"Well I'm not sure"

[batass4880]

This was a great moment in the film but I?ve always wondered why Bruce lied to Vicki at first when she asked him at the party if he knew which guy was Bruce Wayne. Yes I know, she was stunning, but all the better to introduce himself.

[Paul (ral)]

Burton's Wayne was terribly secretive so I guess he would have viewed anyone with suspicion.

I think the line also hinted at the fact that he doesn't really know who he is when he isn't out as Batman.

Sometimes these subtle, ambigious bits of dialogue are what makes B A T M A N so great.

[Dark Knight Detective]

I don't think that his dialogue in this bit is ambiguous, b/c that's really just one of the general characteristics of Bruce Wayne (campy Batman related material aside). I think that what this bit tries to show is that his obsession w/ crime-fighting could kick into his mind at any time, resulting in awkward moments (this has also happened outside of the Burton Batman films). 

[The Dark Knight]

Burton's Wayne was terribly secretive so I guess he would have viewed anyone with suspicion.

I think the line also hinted at the fact that he doesn't really know who he is when he isn't out as Batman.

Yes, agreed. I love that aspect of the Burton Bruce Wayne. Alternately, he could just be blown away by Vicki, and words just come out of his scatterbrained self. Or it's a bit of playboy-ish fun and mind games.

[DocLathropBrown]

According to the novel, he appears nervous to Vicki at that moment.

But you can see in the way Keaton acts afterwords (with the pen and drink), he's so taken by her beauty that he has no idea what he's doing.

That was the entire thing about his Bruce Wayne; he's so messed up by having to live the life he does that as Bruce Wayne, he's terribely unfocused and uncomfortable. Hence when he's in the suit, or in the Batcave, he's a clear, focused individual, because that's the "skin" he's comfortable in. It's who he is.

[WingedFreak71]

yeah he gets nervous around hot chicks - how about in returns - "sorry, i mistook me for somebody else"

[Batmoney]

You know I just realized for the first time the other day the significance of that line, "mistook me for somebody else", he was talking about mistaking himself for Batman. I feel kinda silly not having noticed that until now, but at the same time I love it because Returns is such a layered film. Twenty years from now I bet I will still be learning about small tid-bits in Returns.

Like "I was their number one son, and they treated me like number two." As a child I thought Penguin meant that he was treated like a second favorite, then I realized he might've meant they treated him like the literal number two, as in they treated him like sh*t.

[WingedFreak71]

yeah i got the #2 line pretty early on but you just opened my eyes to the real meaning of the "mistook me" line - interesting! - thanks

[Batnar]

Burton's Wayne was terribly secretive so I guess he would have viewed anyone with suspicion.

I think the line also hinted at the fact that he doesn't really know who he is when he isn't out as Batman.

Sometimes these subtle, ambigious bits of dialogue are what makes B A T M A N so great.

Totally agreed.