Rating: 
Summary: If Only the Movies Were this Good
Review: Although I love to read about movies (especially bad movies) I initially had no interest in reading Dennis Hensley's "Screening Party." Then I received it as a gift, and even then I planned to put it on the bottom of my ever-growing reading list. Then I read the chapter in which Dennis and crew tear apart the worst Barbra Streisand movie ever, "A Star is Born." Then I knew I had to read the whole book right away."Screening Party" is a riot from start to finish. It's like watching movies with your friends--except everyone is 10 times wittier and they serve more creative snacks, like Creme Filled Butt Cakes. What added to the fun for me in reading this book is remembering how I thought many of these movies were good when I first saw them--like "Pretty Woman," "St. Elmo's Fire," "Flashdance," and, yes, "A Star is Born"--and realizing, as these characters skewered these movies, how silly they truly were. Well, I realized these movies were silly before reading this book, yet no one's really put them in their place quite like Dr. Beaverman and Tony, two of my favorite characters in "Screening Party." But this book does have a downside: it made me want to rent "Glitter!" I just can't seem to find anyone to watch it with me...
Rating: 
Summary: Laugh-Out-Loud Funny...Poignant ...Real...a MUST Read
Review: As a kid I was traumatized by "A Star is Born," having gone to see it with my straight-laced, 70-something, Mid-Western grandma. And by "Jaws," having watched it from the front row of an "under repair" balcony with no railing between me and the shark. I've had some of the same conversations with my friends about the same movies as Dennis Hensley details in "Screening Party." Only his friends are far more colorful and articulate than mine (God, I hope none of my friends read this!). Honestly, I howled at the bitchy banter and rapid-fire, razor-sharp wit. What a fascinating cast of characters, each so vividly drawn, and not an archetype in the bunch. I imagine any reader would see bits of his or her friends amongst Hensley's group and appreciate their humor as much as their humanity. The incident with the religious medal and the disastrous audition were just two examples of what makes these people real, but it's the jokes, folks, the quick-witted wisecracks, and the outrageous rants that make you want to curl up on the sofa in the big fat middle of them all. I refused to read the final chapter for days, wanting the party not to end. I did finally succumb and found out why all that Glitters is not necessarily gold. Now I'm looking forward to Volume Two. Please, Dennis, PLEASE . . . say there'll be a Volume Two!!
Rating:
Summary: EVERY PARTY SHOULD BE AS FUN AS THIS ONE
Review: Between Martha, the Robber Barons and Osama, we don't get many opportunities to laugh these days. I picked up SCREENING PARTY on the advice of a bud of mine. We're talking Milk-through-the-Nose Laughter, the kind that, even though the people around you have no idea why you're laughing, they can't help but join in. The wicked funny and always accurate commentary of the SCREEN PARTY characters gave me the best laughs I've had in a long time. Thanks, you guys, I needed that...
Rating:
Summary: Witty & well written
Review: Dennis Hensley and his gaggle of five chums crack wise to earn your giggles in what is one of the more original and better written movie books I've read. Decidedly not a traditional film review or guide, Screening Party seamlessly integrates hilarious commentary from Hensley's peanut gallery with poignant, often surprisingly touching storytelling about the lives of those in said peanut gallery. The contemporary campfests you might expect are covered (e.g., Basic Instinct, The Bodyguard, Glitter, & Flashdance), but also included are some unexpected gems (e.g., The Sound of Music and Taxi Driver). While the banter is always funny but not always totally original, this is actually the point: you will find yourself laughing out loud at times, reliving the magic of Sharon Stone's infamous legs uncrossing scene and your reaction to it the first time you saw it. The gang's commentary is as witty as you wish yours had been, and, thanks to Hensley, retold faithfully and skillfully. If you are looking for a collection of serious film reviews, then look elsewhere. If you are looking for a great way to spend an evening or a lazy afternoon (because you will not be able to put down this book), then make some baked goods a la one Partygoer and join the Party.
Rating:
Summary: Witty & well written
Review: Dennis Hensley and his gaggle of five chums crack wise to earn your giggles in what is one of the more original and better written movie books I've read. Decidedly not a traditional film review or guide, Screening Party seamlessly integrates hilarious commentary from Hensley's peanut gallery with poignant, often surprisingly touching storytelling about the lives of those in said peanut gallery. The contemporary campfests you might expect are covered (e.g., Basic Instinct, The Bodyguard, Glitter, & Flashdance), but also included are some unexpected gems (e.g., The Sound of Music and Taxi Driver). While the banter is always funny but not always totally original, this is actually the point: you will find yourself laughing out loud at times, reliving the magic of Sharon Stone's infamous legs uncrossing scene and your reaction to it the first time you saw it. The gang's commentary is as witty as you wish yours had been, and, thanks to Hensley, retold faithfully and skillfully. If you are looking for a collection of serious film reviews, then look elsewhere. If you are looking for a great way to spend an evening or a lazy afternoon (because you will not be able to put down this book), then make some baked goods a la one Partygoer and join the Party.
