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爱情与婚姻是电影永恒的主题之一，“老司机”伍迪·艾伦(Woody  Allen)更是将这一主题打造成了自己的招牌曲目，变的是男女主角和爱恨情愁，不变的是絮絮叨叨又富有哲理的台词、慵懒悠长的爵士乐和典雅怀旧的画面。作为伍迪·艾伦首部数字化拍摄的作品，《咖啡公社》(Café Society)成为2016年戛纳电影节开幕片并被寄予厚望，视觉效果可谓美轮美奂，但对于故事的评价则在“很好，很伍迪·艾伦”和“怎么又这么伍迪·艾伦”间拉锯。不同于伍迪以往作品的犀利冗长，《咖啡公社》情节简单，正如豆瓣网友的精辟概括：“我们(编注：指男女主角)都活成了对方讨厌的样子，可我们好像还爱着彼此，但我们回不去了，不过没关系，我们都很有钱。”但在这个看似寻常的三角恋爱、屌丝失意的故事背后，伍迪冷酷地揭开了成长的隐秘伤疤与爱情的虚妄面纱。

故事发生在20世纪30年代的美国，伴随着伍迪·艾伦语调平静的旁白，镜头在一片金色中徐徐展开：“When the sun starts to dip on the Hollywood hills, the light often takes on the saturated loveliness of color by Technicolor (彩色印片法). The homes of the movie stars in the late 1930s, said to be fabulous, were. And the cocktail and dinner gatherings saw the film colony’s crème de la creme (最优秀的人物), draining (喝干) highballs (高杯酒), exchanging rumors, making deals and trading gossip. No A-list affair was complete without the presence of Phil Stern, one of the town’s most high-powered agents, and his lovely wife, Karen.”好莱坞著名的明星经纪人Phil Stern正在衣香鬓影的鸡尾酒派对上侃侃而谈，却意外接到久未联系、身在纽约的姐姐的来电，原来是外甥Bobby Dorfman想要来好莱坞看看外面的世界，希望成功人士Phil能多多提携。忙得脚不沾地的Phil根本没把“穷亲戚”的请求当真，谁知年少轻狂的Bobby却真的义无反顾地来到了好莱坞，坚持不懈地去Phil的办公室“围追堵截”，希望舅舅能帮助自己摆脱过去平庸、乏味的生活。

鸡尾酒派对上的Phil (中)

可惜Bobby除了希望与憧憬一无所有，等了几周也没能和大忙人舅舅碰面。那几天，他唯一的乐趣就是和家人通电话，吐槽好莱坞的饮食：“Here they call Danish (丹麦卷) sweet rolls and they give you coffee before you … the minute you sit down, even before the orange juice.”胃知乡愁，彷徨的异乡人Bobby终于忍不住听从了大哥Ben的建议，打电话叫来一位提供“特殊服务”的女孩，以解寂寞。

Bobby: You don’t have any qualms (良心不安) going down this road?

Working girl: I need a job. My acting career is not going anywhere.

Bobby: OK! Yeah, but, but, but think.

Working girl: I need the money.

那位提供“特殊服务”的女孩是个新手，惴惴不安的她不仅迟到，还找错了房间。Bobby原本是想找个人聊聊天，互相取暖，却因漫长的等待而意兴阑珊。在与那个女孩简短交谈后，Bobby得知同为犹太人的女孩原本也是怀揣明星梦独自来好莱坞打拼的，但美女太多，机会太少，山穷水尽之际，她无奈地选择出卖肉体。看着穿着浮夸、手足无措、近乎走投无路的女孩，Bobby仿佛看到了同为“好莱坞漂”的自己。此刻的他根本无心风花雪月，不仅仅是因为道德的约束，更是因为无法面对自己沉沦的可能。最终，Bobby毫不留情地拒绝女孩提供的服务并将其送出房门，同时与卑微的自己诀别，更坚定了追求成功的决心。

坚持就是胜利，Bobby终于等到了Phil舅舅的接见。业务电话一刻不停的Phil感慨：“Oh, Christ! Ben, it’s all about ego! This whole town runs on ego.”好莱坞的人都是自大狂，每个人只关心自己的功名利禄，Phil又何尝不是。对于明星巨贾，他如数家珍，可他却连自己亲外甥的名字都记不清，将Bobby叫成了Ben。朴实的Bobby似懂非懂，但对于花花世界的渴望压倒了一切，他还是拘谨又执着地请求Phil给他一个留下的机会。最终，Phil安排Bobby给自己打杂、跑腿，并让年轻的女秘书Veronica Sybil (昵称Vonnie)带Bobby熟悉环境。

初涉好莱坞的Bobby

打扮素雅、声音迷蒙的美丽姑娘就这样突然出现在午后温暖的阳光中，和即将开始的新事业一样让Bobby充满期待。每到周末，Vonnie都会开车载着人生地不熟的Bobby四处游览，参观比弗利山庄的明星豪宅，谈论在这个浮华城市的所见所感。

Bobby: OK, if you  could choose one house on the block to live in, which would you pick?

