Curtis Armstrong

With all possible love and respect for one of my favorite character actors, this book didn't do much for me. This is a classic: Your Mileage May Vary situation, though, in that I was not, am not, and will never be particularly interested in the goings-on of Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis, or Cybil Shepherd, and those "salacious" sections seem to be what the book largely builds to.

Or rather I suspect they are a sop to readers as instead Armstrong loves to write about his nerd-cred and social-justice bona-fides. Here's the thing: his performances convey that. He's not one of the despicable actors; everything about him is lovable on some level, even when he is obliquely admitting to Hollywood excess taking their toll on his marriage.

The prose is lively and funny. There are moments of deep personal honesty, and his descriptions of the weirdness of working on several of the other (non-Moonlighting) dysfunctional sets are pretty great (shades of [b:With Nails: The Film Diaries of Richard E. Grant|29077304|With Nails The Film Diaries of Richard E. Grant|Richard E. Grant|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455271768s/29077304.jpg|124585], though in fairness to Armstrong, Grant's funnier Willis anecdotes are somewhat further into Bruce's insanity-trajectory), but it feels like the book he really wanted to write isn't a memoir. Let's hope he gets to write that one next.… (altro)

Excellent autobiography. Curtis Armstrong was Booger in Revenge of the Nerds and here describes his career. He self-identifies as a nerd and had the chops -- he's a voracious reader, a Beatles aficionado and a member of the Baker Street Irregulars. There's plenty about his childhood and personal relationships, but he doesn't shortchange fans on his movies. He has great stories about his movie-making experiences, buttressing his memories with interviews with co-stars. He talks about Tom Cruise and Risky Business, the filming of Revenge of the Nerds and its sequels, Moonlightong's Cybil Shepard/Bruce Willis feud, and more. He even mentions a favorite single-season SciFi channel favorite, The Chronicle. Highly recommended.… (altro)