开心的时候就看《老友记》,不开心的时候更要看《老友记》。
除了永远看不腻的段子外,他们之间的友谊,就像那幅挂在钱德勒和乔伊公寓墙上的海报一样,带给了自己很多感动。
这张海报给自己的印象很深,因为上面的两个演员自己也非常喜欢,他们分别是“瘦子”斯坦·劳莱(Stan Laurel)和“胖子”奥列佛·哈台(Oliver Hardy)。
劳莱与哈台主要活跃在上世纪20-50年代,海报取自他们主演的电影《Leave ‘em Laughing》,讲的是瘦子晚上牙疼睡不着,闹得胖子跟着受罪的故事。
在近30年的组合生涯中,两个人出现在107部电影里,为观众带来了很多笑声。他们不仅是荧幕上的好朋友,也相互刻印在了对方的生命里。
而《老友记》之所以用这幅照片的原因,大抵也是因为它能代表“Friends”想要表达的主题,也能彰显钱德勒和乔伊之间的友谊。
最近,有一部以劳莱与哈台为原型的电影《斯坦和奥利》要上映了。电影主要聚焦于他们搭档生涯晚期的英国之行。这部讲述两人友谊的电影,在烂番茄网站上也得到很高的评分。
影片《斯坦和奥利》中,扮演“瘦子”劳莱的是史蒂夫·库根,扮演“胖子”哈台的是约翰·C·赖利。从曝出的镜头看,形态动作十分神似,尤其是其中的一些舞蹈片段。
“瘦子”劳莱还好,由于哈台本身又高又胖,所以扮演他的约翰·C·赖利要穿上笨重的特效衣,除了脸部三角区域和手掌心,其他都要靠特效化妆。
不过,相比复制劳莱与哈台早年的电影作品,大家还是对两人私下里的友谊更感兴趣。约翰·C·赖利在一次受访时也表示过,电影主要会拍一些荧幕背后的故事。
其实,劳莱与哈台跟荧幕上的自己,还挺不一样的。
劳莱是英国人,出生于一个热爱戏剧的家庭。16岁便开始登台表演,随后的几年里,跟随一个杂耍团到美国各地表演,模仿卓别林是其主要工作之一。
哈台则来自一个普通家庭。为了经营一家电影院,放弃了学业。不过他也很卖力,包办了电影院所有工作,从卖门票到打扫卫生。最终,还是追随了梦想,成为了一名演员。
1921年,劳莱和哈台第一次一起出现在一部电影里,名字叫《幸运狗》。不过当时两个人还没有在一起搭档,不能算作朋友。
直到1926年的《45 Minutes from Hollywood》,两人才算真正意义上的合作,并一直持续了几十年,直到他们最后一部《乌托邦》(1951)。
在这期间,两个人渐渐成为一对,离不开彼此的喜剧组合。劳莱蠢蠢的眼神,哈台摆弄他的领带……那些天真幼稚的桥段总能引人发笑。
其实,观众之所以非常喜欢他们,可能也正是因为他们生活中,也是如此亲密的朋友。就像每部影片一样,总会给我们上一堂关于友谊的必修课。即便争吵得再厉害,总会在最后和解。
当哈台说出那句名言“好吧,你又把我搞得一团糟”的时候,他已经打心底原谅了搞破坏的劳莱了。Friends is friends!
有趣的是,劳莱才是两个人中聪明的那一个,身兼编、导、演数职。而哈台总是那个坐享其成的人,用他自己的话来说“完成表演就已经很困难了,哪有精力管其他事情”。
在哈台去世后,劳莱情绪非常低落,再也没有出现在大荧幕上。而在他生命的最后八年里,劳莱则把精力全部给了喜欢自己的影迷,亲力亲为地回复每一封来信。
为了纪念他们给大家带来的欢乐,粉丝则用他们的作品名称,命名分布在世界各地的粉丝俱乐部。
想到《老友记》中有一个场景,莫妮卡问钱德勒想要什么样的生活,钱德勒说要买个房子、生几个孩子、养两个宠物等等。
最后,还不忘要在车库上盖个房子,乔伊可以养老。
真正的友情,大概就是这样吧。
《斯坦和奥利》的友谊Stan & Ollie
劳莱(史蒂夫·库根Steve Coogan饰)和哈台(约翰·C·赖利 John C. Reilly饰)是上世纪二十至四十年代好莱坞一对胖瘦相搭绘炙人口的著名喜剧演员。
转眼到了1953年,两人已经退出影坛,这次被邀请到英
国巡回演出。只是时代变了,最初剧院里总是空空如也。经纪人要他俩亲自上电台和电视出场公关,结果效果特好,到处火爆。最后经纪人决定在伦敦为他们包下一个大剧场,他们都准备好好大干一场。
哪知就在演出前一天,哈台却病垮了,医生警告他不得再演出。但少掉了伙伴的劳莱推脱了经纪人为他介绍的新搭档,决定取消演出打包回美国。就在那晚,哈台却来了。不顾一切和劳莱重新登台。总之这次巡回演出完满结束。
劳莱和哈台,在当时也是家喻户晓的明星,我记
得以前就是在国内都有过他们电影的连环画。那时候电影的连环画都是拿影片中的镜头直接印上去。虽说是黑白片,那时候印出来的是蓝白色。当然小时候笑点低,就是图画也能小的前俯后仰。当然现在看起来这些笑话幼稚了。
他俩也是几十年的友谊了,虽然两人出身个性爱好全然不同,但这么多年磕磕碰碰后还是一起走了下来。当年劳莱由于争工资而被开除后。哈台却自顾自一个人拍片。尽管留下了心结,可是最后他们的友谊小船没有受到丝毫影响,这才是真正的基友哪。
也就是,到了后来,他们两谁也少不了谁。也就是为什么少了哈台,劳莱宁可不上台。而哈台知道后,也不顾医生劝阻抱病上台,这才是患难中见真情。实际上,他们这次巡回是为了他俩重新拍片造声势。其实他们两人从一开始就分别得悉没有得到贷款。但都没有声张,故意装糊涂而一直到结束,为的就是还有个机会两个在一起表演。
