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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
THIS is the sort of book I had hoped John Cleese would write instead of the boring pre-fame memoir he ended up publishing. Eric Idle understands his fans and what they are looking for in a celebrity memoir - a witty, humorous look at a successful career. Reading this reminded me of David Niven's charming memoir The Moon's A Balloon. Lots of funny anecdotes about famous friends and the making of various movies, plays, TV shows etc. Nothing deep. You aren't going to learn Eric Idle's deepest & darkest fears or traumatic moments of his life. Nothing too negative about anyone, either. This is not a scathing tell all memoir but a light hearted look at one man's career in comedy. What a fun read it was!
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Fully half of the words in this book are the names of famous people Idle has met, worked with, partied with in the West Indies, or cast in shows. It gets a little exhausting to listen to after a while, but, I mean, he has spent pretty much all of his life after the age of 20 or so rubbing elbows and other body parts with the greatest comedians, rock stars, and actors of the Western world. At least he's being honest about it, I guess. And he's often very funny or philosophical or irreverent or grateful about it, too. A fun audiobook to help the winter commutes pass more pleasantly.
Major quibble: Idle justifies his infidelities and general horndogness several times with variations on "men think with their dicks," as if this is incontrovertible fact and not his own choice. Whatever, dude.
Major quibble: Idle justifies his infidelities and general horndogness several times with variations on "men think with their dicks," as if this is incontrovertible fact and not his own choice. Whatever, dude.
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
funny
medium-paced
I was tickled and entertained by this fast-paced account of Eric Idle's life, mainly focusing on his creative projects both solo and with Monty Python, as well as some key creative friendships he cultivated over the years. Idle was very close with George Harrison, David Bowie, and Robin Williams among others and each of those friendships gets explored in its own chapter. If you are interested in the interconnected development of British and American comedy in the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties this is a very fun account, and just manages to stay on this side of annoying in regards to name dropping and the fabulous party life styles of the 1%. Idle is a very good writer, and this book is full of jokes, anecdotes, and moments of genuine reflection.
Eric Idle says at the beginning of his book that more hours of Monty Python documentaries in existence than that of the original Flying Circus TV show. Because of that, I feel like he skipped over a lot of the Python story, assuming readers have heard it before. He talks a LOT about his friendship with George Harrison. There are some funny little stories about other celebrities he partied with, some of whom took part in the live shows. I just wanted more.
DNF. I remember really liking the first part of this book, then gradually lost interest until I finally stopped reading it. I think I just got bored. He's a really funny man, but it doesn't come across all that well in this book.