- Paperback: 528 pages
- Publisher: Chicago Review Press (Sep 1 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1556529511
- ISBN-13: 978-1556529511
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 16.8 x 2.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 821 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #484,631 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"Entertaining reading." —Booklist
“Conventional wisdom holds that analyzing comedy is a thankless task--who’s to say what’s funny, and why kill the fun of it?--but Saul Austerlitz’s wide-ranging survey of American film comedy is both illuminating and hugely enjoyable. With its sharp insights and vivid biographical sketches, it’s first-rate film criticism and a terrific resource to boot.” —Dennis Lim, editor, The Village Voice Film Guide
"I was enrapt, argumentative, gobsmacked, amused and ready to rethink what I know about American film comedy. Crack this book open, and let the debate—and the flying pies—begin." —Glen David Gold, author, Carter Beats the Devil and Sunnyside
"Comprehensive yet reader-friendly account." —LAWeekly.com
"A sprawling but incisive biography of film comedy history." —North County Times
"Entertaining and amusing . . . this book truly highlights the best of the genre." —COEDMagazine.com
"Clever and well-researched." —Library Journal Xpress Reviews
"Sharp, scholarly." —AmericanProfile.com
Product Description
Charlie Chaplin. Buster Keaton. The Marx Brothers. Billy Wilder. Woody Allen. The Coen brothers. Where would the American film be without them? Yet the cinematic genre these artists represent--comedy--has perennially received short shrift from critics, film buffs, and the Academy Awards.
Saul Austerlitz’s Another Fine Mess is an attempt to right that wrong. Running the gamut of film history from City Lights to Knocked Up, Another Fine Mess retells the story of American film from the perspective of its unwanted stepbrother--the comedy. In 30 long chapters and 100 shorter entries, each devoted primarily to a single performer or director, Another Fine Mess retraces the steps of the American comedy film, filling in the gaps and following the connections that link Mae West to Doris Day, or W. C. Fields to Will Ferrell. The first book of its kind in more than a generation, Another Fine Mess is an eye-opening, entertaining, and enlightening tour of the American comedy, encompassing the masterpieces, the box-office smashes, and all the little-known gems in between.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.7 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
From a fan of history/non-fiction - 4.5 stars, Aug 26 2010
By reader984 - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Another Fine Mess: A History of American Film Comedy (Paperback)
Thoughtful exploration of an often overlooked - yet clearly formative and distinctly American - aspect of our culture. Also made me feel more versed in the culture of an earlier era which I knew little about; enjoyed reading about Buster Keaton and WC Fields, for example. Division of chapters makes it easy to pick up. Good subway reading. Good stuff. 4.5 stars.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spectacular!, Sep 15 2010
By Ari Vander Walde "avanderw" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Another Fine Mess: A History of American Film Comedy (Paperback)
I had so much fun reading this book? It made me feel like I was watching all my favorite movies all over again, but even better. Usually, explaining why a joke is funny is extremely un-funny, but Saul Austerlitz takes the best moments of comic film history and makes them even funnier by putting them in context. I laughed as I was being told why I was laughing. The writing is superb. Very intelligent but not condescending. And the author treats all comedy as serious art, be it old stars that we don't see much nowadays but critics love to discuss amongst themselves, or modern-day low-brow comedy like Scary Movie and it's offshoots. I felt validated in the fact that a movie doesn't have to be "important" to be important. I'm hoping for a sequel, if only I could read it again!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Tedious style, Dec 1 2010
By SOS - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Another Fine Mess: A History of American Film Comedy (Paperback)
I'm sorry, but trying to read a whole book of sentences like, "There are echoes of Awful Truth's cunning, with Grant marvelously professing mock-befuddlement over Dunne's desert-island companion (Randolph Scott), but Lubitsch's smoothness has been elided, replaced by a klutzy, anxious energy native to Cary Grant alone" just gets me down. The author continues this style throughout the whole book, and I really miss simple sentences and straightforward narration. In addition, he makes catty remarks throughout the book (such as referring to a biographer as a "hagiographer"), and appears to have swallowed unsubstantiated Hollywood gossip as gospel truth. More research, a simpler style, and less intrusion of unpleasant opinions would have made this a much better book.
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