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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Ora, como ele dizia... isto é uma biografia! Melhor, a primeira parte de um biografia, que acompanha a vida do John Cleese até ao surgimento dos Monty Phyton. Com a vantagem de ser escrita pelo próprio, conhecemos assim os meandros do processo criativo de um dos mais fantásticos comediantes televisivos do nosso tempo... ou melhor, do meu tempo de juventude, onde ver Fawlty Towers ou o Circo dos Monty ou qualquer um dos filmes deles era uma experiência do outro mundo, incluindo aqui o "Peixe Wanda"!
Acompanhamos aqui o crescimento e as dores do John como autor e actor comediante, a sua junção aos restantes Monty, as suas aventuras e desventuras amorosas (não muitas!) e principalmente, a descrição das dores e alegrias do processo árduo e difícil de escrever rábulas e do falhanço de algumas delas. Comédia que não faça uso da tradicional - e fácil - linguagem desbragada mas sim da redução ao absurdo de situações do dia-a-dia e da utilização desse absurdo de forma inteligente e, como diz o Cleese, "de forma credível".
Acrescente-se também a transcrição de algumas das rábulas originais que depois deram origem a algumas das mais conhecidas dos Monty e que nos fazem fazer figuras ridículas ao ler o livro em locais públicos pois é frequente desmanchar-mo-nos a rir... Talvez este seja o maior elogio ao livro que acabo de ler!
"Só quando comecei a escrever este livro tomei consciência de que duas das minhas apresentações mais bem-sucedidas foram em espectáculos com "circo" no titulo."
Acompanhamos aqui o crescimento e as dores do John como autor e actor comediante, a sua junção aos restantes Monty, as suas aventuras e desventuras amorosas (não muitas!) e principalmente, a descrição das dores e alegrias do processo árduo e difícil de escrever rábulas e do falhanço de algumas delas. Comédia que não faça uso da tradicional - e fácil - linguagem desbragada mas sim da redução ao absurdo de situações do dia-a-dia e da utilização desse absurdo de forma inteligente e, como diz o Cleese, "de forma credível".
Acrescente-se também a transcrição de algumas das rábulas originais que depois deram origem a algumas das mais conhecidas dos Monty e que nos fazem fazer figuras ridículas ao ler o livro em locais públicos pois é frequente desmanchar-mo-nos a rir... Talvez este seja o maior elogio ao livro que acabo de ler!
"Só quando comecei a escrever este livro tomei consciência de que duas das minhas apresentações mais bem-sucedidas foram em espectáculos com "circo" no titulo."
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Rather enjoyable. John Cleese's life from childhood to the beginning of the Monty Pythons formation.
Enjoyed it sort of.
School days +
Showbiz before Python -
Python only being 5% of the book --
School days +
Showbiz before Python -
Python only being 5% of the book --
Easy and fun to read. It's rare that I enjoy a biography or memoir as much as I enjoyed this one. Not necessarily wall-to-wall silliness and absurdity, as I perhaps expected from a Python, but that's good, because Cleese's account of his life leading up to the Monty Python era was amusing in its own way, and impressively insightful. I really enjoyed it. And got some great recommendations for 1950s and 60s comedians to look up, too!
I read this book when I was 15, and I found it to be rather funny. In retrospect, I should just watch his skits instead.
John Cleese tells the story of his life, which is equal parts interesting and a bit slow at times. There are definite elements of humor as he explains he lead up to the Monty Python era (but sadly gives spring and summer a miss and goes straight to the reunion show) and doesn’t go into those years as they are in another book.
I felt personally called out when in the book he called readers out about not caring about his development as a person but just wanting to laugh at other jokes, which in and of itself was the best joke of the whole book (besides the recordings of sketches included).
The origins of many favorite sketches were fun to understand if a bit thinly scattered in the rest of his life, but he did lead an interesting life. I appreciated his thoughts on many topics.
I felt personally called out when in the book he called readers out about not caring about his development as a person but just wanting to laugh at other jokes, which in and of itself was the best joke of the whole book (besides the recordings of sketches included).
The origins of many favorite sketches were fun to understand if a bit thinly scattered in the rest of his life, but he did lead an interesting life. I appreciated his thoughts on many topics.
So anyway, the first thing I ever saw John Cleese in was Fawlty Towers or A Fish Called Wanda. Can’t remember which, but there it is. I love MP though, and all that. It makes me laugh, Hell’s Grannies and all. A Fish Called Wanda is absolutely friggin awesome, and it’s a shame Fierce Creatures doesn’t get more respect.
So anyway, that is why my friend gave me this book for Christmas. Which is funny because I almost gave it to him? I ended up giving him Alan Cumming’s instead, something my friend almost gave me.
So anyway, this book is almost as good as the ice cream maker I also got. I mean orange ice cream with chocolate bits.
So Anyway is a good title for this book because Cleese goes off on tangents and digressions and plays though cabbage fields before he gets to the point, though sometimes there isn’t one. The reader’s reaction to this is either to laugh or to get frustrated. I went for laughter, but not everyone will. There are also a bit too many sketches reprinted word for word.
So anyway, Cleese worked with Charlotte Rae for bit. Charlotte Rae can you believe it? It’s amazing how incestuous these famous people are. Sellers, Blackadder, and what not. Cleese also is collections softy animals, and there is this thing that he and Chapman did with them once.
So anyway, it was PG rated, don’t worry. There is the story of Chapman’s coming out. The most interesting bits, however, are the pre-television and acting bits, like his time in college and teaching. The book ends, with the expectation of a coda, with the start of Python. There is a bit on it, and it could have benefited from a bit more detail about the development. It’s strange because it feels like he is holding a bit back in the television section.
So anyway, Pippa isn’t Pippa Middleton if you are wondering.
I found much to laugh along with as I listened to John Cleese read his own story. It did not pretend to be anything other than what it was - his story. It was well written and told.
I'd more accurately give this 3.5 stars. While the beginning is laugh-out-loud funny, the humor level quickly drops, and by the end I felt as though John Cleese seemed resentful towards having to write the book at all. However, as someone who recalls my own amateur theatre experiences with such fond nostalgia, what held me so captivated were Cleese's early theatrical endeavors, especially his descriptions of cast interactions and bonding. What I particularly found fascinating was the way he seemed to be swept up in a show-biz life rather without his awareness or intent. While I tore through the book in just over a week, I can easily see how someone who is not the most avid of Cleese fans would find it tedious and quite snarky.