Vonnie: I don’t think I would choose Beverly  Hills.

Bobby: No? Why ... why not?

Vonnie: I love  living by the beach, you know, like my apartment is just a short ride from the  ocean. I get to stare at it all day. To be honest, I feel kinda sorry for these  people—needing to feel important in these big houses. I talk like this now.  But I was the same as every other girl in town. All with the same ambition, but  ...

Bobby: What? You wanted to be a movie  star?

Vonnie: I loved acting, in school…. I thought  I’d come to Hollywood and live in one of these  big houses with these swimming pools, and hobnob with  (尤指与有权势者交往) all the glamorous  types. Go to openings (首映式). You know, you grow up and quickly  realize that if you have half a brain, what a silly life that can be.

随着接触的增多，Bobby对Vonnie的倾慕愈发加深：Vonnie虽然来自名不见经传的小地方，但她心怀理想，顽强拼搏，而且没有被纸醉金迷的好莱坞腐化，她的纯真美丽远胜任何明星光芒。Bobby和Vonnie有着相似的背景和追求，但Vonnie有更出挑的外貌、更清晰的方向和更豁达的态度，简直是“Bobby Plus”，是Bobby渴望成为的那个更好的自己。可惜Vonnie已有男友，和Bobby的交往更多是出于友情和寂寞。但Bobby仍无法自拔地陷入隐忍又甜蜜的单恋，能与Vonnie相伴成为支撑他在遥远异乡艰苦打拼的精神寄托。

虽然Phil一直被Bobby的老爸吐槽是犹太人中的异类，毫无家庭观念，但他还是在百忙之中抽空帮外甥安排了抛头露面、积累人脉的机会。初次参加大咖云集的午餐会，Bobby既享受星光熠熠的气氛，又对名人们背后互相挖苦、落井下石的虚伪行径不齿。他迫不及待地和Vonnie通话，告诉她所有的新鲜事。无论别人的世界多么光鲜亮丽，都比不上和有情人缩在苍蝇小馆闲话家常——Vonnie才是Bobby最美、最纯的那个梦。

Bobby: This is your faithful Hollywood reporter calling like he said he would. Yes ... yes it’s me. I think you’re actually lucky that your boss does not invite you to these things. It is ... it is everything that you can’t stand. It’s all in-street talk and name-dropping (不断地提及名人以抬高身价) and caddy back-stabbing (背后拆台). Yeah, but there are a few faces that you recognize from the screen. Oh! Me? I’m kinda half bored, half fascinated. But I would trade it for tacos (墨西哥煎玉米卷) with you, at that little Mexican joint (小酒馆). Hmm, yeah. Now, I’m sure if we were here together, we would have a million wicked laughs together.

事业渐有起色的Bobby迫不及待地邀请Vonnie共进烛光晚餐，分享喜悦。但Vonnie却屡次爽约，因为她要去昏暗的酒吧幽会情人——已婚老男人Phil。Vonnie如同一束清新无瑕的白百合，重新唤起Phil的青春活力。而事业有成的Phil也让漂泊无依的Vonnie感受到他成熟、稳重的魅力。两人的“地下战”打了一年多，Phil经过反复思想斗争，终于决定和发妻离婚，彻底投入Vonnie的怀抱。

Phil: I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to have a talk with Karen as soon as she gets back from Toronto. Her mother is much better.

Vonnie: Are you … are you sure this is what you want?

Phil: I can’t go on sneaking around, grabbing moments with you in hotels and dark bars. I’m in love with you.

Vonnie: You’ve been saying that. I just don’t wanna feel like I’ve broken up your marriage.

Phil: I wanna be honest. Karen and I have a long history and not a bad one. Would I walk out on (抛弃，离开) her if I had not met you? Probably not. But I did meet you.

Vonnie: Of course I wanna be with you. I just hate the duplicity (双重性) of this.

Phil: I know, it’s not fair to you to live like this. You’ve been so understanding about it. Too understanding, really. I love you, Vonnie.

Vonnie被Phil的决定和告白打动，在两人周年庆时精心准备了礼物。无奈再次约会时，Vonnie等来的却是Phil的分手通知。Phil说自己实在是无法抛弃糟糠之妻。伤心欲绝的Vonnie冲到好友Bobby家哭诉自己的遭遇，Bobby爱怜地安慰着她，并趁机表白了长埋心底的情意。

Bobby: I feel sorry for you, but I’m also glad that you don’t have a boyfriend anymore. But for … for selfish reasons.

