This book lacked bravery. It's really clear that there were huge conflicts on the set, and the author has just danced around them to create a story thThis book lacked bravery. It's really clear that there were huge conflicts on the set, and the author has just danced around them to create a story that glosses over everyone with starry eyes. It also suffers from worship of showrunner Glenn Gordon Caron. Repeatedly throughout the book, actors and guest stars say things like, "I had never experienced that before" in relation to getting pages at the last minute, standing around on set waiting to know what their next lines would be until the wee hours of the morning ... and yet Ryan never seems to ask basic questions like, "How did that make you feel? Were you able to do your best work?" Instead, the author seems very comfortable acting as if the writers who stayed (many, many left the show over the years due to their treatment by Caron) and the actors who got breakout roles in Moonlighting have no mixed motivations to consider when they blame Cybil Shepherd exclusively for the mood on set. Ryan notes in passing that she had her first baby near [I believe] the first season -- what was it like for her to have to wait 'til one or two in the morning for pages ...consistently? For years? Guest stars were shocked by the way the showrunners handled reshoots and scripts... why don't we the readers get to hear how Shepherd felt about it? Finally, when Caron writes a scene where Shepherd, in a rough pregnancy with twins, has to climb stairs, Ryan suggests that maybe the show failed Shepherd on a human level, at least this once. The perspective that perhaps the success and troubles of the show rest evenly on the stars and the writers and directors -not just on Shepherd - would have made this book a lot more interesting. Also, finding out that we can't have the show in reruns because Caron won't allow anyone to change the music just really, really bummed me out...and made me wonder why he wouldn't let his actors and writers get the residuals they could be receiving. I hope Cybil writes a book. ...more
I did love this. I love the way Hazel's voice is Holden-like--tired and cynical and young but also geeky and uncertain. I can say with some confidenceI did love this. I love the way Hazel's voice is Holden-like--tired and cynical and young but also geeky and uncertain. I can say with some confidence that the gallows humor the main characters share is authentic. And I just loved the smart, fast pace of the thing. Oh, and the frankness and non-exploitiveness (it's a word, right), with which Hazel's attraction and desire for Augustus is treated--refreshing. And I liked how the kids get to be funny and smart and have their own world of values and motivations so separate from the adults'.
I wish, though, that Green would slow down. I DO Love Him but he writes like he talks--races to the punchline and wants to explain why it's funny before his listener/reader has had time to experience the effects of the line. I wish there was more space in this book.
And I wish somebody had gotten genuinely mad at someone. Everyone is supportive and happy except the one character from outside the main character's immediate circle ...so I didn't really care about that character's animus that much. SPOILER ALERT okay? I wanted Augustus to cheat on Hazel because we know he's a player, or because he was angry at Caroline for leaving him. I wanted Hazel to want to break Augustus's heart just to make her mark on the world. Or, I wanted Isaac to make a play for Hazel. or Gus. Or something. Or I wanted Hazel to have to break her mom's heart and run off to Amsterdam alone, or for her to get angry at Augustus for bringing more sadness into her life and dumping him, or...anything where the emotional stakes were higher than the physical stakes, which is of course hard to pull off.
and I didn't connect with the author plotline at all, although I understand structurally why it's there. I wish I'd had more time for that tension to build or for his explosion to reveal something more core about H&A.
BUT I highly recommend it and find the writing style so fresh and fun and literate. And I love talking it through with YayCoffee :)...more
I did enjoy reading this, but I wish it was a little more cohesive. It's a lot like how it must be to hang out for Sarah Vowell...which is fun.I did enjoy reading this, but I wish it was a little more cohesive. It's a lot like how it must be to hang out for Sarah Vowell...which is fun....more
Hard to get into. I feel like her style is all summary and narration; the action doesn't seem to be happening in real time. Might be too boring to conHard to get into. I feel like her style is all summary and narration; the action doesn't seem to be happening in real time. Might be too boring to continue....more
Loading...
