Schwapp Book Review: PACIFY ME

Those of you who have followed the blog since its launch might remember a review I did on a collection of shorts by comedian/writer/director/etc Chris Mancini. It was a very positive review. That experience led me to receive a review copy of his new book about impending doom and the aspects of fatherhood that take place after the doom has settled in. I've really wanted to get a review up on this weeks ago, but all of a sudden found myself having much less time to read than expected. So it is with apologies that I'm just getting to this now.

In reading this book, despite not having children or anticipating any news of some on the way, I immediately felt that I was smack dab in the middle of the audience it was targeted towards. There are so many references to genres I follow (sci-fi, comics, etc) that it I swear I could see the red dot of a laser sight right on my chest. The sex talk, jokes, jokes about sex and assorted other "guy talk" stuff casts a wider net that I just so happen to fall into, as well.

Mancini still manages to keep the focus on the many stages of fatherhood he's experienced thus far. All of the above references and angles I mentioned occur naturally within the course of relating his story to the reader. While there are a few times where you can clearly see an attempt to go for the funny, it never distracts from the topic at hand. In fact, there are relatively few times where you can see effort being made as much as you can just get the laugh.

But it is, also, a refreshingly open and honest book. Mancini talks about how the anxiety over having a child can stem from it being a lifestyle change that you're committed to for life. He shares how much time passed after his daughter's birth before he was struck with the love that many others describe manifesting the first moment you see your child.

I have to be honest: as Chris Mancini is a stand-up and comic writer, I really didn't expect the book to be this revelatory or sage; I just expected the funny. But I'll be damned if it didn't eventually sneak up on me that I was reading an actual practical handbook for new dads disguised as a humor book. Well, it actually says "a handbook for the freaked-out new dad" on the front cover, but that could have just been part of the gag...

Another bit of a confession: I had expected that the book would lose me a bit after it got out of the pre-birth anxiety chapters. My thinking was that us non-parents can definitely understand the panic of a child coming into your life, but not so much the day-to-day stuff that comes after their arrival. I don't know if I underestimated myself or the author, but everything from daycare selection to baby-proofing still managed to draw me in.

Now, I'd love to say that this would be a great Father's Day gift for a father that has actually seen his first child enter the world. Problem is: I'm not quite qualified to make that judgement. I strongly believe that that established dads will enjoy the book for its humor, wisdom and common sense as much as I enjoyed the opening chapters that dealt with how childless man tends to see parenthood. I didn't need Mancini to tell me that the panic about fatherhood is it being the ultimate commitment, but I sure enjoyed reading his take on it. So, I'd imagine, a father with several years under his belt will still enjoy all the parts warning about how hormonal the mother will be, even if they've been there and done that.

As often is said regarding many forms of entertainment: it's all in the execution. PACIFY ME is meant to entertain and advise. It does this job perfectly and would highly recommend it to a lot of guys out there, especially ones that are taking time out of their day to read a blog that mainly covers comic books and movies as, if you'll look down slowly, there's the red beam of a laser sight...

(blurry cell phone photos as an answer to a concern the author had regarding his book being displayed at book stores; indeed, it was out as part of a "Dads & Grads" display at Barnes & Noble a few weeks ago)

Tonight in Los Angeles: Comic Film Nerds & Comics On Comics

In a communique from Chris Mancini (of Comedy Film Nerds):

Exult in the glory of live comedy! Comedy Film Nerds and Comics on Comics will engage in a symphony of hilarity for your pleasure, this Wednesday (November 19), at Dream World Comics.

And it's free! What's not to love about film nerds Jackie Kashian, Chris Mancini, and Mike Schmidt appearing with Marc Guggenheim (Amazing Spider-Man, Young X-Men, Eli Stone, the upcoming Green Lantern movie) with host Juan-Manuel Rocha? Especially when it's free.

Dream World Comics is located at 12400 W. Washington Blvd. in Los Angeles. The show begins at 8 p.m.

and admission is free, so show up early to grab a good seat!

www.comicsoncomics.com

Chris Mancini

As someone who's enjoyed several video podcasts by Comics On Comics and Chris Mancini's short film work, I highly recommend getting out to attend if you're in the area.

