the toilet anecdote
You use the commode story?Reservoir Dogs · 1992 — 第 18 / 22 章 · 3'15" · B2
Holdaway Teaches the Commode Story, Explained：sell your story
An older officer coaches Freddy on how to survive undercover: be a great actor, be naturalistic, and above all get the details right. 'It's the details that sell your story,' he says, walking him through the men's-room anecdote he has to memorise and make his own.
あらすじ
An experienced officer teaches Freddy how to pass as a criminal. He says an undercover cop has to be a great actor and must seem completely natural, because bad acting gets you killed. Then he hands Freddy a story to memorise, telling him the details are what make it believable, and that he must practise it until it sounds like his own.
注目の表現
sell your storynaturalisticbullshitmake your own
00:00 / 03:15Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
このシーンの表現
sell your story
make people believe it
The handler tells Freddy that making the story believable matters more than telling it well.
You need to sell your story to the board with real numbers.
このシーンの他の表現
- naturalistic
natural and unforced
- bullshit
nonsense; crap
- make your own
improvise your own version
- the only way
the sole method
- take place
happen; be held
このシーンのメモ一覧
46 行のセリフに 38 件のメモ
learn it by heart
- What's the commode story? - It's a scene, man. Memorise it.has to be
An undercover cop's gotta be Marlon Brando, right?extremely
You gotta be naturalistic. You gotta be naturalistic as hell.The stress lands on as hell to add emphasis.
You gotta be naturalistic. You gotta be naturalistic as hell.if-clause: An if-clause sets the condition; ain't is a nonstandard am not.
Because if you ain't a great actor, you're a bad actor, and bad acting is bullshit in this job.nonsense — Crude; keep it out of formal settings.
Because if you ain't a great actor, you're a bad actor, and bad acting is bullshit in this job.a funny little story
That's an amusing anecdote about a drug deal.during the time you were
Something funny that happened to you while you were doing a fuckin' job, man. Damn.improvise your own version
The handler says to memorise the key parts and make the rest his own.
You memorise what's important, the rest you make your own, all right?The rest you links up into one run of sound.
You memorise what's important, the rest you make your own, all right?tell a joke
- You can tell a joke, can't you? - No.have to remember
Now the things you gotta remember are the details.make people believe it
The handler tells Freddy that making the story believable matters more than telling it well.
It's the details that sell your story.cleft sentence: A cleft sentence lifts the details into focus as the real point.
It's the details that sell your story.That sell your runs together, with the t often dropped.
It's the details that sell your story.happen; be held
The handler notes the story takes place in a men's room, so every detail there matters.
This particular story takes place in a men's room, so you gotta know all the details about the men's room.dry your hands
You gotta know if they got paper towels or a blower to dry your hands with.used in the past
You gotta know if they got liquid soap or that pink granulated powdered shit they used to use in high school.filthy and low — An insulting slang compound; not for writing.
If some nasty, lowlife, scum-ridden motherfucker, man, sprayed diarrhoea all over one of the bowls.each and every detail
You gotta know every detail there is to know about this commode.how you saw it
And while you're doing that, you gotta remember that this story is about you, and how you perceived the events that went down.while-clause: A while-clause marks something to keep in mind during the action.
And while you're doing that, you gotta remember that this story is about you, and how you perceived the events that went down.the sole method
The only way to do that, my brother - keep saying it and saying it and saying it and saying it and saying it.infinitive as modifier: The infinitive to do that modifies the only way, naming the action.
The only way to do that, my brother - keep saying it and saying it and saying it and saying it and saying it.nowhere at all — A swear word wedged inside another; pure venting.
I still had a connection, which was insane cause you couldn't get weed any-fucking-where.have a supplier
Anyway...I had a connection with this hippy chick in Santa Cruz and all my friends knew it.whenever
Freddy says that every time he bought weed, he was buying for four or five people.
Got to be...every time I bought some weed, I was buying for four or five different fuckin' people.every time clause: Every time introduces a clause like whenever, stressing repetition.
Got to be...every time I bought some weed, I was buying for four or five different fuckin' people.nothing at all
Freddy complains that the girl did nothing while he did all the work.
She didn't have to do jack shit. She never even had to meet these people.nothing — Crude slang; avoid it in polite talk.
She didn't have to do jack shit. She never even had to meet these people.a real nuisance
Freddy says the favours turned into a nuisance, with calls coming all day.
But then that got to be a pain in the ass. People calling me all the fuckin' time.a nuisance — Crude and casual; for complaining among friends.
But then that got to be a pain in the ass. People calling me all the fuckin' time.tell you later
I'm trying to watch The Lost Boys. "When I get some, I'll let you know."The t in let you often flaps into a d sound.
