四个毕业生

用理想与现实的碰撞、成年生活的残酷和无法实现的美好之类堂皇的命题做幌子神马的，最讨厌了。有本事就真的把青年的热血和梦想的重量无法征服的东西血淋淋地切开了给大家看，那样虽然影片结局大概会让人堵心好一阵，但是总不至于有鱼鲠在喉、上当受骗的不悦感。不是我不承认爱情的伟大，但是老老实实地告诉大家刚出巢的小鸟在风霜里挣扎、刚离窝的小狮子在烈日下挨饿是个多令人扼腕但是多普遍发生的事实总比以牺牲整个故事和所有次要人物为代价讲一个并不算精彩深刻的爱情故事来的要有诚意一点吧。

好吧我吐槽严重了，是我不对，但是看到一个挺有想法的好题材就这么一头栽倒在平庸的泡菜坛子里等着捂臭发霉，就算是一时满腔激愤头脑发热了，你又怎么能完全怪在我头上呢。

Ben Stiller是个奇怪的人，父母是红极一时的喜剧二人组，生下来就终日浸泡在荒腔走板愤世嫉俗但变本加厉地精巧有趣的犹太幽默世界里，从小在纽约上层社交圈里长大，凭着父母的关系结识名流无数，二十出头开始在好莱坞打拼，一路受到诸位前辈提携，不到三十岁已经俨然是“烂仔帮”不可或缺的头目之一。虽然闯出天下是靠喜剧，但是纽约上层中产阶级的精神追求在Stiller心里种下的根基无疑更为深厚，他显然没有忘了好莱坞灯红酒绿之外在百老汇度过的美好时光（二十五年后重演The House of Blue Leaves就是最好的证明），也没有忘了贴着“中产阶级审慎魅力”标签的文艺青年风。于是1994年，在电视圈混迹几年之后的Stiller迫不及待地执起了电影导筒，推出了这部处女作。

本片的制作过程并不顺利，这么一部反映X一代生活的电影在当时被认为是毫无市场前景的赔钱货，于是各大制片厂纷纷对Stiller和编剧Helen Childress关上了方便之门，直到当时红透半片天的玉女代言人Winona Ryder表示了主演本片的意愿之后环球才勉强同意接手。好不容易动工之后，拍摄进程也并不顺利，各种drama不断，有兴趣八卦的可以去IMDB或者WIKI翻翻看，——里头又牵涉到Gwyneth Paltrow，前女友阿姨您真是腥风血雨体质……不，等一下，那时候还不是前女友！！！还不是前女友啊喂！！！那时候她还勾搭着年轻英俊清瘦可人的RSL！！！……咦我肿么昏头了我刚在说什么来着，——总之在一系列勾搭与反勾搭之后，Ryder拉来了她花痴的对象Ethan Hawke，Hawke又拉来了好基友Steve Zahn，再加上一个Stiller不待见但是怎么赶也赶不走的Janeane Garofalo（她后来去SNL待了一季，Ratatouille里小厨子的女朋友还是她配的音呢），一套班子总算凑成了。

平心而论，大部分卡司的表演还是不错的，娘舅和玉女都不过二十出头，既年轻漂亮又经验老道，再加上Ryder对娘舅“没他就没我”式的信任，两人之间的化学反应十足，随便一个镜头都电力十足到能噼里啪啦冒出火花子来。娘舅真是适合演这种闷骚隐忍的没谱文艺男，就算不说话，那一双委屈含情的蓝眼睛也足以做出七八分的戏来；而那时候的Ryder演了一路吸引眼球的古典美女，又因为The Age of Innocent刚刚拿过奥斯卡女配提名，演个不谙世事的纯真理想少女绝对是举重若轻；Zahn和Gerofalo倒是全都过了25岁，不再是片中人物的年龄了，但是反正他们的人物也没什么实打实的戏份，所以也并无违和感；导演兼配角的Stiller在表演方面表现中规中矩，也就是平常喜剧里那副窝囊好人样，而且说实话他这个人物……也没什么根本的重要性。

