Bar Mitzvah Disco: The Music May Have Stopped, but the Party's Never Over [Hardcover]

Roger Bennett (Author), Nick Kroll (Author), Jules Shell (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 1, 2005

The Music May Have Stopped, but the Party’s Never Over.

Bar Mitzvah Disco. Everyone's Invited

Pick up your table card and come be our guest on this journey back to a time when style, music, and lust went hand in hand with a Day-Glo necklace, a pair of Z Cavaricci jeans, and Vuarnet shades. In this parallel universe, tall girls slow-danced with short boys at arm’s length, suburban break-dance pioneers vied with Lionel Richie fanatics for dance-floor space, Aunt Edna came ready to mount an assault on the dessert buffet in her best lime-green polyester pantsuit, and the phrase “the higher the hair, the closer to God” took on a whole new meaning.

With special appearances from:

AJ Jacobs, 99 red balloons, Ben Lee, the California Raisins, a well-intentioned Burt Reynolds impersonator, Jessi Klein, Joel Stein, DJ Squeak E. Clean, members of Foreigner (circa the Agent Provocateur tour), Sarah Silverman, OJ Simpson, Noah Tepperberg, Wendy Spero, the cast of Breakin’, Mark Ronson, Steve Fortgang and southern Florida’s number one Bar Mitzvah band

Bar Mitzvah Disco is an irresistible journey, two parts Fantasy Island to one part Vegas, rife with gorgeous girls, piles of cash, and ungracious thank-you notes presented straight from the source.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Jewish rite of passage into adulthood is more than simply a ritual, according to Bennett, Shell and Kroll. The bar and bat mitzvahs of their youth evoke reminiscences that had been "left to languish in suburban rec rooms and the darker recesses of our memories—the unmistakable smell of the smoke machine... and the sound of Lionel Richie." This collection of essays and photos is the offshoot of their Web site of the same name, on which they solicited photos from the late 1960s through the 1980s displaying the peculiarities of their times. The book is structured as a professionally photographed bar mitzvah album, starting with awkward portraits and ending with the requisite "waving good-bye" shot. In between, the authors give short, humorous recollections of each aspect of the event, from the elaborately designed sign-in board to the chair-lift tradition. Well-known contributors, such as author Jonathan Safran Foer, comedian Sarah Silverman and Will & Grace creator David Kohan, add what seem to be hastily crafted but amusing short commentaries. While deeper observations would've made this more sustaining fare, the photographs alone make it a delicious bite of pop culture.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"A collection of more than 30 photographs culled from bar and bat mitzvahs from the 70s to the early 90s with essays by friends of the authors like Sarah Silverman and A.J. Jacobs, Bar Mitzvah Disco…is at first glance a nostalgia tour through an era of unprecedented bourgeois tackiness. But…it is also a cultural history, albeit one with a Duran Duran backbeat." —New York Times Styles

"For a delicious buffet of glitzy, pubescent ostentation, check out Bar Mitzvah Disco." —HEEB Magazine

"Bar Mitzvah Disco puts on a brand-new suit and congalines through that sometimes wild religious rite of passage. Manhood never looked so pubescent. Or fun." —GQ

"An entertaining collection of personal essays and anecdotes about the coming-of-age celebrations." —Esquire

"There is a very special place where the chosen people and The Village People braid together like a half-baked challah, and that place is Bar Mitzvah Disco. More than a nostalgic romp through an ill-defined time, BMD isolates and stares in blushing wonderment at the fashions, rituals, and music of an era that looked at feathered hair and rhinestone scrunchies and thought, Awesome." —Blackbook Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Crown Archetype (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400080444
• ISBN-13: 978-1400080441
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.8 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Religion

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Put on your Yarmulka and grab this book! November 3, 2005

By B. Robins

Format:Hardcover

It's hard to resist opening this book when considering the cover shot. All serious Bar Mitzvah-goers know that there are many stories, pictures and musings that are simply too important not to share. It's a smart and hilarious book of basically everything Bar Mitzvah. The writers have obviously scoured the earth for the BEST shots of the NOT-SO-BEST of 70's & 80's dress, hair, makeup & shiny new braces. It will definitely make you laugh.

