Army of snarkness

I haven't reviewed a book in quite some time. Maybe I haven't been reading. Or maybe I was waiting for the right book.

The time has come. The book is Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way. Self-proclaimed B-movie actor Bruce Campbell (filmography here) has given us the ultimate Hollywood insider account of an A-list production gone horribly awry.

It's a novel rather than a memoir, because he's already done that.

The lead character, also an actor named Bruce Campbell, mysteriously manages to snag and win an audition for a supporting role in the Mike Nichols romantic comedy Let's Make Love!, starring Richard Gere and Renee Zellweger. The book follows Bruce's hysterical attempts at researching his character, the trusty doorman at Gere's character's hotel. Just as he tries to enhance his studio credibility, he also succeeds in adding a few low-budget touches to the movie. Nichols and Gere in particular seem open to whatever Bruce suggests.

Eventually the project dies, for budgetary reasons, and Bruce is implicated. The book concludes with Bruce attempting to restore his name from a secret adversary hellbent on destroying Bruce's career. Yes, it is as cheesy as it sounds. But it's also quite readable.

Hollywood satire is a dangerously unsuccessful film subject, but this book could potentially be a great movie, with a potential Oscar-caliber supporting role for Richard Gere. Seriously. He could be better than John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich. He'd have to have a daring sense of humor, and given his reputation that's entirely likely.

I've said that I enjoy reading memoirs about people who have no business writing a memoir. Bruce Campbell is one of those people. And I'm looking forward to whatever craziness he has to say next.