NOT ALL FUN AND GAMES童趣不再
Kidding is a whimsical show about adults dealing with emotional crisis. By KEVIN MA
異想天開的《酸瓜先生的人生笑話》是一部有關成年人處理情緒危機的劇集。撰文：馬樂民
IN 2013, ACTOR Jim Carrey wrote a children’s book called How Roland Rolls, about a wave who worries that his life will be over once he hits the coast. The award-winning book teaches young readers about social inclusion and our interconnectedness in an imaginative way. It seems natural that Carrey now produces Golden Globe-nominated comedy Kidding, a series in which he plays a beloved children’s television show host who bestows life lessons.
His character, Jeff Pickles, has educated and entertained several generations of children from his television studio in Columbus, Ohio, in the US. But his sweet, gentle demeanour has been showing cracks since the death of his son a year earlier. Jeff wants to talk about death on his show as a form of self-therapy, but Seb, his father and executive producer, only seems interested in keeping the Pickles empire financially lucrative. Things take a turn for the worse when Jeff discovers that his ex-wife, Jill, has found a new boyfriend.
Throughout the season, Kidding sees its characters’ positivity being threatened by harsh realities. While Jeff struggles with letting go of his son’s death and staying kind in an unkind world, his puppeteer sister (brilliantly played by Catherine Keener) tries her best to keep up appearances for her young daughter when she learns of her husband’s affair with a man who lives next door. For a show about people entertaining and teaching children, Kidding has plenty of adult angst.
Yet show creator Dave Holstein pulls off a skilled balancing act, finding comedy from the show’s serious themes. Complementing the storyline, Michel Gondry ( Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), who directed six of the 10 episodes in season one, sets a tone teetering delicately between whimsy and gloominess. Every time Kidding heads to the edge of darkness, it infuses a charming, childlike view of adulthood that brings it back into the light.
2013 年， Jim Carrey 撰寫的兒童讀物《How Roland Rolls》，是一個有關海浪擔心自己一旦拍岸，生命就會結束的故事。這本獲獎圖書以充滿想像力的方式，教導年輕讀者社會需要有容和人與人之間互相聯繫的重要性。在這前提之下，不難想像現在他製作的金球獎提名喜劇《酸瓜先生的人生笑話》，並親自演出兒童節目主持一角，是要向孩子們進行生命教育。
他飾演的 Jeff Pickles 在美國俄亥俄州哥倫布的電視台裡，教育和娛樂了數代的兒童。但自從兒子在一年前去世後， Jeff 一改親切和藹的態度，並希望在節目上談論生死，作為一種自我治療。然而他的父親兼執行監製 Seb卻並不理解，只著眼於維持 Pickles品牌王國繼續賺大錢的潛力，而當Jeff 發現前妻 Jill另結新歡時，情況更急轉直下。
在整個季度中，《酸瓜先生的人生笑話》的人物都因為受到殘酷現實的打擊而失去正能量，當Jeff 努力地嘗試忘記喪子之痛，並在無情的世界保持善良時，他任布偶師的姊姊（由Catherine Keener完美演繹）則發現丈夫與隔壁的男子偷情，但卻為了女兒著想而裝作若無其事。雖然該劇的人物以娛樂和教育兒童為主，但實際上卻含了不少成年人的焦慮。
不過，劇集的創作人 Dave Holstein難得在沉重的主題和喜劇之間巧妙地取得完美平衡。Michel Gondry（前作《無痛失戀》）負責執導第一季十集的其中六集，他精心營造出介乎離奇怪誕和悲觀沮喪的氛圍，令整個故事佈局錦上添花。每當《酸瓜先生的人生笑話》徘徊於黑暗邊緣時，總能以充滿童真的角度來看待成人世界，為故事帶來了一絲希望的曙光。