'You're not British!'


There's a line where Eva yells at a kid at her daughters school to pick up some litter, saying 'You're not British'. Is it a stereotype of british people that they drop litter on the street?! This joke totally went over my head and it's been bugging me since I saw the movie.

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Wasn't the kid who littered talking in a (fake ?) British accent? Maybe Eva was reacting to the irony of British-sounding propriety coming from an American teenager acting like a slob.

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oh!!

I came on here to say WTF was that about. The girl was doing an accent and it was in reference to that was it?

That is played very badly, it comes across as the British are known for littering, which is ridiculous

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fin

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I didn't come across that way to me. She was correcting the girl's littering and at the same time offering her practical advise in her search for identity. It was funny.

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OK, I guess that makes sense though I certainly had assumed it was a dig at the British.

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Even though I know it wasn't, I could see how you would think that, based on the clumsiness and randomness of the scene. It was almost as if it was added for some reason but made no sense (though I laughed!).

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There is no such thing as a British accent!

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jeez. who the hell cares.
english is british in the US. we don't know better and we don't care a damn

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jeez. who the hell cares.
english is british in the US. we don't know better and we don't care a damn


Explains a lot about your current presidential situation ...

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lol like yours is any better. please
We are out!! oh no sorry we didn't mean it that way... can we still stay
lol

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the girl spoke to her with an affected english accent.

When Fortuna spins you downward, go out to a movie and get more out of life

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Really? I totally didn't pick up on that!

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Yep, fake accent. Eva did that girl a favor.

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I don't think so. The girl answered her in a fake British accent. It had nothing to do with the litter. The girl drops the accent and says "what a bitch" when Eva tells she's not British. Unless there was some hidden meaning in the fact that the girl spoke to her in a fake British accent to begin with. Somebody?

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It was a moment that gave a little glimmer of insight into Eva's character, her daughter's life (the litterer was a former friend), the relationship that Eva had with her friend's daughters, what it is to be 17 and trying on different affectations in the quest to figure out who you are (which is relevant bc of the 2 daughters leaving home in Calif. for college in NY state).

Eva steps over the line a little bit -- she really shouldn't be correcting another person, even if her intention is good (= littering is a crappy thing to do) -- and even tho she does it with kindness and humor, it's a little controlling. Whereas one of the points of the movie is that to be in a healthy relationship, we have to give up some control and make room for other people's behaviors. (Note that near the end, Eva finally asks her massage client to help her by carrying the table up the stairs -- no more of this destructive "He should know what I need even tho I've not told him." Similarly, the friend has loosened up with the housekeeper -- she accepts the hairbrush in the silverware drawer. It's an acceptance of the fact that relationships are hard; that we all need to give n take; that others are not here merely to serve our needs; that we have to learn to chill rather than feel irritated, bc the end result -- a decent relationship -- is so worth it.)

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."

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