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Ridiculous Brain Mouth

PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:54 am
by Bonecrusher27
I was watching the movie (again) and am wondering if it's different cultual use, but I don't understand two parts:

1. When Benacheck warns secdef of an imminent attack, which he'll "bet my ridiculous salary is coming", does he mean he's paid really high, or really low? When we use that phrase here, particularly with reference to our own salaries, it's ridiculously low.

2. Secdef warns Maggie that she'll be taken off the case if she talks about "this brain mouth thing". What is this brain mouth thing; is it computer terminology and what does it mean?

Re: Ridiculous Brain Mouth

PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:23 am
by Magnimus
Bonecrusher27 wrote:I was watching the movie (again) and am wondering if it's different cultual use, but I don't understand two parts:

1. When Benacheck warns secdef of an imminent attack, which he'll "bet my ridiculous salary is coming", does he mean he's paid really high, or really low? When we use that phrase here, particularly with reference to our own salaries, it's ridiculously low.

2. Secdef warns Maggie that she'll be taken off the case if she talks about "this brain mouth thing". What is this brain mouth thing; is it computer terminology and what does it mean?


1.) I assumed he meant his salary was ridiculously high, leaning towards not the "pathetic" definition of the word but the "broadly or extravagantly humorous". Also, why would he bet something that was insignificant if he was trying to make a point? It makes more sense that he would hypothetically bargain something important to him if he was so sure he was right.

2.) The "brain-mouth" is joke that implies Maggie cannot control the link between her brain and her mouth. The secretary of defense is implying that Maggie just says whatever she thinks, right from the brain to the mouth. That was my interpretation, anyway. I think he says she'll be taken off the project if she cannot control the "brain-mouth thing," not if she talks about it the "brain-mouth thing."

PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 8:06 am
by Bonecrusher27
Haha thanks for that mate! Each time I watch the movie I hanker after a deeper and deeper level of understanding of everything said and spoken... I must be mad! :grin:

PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 8:06 am
by Jeysie
In the novelization, there's an "added scene" where Maggie ends up babbling to Secdef about herself, including a line where she says she's "got a little impulse-control problem, no filter." If that was an actual scene deleted from the script (as opposed to something the author added himself to the novel), could be that the filmed line was supposed to be a reference to that.

Re: Ridiculous Brain Mouth

PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 9:15 am
by Rushie
Magnimus wrote:1. When Benacheck warns secdef of an imminent attack, which he'll "bet my ridiculous salary is coming", does he mean he's paid really high, or really low? When we use that phrase here, particularly with reference to our own salaries, it's ridiculously low.


Dutch translators sure did a fine job providing our subtitles. I remember it was subtitled as 'mijn belachelijk lage salaris', meaning 'my ridiculously low salary'

PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 9:26 am
by Energon
If you have the HD DVD version of the movie, there is running commentary you can access which says that the salary is $70,000 US.

Read the prequel to the movie, it has good battles as well as talks about the "brain mouth thing". It also explains a lot of other things.

PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 9:28 am
by Leonardo
EnergonCube wrote:If you have the HD DVD version of the movie, there is running commentary you can access which says that the salary is $70,000 US.


Is that a lot in USD? Because converted into GBP that's not a huge salary.

PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 9:42 am
by Energon
Leonardo wrote:
EnergonCube wrote:If you have the HD DVD version of the movie, there is running commentary you can access which says that the salary is $70,000 US.


Is that a lot in USD? Because converted into GBP that's not a huge salary.


For the kind of responsibility associated with the job, it would be a low salary. Government jobs here are not known to pay too well.