劳莱和哈台是两位演员的姓,而本片用的斯坦和奥利是他们的名字,因此他们两人的全名是斯坦·劳莱和奥利·哈台。斯坦·劳莱是出身于英国演员家庭,工作勤勉,为两人的表演写剧本。奥利·哈台从青年时期就在电影院里工作,可是爱好赌马和打高尔夫。他们从1926年开始合作。有无声和有声片,也有长片和短片,共有107部片子。1945年后他们主要是各处的舞台表演,本片就是其中的一次英国之行。在哈台先去世后,劳莱还是一人写为他们两人的剧本。
国内有过类似的演员搭配,三十年代的演员韩兰跟和殷秀岑一起拍摄过近两百部影片。他们被称为“中国式的劳莱与哈代”。在世界各地都有他们的崇拜者,更不用说在英国和美国了。
导演乔·拜尔德 Jon S. Baird以本片得英国学院奖提名。
英国演员史蒂夫·库根以《菲洛梅娜》“Philomena (2013)”得奥斯卡影片和编剧提名,以该片得金球奖编剧提名。
约翰·C·赖利以《芝加哥》“Chicago (2002)”得奥斯卡和金球奖提名,以本片和《永不止步:戴维·寇克斯的故事》“Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)”得金球奖提名。
演绎不可谓不用心,再现了早期好莱坞喜剧表演的简单粗糙,观众的笑点低得惊人,略显怪异的肢体和语言,能轻易赢得哄堂大笑。
三十年代,现代喜剧从萌芽步入成熟阶段,从艺术形式上说,斯坦和奥利的创意与表演仍停留在“滑稽”阶段,但凡需要,随时随地都可以滑稽,无所谓情境需要,离特定语境下依赖深度联想的幽默还很远,这是生活油滑的一面。
此片就是把“滑稽”搬上“电影”和“舞台”的过程。上海的滑稽戏曾经久不衰,存续至今,但那种逗笑手段只属于年代(尽管不断有创新)。
问题并不出在斯坦和奥利——两位仅属于年代的喜剧演员身上,而在于重现过时的趣味时抱着朝拜历史之心却匮乏创新。这种人物传记远不及对同一时代的卓别林的刻画,那种艺术人生与现实人生之间的观照。
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, the comedy-duo who bequeathed audience in toto 107 films (mostly shorts), are rara avis in Old Hollywood since, when everything is said and done, their friendship endured the turmoil of showbiz, they are true friends both on and off the celluloid.
Laurel and Hardy’s massive appeal can be excellently evinced in these two feature-length pictures. William A. Seiter’s SONS OF THE DESERT playfully pits conjugal trust against fraternal loyalty (the film’s title refers to a fictitious fraternal society the pair belongs to), and the result is a sparks fly, relentlessly rib-tickling slapstick that highlights the double act’s antics and personalities. A slim Laurel is the put-upon goofball and a rotund Hardy is the straight-faced bully, the exact opposite of Abbott and Costello, also, sometimes, their gags are preceded by oceanic pregnant pauses.
In James W. Horne’s WAY OUT WEST, Laurel and Hardy go west to deliver the deed of a gold mine and promptly get themselves embroiled in duplicity and horseplay. They are perhaps the most unlikely knights in shining armor, that all depends on how feckless the villains are, James Finlayson’s crooked salon owner Mickey Finn is outright cartoonish, which leaves Sharon Lynn’s bejeweled salon singer Lola do the heavy lifting of manhandling Laurel with tickle torture, you can guess who is wearing the pants in that household.
