THE WAXMAN PRODUCTION

Magnus Waxman, half-Jewish Indian (or vice versa) goes home to Yuma to make a 30 minute presentation to raise money for a 90 minute pilot to raise money for a TV series called ""The Warden."" Local talent is free, though ""talent"" isn't exactly the fight word for cameramen who forget to bring film, extras who shoot each other, a ""male"" lead so short a six-foot lady must be found to substitute for him: not to mention floods, attempted rapes, and various incestuous acts culminating in the murders of some of the town's more egregious citizens, though ""egregious"" isn't exactly the word.... The plot (of the novel) seems about as humorously haphazard as the plot of the movie -- motto: ""the camera always lies"" -- but in true western fashion, Magnus rides off into the sunset (Mexico) with his ""male"" lead and a metaphorical couch to prove he's really on his way to becoming a big-time producer. A madcap, not-quite-hilarious novel funnier than one might expect, though not quite as funny as it pretends to be.