All about Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks - A Review

I think it’s clear that I love to read comedian’s biographies, I don’t really know when that started but I don’t see an end in sight. I wouldn’t call myself a huge Mel Brooks fan, but as a kid I did watch Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Spaceballs a decent amount. Here are the highlights from the book:

• Love how he describes Madeline Kahn: “The only thing that held Madeline back was a psychological defect called modesty.”

• When he talked about studio executive’s notes: “I never changed a thing. Like I’ve said before, as far as movie executives are concerned, always agree with them, but never do a thing they say. When the good reviews, and more important for the front office, the money started rolling in, I never heard a bad word from the head of the studio again.”

• I’ve never heard the phrase folie à deux before, so I looked it up and it means, “delusion or mental illness shared by two people in close association” which I love, for some reason. How have I never heard this expression before?

• I had no idea that he became friends with Alfred Hitchcock, so neat.

• Also didn’t know that his production company helped The Elephant Man and The Fly remake get made.

• He mentioned that he slices a bagel into three slices and then toasts each slice, which is absolutely genius and I can’t wait to try it out myself.

• He mentions a book written by Dick Cavett that sounded so good, I’ve already ordered it.

It’s a bit weird that he doesn’t mention his first marriage at all, maybe because of all the cheating rumours? I guess it’s his book, so why would you want to paint yourself in such a bad light… but still. He definitely doesn’t seem like the type of man who owns up to any of his mistakes. He also didn’t mention any of the drama around the Broadway version of Young Frankenstein and how he completely cut Gene Wilder out of the profits even though they co-wrote the movie together.

In any case, the man’s had an insane career. I don’t think I’d recommend the book, unless you’re a giant Mel Brooks fan and you want to hear every single detail of every movie he’s ever done. If you’re just a general comedy fan, I’d probably skip this one. There’s definitely a reason this book took me about six months to finish.

Enter Talking by Joan Rivers - A Review

I’ve always sort of hated Joan Rivers, mainly because my only knowledge of her was associated with the dreadful show Fashion Police. It was only when I saw the documentary on her A Piece of Work that I actually started to like her very much. And since I love reading the biographies of comedians (Martin Short, Penny Marshall, Jen Kirkman, Sarah Silverman, Chelsea Handler, Bob Newhart, Lucille Ball, Roseanne, Amy Poehler, the list goes on), it was only a matter of time before I found hers. And I’m so glad that I did. Enter Talking is incredibly raw, honest and nothing like what I was expecting. Best parts ahead.

• When she’s talking about working at a temp job while still auditioning around New York on her lunch breaks: “Please, God, if you’re going to make me a failure, fine. But don’t make me a failure at something I don’t want to do.“

• “There was an afternoon when Milt, his umbrella dribbling a puddle on the floor, sat by my desk - Milt Kamen, the subject of articles in Time and Newsweek, lines waiting to see him at The Blue Angel, a regular on the Jack Paar show - white white hot. Talking about comedy as we always did, he said, “One day they’re going to realize I’m not funny.” Well, that scared the hell out of me. You think everybody else is secure - that Mommy and Daddy are not scared. Then the day comes when the mother says, “You look in the closet, not me,” and you realize you were correct to be frightened. Milt Kamen was on quicksand, too, and it would never be any different for me. That’s the comedian’s psyche. That’s where I am right now.”

• “The way my mother sees things, she has two daughters that aren’t, as the expression goes, moving. She is so desperate to get me married, that if a murderer called, she’d say, “So, he has a temper.””

• “Somehow, some way, every person in the arts has to find an accommodation with disappointment and embarrassment. They are pollen in the air we breathe. If you must go into the arts, go into them for yourself alone. On some basic level you must enjoy the act of doing it - be willing to paint a picture and just hang it on your wall. If you want to be an actor, then learn to enjoy it in your bathroom. Otherwise, you are going to end up frustrated and unhappy. Recognition in the arts is luck and gravy.”

• “I know now that everybody in the arts is forever a beginning. Experience counts for a great deal and very little. Every night on stage I feel I am starting from scratch, still not quite sure what I am doing and where I am going, thrown by the simplest thing that goes wrong. And there is a marvelous remark Jack Benny once made to me about performing in nightclubs. He said, “No matter how big you are, you have to get to the stage through the kitchen.””

It honestly reads like less of a biography and more of a detailed run-through about the hurdles of breaking into show business and how you endlessly have to believe in yourself no matter what happens. Such an insanely driven, inspiring woman.