书城外语英语经典喜剧电影对白朗诵
18340200000008

第8章 Four Weddings and a Funeral四个婚礼和一个葬礼(2)

这场婚礼和其他三场婚礼都向我们清晰地展现了颇具代表性的英国婚礼文化。婚礼上,新娘身着白裙、头戴白色花环,还要罩上长长的白纱,手持白色花束,这是因为大多数英国人崇尚白色,它象征着爱情纯洁、美满如意。此外,英国人还相信新娘结婚时,着装要“有新有旧,有借有忧,银币放鞋内,万事不用愁”(wear“something old,something new,something borrowed and something blue,and a silver six-pence in your shoe”)——古老的英国谚语如是说。婚礼结束后,新娘很少会把婚纱留给自己的后代,而是会把它卖掉或让人用婚纱的料子为他们的第一个孩子制作洗礼服(Christening gown)。当然,英式婚礼上还少不了鲜花的点缀,因为它象征了新娘如绽放的花朵早日孕育后代。婚礼结束前,新娘将手中的花束抛向未婚人群,任何接到花的人都将早日步入婚礼圣殿,这一点在影片中也有所体现。在第一场婚礼结束前,新娘劳拉把手中的鲜花抛出,接到的是她的伴娘莉迪娅,而莉迪娅正好是第二场婚礼的新娘,这正验证了英国人对传统习俗的笃信。

有人总以为喜剧片就是搞笑片,其实搞笑片只是喜剧片中的一种,而本片不属于搞笑片,它的喜剧手法多在于语言,许多妙语连珠的对话往往出其不意地令人捧腹大笑。模仿对话时特别要注意以下几处,细心体会这种英式幽默。

首先是马修和查尔斯的对话。当杰拉尔德神父把holy Ghost说成holy goat后,马修微笑着向站在旁边的查尔斯轻声低语“It’s his first time.He’s a friend of the family.”而查尔斯参加了许多次婚礼,繁缛不变的婚礼仪式早已令他提不起任何兴致,一听说面前这位紧张兮兮、出现口误的神父原来是头一回做婚礼主持,原本无精打采的他顿时来了兴趣,因此在说“Excellent.”时声音里充满了开心和兴奋,一副唯恐天下不乱的神情。

其次是杰拉尔德神父和新娘莉迪娅的谈话。当杰拉尔德神父面对莉迪娅说“…that I know not of any lawful impediment...”,由于是 第二遍说此话了,因此语速快了许多,神父的脸上也露出了自我满意的表情。莉迪娅如释重负地重复完此句后,用满意的眼神和丈夫交流了一下,意思是“你看,他说第二遍就流利多了嘛”。没想到接下来又出了状况。神父不知不觉地把“...may not be joined in matrimony...”念成了“...may not be johned in matrimony...”,幸亏新娘没有跟着一起糊涂,在说到“may not be”时因神父读错,要停顿一下,然后再接着说“joined in matrimony”,其中joined要重读且语速缓慢。然而灾难还没结束,这位可爱的神父又出错了,他把新郎姓名中的Sinjin念成了Sijern,已早有心理准备的新娘在重复新郎的名字时自动进行了“纠正”,由于对这位神父充满了恐惧,她的声音已经开始颤抖。

最后,还要留意杰拉尔德神父和伯纳德的谈话。一开始,神父就张冠李戴,把新郎官伯纳德(Bernard)的名字说成了新娘莉迪娅(Lydia)的名字,继而又把“Bernard Geofrey Sinjin Delaney”说成了“Bernard Godfrey Sinjin Delaney”,后来在说“...that I,Bernard...”时,他竟忘记了新郎官姓名的后面部分,于是慢慢地回想,全场鸦雀无声了良久,而一旁站着的新郎只能可怜巴巴地看着他,眼神里充满了哀求,似乎在说:“老兄,别再说错了,求你了!”最后这位“屡错屡说”的神父终于自信地念出了正确的发音“Delaney”,伯纳德悬着的一颗心这才落了下来,他如释重负地重复“...that I,Bernard Delaney...”然而,正如英语谚语所云:“Misfortune never comes singly.”(祸不单行。)自信满满的杰拉尔德神父的口误还没结束,他的一句“…to be my awful wedded wife.”让新郎官伯纳德差点晕倒,伯纳德气若游丝地纠正为“…to be my lawful wedded wife.”(lawful一词须缓慢地重读),声音里能听出他快要奄奄一息了。

对白二

After Charles admitted to the Father in the wedding ceremony that the one he really loved was not the bride,but someone else,he was slapped heavily in the face by the bride and fell down.Then,he was carried back home by his friends.After a while,someone was knocking at the door.Charles opened it and found it was Carrie standing in the rain.

Carrie:Hello.

Charles:Hi!You’re soaking.Come in.

Carrie:No,no.I’m fine.Comes a point you can’t get wetter.

Charles:Okay,I’ll come out.

