“What you don’t dare imagine, we dare to do.” The slogan of Personal Tailor, Feng Xiaogang’s latest comedy project, not only introduces the film’s basic idea of “living a dream”, it also expresses the director’s ambition.
“你不敢想的,我们敢做。”作为冯小刚最新喜剧力作《私人订制》中的一句口号,这句话不仅道出了该片的“造梦”主题,同时也彰显了冯导的野心。
Compared with his historical epics, such as Back to 1942 and Aftershock, which, to me, looked impressive but lacked a certain edge, I prefer Feng’s more satirical and humorous works that made him famous to begin with.
相对于他执导的《一九四二》以及《唐山大地震》等历史题材电影而言,我更喜欢冯导最擅长的“老本行”——讽刺和幽默,尽管前者尚属佳作,但却并非独树一帜。
In that context, Personal Tailor took me back to an earlier Feng. The ingenious premise involves a small group of four people — Yang Zhong (Ge You), the “director of dreams” and his resourceful employees Miss Bai (Bai Baihe), the “fantastician” who designs dream scenarios, Lu Xiaolu (Li Xiaolu), the “caterer of whims”; and Ma Qing (Zheng Kai), the “spiritual anesthetist”.
在这一点上,《私人订制》将我带回到冯小刚的早期时代。影片立意巧妙,围绕愿望规划师杨重(葛优饰)及其“员工智囊团”——“情境设计师”小白(白百何饰)、“梦境重建师”小璐(李小璐饰)与“心灵麻醉师”马青(郑恺饰)组成的公司展开。
For all their elaborate titles, however, they’re essentially members of a high-concept company, which provides regular — and wealthy — clients with a taste of the lives they have always wanted.
尽管他们的名号有些复杂,但本质上都是一家帮平民和富人圆梦的概念公司的成员,该公司的目标是让客户体验到梦寐以求的生活。
In a series of separate segments, the team comes to the aid of a chauffeur (Fan Wei) who yearns for a taste of power, a “vulgar” film director (Li Chengru) who wants to become a high-culture artist, and a middle-class woman (Song Dandan) who dreams of becoming a billionaire.
片中分为几个独立章节,这支“圆梦四人组”分别对渴望权力的司机(范伟饰)、立志追求高雅艺术却俗不可耐的电影导演(李成儒饰)以及梦想成为富人的“中产姐”(宋丹丹饰)施以援手。
Either as a therapeutic experience or something of a moral test, there are elements of satire and farce in each segment. Much of that is thanks to novelist Wang Shuo, who wrote the screenplay.
无论是心理治疗还是道德测试的桥段,各章节都具备了辛辣嘲讽、爆笑十足的元素。而这大部分都要归功于该片编剧——作家王朔。
And as Feng’s films always do, it has a few impressive punch lines, such as “Fulfilling others by debasing ourselves”, or Feng’s playful self-parody “Chinese films, however bad, are never art.”
该片延续了冯导一贯的风格,加入一些令人印象深刻的戏谑台词,例如:“成全别人、恶心自己。”及冯小刚戏谑自嘲的那句:“中国电影,无论多烂,都与艺术无缘。”
Jokes aside, Wang’s script grows increasingly serious, making modest yet satirical criticisms of China’s political, artistic and economic values in the process.
在种种笑料之外,王朔的剧本也变得越发严肃,在片中对于中国的政治、艺术以及经济价值进行了一番适度而辛辣的调侃。
After all, the film is about “sending a message”. Coming from director Feng — a man with a big ego — that’s almost predictable. But maybe because Feng is too busy dealing with his ambition, the film never allows any of its four principal characters to really come into focus.
该片终究难逃“传达信息”的主题。而出自自我意识很强的冯导之手,这也完全在意料之中。或许是因为冯导疲于去实现自己的远大抱负,片中的四位主角形象显得不够突出。
The last 15 minutes of the film take a 180-degree turn and become almost a public service announcement — an odd and unexpected ending to a consistently surprising comedy.
影片在最后15分钟时180度大转弯,几乎快成了一部公益宣传片,为这部惊喜不断的喜剧电影画上了一个令人摸不着头脑的结局。
That’s something I never dared imagine, but Feng certainly did it.
这是我从来不敢想象的事,但是冯小刚的确这么做了。