For real, The premise is that McClain lives in New York. He's separated from his wife who now lives 2500 miles away in Los Angeles. The movie opens with him flying to visit for Christmas where he will arrive just in time for his wife's office Christmas party. Terrorists take the entire office hostage, and occupy the skyscraper, but McClain is the wildcard NY cop who wages a guerilla war against the terrorists in the building.

The scene in question, he's barefoot, hiding from terrorists in an air vent he barely fits in, and lost. He opens his lighter to see where he is and mockingly says says, "Come Out To The Coast! We’ll Get Together, Have A Few Laughs," presumably a line his wife used to get him in this predicament. The scene changes as he closes the lighter and the sound gives away his position(yet his voice does not, somehow. It's an action flick Christmas movie, don't read too much into it.)