Carrie:No,please don’t.I just wanted to check you’re okay.Not busy killing yourself or anything,but...But you’re fine,so...I shouldn’t have come to the church this morning.I’m sorry.

Charles:No!No!Wait.It was all my fault.I mean,I’m the bastard1 here.And it definitely2 sorted out3 one thing,which is,marriage and me...we’re very clearly not meant for4 one another.Sorted out another big thing as well.There I was,standing there in the church...and for the first time in my whole life I realized I...totally and utterly5 loved one person.And it wasn’t the person standing next to me in the veil,it’s...the person standing opposite me now...in the rain.

Carrie:Is it still raining?I hadn’t noticed.

Charles:The truth of it is...I’ve loved you from the first second6 I met you.You’re not suddenly going away again,are you?

Carrie:No.I might drown7,but otherwise8,no.

Charles:Okay,okay.We’ll go in.But first,let me ask you one thing.Do you think...after we’ve dried off...after we’ve spent lots more time together...you might agree...not to marry me?And do you think...not being married to me might be something you could consider...doing for the rest of your life?Do you?

Carrie:I do.

注释

1.bastard/"bstd/n.[粗]混蛋,王八蛋

2.definitely/"definitli/ad.明确地,确切地

3.sort out整理出,弄清楚

4.mean for针对

5.utterly/"tli/ad.完全地(和totally用在一起属于“同义反复”的修辞手法,表示强调)

6.the second…当……的那一秒(后跟句子作时间状语从句)

7.drown/draun/v.淹死

8.otherwise/"ewaiz/ad.否则

译文

婚礼上,当查尔斯向神父承认自己真爱之人并非新娘,而是另有其人后,他被新娘重重地扇了一记耳光,倒了下去。而后他被朋友带回了家。过了不久,有人敲门。查尔斯打开门,发现卡丽站在雨中。

卡丽:你好。

查尔斯:嗨!你湿透了。进来。

卡丽:不,不,我没事。反正湿得不能再湿了。

查尔斯:好,那我出来。

卡丽:不,请不要。我只想看看你好不好。没有忙着自杀什么的,但……但你好好的,那么……我今天实在不应该去教堂。对不起。

查尔斯:不!不!等等。都是我的错,我的意思是,我才是坏蛋。显然弄清楚了一点,那就是,婚姻和我……显然没什么缘分。也弄清楚另一件重要的事。我当时站在教堂里……我生平第一次意识到……我全心全意爱着一个人。可她并不是戴面纱站在我身旁的那位……而是现在站在我面前的这位……雨中的你。

卡丽:雨还在下吗?我感觉不到。

查尔斯:真相是……我对你是一见钟情。你不会又突然掉头就走吧?

卡丽:不,我可能会被淹死,但我不会走。

查尔斯:好的,好吧,我们进去。但先让我问你一句。你说……待我们干透了……待我们共处更久之后……你会不会答应……不嫁给我?你认为……不嫁给我……你会考虑将此事作为你的终身大事吗?你愿意吗?

卡丽:我愿意。

对白分析

脱胎于英国的国粹戏剧,英国的喜剧电影以幽默的语言见长,常见的形式包括讽刺、反语等。例如:这部影片以调侃的口吻对婚姻尤其是婚礼进行了讽刺,如在这一段中,查尔斯对卡丽说:“And it definitely sorted out one thing,which is,marriage and me...we’re very clearly not meant for one another.”然而,影片虽讽刺了“婚姻”,却没有讽刺“真爱”。如今,许多年轻人对婚姻的态度是“只在乎曾经拥有,不在乎天长地久”,而影片的最后,我们看到的是男女主人公对婚姻认真的态度。查尔斯请求卡丽:“And do you think...not being married to me might be something you could consider...doing for the rest of your life?Do you?”请求对方将不嫁给他作为终身大事,这样的求婚告白,确切说“求不婚”的告白,不仅感动了女主人公,也感动了所有追求真爱的观众。男主人公通过“反语”的方式点出了电影的主题:婚姻只是形式,更重要的是“执子之手,与子偕老”。正因为本片的主题建立在“真爱”之上,所以才获得了感人的力量。

最后请注意在朗读“Do you think...after we’ve dried off...after we’ve spent lots more time together...you might agree...not to marry me?”这句真爱告白时,否定词“not”需要重读,因为是反语,重读后表示特定含义。

电影金曲

Love is All Around

I feel it in my fingers,I feel it in my toes

Love is all around me and so the feeling grows

It’s written on the wind,it’s everywhere I go

So if you really love me,come on and let it show

You know I love you I always will

My mind’s made up by the way that I feel

There’s no beginning,there’ll be no end

’Cause on my love you can depend

I see your face before me,as I lay on my bed

I kinda get to thinking of all the things we said

You gave a promise to me,and I gave mine to you

I need someone beside me in everything I do

You know I love you I always will

My mind’s made up by the way that I feel

There’s no beginning,there’ll be no end

’Cause on my love you can depend

It’s written on the wind,it’s everywhere I go

So if you really love me,come on and let it show

Come on and let it show