Quick Book Review: “Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the ’80s Changed Hollywood Forever” by Nick De Semlyen
I’ve always been a fan of comedy, and the 1980s were a golden age. This is a well-researched book about many of the groundbreaking comedians of the era, and how they made the transition from television to film, changing the face of cinematic comedy forever. Filled with juicy stories about Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, John Candy, Eddie Murphy, Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and a few others, this book takes you back to the glory days of Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Trading Places, The Jerk, and many other touchstones of that period. Although I hadn’t seen many of the films discussed in the book, it didn’t matter at all; the stories were more about how the movies were made, how they were received by fans and critics, and were loaded with interesting stories of what happened on the movie sets. If you’re nostalgic for those fun days of comedy, and are a bit of a pop culture maven, you’ll love this book.