STAGE FRIGHT棟篤新秀
視屏·視評I’m Dying Up Here reveals the dark side of stand-up comedy. By KEVIN MA《I’m Dying Up Here》揭露棟篤笑這一行的陰暗面。撰文：馬樂民
WHEN JOHNNY CARSON’S
Tonight Show moved from New York to Los Angeles in the 1970s, aspiring comedians from across the US journeyed west to chase their dreams: just five minutes on the nationally televised talk show could make a comedian’s career.
But before making it big, they had The Comedy Store, a comedy venue in West Hollywood. The club was, and still is, a training ground for both new and experienced comedians to test their material. It was also a place to be spotted by talent scouts, including Carson’s. Its stage is considered a hallowed ground in the comedy world, a place where the greats such as David Letterman, Jay Leno and Garry Shandling got their starts.
Another one of those greats is Jim Carrey, who performed at the Comedy Store in the late 1970s before getting his
Tonight Show break in 1983. The comic is the executive producer of I’m Dying Up Here, a show loosely based on a non-fiction book of the same name that chronicles the stand-up comedy scene in the ’70s, with some of Carrey’s own experiences mixed in. The story, fictionalised, follows the lives of several comedians who frequent a comedy club named Goldie’s, ruled with an iron fist by Goldie (Melissa Leo).
When they’re not trading hilarious barbs in diners and fighting over performance slots, the comedians grapple with the demons that inspire their art, whether it’s abusive parents, messy relationships or racism. The characters are not always likeable, but their flaws and vulnerabilities are exactly what make them interesting.
And that’s the underlying message of
I’m Dying Up Here: great comedians who bare their souls on stage have messedup psyches, yet the torment makes them brilliant. There’s a reason the show is categorised as a drama: the jokes may be funny, but the issues are dark.
Also check out documentary series
The History of Comedy. Produced by CNN, it explores what makes us laugh and looks at American comedy’s ties to the country’s social and political landscape. 當名嘴Johnny Carson主持的《Tonight Show》於1970 年代從紐約移師洛杉磯之後，吸引大批胸懷大志的喜劇演員湧往美國西部，追尋自己的夢想；只要能在這個全國廣播的清談電視節目上亮相五分鐘，就可能從此一舉成名。
但是成名之前，他們會先到西荷李活專門表演棟篤笑的場地The Comedy Store初試啼聲。直到今天，這個場地都是各路棟篤笑新秀與老手前來接受考驗的英雄地。這樣的一個地方，當然不乏星探的蹤影，當年Carson手下的星探亦是座上客。這個場地的舞台，是喜劇業界眼中的聖地，不少天王級笑匠如David Letterman、Jay Leno與Garry Shandling都是從這裡出道的。
另一位在 The Comedy Store 嶄露頭角，後來成為搞笑天王的明星是 Jim Carrey。他於 1970 年代末在這個棟篤笑場地表演，到了1983 年終於有機會在《Tonight Show》亮相，從此踏上星途，扶搖直上。這位笑星現在更是劇集《I’m Dying Up Here》的監製。劇集的內容取材自同名的非虛構著作，講述1970 年代棟篤笑業內的人和事，其中夾雜了Carrey 的個人經歷。劇中的故事是虛構的，以幾個喜劇演員的生活為主線；他們經常前往一家名叫 Goldie’s的棟篤笑俱樂部表演，這裡的老闆 Goldie（Melissa Leo飾演）以軟硬兼施的方式來栽培在這裡表演的人。
這班喜劇新秀除了以尖酸刻薄又搞笑的話互相嘲諷，或者為了爭取演出機會而吵鬧不休之外，還要與啟發他們才華的心魔搏鬥；有人經常受父母惡言辱罵，有人要處理一塌糊塗的關係，或者面對種族主義。因此劇中人物有時不甚可愛，但他們的缺點與脆弱的地方，亦令他們變得有趣。
這也是藏在《I’m Dying Up Here》背後的訊息：在舞台上坦露內心世界的優秀喜劇演員，其實心靈上都是一塌糊塗的；然而，他們所受的折磨亦令他們才華橫溢。因此這個劇集沒有被歸類為喜劇的原因就極為明顯：笑話可能令人捧腹，然而主題卻是充滿哀傷的。
此外，不妨同時觀看由CNN製作的紀錄片集《The History of Comedy》；片集內容探討令我們發笑的原因，以及美國喜劇與美國社會及政治現狀之間的關係。