Overview

This is the first sustained critical collection on Albert Brooks, one of the key but under-examined figures in American stand-up, television comedy and Hollywood film comedy. Analysing every film written and directed by Albert Brooks, including Real Life (1979), Modern Romance (1981) and Lost in America (1985), as well as a number of his acting and voice-over roles, his stand-up comedy albums, talk show appearances and writing, the book argues that Albert Brooks not only merits a wider viewership, both critical and popular, but also that his career offers a useful lens through which to understand American film and culture since the late 1960s.

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9781474434256

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Reviews

"This collection of essays makes the case for Albert Brooks's multi-faceted significance as a pioneer of meta-comedy, a satirist of baby-boomer complicity, and a prophet of fail culture. America has spent the last half century trailing Brooks. This book catches up with him.-- ""Robert J. King, Columbia University"" This collection of 11 essays argues for the importance of Brooks not only as a comic force but also as a skilled filmmaker who has deftly documented the absurdity and disappointments of the ""professional-managerial"" class of the late 20th century. Notable contributions include those on the yuppie figure in Lost in America, Brooks's ""ability to channel the female experience"" through his collaborations with writer Monica Johnson, and the writer/director's criticism of media dynamic sutilizing ""anti-humor"" in films from Real Life to Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World. [...] Highly recommended.--S. B. Skelton, Kansas State University ""CHOICE"""

Author Information

Christian B. Long, Educator, Queensland University of Technology.

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