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Summary: Martin's Best Work
Review: If you're wondering why Steve Martin's screenplays keep getting made into movies even though the movies turn out to be dogs, this book sheds some light on the subject. Martin's work is MUCH funnier in print than in front of the camera. This book, a collection of the satirical articles he wrote for the NEW YORKER while on sabbatical from Hollywood, is both intelligent and hilarious. The sophistication of this book stands in sharp contrast to books by other comedians, most of which tend to be transcribed versions of their standup routines. Note: the paperback version contains three additional pieces not in the original hardcover version.
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Summary: A philosopher ,artist, and linguist
Review: Beautiful work semantically & philosophically.
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Summary: Save your money
Review: This book has its moments, but they're too few and far between. If an unknown writer had submitted these humorous essays for publication, all but two or three would have been rejected.
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Summary: Would that I were...
Review: Steve Martin has a wonderful little collection of thoughts and whimsy here. If only we all could be in the position to put down in a book our views and funny thoughts on our life and times - and have it be both entertaining and fun. Drivel is a quick read, and to have some of some of Martin's inner workings here is like having a glass bottom boat on a coral reef. The piece on Walter Mathau, is simply a wonderful heartfelt thing. Steve is having fun in this book, and we are more than invited to come along. An intelligent and thoughtful creature whose vehicle is humorous strings of words, Steve Martin proves again that his grasp of humor is stronger than the edges of a screen.
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Summary: Unsuccessful whimsy gives you gas.
Review: These are almost all poor. Try reading them aloud to someone and you will be asked to stop -- kindly at first, then with increasing rage. There's something...not purple or clairvoyant...but oppressively self-charmed about these efforts that brings a noxious sensation of acid reflux, or "repeating." A couple of them are successful, but most are tedious and precious. He's a funny, funny guy who needs a sharp editor.
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Summary: He's better than this
Review: From the wild and crazy actor, the guy who gave us Bowfinger, I was expecting better. Nothing in here was _bad_, but I never once laughed out loud. Given how much I enjoy his acting, I was hoping for better. A better example of someone stepping slightly out of his normal world and writing a hilarious book is Dave Barry. He writes a newspaper column, but put together a novel, Big Trouble. Now that's laugh-out-loud material!
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Summary: Steve's Voice Soothes
Review: I found much pleasure in the sound of Steve's voice. I wish he could have said some naughty things on this recording; it would have intensified the pleasure so much more.
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Summary: The title can¿t be more appropriate
Review: Some time ago I read a short article by Steve Martin in The New Yorker. In the article, he complained about the packaging executives who created the CD wrapping, and the pineapple! I had no idea Steve Martin wrote, and that he wrote so well (later on I found out he is a banjo virtuoso, to boot). This book cannot have a more accurate title. The short snippets of drivel that are contained in this volume are, however, pure fun. They range from the absurd ("A Word from the Words", literally that) to the realistic ("Hissy Fit", about the animosity that East Coast intellectuals feel over California). The commentary on "Michael Jackson's Old Face", contrasting his new face to Walter Matthau's, is an excellent piece, as is "I Love Loosely", in which Lucy, Ricky, Ethel and Fred debate over whether oral sex is sex at all. This book is a fast and light read, but very much worth it if you need a laugh.
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Summary: Extremely Tricky Book to Review
Review: This book of humorous pieces by one of our most famous, irreplacable comic minds, was very tricky for me to review. Especially because I was reviewing it while making animals out of balloons, playing the banjo, and writing a screenplay for my next film....while hanging upside down.Yes, folks, this is not an easy book to review. And it's not easy humor to "get" all the time. If you are dumb, don't buy this book. Oops, sorry. If you are pretentious, consider buying this book, but don't read it. Whoops. If you like to pass out laughing at certain things and you are willing to let other things go that are not totally "perfect" for your tastes in humor, BUY THIS BOOK. Steve Martin has an amazing, remarkable BRAIN and he is trying many things with these pieces in this book. It is not meant to be a cohesive whole, written in a single style. Do not expect to love all of it. But the parts that get you..are really really worth it. Good Father's Day book. I love Steve Martin. And this little book is diverse, far ranging, and worth typing upside down for.
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Summary: Witty but disappointing
Review: The title reflected the content all too accurately; pure drivel in a stream of conciousness. While Steve Martin's selected writing samples are humorous at times, the book was not quite what I expected from the author. While I respect Martin as an accomplished perfromer and writer, I found this small hardcover barely worth the cover price and effort it read it. It is my opinion that Martin remains one of the wittiest minds in the comedy world today, artfully mixing his background in philosophy and improvisation when performing. But, to my disappointment, the book lacked something crucial.
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