best friend just because you had a bad day.hardly at all
I mean, hello! You've barely even spoken to me for months.handle someone as if they were
What? You're Mother of the Year? You treat her like an employee.expect others to reach out first
You know, you don't always have to wait for me to come to you.no one is to blame
Accused of blaming Jane, Lester backs off and says it is nobody's fault.
I didn't say that. It's nobody's fault.was once, but no longer
Janie, what happened? We used to be pals.close friends — Warm and casual between friends; too loose for formal settings.
Janie, what happened? We used to be pals.「The Burnhams' Cold Dinner」を読み解く
What's really going on
The dinner looks domestic, but every line is a door closing. Lester reaches for connection — "how was school?" — and meets wit instead of warmth, because, as Jane puts it, "You can't all of a sudden be my best friend just because you had a bad day." His story about the efficiency expert is really a confession that he is about to be made useless, and it lands on people who have already decided not to care. He does try an apology — "I'm sorry I haven't been more..." — but it's too late to register, and closing the fight with "It's nobody's fault" only makes the blame louder. The scene is a family performing a meal while each person quietly gives up on the others.
Theme
Family conflictA quiet dinner becomes a fight about neglect, with each person blaming the others for the distance.
LonelinessLester tries to connect and is met with sarcasm; the family sits together and is completely alone.
このチャプターで学べること
- Jane refuses warmth that arrives only after a bad day.
- Lester weaponizes 'mother of the year' against Carolyn.
- The corporate expert exists to make firing look fair.
- Regulars at cold dinners know the eyes that never meet.
発音のポイント
- I'm about to — Practice linking I'm about to into one smooth /aɪməbaʊtə/.
- make it seem — Link make it into /meɪkɪt/ before seem.
- just because — Because often reduces to /bɪkəz/; keep just short.
You can't all of a sudden be my best friend just because you had a bad day.Jane rejects her father's sudden need for closeness: his bad day doesn't earn him instant intimacy after months of silence.
He's there to make it seem like they're justified in firing somebody because they couldn't just come right out and say that.Lester explains the efficiency expert's real job: to give the company cover for layoffs it won't admit to.
You know, you don't always have to wait for me to come to you.A rebuke disguised as advice: the speaker puts the burden of reaching out back on the other person.
That would just be too honest.A dry aside about the company preferring a polite fiction to the plain truth of firing people.
このシーンについての質問
Why is the dinner so tense?
Lester has just learned his job is at risk and reaches out at the worst moment. Carolyn and Jane have stopped expecting anything from him, so his sudden need for warmth comes across as self-pity rather than connection.
Why does Jane answer with "spectacular"?
She is being sarcastic. She doesn't want to open up to a father who has ignored her for months, so she gives him a bright, empty word that shuts the conversation down.
Why does Lester attack Carolyn?
He feels ganged up on and lashes out, accusing her of treating Jane like an employee. It is less an accusation than a confession of how little he has been part of the family.
What does Lester mean by the efficiency expert?
He means the man is there to make layoffs look fair, since the company won't admit it is cutting staff. His anger is aimed at the polite fiction, not just at Brad.
Why does Jane leave the table?
The argument has nowhere to go, so she exits with a small, childish excuse — ice cream. It shows how little is left to say between the three of them.
アメリカン・ビューティー · 全 14 章
すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 3 章cut to the chaseJim and Jim Welcome the Fitts
第 1 章cut cornersBrad Warns Lester to Save His Job
再生中 · 第 2 章come right out and sayThe Burnhams' Cold Dinner
第 3 章cut to the chaseJim and Jim Welcome the Fitts
第 4 章take something out on someoneJane Meets Ricky at School
第 5 章sell an imageCarolyn Demands Lester Attend the Party
第 6 章pick your brainLester Quits His Job
第 7 章make your head spinCarolyn Confronts Lester
第 8 章cut a dealLester Meets the Neighbors
第 9 章nothing to loseLester Blackmails His Bosses
第 10 章drive someone nutsLester Applies at Mr. Smiley's
第 11 章whatever happened toLester and Carolyn's Couch Fight
第 12 章put him out of his miseryRicky and Jane Share Their Secrets
第 13 章so bustedLester Catches Carolyn at the Drive-Thru
第 14 章sit back and watchColonel Fitts Confronts Ricky第 2 / 14 章 · 残り約 35 分