Rating:
Summary: A touching laughfest
Review: Handed to me by a very special person in my life, I plopped down and immediately became enveloped in Dennis Hensley's wacky, off-beat, but ultimately sweet book called "Screening Party". It's a book any film aficiando will not want to miss. Starting out as an article for the now apparently defunct English mag "British Primiere", Dennis Hensley invited several of his friends over to jaw about the infamous shark movie "Jaws". The eclectic group of people met, ate, and shared cutting, hilarious remarks about this famous flick. The trend was set, as Dennis screened (or verbally scissored) other classic films such as "Sound of Music" and "Flashdance". He and his friends riffs on the films brought me into laughing fits where I couldn't stop crying. The comments are approrpriately cutting, off-color, and wonderfully bright. My favorite reviews were of "Pretty Woman" and the "Sound of Music". I found I enjoyed the chapters more when I knew the film, but all of them still cut to the core. Don't dare read this book in public because it is virtually impossible to control your laughing with this book, and people may stare. My favorite commentators happen to be Dr. Beaverman (she often refers to herself in the third person), and Tony, but all of the people offer zingers that Paul Lynde would love. But, in a surprising movie, Dennis starts and ends each movie chapter with a continuing story line, bringing his friend's lives directly into the book. So suddenly, you begin to truly care about these people as they struggle through their lives while verbally assaulting the films in front of them. Certainly this book would have been successful without this add-on, but Dennis' friends become very real, human, deep, and ultimately very, very likeable. Kudos to Dennis and his friends for sharing this work. I'll be on the lookout for more of his writing in the future. In the meantime, I'll be recommending "Screening Party" to all of my friends, if I don't give it to them as a gift first!
Rating:
Summary: Sounds like some of my get-togethers!
Review: I am still in the middle of this gem, but I want these folks to come over and watch movies with me! My circle of pals and I have had "Screening Parties" similar to those in this book, although perhaps lacking a few of the assortment of colorful characters in Dennis's core group. If you love dishing and picking apart movies--leave your tact at the door!--grab a copy of this NOW! They skewer numerous pop culture staples (all that's missing is "The Poseidon Adventure"--we're waiting for volume II, Dennis!) with witty bons mots that will keep you chuckling days after you read them [For "The Sound of Music": {The Countess's} wig looks like it came straight out of a box with Eva Gabor's picture on it, and she didn't even shake it out first!"]. And, there is just enough "backstory" about the 6 "reviewers" themselves in a running narrative of the cast of characters outside the Parties. I'm definitely going to check out his earlier book, now!
Rating:
Summary: Sounds like some of my get-togethers!
Review: I am still in the middle of this gem, but I want these folks to come over and watch movies with me! My circle of pals and I have had "Screening Parties" similar to those in this book, although perhaps lacking a few of the assortment of colorful characters in Dennis's core group. If you love dishing and picking apart movies--leave your tact at the door!--grab a copy of this NOW! They skewer numerous pop culture staples (all that's missing is "The Poseidon Adventure"--we're waiting for volume II, Dennis!) with witty bons mots that will keep you chuckling days after you read them [For "The Sound of Music": {The Countess's} wig looks like it came straight out of a box with Eva Gabor's picture on it, and she didn't even shake it out first!"]. And, there is just enough "backstory" about the 6 "reviewers" themselves in a running narrative of the cast of characters outside the Parties. I'm definitely going to check out his earlier book, now!
Rating: 
Summary: Amateur
Review: I bought this book because of all the glowing reviews, but I just don't get all the hype. It isn't funny. The writing is painfully bad and in dire need of editing. The tone is smug -- I know the whole point is that they're bashing movies, which is necessarily smug, but they're just not funny enough to get away with it. The writing is so amateur, it reads like a teenager's website, not a bound, published piece. Oh, and did I mention it isn't funny?
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Hilarious
Review: I loved this book. I want to start my own screening party. I want to have treats that connect to the movies and I want to laugh and cut up like this bunch did. This book was witty and just plain fun to read. When I finished the the review on Pretty Women I couldn't resist taking the book to work. There, I made everyone read the "Beverly Whorebillies". I would hand them the book tell them to sing this silently to themselves to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies. Everyone was just cracking up. This is a must read if you like to be irreverent now and then!
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