Hang On, Voltaire

ElGuapo · Post by **ElGuapo** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:35 pm

I love the movie Swingers, but I've never understood what the "Hang on Voltaire" line refers to. Would someone explain it to me?

Fretmute · Post by **Fretmute** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:42 pm

It's referring to Mike's "I'll have pancakes in the Age of Enlightenment" joke. He then went on to complain about what a dumb joke that was, and how the waitress wouldn't get the obscure French philosophical reference.

Voltaire was a French philosopher, and wrote during the Enlightenment, so she got it.

[edits further] - I suppose it's there to illustrate that Mike is money, but he doesn't know it.

Dirt · Post by **Dirt** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:44 pm

Wow. That movie came out 10 years ago. I feel old.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:44 pm

The entire exchange:

WAITRESS

Are you ready to order?

MIKE

Coffee...
[(points to Trent, who nods)]
Two coffees. It says "Breakfast Any
Time", right?

WAITRESS

That's right.

MIKE

I'll have "pancakes in the Age of
Enlightenment".

[It goes over like a lead balloon.]

WAITRESS

And you?

TRENT

I'll have the Blackbeard over easy.

WAITRESS

I'll be back with the coffee.

[She takes the menus and goes.]

TRENT

[(genuinely)]
Nice, baby.

MIKE

I should've said Renaissance, right? It
went over her head.

TRENT

Baby, you did fine.

MIKE

[(disgusted with himself)]
"Age of Enlightenment". Shit. Like some
waitress in a Las Vegas coffee shop is
going to get an obscure French
philosophical reference. How demeaning.
I may as well have just said "Let me jump
your ignorant bones."...

TRENT

...Baby...

MIKE

... It's just, I thought "Renaissance"
was too Excaliber, it's the wrong casino.
She would've gotten it, though...

TRENT

You did fine. Don't sweat her. We're
meeting our honeys soon. You know
Christy's friend is going to be money.

MIKE

I hope so.
[(checks watch)]
We gotta go soon.

TRENT

Baby, relax. It's just down the hall.
She's gotta change... we'll be fine.

MIKE

We didn't do so bad after all.

TRENT

Baby, we're money.

[Mike tries to catch the attention of their waitress, who is
passing with a huge platter containing a BREAKFAST BANQUET.]

MIKE

Excuse me. We're in a bit of a hurry.

WAITRESS

Hang on, Voltaire.

It all stems from Mike trying to be clever about Breakfast at anytime.

Edit:

Fretmute wrote:[edits further] - I suppose it's there to illustrate that Mike is money, but he doesn't know it.

Wow, am I pessimist, or what? You see it as her getting the joke and making Mike money (which probably makes more sense contextually) and I see it as her way of getting it and telling him to get off his high horse. In effort to be suave, which he thought he looking down on her from to far up, for which she saw through him and thought that he was being needlessly arrogant to be clever... demonstrating that he no right to think that was too far above her head at all.

ElGuapo · Post by **ElGuapo** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:51 pm

Oh, ok. It's that simple? I was searching for some deep meaning to the joke. I guess it's a classic example of making something more difficult than it really is. Thanks for the responses!

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:53 pm

Why does he keep calling him "Baby?"

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:53 pm

ElGuapo wrote:Oh, ok. It's that simple? I was searching for some deep meaning to the joke. I guess it's a classic example of making something more difficult than it really is. Thanks for the responses!

I guess it's not that easy.

Fret and I walked away with the exact opposite impressions of what that statment meant... Or it's that easy and I was off in my own world, which wouldn't be the first time.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:56 pm

McNutt wrote:Why does he keep calling him "Baby?"

Dude. It's totally the drama of the movie totally showing the drama of the person, man. Vaughn is totally over the top and, "baby" is like an affectation of his totally over the top personality, man.

Where is Trent to way in on this? Isn't he the Swingers scholar?

Fretmute · Post by **Fretmute** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:58 pm

LordMortis wrote:Fret and I walked away with the exact opposite impressions of what that statment meant.

It was clearly a snipe when she said it, but that's after he was down on himself (and further, her) about the joke. Had he shown some self confidence (and, perhaps, been more polite), things might have gone differently.

PR_GMR · Post by **PR_GMR** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 3:09 pm

I just love this movie. Every year I watch it.. and it still makes me laugh. Swinger's pretty much a classic.

Grundbegriff · Post by **Grundbegriff** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:37 pm

The line's based on an old Stephen Wright joke.

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