All About Me! by Mel Brooks
Hardcover, 480 pages
Published
November 2021
by Ballantine Books
Just as this book was released Mel Brooks did an interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. I really enjoyed that interview. You can see the roots of this book, the man is a natural storyteller and at 94 years old I am sure he has told these stories a million times. You can see the roots of this book in the acknowledgments he mentions that he spent his lockdown writing this book based on stories he told many times.
Look as the son of a Jewish man who died in his 80s who told many stories there was a vibe I found familiar. While my father was a political scientist his lunch group was Indiana university executives and not Hollywood filmmakers when Brooks talked about his lunch groups this book made sense to me.
Mel Brooks was a veteran of WW II, he was a comedian, a comedy writer, A filmmaker as a writer, director his life is fascinating. Look it is his life and he has the right to tell his story how he would like to. He talks about his struggles as a kid, in the army but once we get into his adulthood it is all Rosey. If I didn’t know better I would have thought Brooks was married once and had one son. It was kinda weird that only the famous wife and son got mentioned through the book. Like I said his choice.
Look as a huge fan of his work, Get Smart has one of my favorite gags of all time. I love Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the World part 1…you name it. So it was fun to get some inside details.
I enjoyed this book but Solarbabies is the only one of Brooks Hollywood challenges he mentions, and that in the context of how he managed to take a stinker and save the production and make money in the end. Dracula Dead and loving it was a bomb, and being honest might provide insight.
In the end, I would say that the Fresh Air interview might enough for most fans. I laughed a bunch. Learned some details. Glad I read it. I enjoyed the book but not entirely sure this is a must-read.
Look as the son of a Jewish man who died in his 80s who told many stories there was a vibe I found familiar. While my father was a political scientist his lunch group was Indiana university executives and not Hollywood filmmakers when Brooks talked about his lunch groups this book made sense to me.
Mel Brooks was a veteran of WW II, he was a comedian, a comedy writer, A filmmaker as a writer, director his life is fascinating. Look it is his life and he has the right to tell his story how he would like to. He talks about his struggles as a kid, in the army but once we get into his adulthood it is all Rosey. If I didn’t know better I would have thought Brooks was married once and had one son. It was kinda weird that only the famous wife and son got mentioned through the book. Like I said his choice.
Look as a huge fan of his work, Get Smart has one of my favorite gags of all time. I love Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the World part 1…you name it. So it was fun to get some inside details.
I enjoyed this book but Solarbabies is the only one of Brooks Hollywood challenges he mentions, and that in the context of how he managed to take a stinker and save the production and make money in the end. Dracula Dead and loving it was a bomb, and being honest might provide insight.
In the end, I would say that the Fresh Air interview might enough for most fans. I laughed a bunch. Learned some details. Glad I read it. I enjoyed the book but not entirely sure this is a must-read.
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