I'm in a very good mood.
Three Sundays. Roger opens the door and welcomes Vicky, the call-girl, into a hotel room.
Roger: So how are you, Vicky?
Vicky: I’m in a very good mood.
I have thought about this line a thousand times.
This is the perfect line for a woman of her stature within her profession. It is a no-fail greeting for any client; convincing enough and designed to make them either feel a) special that she might feel this way on account of them, or b) lucky that they happened to have an appointment on a day when she happens to be in such a great mood. It is also utterly forgettable–she could hit you with it on your next appointment and you wouldn’t remember that she’d said it last time.
I suspect that she picked up the line years ago from a mentor, perhaps in a different city.
It is also disarming, relaxing–guaranteed to help put you in a good mood.
And also, and I really think this is key–it helps her set her own stage. It is almost a meditation. It gets her in the right mood. She leaves the last of whatever else may be on her mind outside the door and becomes who she needs to become to do a good job. It is apparent that Vicky is a consummate professional and truly excellent at her job. Shit if I was ever in need of a paid escort, she is who I’d want.
I also wonder whether the Jacquemettons (or whoever else may have contributed the line in the writers’ room) came up with it fresh or perhaps got a lead. It is just so perfect.
It is just a great bit of writing.
Basket of Kisses: The unofficial blog of AMC's Mad Men. Where all the cool kids meet & greet to talk about Don Draper, Janie Bryant, Christina Hendricks, Jon Hamm, Matthew Weiner, & subtexty things.
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June 7th, 2009 at 7:27 am
Wow. You really did think about that line a lot.
June 7th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Subtext just…ROCKS!
June 7th, 2009 at 11:37 am
This might be one of those times when Don should appear to tell you to not think about that so much.
June 15th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
I liked the line, "the prices may have changed but the menu is still the same". When Vicky first says this, her intent is to let Roger know that things haven't changed since his days in the Navy. The second time she says it, her intent is more of a warning. She delivers the line right after Roger leans over to kiss her, an act strictly forbidden by professionals. She charges him triple her usual rate and his response is "I want what I want". To which she responds, "isn't that perfect?"
Prostitution, at this level, is an art form. Roger is chasing something and its not just sex. It is a feeling that he lost a long time ago and money is no object. It drove Eliot Spitzer to risk and lose it all. Maybe Bobbie Barrett was right – powerful stuff being a woman.
June 16th, 2009 at 1:22 am
After my recent entry, I'd have to say it depends on what type of woman you are — a young, sexy woman has power. A woman with her own wealth — "Fuck-You-Money — has power. A fertile woman has power. But a post-menopausal woman at that time, relying on the kindness of her husband?
I was on an imdb page for a character actress from that approximate time, Mabel Albertson. Her claim to fame was playing the mother of Darrin on Bewitched. One of the threads was a gentleman posting that he saw her on an episode of Superman from '51, and thought she was looking kind of good. Someone responded with skepticism, saying she had to be around 50 at that time. As if 50 precludes being attractive — as if middle age and attractiveness can't co-exist.
Vicky is powerful because she is a beautiful woman in the presence of a hard appendage. The appendage is attached to the husband of a woman who probably isn't feeling too mighty. (Damn, I would love to see an interview with Talia Balsam!)