pressed by a deadline
Well, we're all under a deadline here.American Beauty · 1999 — 第 1 / 14 章 · 2'32" · B2
Brad Warns Lester to Save His Job, Explained：cut corners
The company says it only needs a job description. "This is your one chance to save your job," Brad tells Lester, dressing a threat as advice. Under the friendly talk about being one of the good guys, the message is that someone is about to be cut.
あらすじ
At Media Monthly, Lester sits down with Brad, who says management wants everyone to write out a job description. The tone stays friendly — Brad calls himself one of the good guys — but the subtext is a layoff: times are tight, the company must cut corners, and managers will decide who is expendable. Lester jokes about selling his soul rather than being unemployed.
注目の表現
cut cornersfree upone of the good guysdamn thing
00:00 / 02:32Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
セリフをタップするとそこから再生
このシーンの表現
cut corners
do something cheaply or carelessly
Brad corners Lester and dresses up a layoff as the company's need to save money.
They cut corners on safety inspections and paid for it later.
このシーンの他の表現
- free up
make money or time available
- one of the good guys
I am on your side, not the bad guys
- damn thing
that annoying thing
- level with you
speak honestly with you
- have the heart to
be able to bear doing it
このシーンのメモ一覧
40 行のセリフに 27 件のメモ
included in something not printed or included in the press release
There's some information about your product launch that isn't even covered in your press release and...show up at work show up at the office at all
'Cause he doesn't ever seem to come in.Link come and in into one smooth flow, co-min.
'Cause he doesn't ever seem to come in.give my phone number
Yeah, OK. I'll leave my number.do something cheaply or carelessly
Brad corners Lester and dresses up a layoff as the company's need to save money.
So I'm sure you can understand our need to cut corners around here.make money or time available
Lester echoes the logic that tight times force the company to release cash.
Sure. Times are tight. You got to free up some cash.In fast American speech got to often collapses into gotta.
Sure. Times are tight. You got to free up some cash.you must invest to profit
You got to spend money to make money, right?a prostitute — A crude word; avoid it in formal or polite settings.
- Exactly. - Like the time when Mr. Flournoy used the company MasterCard to pay for that hooker, then she used therelative clause: The who-clause describes the person whose salary is being spent.
That's someone's salary who's gonna get fired because Craig has to pay women to fuck him!have sex with, coarse — Very vulgar; never use it in formal or public settings.
That's someone's salary who's gonna get fired because Craig has to pay women to fuck him!write something in full
That's why we're having everyone write out a job description mapping out in detail how they contribute.lay something out in detail
That's why we're having everyone write out a job description mapping out in detail how they contribute.participle phrase: The participle phrase describes what the job description must contain.
That's why we're having everyone write out a job description mapping out in detail how they contribute.nothing personal, just work
It's just business.I am on your side, not the bad guys
Right after delivering the warning, Brad gives himself credit for being decent.
I'm one of the good guys, Les.speak honestly with you
Brad asks Lester to trust him, framing his order as plain honesty.
I'm trying to level with you.keep your job
This is your one chance to save your job.Put the beat on one; it marks the single opportunity.
This is your one chance to save your job.mild swear for irritation — A mild swear for annoyance; skip it at work.
There's no decision. Just write the damn thing.give up your principles
Let's sell our souls and work for Satan because it's more convenient.have people move in next door
So we finally got new neighbors.past unreal conditional: The had-clause states a past that did not happen; the main clause gives its imagined result.
If the Lomans had let me represent them instead of the Real Estate Kingstay unsold on the market
that house would never have sat on the market for six months.bring a tree down
They were still mad at you for cutting down their sycamore.be able to bear doing it
Lester says he could not bear to cut the tree, tying his feelings to ownership.
I wouldn't have the heart to cut down something if it wasn't partially mine.「Brad Warns Lester to Save His Job」を読み解く
What's really going on
Nothing in the conversation is really about the job description. Brad keeps offering reassurance — "I'm one of the good guys, Les." — while delivering a threat, and the softer the words get, the clearer the message becomes: write it or you are out. The phrase "cut corners" does the dirty work, turning layoffs into a matter of budget discipline, and "It's just business." makes the decision sound impersonal. Lester names what he hears — "You don't think it's weird and kind of fascist?" — but he also knows the stakes, since he jokes about selling his soul rather than facing unemployment. The scene shows how a firing lands long before it happens: as a request, wrapped in sympathy, that the employee help write the case against himself.
Theme
PowerBrad holds the decision but makes Lester write the case against himself, turning a layoff into cooperation.
MoneyBudget cuts and cutting corners reframe people as costs, and a job becomes something to beg for.
このチャプターで学べること
- Cut corners hides layoffs inside a budget word.
- Save your job is a threat wrapped as a chance.
- Level with you asks for trust before bad news.
- Damn thing adds irritation, not a curse.
発音のポイント
- come in — Link come and in into one smooth flow, co-min.
- got to — In fast American speech got to often collapses into gotta.
- one chance — Put the beat on one; it marks the single opportunity.
So I'm sure you can understand our need to cut corners around here.Brad's euphemism for cutting staff and budgets. Framed as common sense, it is the first clear sign that Lester's job is at risk.
This is your one chance to save your job.Presented as a chance rather than a threat: the only way to keep his job is to write a description that proves he is worth keeping.
Let's sell our souls and work for Satan because it's more convenient.Lester's sarcastic summary of the offer — cooperate with a system he finds fascist, or face unemployment.
I wouldn't have the heart to cut down something if it wasn't partially mine.At home, Lester says he would never cut the tree down unless it were partly his, a small attempt to sound reasonable while Carolyn is still angry about it.
このシーンについての質問
Why does Brad want Lester to write a job description?
Management is deciding who is valuable and who is expendable. A written job description lets the company measure each employee against its budget, so the request is really the start of a round of cuts.
Is Brad actually trying to help Lester?
He says he is one of the good guys and wants to level with Lester, and he does warn him directly. But the warning is also pressure: cooperate with the evaluation and he might keep his job.
What does Lester do after Brad's warning?
He pushes back, calling the job description weird and kind of fascist, then jokes that they might as well sell their souls and work for Satan. In the end he writes it anyway.
Is Lester really going to be fired?
The scene strongly suggests it. Brad says nobody is getting fired yet, but he also says this is Lester's one chance to save his job, which means the decision is already in motion.
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 2 章come right out and sayThe Burnhams' Cold Dinner
再生中 · 第 1 章cut cornersBrad Warns Lester to Save His Job
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 1 / 14 章 · 残り約 37 分