Flashback: MYOPIC VISIONS Review

A recent conversation online reminded me about a gem of a short film collection I reviewed back in the day. The original review appears here, but below you'll find the one I touch up to fix some of the nagging flaws.

Chris Mancini is a comedian, writer and filmmaker. He’s recently put together a collection of his short film work entitled MYOPIC VISIONS.

The title is probably the only weak thing about the DVD. It is an obvious allusion to the name of his company, Myopic Productions, but it doesn’t do anything to hint at what you’re getting in this package. I certainly hope it doesn’t hold back this DVD from reaching its full potential audience, because it is truly an interesting and fun collection.

The older stuff on the DVD is pretty good, but one of the best functions is to show the growth. The Man Who Loved Doughnuts was definitely interesting, but tried to stretch the premise out for too long of a bit. Paul F. Thompkins is a very good bit of casting for it, though. The twist a little more than half way through the short was just bizarre enough to renew my interest after the humor of Thompkins’ overly enthused doughnut fan began to wear on me like it wore down the diner seated next to him.

MOPS was a bit hit-or-miss, with most falling on the “miss” side for me. What might play as the strongest bit to your average American audience was one street cleaner doing a Carrot Top riff with garbage as his props. The problem here (at least with this DVD) is your audience for a collection of shorts is NOT your average American audience. It would work great as a running skit on SNL or MadTV, though. Which, come to think of it, probably means my real problem with it is that it didn't play to the expectations I had going into a collection of short films.

SKINS is another story with Paul F. Thompkins, but his MR. SHOW castmate, Jay Johnston, steals the whole short. It is a bit where Thompkins is sort of a schlub who puts on a “skin” suit that makes him look like Johnston. It leads him to act with confidence and have a slick look about him. The conflict comes up when Thompkins decides he wants to try to sink or swim on his own…and Johnston, as the thrown away skin, fights to keep his life as his daily suit. This short is one of the best demonstrations of Mancini’s habit of trying to find humor in some way-out-there ideas, as well as some growth in finding ways to pull off the visuals believably (comparing the “skin” suit use here to the doughnuts in his earlier short). The casting is, also, very good here, as Mancini likely couldn’t have done better than Johnston, Thompkins, Kindler, and the actress who played Johnston’s girlfriend (who’s name escapes me).

HITCLOWN is a bit on the risky side, as it has almost no dialogue (and I mean nearly none…maybe 8 words total), and still dares to pull off a bit of film noir mixed with humor. Like the others, it takes a fairly off-the-wall premise and makes it work well. Jennifer Elise Cox (of THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE fame) and Jay Johnston play a clown and a hitman, respectively, that bump into each other, mix up bags, and somehow manage to adopt each others’ identities. Again, it is a great combination of writing, directing, and casting. The fact that it is in black and white really helps with the mood. I think Jay Johnston, in particular, does a great job conveying emotion without dialogue.

RAINBOW’S END has Cox returning to the cast and being joined by Dean Cameron, who you might just barely recognize from appearances in the Sheen/Estevez movie, MEN AT WORK, or in the Mark Harmon movie, SUMMER SCHOOL. Cameron’s work here shines the most, which is probably by design, since he’s the lead actor here. Once again, this short has a touch of the weird to it, but it is probably the most straight forward, somewhat-slapsticky comedy in the bunch. The best laughs all involve Dean’s character, directly or indirectly. He’s the ringleader of a group of small-time, unsuccessful, and at least slightly developmentally-challenged criminals. The possibly dumbest of the team happens upon a leprechaun played by Mark Povinelli, who is the only real challenge to Cameron for the attention of the viewer. The best moments in the short pit Mark and Dean directly against each other for good laughs (allowing even a repeated gag to probably get the same amount of laughs both times).

There are a few more bits on the DVD, but the above are more than enough to justify the purchase or rental, in my opinion. I’d love to see Mancini get a crack at doing another one of these things or a larger project.

(Chris Mancini has since gone on to start up ComicFilmNerdsDotCom.com. Give it a view when you get a chance)