History Headscratchers / GlengarryGlenRoss

** Of course, Aaronow could claim that he didn’t think Moss would go through with his plan and that it was just alcohol-lubricated bluster and big-talk, and he had every right not to say anything to the police without a lawyer present. At the end, he doesn't seem all that worried; most likely, he'll get off free or with a slap on the wrist. It's doubtful Mitch and Murray will even fire him, since he's the only salesman they have now who isn't facing serious legal problems. If they do can him, he may well be better off.

** Of course, Aaronow could claim that he didn’t think Moss would go through with his plan, and he had every right not to say anything to the police without a lawyer present. At the end, he doesn't seem all that worried; most likely, he'll get off free or with a slap on the wrist. It's doubtful Mitch and Murray will even fire him, since he's the only salesman they have now who isn't facing serious legal problems. If they do can him, he may well be better off.

** Of course, Aaronow could claim that he didn’t think Moss would go through with his plan, and he had every right not to say anything to the police without a lawyer present. At the end, he doesn’t seem all that worried; most likely, he’ll get off free or with a slap on the wrist. It’s doubtful Mitch and Murray will even fire him, since he’s the only salesman they have now who isn’t facing serious legal problems. If they do can him, he may well be better off.

* Roma doesn't know that Williamson lied about cashing Lingk's check and the only plausible witness to this is Levine. If Lingk's suit does happen then - assuming Levine *is* arrested and can't testify - wouldn't Williamson have to cash it after the fact, thus incriminating himself as lawyers from all sides would compare dates?

*** Yes, and I think it says something that so many viewers take Blake’s boasts at face value. Everyone knows he’s an asshole, but a lot of viewers come away thinking he at least knows what he’s talking about, which is questionable for the above reasons. In a way, it illustrates how easily even cynical people can get drawn in by blustery self-confidence.

*** See MisaimedFandom at the YMMV page. In all probability, Blake's speech is taken at face value to a much greater degree than it was intended by the filmmakers.

** Given how hesitant (Lingk) or out to lunch (the Nyborgs) many of the Rio Rancho leads are, could even Blake make $15,000 off them the way he claims at the start of the movie? If he's such a swaggering, "I'm so much better than you" asshole, what kind of sales tactics would he employ?

** Let's think this through. We know the real estate being sold is almost uniformly garbage, and therefore a "good lead" would presumably mean a contact who's been established as an easy mark. The "weak leads" the salesmen complain about are along the lines of what we see Shelly facing in that early scene where the wife expresses interest until the husband quickly shuts it down. (That's also more or less the situation Roma runs into with Lingk--with the genders reversed--although that wasn't from a lead.) In other words, they're from people who may have tentatively expressed interest but who are unlikely to follow through, because either they get second thoughts on their own or a family member talks sense into them. The salesmen are nonetheless expected to be able to finesse these skeptical potential customers into buying, on the assumption that their only limitations are how creatively ruthless and deceptive they're willing to be. But given that even Roma (supposedly the ace) complains about weak leads, as well as the fact that the Lingk sale is handled by the skin of his teeth (a lot of viewers overlook the fact that he was on the brink of failure even before Williamson opened his trap and ruined it all), it's questionable whether this assumption is accurate. The suspicion that their job is not the meritocracy Mitch & Murray is claiming ''is'' one of the central themes of the story.

* Let's think this through. We know the real estate being sold is almost uniformly garbage, and therefore a "good lead" would presumably mean a contact who's been established as an easy mark. The "weak leads" the salesmen complain about are along the lines of what we see Shelly facing in that early scene where the wife expresses interest until the husband quickly shuts it down. (That's also more or less the situation Roma runs into with Lingk--with the genders reversed--although that wasn't from a lead.) In other words, they're from people who may have tentatively expressed interest but who are unlikely to follow through, because either they get second thoughts on their own or a family member talks sense into them. The salesmen are nonetheless expected to be able to finesse these skeptical potential customers into buying, on the assumption that their only limitations are how creatively ruthless and deceptive they're willing to be. But given that even Roma (supposedly the ace) complains about weak leads, as well as the fact that the Lingk sale is handled by the skin of his teeth (a lot of viewers overlook the fact that he was on the brink of failure even before Williamson opened his trap and ruined it all), it's questionable whether this assumption is accurate. The suspicion that their job is not the meritocracy Mitch & Murray is claiming ''is'' one of the central themes of the story.

* The Glengarry leads are supposedly the "good" leads, but they're gathering dust while the salesmen are expected to work with crap like the Rio Rancho leads. If the salesmen are right about their leads being garbage, is the real problem that Mitch and Murray are IncompetenceInc and they suck at allocating their resources?

** Hard to say. Williamson blowing a big deal is never good, but we don't know Mitch & Murray's power structure or how Williamson is thought of. If they like Williamson, they might try to mollify Roma by upping his percentage for a few months or somesuch. If they don't like Williamson, Roma complaining about him could get Williamson fired. Remember that earlier, Levene was bragging that once upon a time, he could have gotten Williamson fired immediately just by calling the main office and saying Williamson wasn't treating him well.

* Is Roma in any trouble due to Williamson spilling false beans to protect the Lingk sale? Is Williamson? Furthermore, in the real world, would Williamson be in trouble if Roma went over his head in the chain of command to complaint about Williamson's clumsiness?