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Comedy turns serious
09新春贺岁片拼幽默
作者：RAYMOND
ZHOU 时间：2008-12-25
来源：21世纪英文报第785期
英语词汇解析
assert 断言
averse 反感的
biopic 名人传记片
carol 圣诞节颂歌
contrived 做作的
cosmopolitan 国际的
cram 填满
default 默认
gag 玩笑
groan 抱怨声
haphazard 随便的
hilarious 欢闹的
intellectual 知识分子
multiplex 复合式建筑(特指影院)
orchestra 交响乐团
ponderous 冗长的
pretentious 自命不凡的
pro 专业人员
scholastic 学者的
transformation 转变
trauma 精神创伤
ugly duckling 丑小鸭
uproarious 令人捧腹大笑的
BONUS
Expression
by and large
总体来说
By and large I agree with you, although I differ on some minor
points.
我大体上同意你的观点，但有点东西我还是不认同。
ring out the old, ring in the new
辞旧迎新
Can you hear the church bells ringing out the old year and ringing
in the new?
你能听到教堂的钟声在辞旧迎新吗？
rumor has it
据说…, 人们都说…
Rumor has it that the marketing director is going to resign.
据说营销总监就要辞职了。
THIS is the season when trees sparkle and carols play non-stop in
shopping malls. It is also the season for laughing out loud in the
nation's multiplexes.
Welcome to the winter holiday of movie-going, also known as the
biggest season for China's film industry.
This year's crop of so-called "New Year greetings pictures" (hesui
pian) amount to two or three dozen. These movies will be competing
for cinemagoers' attention and what's left of "the red envelopes"
from the joyous occasion of ringing out the old and ringing in the
new.
Yet, not every picture is made equal. Although most filmmakers have
picked comedy as the default genre, the end result is quite uneven,
ranging from the hilarious to the haphazard.
Desires of the Heart 《桃花运》
It is an urban comedy. It starts quite well, with several groups of
characters. But pretty soon, you notice the setup is mostly
contrived and what's worse, the threads are structurally unrelated.
Some of the gags are so unbelievable that the audience's groans are
funnier than what happens on the screen.
All About Women 《女人不坏》
The film directed by Tsui Hark's (Xu Ke) fares much better. It is
similar to the above picture, but the Hong Kong master juggles
comedic material like a true pro.
The movie has a contemporary feel, with the city of Beijing as a
cosmopolitan setting for three women whose love-life problems form
the dramatic arc of the story.
Unfortunately, once the romance kicks in, the comedy suffers a
slowdown. By the last half hour, the tempo has become so ponderous
and jokes so scarce that one wonders what happened during
production. Did Tsui run out of inspiration half way through? Or
did he cram all the funny bits into the first half?
Ip Man 《叶问》
By and large, Hong Kong filmmakers have a better sense of humor
when it comes to screen comedy. They have a long tradition of
making people laugh. That's why Ip Man (Ye Wen), a supposed biopic
of Bruce Lee's teacher, will not bore you to death. Although the
kicks and moves are so predictable and the movie looks like a
kungfu flick played 1,000 times, it's saved by a few good
jokes.
If You Are the One 《非诚勿扰》
The mainland's Feng Xiaogang is credited with starting the holiday
movie season, and this year he has a very expansive romantic comedy
titled If You Are the One (Feicheng Wurao). It's about a
middle-aged man, played by Ge You as usual, looking for the ideal
spouse. Between product placements and tourism infomercials, he has
produced some high-quality lines and fine acting. But does a
year-end comedy really need to last as long as the more pretentious
Forever Enthralled (Mei Lanfang)?
The season's best comedy will come out in mid-January. Crazy Stone
(Fengkuang de Shitou) director Ning Hao's Crazy Racer (Fengkuang de
Saiche) is so uproarious that you should avoid it if you're averse
to laughter.
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