I'm trying to watch The Lost Boys. "When I get some, I'll let you know."drop by
Then these rinky-dink potheads come by - they're my friends and everything, but still, you know?cheap and second-rate — Dismissive slang; do not say it to their face.
Then these rinky-dink potheads come by - they're my friends and everything, but still, you know?marijuana smokers — Slang with a mocking edge; informal only.
Then these rinky-dink potheads come by - they're my friends and everything, but still, you know?「Holdaway Teaches the Commode Story」を読み解く
What's really going on
The scene is a masterclass in lying, and it is delivered as practical advice. The officer's rule is simple: an undercover cop has to be a great actor, because 'bad acting is bullshit in this job.' But his real lesson is about specificity. A story does not become true by being dramatic; it becomes true by being detailed — the paper towels, the doors, the soap — until the listener stops asking questions. 'It's the details that sell your story,' he says, and then explains the method: say it again and again until it belongs to you. The film is showing us the craft behind Freddy's later performance, and it is also quietly telling us how to watch it: the more convincing the detail, the less we should trust the man telling it.
Theme
DeceptionThe whole lesson is how to construct a lie convincing enough to pass as a criminal.
IdentityFreddy is taught to make a borrowed story his own, building a false self detail by detail.
このチャプターで学べること
- Sell your story means make it believable, not sell anything.
- Takes place fits events and ceremonies, never people.
- The only way frames one method as the sole choice.
- Every time opens a clause about a repeated habit.
発音のポイント
- naturalistic as hell — The stress lands on as hell to add emphasis.
- the rest you — The rest you links up into one run of sound.
- that sell your — That sell your runs together, with the t often dropped.
- let you know — The t in let you often flaps into a d sound.
It's the details that sell your story.The central lesson: a story becomes believable through specific detail, not through drama.
Because if you ain't a great actor, you're a bad actor, and bad acting is bullshit in this job.His blunt reason for the acting lesson: in undercover work, poor performance is fatal.
The only way to do that, my brother - keep saying it and saying it and saying it and saying it and saying it.His method for making a story sound true: repeat it over and over until it feels natural.
To do this job, you gotta be a great actor.The core requirement for undercover work, stated up front: you must be able to act.
This particular story takes place in a men's room, so you gotta know all the details about the men's room.His example of specificity: if the story happens in a bathroom, every detail of that bathroom must be known.
このシーンについての質問
What is the commode story?
It is a rehearsed anecdote about a drug deal that Freddy is told to memorise, so he can tell it convincingly if anyone asks how he got into crime.
Why does the officer compare undercover work to acting?
Because an undercover cop must seem like a criminal at all times, so a bad performance can expose him and get him killed.
What does 'It's the details that sell your story' mean?
It means a convincing story depends on small, specific details, not on big dramatic claims, because details make a lie feel real.
How is Freddy supposed to practise?
He is told to keep saying the story over and over until it becomes his own and sounds natural.
What kind of details does he need to know?
For this story, everything about the bathroom: whether it has paper towels or a blower, whether the stalls have doors, what kind of soap there is, and so on.
レザボア・ドッグス · 全 22 章
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次のチャプター · 第 19 章snap out of itFreddy Tells the Men's Room Story
第 1 章lose my train of thoughtThe Madonna Theory Debate
第 2 章world's smallest violinMr. Pink Refuses to Tip
第 3 章a degree in medicineMr. White Reassures Mr. Orange
第 4 章bless your heartMr. White Refuses the Hospital Run
第 5 章What's done is doneMr. White Panics About the Setup
第 6 章set someone upThe Crew Reconstructs the Robbery
第 7 章null and voidThe Crew Debates Mr. Blonde's Rampage
第 8 章call it quitsThe Crew Hunts the Rat
第 9 章on the up-and-upThe Crew Debates the Hospital Run
第 10 章back offMr. White Defends Telling His Name
第 11 章on the levelWhite and Blonde Nearly Fight
第 12 章chin upVic Comes Home From Prison
第 13 章for crying out loudEddie Sets Vic Up With a Job
第 14 章the stonesJoe Demands the Stolen Stones
第 15 章put up withThe Crew Ditches the Cars
第 16 章move inFreddy Tells Marvin He's a Cop
第 17 章made a killingMr. Orange Briefs Holdaway
再生中 · 第 18 章sell your storyHoldaway Teaches the Commode Story
第 19 章snap out of itFreddy Tells the Men's Room Story
第 20 章lay eyes on someoneEddie Tells the Elois Story
第 21 章my way or the highwayJoe Lays Down the Alias Rules
第 22 章barking up the wrong treeJoe Accuses Orange of Being a Cop第 18 / 22 章 · 残り約 16 分