First novel, mining a vein of Hollywood humor, by the scriptwriter for The Burning Bed, Stone Pillow and 30 other screenplays. Goldemberg maintains a steadily plaintive tone in supporting what is otherwise a feeble satire on filmmaking. The story is told by Umberto, a mongrel, much as Kafka's ``Report to an Academy'' is told by an ape addressing an academy—though that ends any likeness to Kafka. Umberto and Wanda Sacks (Wonder Sex) meet cute when Umberto is still a humble street pup in Oaxaca and slinks under her table in the town square to beg for food and is rewarded by her friendship. Wanda's lover Harold is director of the about-to-be- filmed Escape to Infinity (later retitled Mothers in Chains), an action adventure starring Michael the Magnificent, a hunk so dumb that he needs 45 takes of a wordless scene with Umberto because the pup (now Dick the Wonder Dog) keeps stealing it from him. Wanda, a mere starlet, adopts Umberto/Dick and has Harold cast him in Escape/Mothers (again, briefly, retitled A Dog and His Bone when Dick's great acting heart begins to outshine the picture). But Wanda and Harold split when he rewrites Wanda out of the final ``Bye Bye Scene,'' in which Michael flies off to Mars. Wanda attempts suicide by driving over a cliff, but her Dickie Dog pulls her from the car before it sails off. When Wanda is invited to a producer's party (``Lettuce entertain you!''), Dick meets Bernie Winkleman, agent: ``With the proper representation, you could be leveraged to stardom. I saw your work in Mothers in Chains...You're a Spanish dog, I think? You have a slight accent. Have you thought of a dialogue coach?'' And so a dog star is born, and the success of Twin Dicks (Dick plays a dual role!) leads at last to The Dog of God—though Dick's career ends in the dust. The actor as dog? A one-string joke—funny, then less funny.
Pub Date: March 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-312-10455-3
Page Count: 176
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1994
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
