Lost in Translation Scene 4 Summary

  • Bob meets with Kawasaki and the other Suntory execs at the hotel again. They want to know if he can stay until Friday; he's been invited to be a guest on a late-night talk show—the Johnny Carson of Japan. Bob says he'll have to check with his agent; he may have a previous commitment.
  • (Before all the late-night hosts were named Jimmy or James, there were Jay Leno and David Letterman, and before Jay and Dave there was the undisputed legend of late-night, Johnny Carson, who helmed The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992.)
  • Bob argues with his agent, Fred, on the phone while he gets his makeup touched up on the Suntory set.
  • Fred thinks Bob should stick around for the talk show; Bob doesn't want to. The call starts breaking up, but it sounds like Fred may've won. We'll see.
  • Bob's in a tux again, sitting on a stool and holding a glass of iced tea that's a stand-in for whisky. This time it's a photo shoot, not a commercial shoot.
  • Bob's a little hostile and sarcastic with, Naka, the photographer. Naka wants Bob to channel the Rat Pack and James Bond, and he keeps telling Bob to put his hand close to his face for some reason.
  • As Bob flies through cheesy pose after cheesy pose, he basically looks like he's in hell, and not just because the photographer asked him to channel Roger Moore and not Sean Connery.
  • Back at the hotel bar, the American cover band is bringing the funk with their cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair".
  • Just kidding. That song's the least funky thing in the history of the world.
  • Bob's at the bar; Charlotte's at a table. They make eye contact: in fact, Bob rolls his, making fun of the band's overwrought cover.
  • Charlotte cracks up. It is a pretty terrible cover. When it's over, the audience applauds. Bob snaps like they're at a poetry slam circa 1993.
  • We learn from the crimson-haired lead singer that the band is called Sausalito. Good to know.
  • Charlotte asks the waiter to send the bowl of bar mix from her table over to Bob. He does. Bob drinks the bowl of snacks like a shot, then nods in appreciation as he leaves the bar. Charlotte smiles.
  • In the elevator, Bob surveys his reflection in the mirrored doors. He cracks a smile.
  • Later that night, Bob battles an uncontrollable stair climber machine in the hotel gym that seems intent on flinging him across the room or out the nearby window. The struggle is real, Bob.