Nick de Semlyen

"That time in the 1980's, when a bunch of very silly men were given very large sums of money and allowed to go play." This line from the epilogue of Nick de Semlyen's "Wild and Crazy Guys" captures the essence of the entire tome. It's the story of a group of male comedians - Belushi, Ackroyd, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Rick Moranis, & John Candy - who changed the worlds of cinematic and television comedy from the mid-70's through the 1980's.

The book begins with a somewhat infamous fight that Chase and Murray got into backstage at SNL, a physical brawl that Belushi and Ackroyd found themselves on the fringes of, and which sets the tone for how seriously these men took their comedy. The book follows their heydays from SNL and SCTV, then leads into their inevitable exits from those shows, seemingly too narrow to contain their talent. From there, each one makes the leap to the movies, with wildly varying results. There are the blockbusters (Animal House, Ghostbusters, Vacation, Parenthood, Beverly Hills Cop) and the disasters (Continental Divide, 1941, The Razor's Edge, Oh Heavenly Dog, Nothing But Trouble, Pennies from Heaven, Harlem Nights). Of course, we learn much - or for many of us, have stories confirmed - about the personalities of these comedy legends, on and off set. Chase is petulant and arrogant, never feeling a script is worthy of his talent, while never seemingly able to actually inhabit a character as an actor. Belushi is all id, and yet wants to be taken seriously, like a Brando or Nicholson. Ackroyd is the odd bird who believes the ghost of Mama Cass not only inhabits his California mansion but thinks the situation merits a screenplay. Eddie Murphy is all ambition, eschewing drugs and partying because he wants to devote everything to his craft, lest he becomes another Elvis Presley: washed-up, fat, or dead. Martin is the sweet guy eager to tread new ground as an actor until he discovers his sweet spot in family-friendly comedies and finds his more artistically challenging opportunities as a writer, musician, and art connoisseur. And then there's Murray, the one wild card in the bunch who seems to have never lost his edge, but actually sharpened it. While it's safe to say that Murray and Martin are the two who have seen the most late-in-life success, it is Murray who has been the least compromising of them all, following his muse and taking a substantial amount of box office and critical praise along with him for the ride.

Of course, we lose Belushi too soon, his overdose a sobering lesson for many of the men in the book as well as others in Hollywood, including Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro, who were partying with Belushi just the night before his death. John Candy, also, leaves us too soon. Rick Moranis decides he's done and walks away from Hollywood to raise a family and enjoy his royalties.

Insights into the personal lives of the actors reveal Chase's obstinance, Murphy's earnestness, Martin's insecurities, Ackroyd's oddities, and Murray's uncanny ability to be a generous sweetheart and gigantic pain in the ass, often in the same moment.

The book ends with the telling of the story of "Groundhog Day", the Harold Ramis-directed film that serves as an appropriate bookend to the rambunctious comedies of the 1980's. "Groundhog Day" showed maturity and new direction, and the ongoing battle between Ramis and Murray over the tone of the film (Ramis wanted light romance, Murray wanted existential angst) points toward where cinematic comedy was headed next.

The author gathered plenty of backstage and on-set anecdotes, quotes from costars and collaborators, and does a fine job capturing the highlights and lowlights of these men's careers and lives. For anyone who grew up in the 70's and 80's, it's a great trip down memory lane, avoiding getting into too much minuate (see previous 600 page tomes on the history of SNL) while hitting many of the moments in their careers we're likely most interested in.

Mostly, the book made me want to go back and watch these actors' films, both the classics and the misfires. I can now do so with a better understanding of what made them work and where they went so misguidedly wrong, respectively. Except "Oh, Heavenly Dog". I don't need a book to spell that one out for me.

And here's a sweet bonus: The audiobook version is read by Curtis Armstrong, who you may remember from "Moonlighting" or more likely "Revenge of the Nerds". He does a fine, smooth job with the read.… (mere)