Vonnie: I’ve always known how you felt about me, and it’s … it’s been flattering.

Bobby: I have been in love with you from the first moment I laid eyes on you. And I thought you were a movie star.

Vonnie: Honestly, I don’t think I will ever fall in love again.

Bobby: Well, it just happened. You need time.

Vonnie: I’ll get over this. I’m not usually such a fragile person, I swear. It’s just that it took me by surprise.

陪伴是最长情的告白，Bobby和Vonnie终于从朋友发展为恋人。抱得美人的Bobby心满意足，对华而不实的好莱坞再无眷恋，希望和Vonnie回纽约结婚，共度平淡但恩爱的生活。然而，“Life is a comedy written by a sadistic comedy writer”，不“狗血”无故事。Phil始终也没有放下这段地下情，进退维谷之际只好和外甥倾诉，却得知Vonnie即将和Bobby结婚，这促使他下定决心净身出户，重得Vonnie芳心。

陪伴是最长情的告白，Bobby和Vonnie终于从朋友发展为恋人。抱得美人的Bobby心满意足，对华而不实的好莱坞再无眷恋，希望和Vonnie回纽约结婚，共度平淡但恩爱的生活。然而，“Life is a comedy written by a sadistic comedy writer”，不“狗血”无故事。Phil始终也没有放下这段地下情，进退维谷之际只好和外甥倾诉，却得知Vonnie即将和Bobby结婚，这促使他下定决心净身出户，重得Vonnie芳心。

而Bobby也通过舅舅书桌上摆放的Vonnie制作的周年礼物知道了旧情原委。面临抉择，Vonnie内心纠结：一边是纯情稚嫩的男孩，手捧一颗无瑕真心，但前途未卜，恐怕只能让自己过上有情饮水饱的平淡生活；另一边则是成功而富有激情的成熟男人，虽然感情史复杂，但能带来一个更加广阔的世界，帮助自己实现“好莱坞梦”。最终，Vonnie心怀歉疚却并不迟疑地拒绝了Bobby。在这段感情中，Vonnie满足了Bobby所有的期待，但善良温柔有余、成熟霸气不足的Bobby却不是Vonnie心中的Mr. Right。Vonnie选择和青涩的Bobby擦肩而过，势单力薄的爱情终究无法强行捆绑成长步伐不同的两个人。

无辜的Bobby黯然还乡，协助大哥Ben管理夜总会。节日餐桌上，家人们谈论起Phil的新婚，并对爱情与婚姻展开讨论，有不屑讥讽，有冷漠认同，也有冷静思辨。

Daddy: What kinda man throws out his wife of 25 years to run off with (携……私奔) a 25-year-old secretary?

Mom: I hate to tell you how many go with their secretaries.

Ben: Bobby says she was really beautiful.

Daddy: So is looks everything!? Where’s character? Where’s loyalty?

…

Leonard (Bobby的姐夫): Look, love is an emotion. And emotions are not rational. You fall in love. You fall. You lose control.

伍迪·艾伦借知识分子Leonard之口表达了自己对爱情的部分看法：爱情之美在于其感性的本质，是无计划、无秩序、不受控制的，是冒险，是飘忽不定，是愿赌服输。“爱情来得太快就像龙卷风”，有妇之夫Phil爱上年轻又充满活力的Vonnie无可厚非，正如当年他与发妻的感情一样自然真挚。至于婚姻，这本就是人为创造的制度产物，谁又能证明它绝对正确？Bobby也没有痛斥Vonnie玩弄自己的感情，反而轻描淡写地维护着她女神的形象，假装平静地将心底的伤口掩盖，默默擦干眼泪开始新的生活。

光彩照人的Veronica

经历了好莱坞的历练和遭女神抛弃的打击，Bobby本质上已不再是当年那个单纯、拘谨的毛头小子。他重新包装了Ben的俱乐部，请来朋友模特公司里的美女们站台，吸引最炙手可热的名流富贾，传播圈内人才知道的第一手消息，分享上流社会隐秘、辛辣的八卦。当年那个打趣好莱坞名人虚伪做派的年轻人却亲手打造了属于自己的Café Society——纽约“逼格最高”的朋友圈儿，曾经为他不齿的好莱坞式虚荣浮夸现在却成了他的护身铠甲。Bobby在名利场工作得游刃有余，还凭借老练的手腕和强劲攻势勾搭到新离异且名字与Vonnie相同的大美女Veronica  Hayes。美丽却莫名被前夫背叛的Veronica正是Bobby当前生活的写照：表面光彩照人，内心满是伤痕，看似丰盈，实则虚空。整个夏天Bobby都和Veronica打得火热，天天见面，直到有一天Veronica突然说有件事要宣布。

café society：咖啡馆社交界(指经常出入咖啡馆、夜总会等处的社交界时髦人士)

Veronica宣布自己怀孕的消息

Veronica: I am pregnant…. Yes, yes really. Are you crushed (极度震惊的，心烦意乱的)?

