 Special Mystery Science Theater 3000 Edition! |
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The MRFH Book Club is not a review; it is a recommendation. Here are five books that have captivated your mutant staff, and which they'd like to press on you like that annoying guy who lives down the street and constantly hounds you to buy Amway. While not all of these books are movie-related, they do share a certain cultish flavor that we've come to expect from our most beloved flicks.
Most episode guides are created by an external writer who works in conjunction with the staff of a show, but not the AMAZING COLOSSAL EPISODE GUIDE that the MST3K people have to offer! Your first clue that this isn't your ordinary ep guide is that it's written by the actual actors and writers of MST3K, showcasing their comedic wit and general weirdness (check out all of their bios in the back, each person holding the same dog in all of the pictures). Your second clue is that this guide has more than a half dozen introduction sections, each more clueless and rambling then the one preceeding it. The MST3K episode guide does a great job going through the first six seasons (alas, they never did an update to include the rest of the show's seasons) in detail, giving highlights of each show and featured movie, as well as quotes and (best of all) stories from their experiences writing that episode. Even if you haven't seen more than a handful of the episodes, the entire guide is genuinely funny enough to guarantee a good bathroom read. It also catches you up on the numerous in-jokes and catch phrases of the show, as well as giving some background and history of the evolution of MST3K. If only more episode guides met the standards of this book, we'd be set. - Justin
Ah, I wish I could have the sheer ego to use my name in book titles, but one can dream, can't they? Having been on the staff of MST3K since the first season as the head writer (and later, as the show's host), Mike Nelson is a formidable comedic presence that cannot be denied. Movie Megacheese, Mike's first book, is a collection of movie reviews and essays that make anyone ashamed to write a joke thenafter. Oh, how I hate his awesome humor! While I generally skimmed over the essays on various Hollywood acting families (the Baldwins, for example), his rants on movies like Volcano (which he felt should've been rightfully called "Lava") are not to be missed. I can't give a higher recommendation other than saying it's like Dave Barry writing movie reviews, except that his voice is much different (but no less funny) than Barry's. As with all the books presented in this month, Movie Megacheese is bite-sized and perfect for reading almost anywhere -- but always best when you've got the sheer quiet and solitude that only a bathroom toilet can offer. - Justin
Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo) isn't as outright hilarious as his friend Mike Nelson, but he offers a much deeper look into this world of cinema that Murphy's been involved with for years. In A Year at the Movies, Kevin Murphy takes on a project of staggering proportions: he's going to watch a movie at a theater each day, every day, for an entire year. Rather than give us individual movie reviews (although he does stop to mention a few in particular), Murphy divides his chapters up into 52 weeks, each revolving around a particular theme (such as googleplexes, movie food, movie ads, airline movies) while listing which movies he saw that week and where he saw them. He also goes on a few worldwide adventures seeking unique movie theater experiences, such as visiting the world's smallest movie theater and watching a movie in a theater that's made totally out of ice (nevertheless to say, this was in Canada). Murphy refuses to let us take anything in the movie world for granted, but instead forces us to pause and examine why we go out to the movies -- what is our heritage from this? What have we lost over the years? What needs to be changed? What is still there to rejoice in? It's a terrific book for the movie thinker. - Justin
Mike Nelson tells a story of a bizarre college professor he had who once, during class, kept lecturing while absent-mindedly fiddling around with his desk/cabinet. The professor climbed inside -- still lecturing -- and got himself stuck, while the class walked out. This story, so odd and outrageous, had me in stitches when Nelson tells it in Mind over Matters. Proving that he's not just about movies, this book's essays cover every possible range of subjects, from dating to many, many awkward situations. While it's not new for comedians to ask us to look at the bizarre -- yet completely accepted -- aspects of daily life, Nelson takes this format and dominates it until it wimpers unto his will. For example, in one essay he points at the extremely odd knicknames people have for each other, and how incredibly disturbing it is to the rest of us when they use them. Out of all the books here, I laughed the most and loudest while perusing through Mind Over Matters. Mike Nelson is a guy you want in your house as much as possible, so get both his books and thank your lucky stars you have eyes to read them. - Justin |
Posted: March 3, 2002
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