之前在汤不热看过其中Simon一段访谈的Gif,一直以为那只是日常采访没想到竟然是部纪录片的一部分,所以完全是抱着如获至宝的心情看完的。

为了不显示出一副SimonNC粉的架势,先大致说说这部纪录片豪华的演出阵容,说是豪华其实也不认得几个,脸熟的那几位多半是因为Buzzcocks和MTW之一类。开始只想出于尊重把这些comedians列一列,没想到全员居然这么长。列在这里,如果看到有感兴趣的人就帮忙把这九人看过的小军团扩增一点吧~

参与访谈的:
Omid Djalili、Jack Dee、David Baddiel、Russell Kane、Jim Davidson、Frank Skinner、Jimmy Carr、Dara O Briain、Jack Whitehall、Billy Connolly、Shappi Khorsandi、Ed Byrne、Jackie Mason、Mel Brooks、Howard Jacobson、Chris Addison、Paul Sinha、Scott Capurro、W.Kamau Bell、Eddie Izzard、Elon Gold、Tom Papa、Anthony Jeselnik、Rich Hall
单纯只涉及到的:
Grouch Marx、Bob Hope、Dave Allen、Woody Allen、Max Miller、Roy Chubby Brown、Bernard Manning、Ben Elton、Jerry Seinfield、Mort Sahl、Lenny Bruce、Jim Carrey、Richard Pryor、Roseanne Barr、Frankie Boyle、Michael Mclntyre

单是名单就觉得很惊讶,看纪录片主页介绍到popular后脑海里最先浮现的名字都不在,没有Bill Bailey没有Dylan Moran没有Russell Brand。所以Alan爷爷显然是有所偏好和侧重的,结尾放那么大一段Eddie Izzard在好莱坞碗的录像也就罢了,毕竟人家也是一代传奇,居然对Simon的采访如此丰盛,还万分捧场地插入了Do Nothing和Grandma's House的片段,怎么想都觉得很不合理。不过看到Chris Addison很惊喜,明明跟那些令人起敬的长辈差不出几岁,可是有谁相信那是四十多岁人的脸啊。Frank Skinner最后谈到他和stand-up comedy的关系很感人。Jim Carrey年轻时候很惊艳。还有很多非常珍贵的录像,尤其是终于一睹好奇很久的Roseanne真面目。

记得有个朋友说喜剧演员把能量和欢乐都留给了舞台,生活里却悲惨苦闷。希望不是如此,但也只有真正经历过生活酸甜苦辣的人所传递的快乐才具有说服力和触动力。听这些人用Stand-up comedian的“The rule of three”或特有的叙述方式和话语体系讲着对喜剧的理解、对舞台和观众的互动、对前辈的致敬都格外让人动容,当然还有笑话。而每个人的理解和风格的不同倒更是有趣。对我来说大致分成三类,攻击自己的、攻击外界人或物的、攻击观众的,大概我这种insecure类型的自然而然匹配到第一种,而Roy Chubby Brown、Bernard Manning这种类型或是看刘老跟总让我坐立难安。

关于jokes的禁忌,就像Chris Addison说的,绝对绝对不能说的话题几乎没有,产生区别的不是笑话而是讲笑话的方式,有关信仰、种族和性这些敏感话题的笑话,讲的好哄堂大笑,差一点观众摇着头笑,变成攻击性话语就等着被沉默哄下台吧。之所以称为art正在于此吧。人的魅力本身也会产生巨大的差别,其中最迷人最有魔力的莫过于声音,比如Simon声音里的焦虑和怪异的断句都跟他的内容很符合所以效果惊人,而那些操着各乡各郡口音的大叔们张口就已然很好笑。对Chris Addison我是有心喜爱,无奈这家伙说话属于激动派,MTW还是幕后危机不加字幕我是完全听不懂。这就得夸夸Jerry Seinfield人家吐字确实清楚啊。

对Stand-up comedy最稀罕之处就是那个实验笑话用的小本子,每个笑话都是一次one time deal,获得了笑声就得以生存,反应平平则再不会出现,笑声的剧烈程度时间长度成了判定生死的唯一尺度,而在笑声出现前的空白中,舞台灯光下等待回应者的vulnerable实在太美。

絮絮叨叨说这么多,还没说到主题。把Simon所有的话都抄了下来这件事我不到处说就在这念念。就说Alan爷爷偏心内容实在太多,只摘出一部分。

Alan:Do you just want laughs or do you want more than laughs?
Simon:Much, much more. Sometimes I’m annoyed they’re laughing. I think, “Why are you laughing? You should be asking me if I’m all right.”

这大致就是最开始喜欢Simon的原因,第一次看Do Nothing哭的心都有完全不解那些大笑。

A:Do you ever worry that you’re revealing too much of yourself when you do this?
S:No, the opposite. I always think,“Have I really said the actual truth of this situation here? Or did I just get a laugh with that?” And that’s safe, to stay there. I always think there’s somewhere deeper to go and somewhere more interesting.

之后羡慕佩服的情绪逐渐代替了同病相怜的同感,羡慕他将消极情绪指向外界的方式,虽然更像是走到了另一个极端。

A:When you go through your life and the ups and downs and the traumas, do you ever think when you’ve had a particularly bad day, or a bad experience, do you“Oh, well, there’s some material there at least?”
S:Almost too quickly. It’s almost upsetting how quick it can become material. I recently went through a break-up, and I’m already talking about it. And I was talking about it three days after it happened.
A:Is that a consolation of any kind, do you think?
S:It is eventually. But I’m annoyed that it is sometimes, because it means I’m not feeling things fully. And that’s part of what’s wrong with me. So while people talk about stand-up being therapy, it can be the opposite sometimes, because it stops you from fully immersing yourself in the pain, because you can fix it quickly, it’s almost magic.
A:And because you’re outside observing it, very rapidly...
S:Yeah, I’m outside all the time. I’m outside of it. I’m not in there, feeling hurt, feeling angry, feeling upset. I’m looking at this idiot, who should be crying or is crying, and sort of making fun of him. And it’s me! It’s me.

实际上从Do Nothing到Grandma's House再到Numb,贯穿始终的话题都是对真实和感受的追求,前两天偷听讲座很像街上下象棋大爷的老师讲说我们对善的教育最充分,对美有所不足,而对真则最是欠缺。大概多少有这方面缘故吧总觉有心追求却能力有限,所以才心甘情愿守在台下看着他一分一毫在周身做着实验,盲人摸象般试图找出对两点阈最敏感的柔软之处。


到最后说点有用的。。向Oliver Double教授学到的喜剧三种基础理论:强调攻击和显示优越性;与事实的不一致;释放紧张(即弗洛依德所讲的纯粹的笑话和倾向性笑话)。




单口喜剧的艺术Imagine: The Art of Stand-Up(2011)

上映日期:2011-12-19片长:120分钟

主演:Alan Yentob / 西蒙·阿姆斯特尔 / Jack Dee / Omid Djalili / Frank Skinner / 西蒙·阿姆斯特尔 / Simon / Amstell / 

导演:未知