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Summary: "I have a little problem with emotional intimacy."
Review: "Mr. Famous" is Victor Mason, the 46 year-old star of many action hero blockbusters. When a tabloid exposes a recent argument with his girlfriend, his image suffers and it becomes obvious that his "star power has lost wattage." This sends Mr. Famous into a slump, but his chef/nutritionist, Lucinda accompanies him on an odyssey of self-realization.
Lucinda narrates most of the book, and there's a HUGE problem with this--for example, WHY does this film star demand that Lucinda join him across country several times just so he can ditch her when she arrives? There's just no point to it. Mr. Famous claims that he "thinks better" when Lucinda is in the same room, but this argument doesn't hold up. Lucinda--our main character--is sadly just a device to move the plot--such as it is--along. There's one page devoted to Lucinda's complaint when she's served blue cheese in a salad, and her job seems to consist of making a designer salad occasionally. Lucinda isn't a particularly interesting person. She's shallow and boring, but then Mr. Famous isn't much better. The novel's premise--the aging action hero who has to adjust his image to reality--is a fascinating one, but sadly the idea doesn't pan out. This is just another Hollywood novel. Plenty of tinsel--no substance.
I was very impressed by Wolper's clever novel "The Cigarette Girl", and so I know Wolper is capable of far more impressive work than "Mr. Famous". The Cigarette Girl possessed a naked honesty, and some biting insights into the film industry. Due to Wolper's skill, "Mr. Famous" is glossy and slick in its presentation, but simultaneously, it's also pure, mindless fluff--this is chick lit unleashed in Hollywood--displacedhuman
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Summary: tells it like it is
Review: A book for anyone who wants to know what it's really like to live and love and work in Hollywood. Smart. Funny. Full of information.
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Summary: Carol Wolper is my guilty pleasure
Review: I have read all of Carol Wolper's books, two of them on airplanes. She writes about Hollywood from the point of view of those who work in the "industry" but not at glamour jobs. I loved the premise of "The Cigarette Girl", which was that you don't want to be the bimbo the guys sleeps with, you want to be the one he has a cigarette with after. Her main characters are smart and edgy women who take control of their lives while getting mixed up in the craziness of the film business. In the case of "Mr. Famous", Lucinda is the personal chef of a fading action hero in the midst of a personal crisis. "Mr. Famous" wants Lucinda around because he "thinks better when she's in the room", not because he had designs on her, which is a good thing because he has a habit of treating women badly and is unable to commit. Wolper's characters have a way of bringing out the best in the "stars" in her books through their wit, intelligence and honesty. Lucinda is lovable from beginning to end and is a believable character in some unbelievable sutuations. Wolper gives us an insider's glance into the world of glitz and glamour and the truths aren't as pretty as the glossy magazines we read. This page turner shows us how Mr. Famous redefines himself from an '80s superstar into a new kind of celebrity for the next millenium. A fun read!
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Summary: DON'T BOTHER
Review: I've read all of ms Wolpers books and they're all the same ! The names change but the narrative voice remains the same as do the stories .Its always an older famous Hollywood star who gets involved with our wisecracking heroine then we get some inane comments on fame and love Very disapointing
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Summary: Famous Fluff
Review: If literature is a plate of food, this book is the parsley garnish; best pushed aside to get at some real sustenance. The writing is "clever" enough, as advertised, but empty. The only thing more important to the Lucinda character than the endless listing of designer labels is her self-absorbed ramblings. "Clever" might cut it for a short plane flight but I actually think that Ms. Wolper could do a great deal better if she would just go deeper. Maybe there was supposed to be a play on the "shallowness" of Hollywood by keeping the insights at a chatty level. Nothing here to sink your teeth into at all.
Rating:
Summary: tells it like it is
Review: If literature is a plate of food, this book is the parsley garnish; best pushed aside to get at some real sustenance. The writing is "clever" enough, as advertised, but empty. The only thing more important to the Lucinda character than the endless listing of designer labels is her self-absorbed ramblings. "Clever" might cut it for a short plane flight but I actually think that Ms. Wolper could do a great deal better if she would just go deeper. Maybe there was supposed to be a play on the "shallowness" of Hollywood by keeping the insights at a chatty level. Nothing here to sink your teeth into at all.
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