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pages_n_puzzles's review
2.0
Scotty Bowers certainly led an interesting life, but basically this is just - famous old hollywood person + whomever Scotty set up for them to have sex with.
Gets boring by the end, with a few exceptions like when Scotty helped Néstor Almendros (cinematographer) make it to the Oscars at the very last minute, and Nestor won!
Gets boring by the end, with a few exceptions like when Scotty helped Néstor Almendros (cinematographer) make it to the Oscars at the very last minute, and Nestor won!
susanob's review against another edition
4.0
I read about this book and documentary film in The Guardian. What an interesting life Scotty has had.
melledotca's review against another edition
2.0
Can't entirely pin down whether it was the tone/style, all the people name-dropped, or the salaciousness of it all, but the book leaves you inclined not to believe a word of it. And there are just too many things that make no sense in the grand scale of culture, society, and class. So that either means that it's complete bullshit, or that the truth is even crazier than he tells it.
Has Hollywood zealously guarded secrets over the years? Of course. Has it been taboo to be openly gay, particularly as public icon? (Oddly, in a creative industry that attracts arguably more gay people than others.) Sure. But even with those foundational truths, the book didn't work for me.
I found the faux coyness the most irritating, where he'd dance around what he claimed two people (or more) did together, then in the next paragraph come out with thoroughly explicit language.
Anyway, the book got a fair bit of buzz when it came out, unsurprisingly. There're a lot of pretty big claims in it. Bowers isn't dead (yet), but all but one of the people mentioned in the book are, so not like anyone featured is going to comment.
Has Hollywood zealously guarded secrets over the years? Of course. Has it been taboo to be openly gay, particularly as public icon? (Oddly, in a creative industry that attracts arguably more gay people than others.) Sure. But even with those foundational truths, the book didn't work for me.
I found the faux coyness the most irritating, where he'd dance around what he claimed two people (or more) did together, then in the next paragraph come out with thoroughly explicit language.
Anyway, the book got a fair bit of buzz when it came out, unsurprisingly. There're a lot of pretty big claims in it. Bowers isn't dead (yet), but all but one of the people mentioned in the book are, so not like anyone featured is going to comment.
kendrajbean's review
2.0
I have a difficult time believing that Bowers was able to remember details of all of these supposed “tricks” without having kept note of them somewhere. I also have a very hard time believing he was “great friends” with all of these famous people. But regardless of whether the people he’s outed we’re actually gay/bi/liked hookups with a gas station attendant, the book is actually quite boring. A basic formula is used throughout:
1. Wikipediaesque potted biography of famous person
2. A couple of sentences about that person’s *shocking* sexual proclivities
3. A declaration that Bowers and said celebrity were “good friends” or “great pals”
I’ve read much better smut elsewhere.
1. Wikipediaesque potted biography of famous person
2. A couple of sentences about that person’s *shocking* sexual proclivities
3. A declaration that Bowers and said celebrity were “good friends” or “great pals”
I’ve read much better smut elsewhere.
dasenergi's review against another edition
5.0
Bisexual representation matters. Bisexual visibility matters. Scotty Bowers is a bisexual. He has sex with both men and women. Sometimes for money. But mostly because he enjoys sex. Most people will probably read this book for the Hollywood gossip about who was really Bi or Gay in Hollywood. And Scotty tells the dirt about many celebrities. And still I think he held back. I think there was plenty more he could have shared, but our current culture is still too puritan to accept what people do sexually. Just as Katharine Hepburn was in the closet until she died, there are so many more current celebrities who are in the closet about their bisexuality. We live in a monogamous heteronormative culture. But so many of us are not heteronormative and are not monogamous. Scotty Bowers wasn't. And the celebrities he wrote about weren't. We need to normalize sexuality. It is not a sin. No one is going to Hell. People should be free to explore their sexuality without fear or shame. Scotty Bowers is pro-sexuality. This book is pro-sexuality. Without labels. Without fear. Without shame. It's all a good time, making people happy.
snowblu3's review
1.0
I wanted to read this book after watching and enjoying the show "Hollywood" on Netflix. This is the guy the gas station dude is supposed to be based on. I don't think I have ever actually liked a book if I picked it up because of a television show, now that I think about it. And this would be no exception. Other reviews have pretty well covered it -- it's gross. This book made me feel like I needed to bleach my entire brain. I don't see the point in finishing the thing.
midwinteraz's review against another edition
2.0
Scotty's a likeable guy, and tells a fun story, but after the first few reveals, it's an endless cycle of "yep, I tricked this person, too." Yawn. I'm sure he had fun with his bevy of lovers, but it wasn't particularly interesting in book form.