Peter: Theodore. Loved it. But remember that article I told you about? Naming kids after famous people? I just don't want Teddy to think he's a failure if he doesn't wind up on Mount Rushmore. Uh, Arthur. Oh! This was tough, because Arthur is mythological. Round Table, the whole deal. But "The Name Game." Remember that? "The Name Game"? "Art-Art-bo-Bart, Banana-Fana-fo-Fart." Brings us to Casey. This whole next slew of names: Casey, Jordan, Dylan, Drew, Taylor, Tyler and probably mostly Skylar......are all names that could be girls' names. Why don't we just cut to the chase and call him Cindy?
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Ethan: You know what, my father always had a saying, "when a day starts like this, it's all uphill from here."
Peter: That’s actually incorrect.
Ethan: My dad used to say it.
Peter: No, it's all downhill from here.
Ethan: But everybody wants to be up, nobody wants to be down, so it’s all uphill from here.
Peter: It's easier as you go downhill. So your dad didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about.
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Peter: Beware. I'm warning you, don't go to Hollywood. The streets are not paved with gold. They are paved with the carcasses of fucking imbeciles like you who think they're gonna make it. "Pray you, avoid it." Did you get that? That was Shakespeare. Heard of him?
Ethan: Yes, l've heard of him. He's a famous pirate. And by the way, Shakesbeard.
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Ethan: There's plenty of him still in here. Darryl only made three cups of coffee and I think there's about eight cups of my dad left in here.
電影開頭採用彼得的觀點，在機場大門前，伊森的車擦撞上彼得座車，自此結了不解之緣。在彼得眼中，伊森是個滿身酒氣、不拘小節又怪里怪氣的胖子。當伊森向彼得賠了不是，並用極度樂觀的口吻說了：when a day starts like this, it's all uphill from here.彼得一聽，心裡便明瞭伊森沒幾兩重，因為他連常用的俗語都會搞錯。伊森說的這句跟另一句美國俗語：get out of bed on the wrong side／foot相同，講的都是一天起始不順導致整天每況愈下。只不過，伊森把downhill（走下坡）說成uphill（走上坡），於是整個句意有了一百八十度的轉變，讓本來悲慘的含意轉為樂觀並充滿期待。彼得並沒因伊森的鼓勵感到開心，相反的，彼得因伊森的知錯不改感到煩心。
本片除了用彼得與伊森的性格差異帶出笑點，它還使用了僭越禁忌的方式來引人發笑。「尊敬死者」一向是必須嚴肅以待的課題，但若是人們「不小心」對死者不敬呢？美國電影開死者玩笑已經不是第一次，舉例來說：《門當父不對》（Meet the Parents, 2000）中男主角意外讓準岳父家的骨灰掉落，並讓貓在骨灰上灑了泡尿；或《超完美告別》（Death at a Funeral, 2007）裡棺木送錯、讓屍體跌出棺木等……。當應該肅穆的場合出了差錯，生者在驚駭之餘卻又忍不住捧腹。本片中，經典的橋段莫過於彼得好友達爾將裝在咖啡罐裡的骨灰當咖啡粉沖泡，讓一行三人在不知情的狀況下喝口骨灰，並在得知時驚嚇得將「咖啡」噴出口外（伊森怕不敬還努力的吞了幾口）。隨後，伊森將骨灰取出咖啡機後又手滑灑了一地廚房，小心翼翼的撿拾後，伊森拿來衡量老爸骨灰的量詞竟是「杯」──老爸共剩八杯咖啡的量。這種對於死亡情緒的錯置與誤「食人」的驚慌，即使觀眾都已在預告中看過，電影院中仍然笑聲不斷，其高明手法可見一般。
做為聖誕節與跨年電影，《臨門湊一腳》十分成功的為觀眾帶來歡笑。小勞勃道尼的確是當代影壇紅透半天的冷面笑匠，而查克葛里芬納奇也延續《大丈夫》中的衰神角色，繼續在本片唱衰搞怪。只是，與《醉後大丈夫》比起來，筆者認為《臨門》在劇情設定與呈現上仍然小輸一截，相較之下較容易預測電影劇情與走向，使驚喜少了一些。不過，在這個時間點看《臨門》有個意外的驚喜，劇中不斷被提起的美國影集《好漢兩個半》（Two and a Half Men）因男主角查理辛（Charlie Sheen）的放蕩行徑而可能被迫喊停，不曉得劇組若想重振旗鼓，會不會真的找查克葛里芬納奇來取代或客串，這個小小的細節讓《臨門》看起來格外有意思。總之，《臨門湊一腳》在製作與劇本上仍算達到水準，去年年底沒參與這場大笑盛會的讀者不妨找機會看看，但記得觀影之前要做好嘴腹肌肉的熱身，以免使用過度造成運動傷害！
註一：The Name Game又稱Banana Song，是首美國童謠，由Shirley Ellis與 Lincoln Chase編寫，Shirley Ellis演唱。對The Name Game玩法的讀者不妨參考以下影片及歌詞。
