VOA标准英语2012--Art Imitates Life in New Comedy 'Jeff, Who Lives At Home'

Art Imitates Life in New Comedy 'Jeff, Who Lives At Home'

Jeff, a 30-year-old, is having difficulty getting his life started. With no career and no job prospects¹, he spends most of his time smoking marijuana and fretting² about the future, much to the chagrin³ of his mother.

MOM "Get off that couch or you're going to find someplace else to live."

JEFF "I was kind of in the middle of something right now, mom."

MOM "Jeff, what do you do in the basement? You're not cleaning it."

JEFF "Do you really want to know? You didn't like it the last time we had this conversation."

MOM "Okay, you're right. I don't."

Meanwhile, Jeff's older brother Pat is married and - to the casual observer, at least - having a real life. But as Jeff blunders toward his destiny, he inadvertently helps Pat and their mom find their way too. 

"I just remember a period in my life when I was out of work and was sitting there waiting for someone to cast me," recalls Jason Segel, who plays a naive⁴ and hopeful Jeff. "It was very much was like Jeff, sitting there thinking 'I'm going to wait for the sign that I'm worthy⁵ of being an actor.' That's what I related to in the part."

JEFF "Why do you want to live like this, drifting through this life with no awareness⁶?"

PAT "What are you talking about?"

"It was just very clear what my job was. It was to show up and be 'regular.' It was just so well written there was no need to talk about what the character's motivation was or anything like that. I knew my job was to show up and do what they had written," Segal adds. 

The writers and directors are Jay and Mark Duplass, brothers whose improvisational⁷ style has won acclaim⁸ at independent film showcases like the Sundance festival. Jay Duplass says they urge the actors not to 'overthink' the roles.

"We are not just asking these guys to 'wing it' and come up with something funny. Everything that we do is based on character goals," explains Duplass. "Our whole process is trying to eliminate intellectualism from the process and really just doing it, exploring it and trying to find it."

Mark Duplass, who has experience as an actor, explains that Jeff, Who Lives At Home was a challenge because the story plays out in a single day.

"We have been shooting films that take place mostly on close-ups of people's faces and deal with interpersonal human relations and the tragi-comedy of relationships. This film maintains that but also expands it because it's a sort of adventure in a day in the lives of these people," he explains.

Those people include Susan Sarandon as Jeff's mom, with Ed Helms and Judy Greer as his older brother and sister-in-law.

1 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

2 fretting   

n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的

参考例句：

• Fretting about it won't help. 苦恼于事无补。
• The old lady is always fretting over something unimportant. 那位老妇人总是为一些小事焦虑不安。

3 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

4 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

5 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

7 improvisational   

adj. 即兴的

参考例句：

• I have never been at games like charades or improvisational acting. 您从来都唔擅长玩“有口难言”或者“即席表演”之类既游戏。
• I'm practicing self-control, those random and improvisational acts aren't allowed. 我在练习控制自己，那些随意的、即兴的举动是不允许的。

8 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。