Customer Reviews

I'm with Stupid: One Man. One Woman. 10,000 Years of Misunderstanding Between the Sexes Cleared Right Up

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From a Mercedes-buying contest devised to test which gender truly possesses killer, negotiating-instincts, to analyzing a pubic-hair baring model in a Gucci ad, readers enter "Gene&Ginaland" without security in site. I'm With Stupid, co-authored by Washington Post's Gene Weingarten, and University of Connecticut Professor, Gina Barreca, proves that great communication between the sexes is not necessarily analagous with finishing one another's sentences. While Gene thinks that the preeminent women's sport is "synchronized nagging," Gina dubbs Hemingway as "the premature ejaculator of American literature." They introduce perspective and expertise, consulting with Dr. Noguchi, the Los Angeles coroner who performed Marilyn Monroe's autopsy, whose knowledge on Marilyn's weight helps them disect the issue if size (hers!) really does matter in dating. Further, they reference the Talmud on notions on romantic love.

They are as hilarious as they are poignant; forgivable as they are unforgiving. Their answers and insights are spontaneous, yet well thought out. They poke fun at their own genders' fears, guilty-pleasures and misconceptions. They even poke fun at poking. Together, though miles apart, both in distance and thought, this dynamic duo allow each other and their fans the opportunity to break down society's barriers to finding a path toward a gender- understanding. There is no determined pattern in their debates as to which party must initiate their conversations. Nor is there an expectation modeled for their audience that one or the other must have the last word. Weingarten and Barreca prove that though different, the genders are equally powerful and subversive, neither set before the other. In our time where Viagra reigns supreme, I'm With Stupid is apropos, and momentous, proving that it really does not matter whom comes first, as long as both ultimately come together.

Gene and Gina talk like an old, married couple.

They're not married. They've never met. But they bicker -- affectionately, mind you -- with the comfortable familiarity of longtime chums. And in their book-length dialogue, they set straight all of the issues, myths, misconceptions and bugbears that have dogged the heels of male-female relationships since the first neolithic couple argued over the color of their cave wall art.

OK, so maybe I'm with Stupid doesn't quite live up to its ambitious subtitle: "One Man. One Woman. 10,000 Years of Misunderstanding Between the Sexes Cleared Right Up." But it comes pretty close.

During the course of the book, they engage in pointed discourse on matters ranging from parallel parking and the subtleties of color to the roles of men and women in history, pronouns, perfect vacations and Marilyn Monroe's weight. There is talk of sex, of course, as well as the obvious topics of marriage, infidelity and public restrooms. Gucci has its day, as do car sales, poetry, pubic hair, movies, pornography and sports. And, obviously, there is a raging debate over jokes, varied opinions on the merits of humor, farts and the evolution of the giggle.

I'm with Stupid will make you laugh. It will make you think, perhaps in ways quite foreign to you no matter what your gender. It's smart and clever, irreverent and wise. Read it, then share it with someone you love.

"I'm With Stupid" is a witty and candid look into the oftentimes verboten topics relating to men and women. Gene and Gina discuss the subject matter in an intelligent and comical way, offering their sincere opinions on everything from purchasing a car to public bathroom habits. The honesty with which they delve into these topics is lighthearted and refreshing, leaving the reader with a grin that will last all day. The authors playfully banter throughout the course of the book surprising each other and their readers with answers that will shock and ring of truth. By the end of the book the reader will have taken a rollercoaster ride through everything that has been wondered about but never asked out loud. The only thing better than reading "I'm With Stupid" is hearing Gene and Gina bicker in person on all topics that were brought to light in their book, as well as those left unscathed for the next time.

What remains to be said in the battle of the sexes? Quite a lot, it seems. In fact, it's likely a subject that will never cease to fascinate. What's often missing in the discussion, however, is humor. Humor is something Gene & Gina have in spades.

In this extended conversation between two clever comedians, Gene & Gina cover a lot of old ground and some new but their banter is always fun and fresh. They also have very distinct personalities: Gene as the old newspaper hack and Gina as the slumming academic. I also find their occasional guests highly entertaining as well as their silences (In the chapter on jokes that offend women, GINA: Why don't you tell the one you told me about the three tampons walking down the street? GENE: GINA: Go ahead. The whole class is waiting. GENE: )

Overall, there's something slightly offensive, deeply truthful and very funny about this book. I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times. That's all I really ask for in a book I pick up for fun.

I saw these guys at a reading a couple of years ago but couldn't afford to buy it which is why I moved to a better job in a new city but now that the paperback is out I am getting it for anybody I know who complains about their relationship, which is everybody! because they make it impossible not to laugh at yourself and your partner. It is an easy read, keep it next to the bathroom! and you'll laugh at every page.

This is a funny, funy book. They are a great team. No where else can you get 2 people who give you ideas of what it is like from the other person's perspective. This is a book to read more than once. W. is a great writer.

I love great conversation, and to read page after page of it- and laugh my ass off in the process- was awesome.
After reading the 'Gene & Gina' columns from the Washington Post(sent to me by two different D.C. friends...), I was psyched to see they had actually done a book together...now there's some commentary I would tune into on t.v....
I think what is so appealing about these two is that-
a) they are smart.
b) they are funny.
c) they are hip.
d) they are REAL.

I believe them...I believe their banter, their teasing and their
their righteousness-

I CANNOT believe that they continue to be so funny...column after column- but they do- and this book proves it.

I got this book for our first datingaversary (anniversary between those not yet married or engaged) -- great gift idea, by the way, since it was a hit with the boyfriend and his friends found the gift idea pretty funny as well.

If you're familiar with Gene and Gina, then this book is very similar to the articles featured in the Washington Post. Be prepared for the same sort of slow build-up, then laughing-so-hard-sides-aching humour that Gene and Gina put together. Some weeks are gems, other weeks are a bit off. My only major criticism of this book is that Gina is so polar to the point where it is ridiculous exaggeration or just plain unbelievable that someone could be that ornery and bitchy. Her polemic ideas and thoughts do set up for some of the best *zings!* though.

All in all, not a bad book, you'd just bookmark the funny chapters and only reread those parts.

If Dave Barry says a book is funny, I'm not going to argue--especially when the book made me laugh on every page. There's material here they could have taken straight out of my living room--except me and my lady ain't quite as amusing. But the writers here offer a view on what we all do without knowing why we do it. If we want to make our communication with the so-called opposite sex better, it starts by not taking ourselves too damn seriously. Read the chapter on whether you are a man or a woman (it's a quiz!) and TRY not to laugh. Impossible. This book shows us how laughing together works.

The marketing people at Simon & Schuster should be fired. That this book is not yet on the NY Times Best-Seller List is a national disgrace.
This book is at once highly literate and laugh-out-loud funny. I woke my wife many times with fits of laughter. She did the same to me when she had the chance to read it - and we sleep in separate bedrooms!!
The authors put to rest the notion that feminists and the Washington Post do not have a sense of humor.

Buy It - Read It and then tell all your friends. Help push Al Franken , Michael Moore and Bill O'Reilly of the Best-Seller List!!

It's the right thing to do.