于是这就引到情节了，有了好的卡司和不错的题材，要坏就一定坏在重点错误上。本来好好一部讨论成长阵痛的电影，残酷青春倒莫名其妙地给烂俗的爱情故事做了背景，实在让人搞不明白。既然片名明摆着想要告诉观众Reality Bites，那最后现实的血盆大口到底哪儿去了？我能看到的只是好女孩和坏小子所谓妙不可言的爱情：他们一开始只是互存暧昧的好朋友，她带着他去跟父母吃饭，他搬进她的公寓暂住，她失败了，他鼓励她，她找了男朋友，他醋意大发从她的生活里消失，她怅然若失地找他回来，一场伪文艺的翻云覆雨之后有逃避有彷徨但是最终还是阳光灿烂的喜剧结局，连让人揪心一个半小时的能不能适应现实社会的天大疑问都在两人的忘情拥吻中化为了泡影。我的天，这简直比言情小说还要头脑简单，我就算是再依然相信爱情，也总明白爱情并不是医治一切的灵丹妙药，现实的创痛只有面对现实才能解决，粉红色的泡泡躲得了一时，但真的躲得了一世吗？还有因为过于着重于两个主角的情感戏，把更有意思的配角线抛到九霄云外的问题：Zahn的人物向父母出柜之后被赶出家门，Gerofalo不敢承诺却又害怕孤独的心病，难道不值得多花笔墨？尤其是Zahn的人物本来可以拉出很有意义的一条线来，有关他的情节却莫名其妙支离破碎，实在是有点太可惜了。

不过还是要肯定Ben Stiller的处女作的，至少能得到C以上的分数——在剧本的框架内（或者更可能是制片厂的掣肘下），他的演员们献出了不错的表演，整个片子的剧情进展也还算流畅（虽然有刚才提到的支线剧情不完整问题），片子既没有超长也没有超支，这就已经算是圆满完成任务了。尤其是Stiller对正剧的经验其实并不多，这样已经算是很不错了。几年之后娘舅也会献出他的导演处女作Chelsea Walls，而不能不提的是Chelsea Walls也许叙事并不清晰、节奏把握并非优秀，但是论起风格来……还是要比这部明显得多了。演员当导演，咱不就图个不当艺匠么是不是。

总之，不是我有多么仇恨爱情喜剧，我只是不满意打着严肃电影的幌子把情节简单化、弱智化；这是一部有潜力但是缺少开发的电影，不过如果你喜欢娘舅或者玉女，还是值得看一看的。

I was really gonna be something by the age of 23.
Honey, all you have to be by the age of 23 is yourself.
I don't know who that is anymore.
Well, I do. And we all love her. I love her. She breaks my heart again and again, but…, but I love her.

Well, I'm sorry, Lelaina, but you can't navigate me. I might do mean things, and I might hurt you, and I might run away without your permission, and you might hate me forever. And I know that scares the shit out of you, because I'm the only real thing that you have.


四年前看这部还什么都不懂
今晚重看，从Ethan、Winona他们上天台喝酒的录像带开始就知道这是我的十佳
一切都太相似 感同身受的情感体验谁都夺不走
多想再拥有一个能在身边告诉我all you have to be is yourself的人

It’s about the era when Ethan Hawke was still young and dandy, just like the one who was in the Before Sunrise & Before Sunset, when Winona Ryder was the pretty girl with a vibrant personality that I was fond of in my middle high school. How time flies! I have to quote this old saying even though it is definitely a cliché, like time waits no man, and some kinds of this, balabalabala.

I didn’t excerpt some sentence form this movie as my title. You’ve never been considerate about your future, my aunt said, you’re that kind of child who seems never grow up and who never consider seriously about anything, let alone your own future. The reason that this kind of conversation happened between my aunt and me other than my parents is that I really find communicating with them thoughtfully is a difficulty now. Sometimes I wondered what I lived for in my life but to find no answer, I got lost since I entered university. It’s unbelievable that I got my future under the control of my parents since most of my choices I made were decided by my parents or my whole family, such as which high school I would go, whether I should choose arts or science as my orientation in high school, which university and major I would aim to, and so on. Even I thought it was more than unbelievable, but ridiculous. How could I let my own life manipulated by them? That’s the cause who I am today, and the situation I get now.

Like Lelaina confided to the professional psychic in the call, It’s just that nothing is going down according to plan. This sentence could vividly figure out my life now, yep, my life is a mess, during the past more than twenty years, I strived to be some kind of extraordinary A students as my parents expected. They said we thought you should take biology and medics as your major ,they said we decided to send you to USA to fulfill your further study and get a PHD, they said we wanted you to leave your boyfriend because we didn’t like Japanese, they said we needed you to be focused on you scientific research and spent less time on sports and entertainment. So, I followed their decisions and quit my own interests and favorites. I used to blame them whenever I felt so pale about my life, full of desperation. Actually I have this planet of regret sitting on my shoulders that I didn’t fight and said no.