Bobby: No, no. I’m not crushed at all. It’s wonderful. So what’s our next move?

Veronica: Well I’d like to have the baby.

Bobby: OK.

Veronica: Unless you don’t want me to. I could go to Mexico and get done safely.

Bobby: No, Vonnie (编注：此处为Bobby因情绪不安而口误), we are not going to Mexico. We are going to Niagara Falls (尼亚加拉瀑布), if anywhere.

Veronica: Are you sure this is what you want?

Bobby: Yes, of course…. Are you gonna marry me or not?

Veronica: Yes! Yes, of course.

Bobby: Yes? OK, good. That’s the right answer.

Bobby与怀孕了的Veronica迅速结婚，一切都看似非常平静完美。但四下无人时，Bobby难掩内心的落寞：Veronica再美也不过是Vonnie的替身，“纵使举案齐眉，到底意难平”。

正当Bobby以为生活会波澜不惊地一直继续下去时，Phil和Vonnie却突然到访Ben的俱乐部。Bobby很怕自己油头粉面、圆滑世故的样子被Vonnie鄙视，恨不得立刻逃开，但出乎意料的是，昔日毫无烟火气的女神似乎根本没注意到他的变化，反而庸俗、夸张地向他炫耀明星的奇闻逸事，Bobby简直听到了梦想破碎的声音。

Bobby: You’ve become everything that you used to  poke fun at and everything that you couldn’t stand.

Vonnie: Well you know, time passes, life moves on.  People change.

Bobby: Yeah, but all that … the talk of the simple  life ... It would be comical  (荒谬可笑的) if you  weren’t so sad.

Vonnie: Well you are not necessarily the same  person that you were either.

Bobby: No, no. Yes, you’re right. Yeah, life moves  on, people ... yeah, people grow up.

Vonnie和Bobby重逢后偷偷幽会

Vonnie: New York really is fabulous….

Bobbie: … How can you possibly choose anywhere  else? I mean I know Hollywood is occasionally exciting, but nothing beats  Broadway or the cheesecake at  Lindy’s (纽约著名甜品店).

Vonnie: I can’t listen to you.... You really always  had a little touch of a poet in you…. What could I do? I had to  choose.

Bobbie: Hmm. As my brother-in-law says:  “Alternatives exclude.”

Vonnie: Yeah, I loved you and I loved Phil. I was  with him a year and a half.  You’re this ... awkward but adorable, frantic, young, romantic, trying to find  yourself. And I had this big shot. It was difficult that … I didn’t know if it  would work out ... I just thought maybe if you didn’t make it the way you wanted to make  it. You’d be resentful and we’d be unhappy. Who knows? I don’t know.

Vonnie选择了好莱坞的生活之后，似乎才发现纽约的美好。但这也只是一种流于表面的得陇望蜀，说说而已。道路早在做出选择的那一刻分叉且不能再回头。Vonnie很清楚，与Bobby的旧梦重温虽然美好，但不过是一场短途旅行，她并不能放弃所有，因为这已经构成了现在的自己。

几个月之后，俨然成功人士的Bobby去好莱坞考察业务，他兴致勃勃地约Vonnie去当年常去的苍蝇小馆再续前缘，却不想等来的是Vonnie的诀别。Vonnie始终是内心更清楚、更豁达的那一个。

Vonnie: Maybe it’s just as well if we don’t see  each other. It always stirs up feelings and ... and then I start dreaming ...  You probably start dreaming. And dreams are dreams.

Bobby: I guess some feelings don’t ever die. Is  that good or bad?

Bobby喃喃自语“有些感情永远不会消失”，但他也不清楚，这种感情是对Vonnie的爱，是对那个爱着Vonnie的青涩少年的怀念，还是对当年纯真青春的向往？

电影结尾，新年派对一片繁华，分别被人群包围的Bobby和Vonnie却都怅然若失。两人望向远方的身影渐渐重叠在镜头里，也许在想念那想触碰却终究收回的手，也许在估量成长的代价，也许在哀叹爱情的无所依从。老奸巨猾的伍迪·艾伦深谙生活的模棱两可，怎么会给一个happy ending？电影就在两人期待与失落情绪的交织中缓缓落幕。“此情可待成追忆，只是当时已惘然”，我们都在变化，不变的只是对美好的向往，对美梦的怀恋。爱情之所以宝贵也在于它的脆弱易逝，离开那一时一地便无法重新生根。无奈又无悔，初心难忘但也要向过去的自己告别，且怀恋，且前行，一年又一年。