Rating: 
Summary: Feel This Book.
Review: After a whole school year of reading classical literature, I bought this book to loosen up and get a laugh. A lot of stuff in this book is funny, other parts are simply clever. I'll admit that I found JG's essays a little redundant and she writes a little harshly, while Ben's additions (building yourself a "linen" cave, Mama Whitefeather's ring toss antics, and his hilarious lumberjack experience) were a lot funnier than Janeane's "inner warrior." The low points are that JG and BS don't really compliment each other and there is no real THEME to the book. This is no classic and I think that Ben's constant rantings about how he wants to make money off the book are not funny, but scary. Also, some of the references will become dated within a few years. Another downside of this book is that it's only funny the first time you read it; I read over a few of Ben's chapters a couple of months later and I didn't even laugh once. Still, if you want a quick laugh, pick up this book, and then read some Virginia Woolf so you can feel intellectual again. 3 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: A must read for all fans of the authors OR and emotionalfool
Review: After reading this entire book in one sitting...I wished it would continue. Garofalo and stiller's much loathed "He Said, She Said" section was hilarious as from Stiller's point of view I expected Garofalo's response to be longer and angrier...but it wasn't. Having found reading the book (my normal way of consumption) to be less than satisfying, I realized it was only lacking by not being heard in their voices. I suggest buying both the book (in hardcover if you still can) AS WELL AS in audio tape form...not renting it, but buying it. You need to hear it in your own inner mind voice, but also in Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo's voices. I just ordered my audiotape. I think the two of them could be as good a comedy team as...well. Stiller and Meara!
Rating:
Summary: Feel This Review
Review: The title, a pun on Abbie Hoffman's book, _Steal This Book_ (Garofalo did play Hoffman's wife in the movie, Steal this Movie). And it goes from there. I honestly expected to really like this book. I find Stiller to be hilarious, and Garofalo is funny as well as an excellent 'social conscience' and I might have grown up with a crush on her. The two make an excellent team, and I figured between their wit, intelligence, and what they have to say, that this would be a great book. Alas, that is not the case. It's in the humor section, and the book tries too hard to be funny (unlike Seinfeld's Seinlanguage, which is Jerry writing, and without effort, being interesting and funny). I was a little worried that Garofalo's politics would get in the way, but I figured Stiller would help keep her under control, keep it from being too preachy. But the book tried too hard to be funny (and you can never quite tell if they are being serious or 'funny'--knowing their beliefs and politics). It starts with a false table of contents, which I missed at first, and after I 'discovered' it, I thought it would annoy me, but it did not. Then there is the tounge in cheek Acknowledgements, followed by a Preface by Stiller and a Foreward by Garofalo. Then the book goes downhill. There is a warning about copies the book, based on the FBI warnings on video tapes. This is one of those cases where you aren't quite sure if this duo is being humorous, serious, or some combination of the two. Then you get rotating chapters written by one or the other. They just tried too hard to be funny, and it comes off forced. And you would have hoped that their appendices would have been a little serious, to get an idea of what books, movies, etc really did influence them. But no. I had worried about it being too preachy, but unfortunately, it wasn't serious enough. There is a fine line between parody and mediocre humor. It's tough to stay on the right side of the line.
Rating: 
Summary: One Out Of Two Couldn't Even Save This Book
Review: I could handle Janeane Garofalo's essay's (mildly) but, Ben Stiller was just down right awful. I must say, I was very sadden by this poor attempt at humor from two of the funniest people out there. I'm a huge fan of JG's but, this was just a weak try at being funny. You could almost hear them trying so hard to be smart, full of humor, and a bit on the cutting edge. They really missed the mark. I can't even imagine getting threw a chapter of the print book, at least I had the audio that had mild entertainment value. JG's reading was a step above Ben's but, that wasn't enough to make this book could. Her over abundant use of her (obviously plentiful) vocabulary just got on my nerves. I was really disappointed in this lack luster tale. I was all set to love it and have a wonderful time. Too bad it was such a let down. Don't waste your time....I'm sad I did.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended - seriously funny!
Review: I bought this book because I read an interview with Janeane in the Evening Standard (London) in which she talked about the experience of writing this book with Ben. So, without a second thought I logged onto amazon and three weeks later (I live in England) the book was here. It's a very quick read - large print and a small package - but page after page is pure humour! I've never laughed so much from reading a book in my life! I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud on the train (which over here is a serious offence!). The bit about Ben and his journey to "find himself" had me in stitches! I don't know about it being a self-help book - I bought it cause I wanted to laugh - but I guess it does help you in a way, because if nothing else you laugh your tush-y off (and trust me, if you saw the size of mine - it's not a bad thing!)
Rating: 
Summary: Just Plain Awful
Review: I've never really been a fan of Ben Stiller, but I picked this one up for Janeane's writing. Unfortunately, neither one of them delivered. While Janeane's writing was a bit better than Ben's, it was still pretty horrific. Between the two of them, they couldn't even get a mild chuckle out of me. Definitely not worth the time or effort.
Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: I'm some-what of a fan of both Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo, so I was curious about this book. It's very well done, and funny... Most of Ben Stillers chapteres were a bit on the [weak] side, but Janeane was able to pick up after him. Their dark cynicism of themselves and eachother is hysterical, not to mention very true to post-breakup feelings. However, insted of drowning is some vapid N*SYNC lyrics about loosing their girl, they get deep into the problems of their relationship. It's a very funny, and surprisingly meaningful book.
Rating:
Summary: Starts off bad, gets worse
Review: I listened to the audiobook, which I assume is better than the book because listeners get to hear the authors delivering their own material, and they don't read all the essays, just the ones that are the least awful. The first two essays pit one author against the other in 'he said/she said' monologues, which have the saving grace of having the authors ridiculing each other as they describe their 'train-wreck' of a romance years ago. I didn't laugh once. It gets worse though. After firing all their salvos at one another, they turn inward and run ripshod over themselves. Self-deprecation can be funny if done with wit and originality, say in the Joan Rivers/Rodney Dangerfield vein, but Stiller paints himself as a pathetic loser (and, ironically, he succeeds), and Garofalo preaches at us with her self-destructive behavior. Neither author sounds as if they even wanted to do the audiobook. Their delivery is far off the mark, and I would be surprised if either one cared enough to do multiple takes. Garofalo tries to disassociate herself from the book by saying things like "I didn't name this chapter. I didn't get to name any of these chapters." and crediting someone else for writing a good deal of the material. Of course this is supposed to be a comedy book, not a self-help book, but it fails in both respects. Don't waste your time.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Silly Stuff...
Review: The one thing you can count on with some "celebrities" is that they are going to think they are so verrrry much cuter than they really are. Almost everything they say is tongue-in-cheek satire and you begin to feel that they are having a great big private joke at your expense. With so many books out there truly worth reading and owning, it is a shame to throw your money away on this. But if you truly have to have it, wait a while...You will find it at some garage sale for 50 cents. Much ado about nothing.
Rating:
Summary: False Advertising
Review: I love Stiller and Garofalo, and I thought the concept of the book was fabulous. But the content inside the book didn't match the back cover. It was like a mishmash of essays that didn't fit together. Alot of it, while interesting, didn't make me laugh. Even the stuff that did make me laugh was tepid at best. Definitely not something I'd read twice or want to keep. The only reason I'm not giving it a lower mark is because the he said/she said really was good, and some of Garofalo's writing is high quality. I do have to also say that I think I would have found some of it funnier in audio format.
|
