Going Too Far

by Tony Hendra

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385232233
• ISBN13: 9780385232234
• Release Date: October 1987
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 504 Pages
• Weight: 1.93 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Psychotic murk compels me to beat up Tony's detractors

Hendra's forte is journalism. Not the actual writing of actual comedy. Although he's certainly had his moments. In fact, he even managed to out-poeticize Sean Kelly via DETERIORATA. Tony's analysis of Lenny Bruce is an indispensable supplement to Albert Goldman's book about Bruce. Also included is his description of Chris Ross's brilliant ACID skit. A skit which otherwise might've completely disappeared from public record. (Unless it appeared in a movie called A SESSION WITH THE COMMITTEE.) My favorite thing in the book is a certain phrase that Tony came up with: "the psychotic murk of machismo".

Informative, egotistical, overblown...

Yes, the contradictions in the review title describe the way Tony Hendra chose to do his "history" of Boomer humor, which he tracks down from Mort Sahl through Second City, Nichols and May, Lenny Bruce, right up to the National Lampoon and SNL. Witty, welldone, but also reaching in many respects, this is a good primer on the way humor came to shape national consciousness in the Fifties and beyond.I picked up Hendra's tome for the Lampoon memoir alone (having aspirations of getting published on the web version myself) and hadn't really intended to read the first section dealing with the Fifties and so on. But I decided to do so anyway, and found it to be very interesting and essential to setting up Hendra's own time at National Lampoon.There are problems I have with the book, starting with the bitching about pretty much everything P.J. O'Rourke did at the Lamp. Hendra, writing this in '87, might very well be telling the truth about his feelings towards the more successful O'Rourke, but it comes off as petty in the book. Hendra is not himself totally without fault. As a previous reviewer points out, Hendra's vehement denials and so forth seem to serve the opposite purpose of giving lie to his statements.I came away from this book liking Hendra in spite of his more self-absorbed writings. In contrast to the same reviewer whom I cited earlier, I found the descriptions of the various issues of Lampoon to be fascinating (I wish I knew of a store in my area that sold old issues, just so I could see for myself). Also, the portraits that emerge of Hendra's collegues (Doug Kenney, O'Donaghue, Henry Beard, Bruce McCall, Chris Miller and even P.J. O'Rourke to an extent) show them for all their faults to be the best writers at that time for the Lampoon.All in all, I'd recommend this to anyone interested in the arc of Boomer humor, or just postwar comedy in general. The railing Hendra does against TV should also be of interest to social historians, because it justifies attacks on television as being artifical (contrary to reality shows' bread and butter), and narcotic in its effects. The brief time spent on SNL was illuminating because it revealed what I felt all along: Lorne Michaels is a phony.True, some will argue that Hendra's speil against Michaels and others is part of some bitterness over not being as successful as his peers. That certainly tempers the book for an informed reader, but it shouldn't distract from the fact that, while associated with the Lampoon, Hendra did some very good work that shouldn't be forgotten or tossed aside. Also, his is the only real "history" of the Lampoon that I would trust for an introduction. So get this book if you want to learn the real meanings behind Animal House, the story of great writers like Kenney, Beard, et. al, and the contributions of Bruce and Sahl and so many others. A more expansive volume covering the period would be desired, but so far this is the best that's out there. I enjoyed it, and I hope future re

not far enough

The premise is that "boomer humor" equals getting a laugh while prodding the sacred cows of post-WW2 America. Along with scattered remarks about other humorists/comedians, Hendra tracks a progression from Saul to Bruce to Second City and the Committee to R. Crumb to the National Lampoon to Saturday Night Live, where he says "boomer humor" becomes co-opted, loses its vitality, and dies. The analysis is very good, his writing is clear and clever, and there are plenty of reprinted examples.But Hendra gets long-winded and defensive when covering his involvement with the Lampoon and "Lemmings". We get far too many pages about his interpersonal dealings with his associates ...,("I did not steal O'Donohue's girlfriend", "I did not introduce Belushi to coke", "I did not rip-off Monty Python") while dozens of great artists are ignored in this 454 page book. Aside from the denial, for example, you get nothing else about Monty Python.It's an entertaining and informative read, but a very subjective and narrow treatment, given its length. Nevertheless, if you're interested in the subject, it's worth your time.

VERY INTERESTING, BUT...

The premise is that "boomer humor" equals getting a laugh while prodding the sacred cows of post-WW2 America. Along with scattered remarks about other humorists/comedians, Hendra tracks a progression from Saul to Bruce to Second City and the Committee to R. Crumb to the National Lampoon to Saturday Night Live, where he says "boomer humor" becomes co-opted, loses its vitality, and dies. The analysis is very good, his writing is clear and clever, and there are plenty of reprinted examples.But Hendra gets long-winded and defensive when covering his involvement with the Lampoon and "Lemmings". We get far too many pages about his interpersonal dealings with his associates ("I did not steal O'Donohue's girlfriend", "I did not introduce Belushi to coke", "I did not rip-off Monty Python"), while dozens of great artists are ignored in this 454 page book. Aside from the denial, for example, you get nothing else about Monty Python.It's an entertaining and informative read, but a very subjective and narrow treatment, given its length. Nevertheless, if you're interested in the subject, it's worth your time.

A fascinating history of 20th century humor from Sahl to SNL

A fascinating, well-written and funny overview of what the author calls "Boomer Humor." Hendra traces this phenomenon from Mort Sahl to the "National Lampoon" and "Saturday Night Live," (you may be surprised at his iconoclastic assessment of the latter). The book is exhaustive in its detail; if you want to read about Sahl, Lenny Bruce, The Committee, or the National Lampoon (he was an editor in its heyday), there is no better source than this book.