An overthought but sometimes-useful guide for would-be yuksters.
Hoover, a lawyer, college instructor and professional joke-writer, attempts to explain the art and science of comedy in this meticulous debut primer.
The author presents his encyclopedic knowledge of comedy to engaging effect. He covers various comedic formats and genres, including stand-up, skits, sitcoms and screenplays; reviews milestones of movie and television comedy; and celebrates the personalities and one-liners of such giants as Groucho Marx, Bill Cosby, Woody Allen and Carol Burnett. He also elaborates on comedy theory, citing Aristotle, Sigmund Freud, Mel Brooks and the creators of the 1980 movie Airplane! Hoover delves extensively into “joke structure,” asserting that the fundamental equation is “Incongruity + Surprise + Context = Funny,” and also presents typologies of the setup and punch line, the genre categories of comic plots, and a list of surefire cartoon scenarios, from the classic desert-island castaways to the contemporary “two young professionals.” The text also offers cogent tips for breaking into the comedy biz, urging readers to analyze classic sitcoms, movies, stand-up acts and scripts to see what makes them funny; to develop comic personas and characters by imagining their back stories and motivations; to hone a trial skit or screenplay into a one-sentence “log-line” for pitching to producers; and above all, to “move to Hollywood.” The book serves all this up in readable prose spiked with insightful, entertaining exegeses of comedic works, but its pedagogical value is uneven; the advice is sometimes specific and actionable (words with “K” sounds are funny) and other times too sketchy to be very useful (“Mash up the funny with the not so funny to create a third funny, which technically should not exist. Sometimes this works and sometimes not”). Lurking in the background is the assumption that doctrine, technique, practice and assiduous marketing are the keys to success, but the question of talent—and whether one can write good comedy without it—takes a back seat. Overall, the book doesn’t quite bottle the elusive soul of wit, but aspiring comedy writers may find helpful suggestions on how to refine and capitalize on their gifts.
An overthought but sometimes-useful guide for would-be yuksters.Pub Date: July 26, 2013
ISBN: 978-0989746502
Page Count: 218
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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