Al Franken Is a Buck-Toothed Moron: And Other Observations [Hardcover]

J. P. Mauro (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The funniest thing about this rejoinder to Al Franken's best-selling attack on Rush Limbaugh [Ja 1 & 15 96] may be its title. Mauro just tries too hard. Take this salvo on Democrats' sex scandals: "It's probably JFK's fault. He started all this power-humping. You read any of his bios. No wonder he had a bad back. You would, too, if you were having your way with the female equivalent of the U.N. General Assembly." A tired joke; at best, utterly predictable. It's a shame, really, because there is plenty of potentially funny material across the entire political spectrum. In fact, some of Mauro's chapter headings--"My Search for Jesse Jackson's Job" --suggest real wit. Unfortunately, what follows rarely lives up to the advance billing. Humor is finally apolitical: wit can make anything funny, but its absence can sour even the most inviting premise. Still, many conservatives will force themselves to laugh at Mauro out of loyalty. Better buy a copy for the sake of balance. Ilene Cooper

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Payback Pub; First Edition edition (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965296601
• ISBN-13: 978-0965296601
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,291,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

142 of 175 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the paper it's written on., July 3, 2001

By 

Ben Riddle (Cuyahoga Falls, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Al Franken Is a Buck-Toothed Moron: And Other Observations (Hardcover)

From the moment I first saw this book in my local library and noticed that it had a cover that looked almost exactly like "Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot" (which I own), I had to pick it up and at least scan it, if not check it out and take it home with me.

I'm giving Mr. Mauro two stars for trying, but in this book you will not hear the voice of a die-hard Rush Limbaugh fan who was so incensed and outraged over some of the things that Mr. Franken writes about his beloved idol that he just had to go out and write a book of his own in response. No, this is just an everyday conservative Republican lawyer (or is it two everyday conservative Republican lawyers?) doing his best to add fuel to the already burning-out-of-control fires of conservative ire over how there are too many liberals in America today. It's telling, for instance, that Mauro doesn't even bother to devote as much time to defending Limbaugh as Franken does to dissecting Limbaugh. Mauro appears to be more interested in comparing the person Franken was in his years on "Saturday Night Live" to the person he is today as a result of writing the Limbaugh book.

To give Mauro credit, he does do a great job of cutting PETA up like a buzz saw and pointing out how tiresome some of Franken's most repetitive jokes can be, case in point: the one about former Senator Alphonse D'Amato. At least those parts are funny.

74 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not quite funny enough for the Catskills, July 13, 2005

By 

Jeremy W. Forstadt (Pawtucket, RI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Al Franken Is a Buck-Toothed Moron: And Other Observations (Hardcover)

Despite the clever manipulations exercised upon the photo at the front of this book's jacket, I do not believe that Al Franken actually has buck teeth. At least, it is not anything that I have ever noticed before. This error, regrettably, tended rather to taint the entire book for me, so forgive me if my observations fail to accord with your own.

Al Franken is a funny guy. Now, it has been said by some that actors, musicians, or funny men should just spend their days engaging solely in the practice of their own vocations for which their own, specialized gifts and training (i.e. acting, singing, being funny) have adequately prepared them. They should likewise spare the rest of us from having to listen to their political views. After all, they say, these people are not professional, licensed, or board-certified politicians and thus should not venture into such fields that their own professional degrees or training (i.e. Acting, Comedy) have not properly prepared them (as opposed to, for example, the professional study of Law, Political Science, or Country Music). Concerns of this sort are, as often as not, voiced by pundits (whose own unique place in society exempts them from having to be qualified for anything). Often overlooked by these pundits, however, are the multitudes of non-comedians who seek to be funny--seek even to be regarded as funny men--though they clearly do not possess the natural ability, training, or board certifications to lawfully do so.

J. P. Mauro is not a funny guy. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this. In AL FRANKEN IS A BUCK-TOOTHED MORON, Mauro's cleverest bit is the title itself, albeit this cleverness is borrowed from Al Franken himself. What could have been a good idea is ultimately a failure. For a book like this to succeed, it needs to depend upon humor which is sadly lackluster in this attempt. Conservatives should purchase this book and leave it on their coffee table unread. Their friends will appreciate the joke, but then again, they hardly need a reminder of their own righteousness.

Jeremy W. Forstadt

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a good representation of conservatism..., February 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Al Franken Is a Buck-Toothed Moron: And Other Observations (Hardcover)

As a conservative, I must say that this book left a bad taste in my mouth. The public's perception of the Republican Party as "mean spirited" comes from works precisely as this one, which aim to only attack, and really offer nothing substantive to say. I'm sure I'd agree with many of Mr. Mauro's ideals, but the way they're presented here really turns me off.