Still from film Top Hat. Credit: Continental Home Vídeo
If you want to be footloose and fancy-free
In times of trouble, it can be oddly uplifting to see people with no troubles at all. One example would be J Harold Manners, the blithe millionaire played by Harold Lloyd in For Heaven’s Sake(1926). While the other great silent comics’ characters are often buffeted by crime and hardship, Lloyd’s trademark persona is breezily positive, and never more so than when Manners floats through this buoyant Sam Taylor comedy, writing cheques without hesitation whether he needs to buy a car or establish a mission for the poor. Another example would be Henry Fonda’s Charles Pike inThe Lady Eve(1941), a brewery heir with nothing to worry about except being pursued by Barbara Stanwyck’s gold-digging dame. But the definitive footloose and fancy-free movie idols must be Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, who gave Depression-era audiences a glittery glimpse of high society in Top Hat(1935) andCarefree(1938).
在困难时候看到那些高枕而卧的人会莫名地让人感到振奋。1926年电影《看在上帝的份上》中哈罗德·劳埃德饰演的快乐的百万财主J·哈罗德·曼纳斯便是一个例子。只管其他伟大的笑剧默片的角色常日要与犯罪和苦难作斗争，但是劳埃德的标志性形象总是轻松活泼、积极乐不雅观的，尤其是在山姆·泰勒导演的这部轻快的笑剧片中，曼纳斯绝不犹豫地开支票的时候——无论他是须要买一辆车还是为穷汉做慈善奇迹。另一个例子便是1941年电影《淑女伊芙》中亨利·方达饰演的查尔斯·派克，他是一名高枕而卧的啤酒厂继续人，唯一的烦恼便是被芭芭拉·斯坦威克饰演的拜金女追求。但是说到自由清闲、高枕而卧的电影偶像，肯定非弗雷德·阿斯坦和金格尔·罗杰斯莫属，这两人主演的1935年电影《礼帽》和1938年电影《乐天派》让大冷落期间的不雅观众得以一瞥金光闪闪的上流社会。
buoyant[ˈbɔɪənt]: adj. 轻快的
Poster of the film Singin’ in the Rain. Credit: MGM
If you want to sing along
让你可以随着哼唱的电影
While it may not have been medically proven that it is impossible to get through Fit as a Fiddle, Make 'em Laugh,Moses SupposesorGood Morningwithout cheering up, it’s certainly very likely, so you should watch the film which boasts those dazzling song and dance routines at least once a day for the next few weeks.Singin’ in the Rain(1952), starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor, is the most acclaimed of all Hollywood musicals. But, actually, almost any good musical should have enough energetic fun to lift the spirits, fromEaster Parade(1948) andThe Band Wagon(1953) toThe Blues Brothers(1980) and Little Shop of Horrors(1986).
只管没有医学证明，但是你在听完了《Fit as a Fiddle》、《Make 'em Laugh》、《Moses Supposes》和《Good Morning》这几首曲子后很可能心情会好起来，以是接下来几周你该当看看那部拥有这些美妙的歌曲和舞蹈的电影，每天至少一次。吉恩·凯利、黛比·雷诺兹、唐纳德·奥康纳主演的1952年电影《雨中曲》是最受欢迎的好莱坞音乐电影。不过，事实上，险些任何一部精良的音乐电影都有足以振奋精神的活力和乐趣，比如，1948年电影《花开蝶满枝》、1953年电影《龙国喷鼻香车》到1980年电影《福禄双霸天》和1986年电影《异形奇花》。
Still from film When Harry Met Sally. Credit: Castle Rock Entertainment
If you want to fall in love
让你体会恋爱滋味的电影
A film so comforting that it has an item of soft furnishing in its title, Pillow Talk(1959) stars Doris Day as a career woman who can’t stand her playboy neighbour (Rock Hudson) who hogs their shared phone line. Why is it such a pleasure? One reason is that the most tense dramatic question is whether its devastatingly attractive heroine and hero will get together (of course they will), while the characters boast such aspirational lifestyles in the meantime. The best romantic comedies let you imagine that you, too, could wear those clothes, lounge around in those apartments, and have that flirtatious badinage in those metropolitan nightclubs and restaurants, so snuggle up with Doris and Rock – or, if you prefer, Hugh and Andie inFour Weddings and a Funeral(1994) or Billy and Meg inWhen Harry Met Sally(1989).
1959年电影《枕边细语》是一部连名字都软绵绵的暖心电影，多丽丝·黛在片中饰演一名职业女性，她无法忍受隔壁的花花公子（洛克·赫德森饰演）总是霸占着公用电话。为什么这部电影这么让人愉悦呢？一个缘故原由是人们急迫地想知道无比迷人的女主角和男主角会不会在一起（当然会），与此同时男女主角的生活办法又是如此令人神往。最好的浪漫笑剧会让你想象自己也穿着那种衣服，在那样的公寓里走来走去，在那些大都邑夜总会和餐厅里开着暧昧的玩笑。你可以对着多丽丝和洛克浮想联翩，如果你乐意的话，也可以选择1994年电影《四个婚礼和一个葬礼》中的休和安迪，或者1989年电影《当哈利碰着莎莉》中的比利和梅格。
hog[hɔːɡ]: v. 独占
badinage[ˈbædɪnɑːʒ]: n. 开玩笑
Still from film The World Is Not Enough. Credit: MGM
If you want someone to save the world
拯救天下的英雄电影
Bond movies are intrinsically comforting to Brits of a certain age because they bring back memories of flopping in front of the television on Christmas day. But you don’t have to be British to feel soothed by a supremely competent and confident champion trouncing evil and cracking one-liners while he’s at it. Not a Bond fan? Choose your favourite action hero, whether it’s John McClane in Die Hard(1988), Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark(1981), or Superman inSuperman: The Movie(1978), a paragon who can literally turn back time to happier days.
对付某个年事段的英国人来说，邦德电影能给内心带来抚慰，由于邦德电影会唤起圣诞节坐在电视机前的回顾。不过纵然你不是英国人，你也可以被这个能力超强、自傲满满、劝善扬善的段子手折服。如果你不是邦德的粉丝，你也可以选择你喜好的动作片英雄，无论是1988年电影《虎胆龙威》中的约翰·麦卡伦，1981年电影《夺宝奇兵》中的印第安纳·琼斯，还是1978年电影《超人》中的超人，这些完美英雄都可以把我们带回过去的那些快乐光阴。
paragon[ˈpærəɡɑːn]: n. 模范；完美之物；精良之人
英文来源：BBC
翻译&编辑：丹妮
来源：中国日报网
