Customer Reviews

If You Ask Me

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If You Ask Me is a collecion of columns appearing in Premiere magazine from 1987 to 1992. It turns out that Libby is in fact really Paul Rudnick, author of the play Jeffrey, among other works. Libby is the wife of Upper East Side orthodontist Josh and mother of two. She is the daughter of the beloved Sondra Krell-Gelman, and goes to therapist Doctor Cole-Natbaum. Both women have guested the column as well. Libby takes a rather unique approach to movie reviewing. With Dennis Quaid, and later Daniel Day-Lewis, as her spiritual fiancé, it is no guess how she feels about their movies. Libby liberally recounts her daily life in the columns. Included is her cousin Andrew--an art director who is so creative that "no one is expecting grandchildren, if you know what I mean." Libby also gives very good descriptions of what the actors wear, and often make analogies to other actors and what they might wear. Libby is quick to comment, and dismiss movies, as needed. On Sneakers: they decide not to see a movie about computer hackers, "I'm waiting for a fast-paced thriller about guys who can set the timer on their VCR." There are many laugh-out-loud moments in the book. On Melanie Griffith as an undercover chassid: "But don't you think Yitzhak Shamir is just dreamy" and she declares the film (A Stranger Among Us) one that "manages to insult both Jews and policewomen." She speculated years ago that one day they would split Tom Cruise's films into two categories--with sunglasses and without. On Jean-Claude van Damme: "He is shot naked from the back featuring a rear that has been polished with love and Lemon Pledge, and that's a universal language, if you ask me." Every column ends with those four little words. She also declares that "anything with air conditioning is a masterpiece." Amid all the repartee are some rather genuine and shrewd observations, about life at large and film in particular. Commenting on G. Gordon Liddy's turn as an actor and Nixon's various books, she says no one is really sorry, they're just marketing their apologies. Of course, if helps if you are familiar with Hollywood stars and their movies, but even if you have not seen them, Libby is hilarious, with her own Libby awards and "Letters to Libby." She's so funny that, in her words, "you could eat her up alive and come back for seconds," and that's a book worth reading, if you ask me.

This is the funniest film review collection ever written. Forget Mr. Cranky, and even MovieJuice. Paul Rudnick (sorry, Libby) is flat out hysterical. My wife and I practically fall down laughing every time we crack this book open. The only problem is -- where's the sequel?

Posing as Libby Gelman-Waxner, Paul Rudnick (author of Jeffrey) give insights into five years (1987-1992) of movies, ranging from the superficial to the profound. There is a laugh-at-loud moment on almost every page. Highly recommended. See a longer review at http://www.geocities.com/Athens./2679/libri.html

Just read what everyone else has written...

She needs to climb out from those piles of ramie/cotton blends and update her book for us!

If you ask me, Libby is the best thing - and sadly often the only thing - worth reading in Premiere. This book is a collection of some of her earlier columns.

I remember picking it up in a bookstore, and reading the part about "Rain Man" and laughing so much I was helplessly bent over and terrified that I would be thrown out or carted away by men in white coats. Luckily, I wasn't.

Hollywood badly needs someone to prick its enormous bubble of egotism, and Libby is always up to the job. Many movie stars are in desperate need of a reality check, a reminder that their hangnails aren't on the same level as say, world peace.

In addition to Libby, we meet her adorable children, Mitchell-Shawn and Jennifer, her friend the terminally single Stacy Schiff, her husband Josh (like Bill Clinton he can balance a budget, then jog over to pick up a bag of donuts), her mother, and her shrink - all of whom contribute columns.

Equally funny if not funnier than Dave Barry at his best, this book is a worthy addition to anyone with a slightly warped sense of humor's shelf.

I have purchased at least 5 copies of this book. It is the funniest book I ever remember reading. Not just great for the movie reviews, social commentary, and razor-tongued critique of the stars themselves, it is just plain, tears-in-the-eyes, laugh-out-loud funny.
One of the people I gave this book to told me she was laughing so hard reading this book in bed that her husband kicked her out. Now, it's been a good many years since, say, Dancing with Wolves has been in the theaters so, I too, am ready for another set of reviews from Libby. Don't miss this one! If I could give it ten stars, I would.

With the demise of Premiere magazine, the time has come to update this hysterical tome and bring every last one of Libby's incisive, razor-sharp observations together into one volume. Surely her devoted fanbase deserves that much...

At last, a film critic whose take on movies matches that of a real audience. No pseudo-intellectual nonsense, just appreciation of the important things in cinema: popcorn, scantily-clad men and Michelle Pfeiffer's performance in "The Fabulous Baker Boys", to name but a mere three. Libby is a true auteur and the supreme goddess of cutting-straight-to-the-chase. This makes going to the movies oh so easy: you just know that if Libby likes it, you'll love it. Every single review is smack on the money. As an added bonus, you can keep tabs on Libby's fascinating life - because she magically manages to link movie storylines to (her) real life. Can you imagine any other critic doing that? Thought not.... But even goddesses need a break now and then, so Libby's own literary masterpiece is sprinkled with contributions from her mother, her daughter, her husband and her therapist. True, the films reviewed in this book are a bit on the old side now but, hey, now you have an indispensible guide regarding what videos/DVDs to rent! Libby's book is a complete and utter riot - never mind that this is a collection of film reviews, the fantastic quality of the writing and the amazing wit will have you in stitches from the first page to the last! This is probably the most-read book in my collection. I live in hope of two things. One, that Libby will come to her senses, dump Josh and marry me - forget Denis Quaid, Libby, I'm the one you really want (and anyway my mother would be SO pleased). Two, that the next volume of her insightful, razor-sharp analyses of modern cinema will hit the shelves very soon. Libby Gelman-Waxner deserves a Pulitzer, if you ask me.

You'll come for the hysterical observations, but you'll stay for the depth of thought. In reviewing Field of Dreams, for example, in between tart and hysterical observations about Kevin Costner's ambit, we get the incredible telling and onpoint observation that James Earl Jones' character seems oblivious to the fact that baseball was segregated in 1919. Whoa, Libby, you snuck that one in on us. Libby's humor is premised in her unabashed shallowness in movie tastes--she doesn't want to see Calcutta, she wants to see a cut up Patrick Swayze (one of the studs of her era)--and in her understanding of the Hollywood culture that movies reflect. In noting that the jobs women have in movies shift from art gallery director to caterers, she observes that these are great things for Hollywood wives of movie executives to do for "fulfillment" for a month or two, but not the way that the average woman in the real world will be pulling in the bread. Well, she makes that observation in a less heavy handed and much more hilarious way. Libby, forgive me, I lack your craft.

The most important thing about this book is that it is always fun and never self-important. Paul Rudnick, the man behind Libby, had fun with it, and so will you. In Libby fashion, I should note that my adorable mother, Mary Christine Motes, recommended this book to me. Thanks, Mum.

Very glad to have this finally. I think it might be out of print. Many thanks.