It takes you back to a time of Michael Jackson, Reeboks, hair gel & hours spent in temple.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent and VERY funny November 3, 2005

By A. Antonius

Format:Hardcover

This is one of the best books I have come across in a long time. The pictures will resonate with everyone who grew up in the 70s and 80s...Jewish or not. Hard to believe we were all so sophisticated and such snazzy dressers! And the book is extremely well put together with texts from people like Sarah Silverman. This book is going to be the gift I give to my friends this holiday season. It is smart, sharp, witty, and very funny and will bring back a lot of fun memories.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Get ready for fun flashbacks... December 13, 2005

By Meryl K. Evans

Format:Hardcover

(...)The authors tell the story of a generation through collections of Bar and Bat Mitzvah pictures and stories from friends, families, and strangers.

The people who wrote the Foreword are perfect for the job. They've probably played a part in every Bar or Bat Mitzvah since the '70s: The Village People, the group behind "Y.M.C.A." Though short, the Foreword kicks off the book nicely.

Those embarrassed by their Bar or Bat Mitzvah pictures will feel better and maybe even proud after flipping through Bar Mitzvah Disco's hilarious photo album as the book represents "every Jewish teen" who hit puberty in the '70s, '80s, or early '90s.

Anyone wishing to have a Bar or Bat Mitzvah that reflects one of these decades has a great source in this book. If not for inspiration, the reader will get plenty of ideas of "what not to do" in party planning and those famous bar and bat mitzvah photo poses.

Be prepared for poofy dresses, high hair, Benetton, Vuarnet glasses, Day-Glo necklaces, dancing with a crush, boys shorter than girls, boys in fancy suits, sign-in boards, socks, food, giant shoulder pads, DJs, the money machine, lines from '80s songs, and break dancing.

Whether or not you've gone through the Jewish rite of passage, if you've attended a Bar or Bat Mitzvah between the '70s and early '90s, expect to flash to the past and laugh as you see the infamous styles from those decades and memorable moments.

The book comes with photos from over 90 bar and bat mitzvahs, commentary from the teens behind the pictures, short essays from celebrities and the unknown, and photos with the famous and infamous including O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, and a few cheesy impersonators.... While 90+ sounds like a lot, many pictures come from the same event and more photo variety would enhance the book.

The book ends with an update on some of the brave folks who appeared in the book. These folks work on Will and Grace and The Family Guy do stand up comedy, and hold hot shot positions. They probably begged for the update section to show how successful they are as a way to save face from the embarrassing photos and stories. But seriously, it's good to know what became of those pimply kids with braces.

While reading the book, don't be surprised if you pull out your albums or start dancing to "Y.M.C.A." Children of the '70s, '80s, and '90s - especially those who enjoy VH-1's I Love the '80s series - will appreciate the stories and photos. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic January 29, 2007

By S. Billings

Format:Hardcover

This book is awesome - it perfectly captures this bizarre subculture of over-the-top celebrations of puberty among Jews in the 1980s, primarily in the New York metro area. If you are one of the chosen people that celebrated Bar and Bat Mitzvahs during that time, you will laugh until it hurts reading this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars EVERYBODY WANG CHUNG TONIGHT June 30, 2007

By Robert Ralston

Format:Hardcover

This book is so much fun. Beyond the great photos that are too campy to be believed, this book is jammed with the reflections of others on their mitzvah experiences. No poignancy here, just a lot of laughs.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Kitch at its best January 9, 2007

By Judo

Format:Hardcover

Loved the Disco Bar Mitzvah. Great collection of antecdotes and fantastic photographs. Oh Vey, to be 13 again - NO WAY.

Highly recommend this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh my god, I know them!!!! December 17, 2006

By Rachael

Format:Hardcover

I just received this book for the holidays. I was going to bar/bat mitvahs in the early eighties and throughly enjoyed this book. Then came the photo. I graduated junior high with the entire table!!!

There are no words to describe how happy I am with this book, except to say that reading it was pure enjoyment.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious November 1, 2005

By Just Me

Format:Hardcover

I'm not Jewish, but I got a kick out of this book. I loved looking at the old photos and reading stories about the bar/bat mitzvahs. The stories were great, and anyone can relate to humorous events of parties/celebrations-especially funny when it's a teen's party.