WAY OUT WEST gifts audience with Laurel and Hardy’s iconic synchronized dancing accompanied by the Avalon Boys, later the comical rendition of “The Trail of the Lonesome Pine”, and Laurel’s hat-eating, thumb-lighting gags, but its storyline is way too unremarkable to bother mentioning and the pratfall antics are deployed ad nauseam (I can imagine even the sinkhole would sigh resignedly), Meanwhile, SONS OF THE DESERT’s battle of sexes makes the best of domestic squabbles and situation comedies, contrast between Ms. Hardy (Busch) and Ms. Laurel (Christy), a termagant versus a sharpshooter, manifests that Laurel and Hardy are the weaker sex in their domestic unions.
Pandering to a plebeian audience but with a morsel of refinement (they are not the Three Stooges), Laurel and Hardy’s comedies have less essence than Chaplin and Keaton’s bodywork, but contrivance is conveniently masked by the duo’s gladsome personae, and they attain the lowest common denominator with distinction. At the same time, cinematic techniques are evidently presented in both films, cross-fading in SONS OF THE DESERT, archaic special effects in WAY OUT WEST, all signal that the pair’s pictures are studio’s top-line commodities.
Jon S. Baird’s biopic STAN & OLLIE cleverly reckons without the tired cradle-to-grave trope. By way of largely focusing on the duo’s music hall tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1953, the film neatly carves out a sympathetic approach to honor their ever-indelible screen legacy. Laurel (Coogan) and Hardy (Reilly) are over the hill, attempting a comeback in the movie business which transpires to be a pipe dream. Saddled with old age and even older grudge, they are reunited, but it takes the whole tour and a heart attack to really open them up and patch things up, though their pique is a mote in the eyes of their Tinseltown coevals.
Baird makes a good fist of his third feature film, his direction is nifty, attentive but not grandstanding, the narrative pans out coherently, digestible even for those who don’t know the duo from Adam, and it ends with a perfectly calibrated note of earnest emotion, short of mawkishness.
Naturally the impact of biopics as such hinges on the actors, and STAN & OLLIE hits the jackpot with Reilly and Coogan, the former, imposed on himself ponderous prosthetic makeup and costumes, camouflages the arduousness with an open-faced facility, while the latter, studiously mincing every word and calculating every look and gesture, projects Laurel’s inscrape with acute faculty and precision, both actors breast a new peak in their acting careers (for my money, Coogan delivers something more magic here). And when they are on stage in concert to mimic Laurel and Hardy’s antics, the resemblance is uncanny and totally captivating.
Ida and Lucille, Laurel and Hardy’s respective wives (played by Arianda and Henderson with distinctive flairs), are two different kettles of fish, one is a haughty loudmouth verging on caricature (Arianda and Coogan generate zero connubial chemistry, they look anything but a married couple) and the other is a mousy but devoted helpmate (Henderson and Reilly make good of domestic bliss), both must take a back seat to let the heartfelt bond of their husbands save the day.
Take some liberty from facts, STAN & OLLIE is a masterly composed, subdued, almost elegiac panegyric on a comedy double act who is immortalized by their rambunctious energy and wholehearted benevolence.
referential entries: Arthur Lubin’s HOLD THAT GHOST (1941, 7.1/10); Sam Wood’s A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935, 7.3/10); Ted Wilde’s SPEEDY (1928, 7.4/10).
Title: Sons of the Desert
Year: 1933
Genre: Comedy, Family, Music
Country: USA
Language: English
Director: William A. Seiter
Screenwriter: Frank Craven
Music: Marvin Hatley
Cinematography: Kenneth Peach
Editor: Bert Jordan
Cast:
Stan Laurel
Oliver Hardy
Mae Busch
Dorothy Christy
Charley Chase
Lucien Littlefield
Ty Parvis
Rating: 7.6/10
Title: Way Out West
Year: 1937
Genre: Comedy, Western
Country: USA
Language: English
Director: James W. Horne
Screenwriters: Charley Rogers, Felix Adler, James Parrott
Music: Marvin Hatley
Cinematography: Art Lloyd, Walter Lundin
Editor: Bert Jordan
Cast:
Stan Laurel
Oliver Hardy
Sharon Lynn
James Finlayson
Rosina Lawrence
Stanley Fields
Vivien Oakland
Chill Wills
Rating: 7.3/10
Title: Stan & Ollie
Year: 2018
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Canada, USA
Language: English
Director: Jon S. Baird
Screenwriter: Jeff Pope
inspired by A.J. Marriot’s “Laurel and Hardy: The British Tours”
Music: Rolfe Kent
Cinematography: Laurie Rose
Editors: Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, Billy Sneddon
Cast:
Steve Coogan
John C. Reilly
Shirley Henderson
Nina Arianda
Rufus Jones
Danny Huston
John Henshaw
Stephanie Hyam
Rating: 7.5/10