小姑居处

This is where it all starts, the first of nine film collaborations of Tracy and Hepburn, whose off-screen, extramarital romance would continue until Tracy’s death quarter a century later.

Naturally, one would not expect a 40s Hollywood studio rom-com to be progressively egalitarian on the front of gender politics, although George Stevens’ picture holds a grand promise by allowing Tess Harding (Hepburn), a polyglot, international affairs correspondent and Sam Craig (Tracy), her fellow fourth estate practitioner, a homespun sports journalist, falling for each other, which accentuates the rub, Sam’s consternation and frustration living under the shadow of Tess, who defies every possible definition of what an American wife traditionally means, especially after she is bestowed with the title as “America’s Outstanding Woman of the Year”, can Sam live up to the standard of the husband of “the Woman of the Year”?

No, this film is not a whirlwind screwball inundated by ceaseless banters and repartee, in lieu a standard meet-cute that jostles the funny bone when Tess and Sam fumble in their respective new territories which are the other’s turfs, opposite attracts, that is the axiom. But clearly, male chauvinism inexorably sneaks in when the plot makes Tess do many a gormless thing to irk Sam to a fault, not least by adopting a 6-year-old Greek refuge boy Charlie (Kezas) without giving Sam a heads-up, and finally suffixed with a reshoot ending that compromises the movie’s initial liberal-minded stance, not every woman is a natural to the kitchen chores, if that simple fact can be construed as a laughing matter constructed with painstaking lengths, the movie forsooth has trouble to find empathy in today’s audience.

Be that as it may, Hepburn is Oscar-nominated for her quintessential capacity of turning on the waterworks and ignites some magical chemistry with an avuncular if somewhat grumpy Tracy, who in the final scene, leaves Tess’s scene-stealing secretary Gerald (Dan Tobin) at the receiving end of his petty protest, if that is not thinly-veiled male chauvinism, why on earth a man who is simply very good at doing his job (as a woman’s secretary) deserves to be in the butt of the joke?

referential entries: Stevens’ PENNY SERENADE (1941, 7.0/10); Stanley Kramer’s GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (1967, 7.6/10).

日子怎么过

《风云女性》 Woman of the Year 年代：1942年 / 国家：美国 / 导演：乔治·史蒂文斯 / 主演：凯瑟琳·赫本、斯宾塞·屈塞

性格急躁的金星，与温和的丈夫汉斯看起来并不顺撇，而且事业上显然也是金星强过汉斯，可他们依然相守至今十多年至今。相比之下，何洁和赫子铭则在有两个孩子的情况下还是没能维持住这桩婚姻。那么到底女强男弱的婚姻是否靠谱呢？
早在40年代就有这么一部讲述婚姻生活的电影，它的一个译名《小姑居处》我觉得并不恰当，还是《风云女性》更符合女主角苔丝的定位。她是个职业女强人，每天忙得不可开交，跟世界各地的人谈生意，并因此被授予“年度女性”的称号。她跟山姆的结合显得特别仓促，刚认识没多久就闪婚，可婚后矛盾不断。新婚之夜还有苔丝的工作伙伴前来拜访，打扰他们夫妻共处；两人缺乏沟通，明明都同时去芝加哥了，却彼此不知道；山姆希望能有后代，但苔丝却领养了一个孩子，毕竟她那么忙，哪有时间怀孕生孩子啊？他们这种女强男弱的的组合，除了具有欢喜冤家式的神经喜剧效果之外，还反映出当时刚刚冒头的女权主义风潮。但显然导演是个直男，他依然抱着“女人就应该回归家庭”的态度，让苔丝在父亲再婚的婚礼上幡然醒悟，后悔自己由于工作而疏忽了家庭，于是她赶快去挽救自己的这桩婚姻。不管你认不认同电影里的婚姻价值观，但它确实提供了一种思路：夫妻双方必有一方做出让步妥协，不然这日子怎么过。

笑点1
第15分钟，在苔丝的家庭聚会上，山姆的周围都是说着各种异国语言的外国人，山姆听不懂，根本插不上嘴，只好很无趣地独自闲逛。好不容易听到有人说英语，但一见到山姆，他们马上又换上听不懂的语言。最搞笑的是，一位印度人坐在山姆旁边，不论他问什么问题，这位印度人只会回答“Yes”，山姆故意骂他很蠢，他也回答“Yes”。






















笑点2
第94分钟，苔丝决心要像家庭妇女一样给丈夫做顿饭。可是你这穿着貂在灶台上点火，就不怕燎着了？照着菜谱学做华夫饼，但不知道如何分离蛋清和蛋黄，蛋黄掉到鞋上搞得很狼狈狼狈。咖啡要快溢出来了，烤熟的面包不断往外跳，苔丝手忙脚乱，不知所措，最后只好彻底认输。既然不是下厨房这块料，何必这么为难自己呢？























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