Seeking help from a professional psychic, I don’t know what’s other people’s opinions about this point of view, in my opinion it’s a healthy way to resolve personal problems, since there is no one actually can do some help in the desperation and confusion about myself and how can I decide who can be trusted? Maybe this angle is a little more, but that’s my true feelings.

Lelaina is a lucky one in this movie in that she finally climbed over the hill after graduation. The courage she got to face her career and true love needs great determination. All the obstacles in our life are set to catalyze us to be mature.

After having sex with Troy, Lelaina didn’t escape herself from that relationship, Vickie said, sex is the quickest way to ruin a friendship, I was upset when Troy said he was panic, it’s amazing to hear him said that:

Look, you are the only woman that I could ever commit myself to. I don’t want to lose you, I’ve never been in an experience like this before. I’ve never had sex with somebody that I loved before. But you can’t navigate me, Lelaina. I might do mean things, and I might hurt you, and I might run away without your permission, and you might hate me forever. And I know that that scares the shit out of you, because I’m the only real thing that you have.

After these words, Troy went on to the stage, This one’s for you, Lainie, he sung a song for her. But the estrangement between them let Lainie leave the bar. True love is always hard to get, nice couples need a period to overcome to reach the final happy destination. After all the misunderstandings clearing up, the lovers made the right choice to get together. They hugged and kissed in the front door of Lelaina’s house. Yeah, I have to say, I really like those fucking happy endings.

Reality Bites is a essential course each of us should endure when we face graduation, and face the confusion this society inflict us, that’s not an option. Until when we survive through these ups and downs we could find ourselves to be stronger person. The faith we lost in a moment, it will be seized finally. Be a strong person.

Here are some funny parts I caught in the movie:
Troy was fired because of stealing Snikers Bar, Snikers is my favorite too.
Vickie waked up the next morning after her guy left and noted the number and the name of that sex partner. Such a **** life style.
When these four guys paid in the shopping market counter, the rock music just started at that moment, then Lelaina and Vickie began to dance with the bright rhythm, the scenery is so impression that I could feel the infinite energy of youth in those four.

These are clips in Lelaina’s MV
I am not under any orders to make the world a better place.-----Troy
And you wonder why we never got involved.----Lelaina
I don’t want to get married because I see how my parents are.-----Vickie
My parents got divorced, when I was fourteen/five years old.------L/T
My mother actually goes to the bathroom with the door open.------V
I swore to myself I ‘d never get married.-------L
I want passion.
Would you two just do it and get it over with? I’m starving.------V
But the question remains, how can we repair all the damage we inherited? The answer is simple, the answer is… the-the-the answer is… I don’t know. ------L (Pizza. Pizza. Pizza. Ha ha, )

The first time I watched this movie was in one English class taught by a teacher I didn’t adore, after the movie, she asked the whole class one funny but realistic question, If you’re Lelaina in this movie, who will you choose,Michael or Troy? Anyone who decide to choose Michael please raise your hand. I can still remember only one girl raised her hand. Ms. ** just slightly smiled with no comments on our actions. Guess my choice on this question?

p.s. I like the music at the end of this movie, so touching.

stay (i missed you)
-----　lisa loeb reality bites

　　You say I only hear what I want to
　　And you say I talk so all the time-so
　　
　　And I thought what I felt was simple
　　And I thought that I don't belong
　　And now that I am leaving
　　Now I know that I did something wrong cause I missed you
　　Yeah, I missed you
　　
　　And you say I only hear what I want to
　　I don't listen hard
　　I don't pay attention to the distance that you're running or to
　　Anyone, anywhere
　　I don't understand if you really care
　　I'm only hearing negative, no no no - bad
　　
　　So I turned the radio on I turned the radio up
　　And this woman was singing my song
　　The lover's in love and the other's run away
　　The lover is crying cause the other won't stay
　　And some of us hover when we weep for the other who was dying
　　Since the day they were born well
　　Well this is not that
　　I think that I'm throwing but I'm thrown
　　
　　And I thought I'd live forever but now I'm not so sure
　　You try to tell me that I'm clever but that won't take me anyhow
　　Or anywhere with you
　　
　　And you said that I was naive
　　And I thought that I was strong
　　I thought "hey I can leave, I can leave"
　　But now I know that I was wrong cause I missed you
　　Yeah I missed you
　　
　　You said "you caught me cause you want me
　　And one day I'll let you go"
　　You try to give away a keeper or keep me cause you know
　　You're just too scared to lose
　　
　　And you say, "stay"
　　
　　You say I only hear what I want to