If the phrase "laugh when I see you" is the greatest compliment to a comedian, the world can be included in Rowan Atkinson, who has been called Mr Bean by audiences for nearly three decades. .
This Friday, Rowan Atkinson starred in the film series "The Beanstalker 3" released in China. Probably because the image of Mr. Bean is too clear, the agent, whose real name is Johnny English (Johnny English), was also caught by the word "bean".
It's no wonder that since the 1990s, the series "Mr Bean", whose copyrights have been sold to 245 countries and regions around the world, has become popular in the UK. Because of Rowan's precise interpretation and the creation of the creative team, Mr. Bean has become a British cultural icon. a business card.
But as Rowan himself said, they are not the same. Mr. Bean is a child trapped in a grown man's body, and Agent Ingrid is a pretentious man who thinks he knows everything but actually knows nothing.
This time, he's not Mr. Bean
It's Agent Ingrid
It is obviously not feasible to compare "Mr. Bean" with "Agent Bean 3", because the "Agent" series follows the 007 model, without heavy suits, driving luxury cars and using unheard of weapons. The beautiful spy flirts and plays handsome, and finally can reverse the situation and save the whole of Britain.
It's just that when you replace Daniel Craig in it with Rowan's face, the style of the painting deviates. Even with the former Bond girl ("007: Quantum of Solace") Olga Kurylenko, even the Bond girl was a little funny because of Rowan.
Beanstalk 3's intertextual reference to 007, Britain's most famous gentleman, doesn't stop there. The Aston Martin, once Bond's favorite, is also Johnny Ingrid's favorite. The crew went to a place in France where 007 filmed to shoot the same scene, and even made a big fuss about the protagonist Johnny's surname. In English, a name that sounds culturally representative is comparable to 007's global reach.
The biggest subversion of 007 in "Bean Agent 3" is that it is different from Bond's sophisticated character design. Using the most advanced equipment and technological weapons, Ingley lost his mobile phone, used a coin-operated phone, and opened the Aspen in the 1970s. Don Martin (no tracking system, navigation system, automatic engine system), with cute-looking children's fun weapons, against digital madmen who want to rule the world.
The process was full of laughter, and one of the scenes where Ingrid put on a VR device and walked into the real environment to experience the contrast between reality and reality, to a certain extent, represented the creators' cautious attitude towards technology. Of course in Ingley's world, even if he doesn't know anything, he can overcome evil. Sadly, he doesn't seem to win the hearts of non-British audiences.
Up to now, the box office of "Agent Bean 3", which was released in North America in October, was only 4.28 million US dollars. After the film opened in China this Friday, the attendance rate was once as low as 3%, and the cumulative box office in the past two days has exceeded 40 million yuan. . You know, the first two "Beanstalkers" had a cumulative global performance of 325 million US dollars.
"Beanstalker 3" will slowly achieve a counter-attack at the box office like "No Name", and maybe it is. Perhaps it is like Agent Ingrid played by Rowan, who always makes mistakes, always turns things upside down, and is not optimistic, but can finally turn bad luck into good luck.
Free and flexible limbs and British self-deprecation
For a top comedy performance artist like Chaplin, the role is only a part of his entire comedy performance. His unique comedy style, the comedy label exclusive to Chaplin, is added or subtracted accordingly with different roles. So did Rowan Atkinson.
In addition to Mr. Bean and Agent Ingrid, Black Sir is also his representative comedy role. In recent years, he has also starred in the TV movies of the Inspector Megre series, which have been in the category of suspense dramas.
Like the origins of most British actors, Rowan is also a college bully. He has a Ph.D. in Mechatronics Engineering from Oxford University and is a car fanatic. Aside from the image on the screen, Rowan in private looks like a serious intellectual.
During his time at Oxford, he was a fan of the experimental theatre company. Rowan, who didn't know much about writing scripts at the time, did a five-minute improvisation on stage. He distorted his face as much as he could in the mirror, and appeared in front of everyone in a weird, somewhat scary image with no lines.
This image became the primary template for all Rowan characters thereafter. His dexterity of limbs often amazes the audience. Tongue, eyes, nose, mouth and even nostrils can be unimaginably exaggerated and deformed. Long legs and weird dance moves are also his funny tools.
At the same time, British self-deprecating humor is also indispensable. In 1979, Rowan's debut work TV series "Spoofing the Whole Nine News" was broadcast, mostly political satire. Thatcher, Reagan, unemployment and the British royal family were all spared; in the later "Black Sir" series, Rowan even more It's a spoof of his own ancestors. Before the 1990s, Rowan's comedies were often linked to the British cultural context and failed to generate global buzz.
The turning point is the emergence of Mr. Bean. Because body comedy has the ability to transcend the language of the world, Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy in the silent film era became popular all over the world because of the fun brought by body. Rowan once said, "I like visual jokes, and I like clumsiness, and I tend to think of comedy in a simpler way."
("Mr. Hulot's Holiday")
Relying on body lines will reduce the number of lines. After there is no line to provide a joke, Rowan looks for the inspiration for creating Mr. Bean from the film "Mr. Hulot's Holiday". Written, directed and starred by Jacques Tati, the film tells the story of the eccentric honesty Hulot who goes on vacation to the beach and ends up messing up no matter what he does. A weird ordinary person amuses everyone with his limbs, so there is the second step of the bean image.
But he is also British, how can he lack the British humorous self-deprecation. In Rowan's view, the British are polite, well-behaved in suits and ties, and feel that they have to do things that fit their status. But there are impulsive thoughts in his heart, and he has been wandering between seeking rules and crossing boundaries.
He merged these two mentalities in Mr. Bean, and in Agent Ingrid. Bean and Ingrid are normal people, but weird. Bean is the child hidden in the body of the grown-up, the part of the British who want to break the norm. He spoofed and embarrassed. The audience all over the world can forgive him and treat him as a 9-year-old child; Agent Ingrid's unruly playing cards released the little devil in the audience's heart, and followed him to experience the funny pleasure.
The serious nonsense is probably the biggest feeling and the tacit understanding reached by the audience every time they see the role played by Rowan.
Epilogue
In 2012, Rowan stepped on the stage of the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, and when he appeared, audiences all over the world laughed. Who do we see from his face? Overseas audiences have seen Mr. Bean, and the British have also seen Black Jazz and Live Show masters, and with the release of "Agent Bean 3", there must be one more, Agent Ingrid.
In any case, this face has already become a business card in the world of British cultural communication, and Rowan, who is usually low-key, must be happy to hide behind the comedy characters he creates.
Rowan, who once revealed in an interview that Mr. Bean's creations have reached the ceiling, released a 7-minute short film "Mr. Bean: Halloween" on Halloween this year. Mr. Bean showed up with his beloved teddy bear to teach how to make jack-o-lanterns. It was three years ago that Mr. Bean appeared.
As for the "Agent Bean" series, which has only produced three films in fifteen years, the next one may be far away. I hope that the 63-year-old Luo Wen can be healthy and strong, and then appear on the screen again, a raised eyebrow and a smile can bring back memories.
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Public number: Director Gang (daoyanbangwx)
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