Customer Reviews

Jim Carrey: The Joker is Wild: The Trials and Triumphs of Jim Carrey

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I thought this was one of the best books I have ever read. I really love and admire Jim Carrey and I thought I knew pretty much everything there is to know about him. I learned so much new stuff and the book never got boring. I read the whole thing in a few days. I couldn't put it down, even for a minute. It's a great book!

Then find another book. Mr. Knelman seems incapable of painting his prose anything but purple. I couldn't get past the first chapter. There's a good book about Mr. Carrey waiting to be written; but this isn't it.

Wow, I just finished this great book, it is very well written, with insights in the world of Jim Carrey. Martin Knelman has written by far one of the best bios that I have ever read. He went into great detail of the feelings that where upon Jim Carrey and the people that surrounded him at the time. Through the begining to the end, you get to read a life of a born jokester, and his rise from poverty and a malnourished life, to a guy who makes a few bucks and makes everyone laugh or cry. The book is only 230 pages, but I guess if Martin Knelman, the author had dragged it on, then it would not of packed such a punch.

I have been a fan of Jim Carrey's since Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and ever since then I have been emersed in the magic that is Jim Carrey. With only "Earth Girls Are Easy" being the bad movie in his career, which was not horrible, Jim Carrey has had a great life in film in television with a lot more to come. Films like "The Cable Guy" and "Truman Show" were horribly underrated and not given much of a chance. With the dark and witty humor that the "average" Jim carrey fan would not appreciate or enjoy. So to some it all up, a great choice and a great read, "Keep on laughing"...

Thanks for reading!

Ryan

This terribly-written book rehashes tabloid newspaper articles to put together a lengthy People-style picture of Carrey's life. The first couple chapters are the worst and you will struggle to get past the ridiculous overuse of adjectives by the author.

The writer interviewed a few old Canadian associates of Carrey, which results in way too much of the book being about people associated with Jim's early years. About 25 pages are devoted to Yuk-Yuk's history, a comedy club that no one will care about.

It does skip through his career but often provides nothing more than Wikipedia versions of his movies and TV shows. There are a couple of errors, even in the asides (the writer says someone named Katie Ford worked with Carrey as a teenager in the 1970s and at age 16 was a "regular writer" of the TV show Growing Pains--except that show didn't start until 1985!)

There are no substantive interviews with anyone of importance to Carrey's career. Instead it's mostly gossip from newspaper articles, poorly reassembled and written at a 9th-grade level. You will learn a few things you may not have known (he lived in a van with his family after he quit 10th grade) but you have to wade through the bad writing to get to it.

As another reviewer said, a decent book about the comedians life has yet to be written. This is sophomoric and don't believe the book's cover that claims the writer is "an award-winning cultural journalist." None of those words describe this book.

Martin Knelman is a wonderful writer and of all the books I have read about Jim Carrey, his was the best written and most interesting of them all. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who either loves Jim Carrey or who would just like to know more about him and his amazing rise to fame from out of terrible hardships. Book has lots of insight, some photos and a list of films.

Congradulations Mr. Knelman, you took an interesting character and made him both real and inspirational. Jim Carrey, The Joker is Wild will definitely touch you.

For anyone who thinks Jim Carrey led a charmed life before getting where he is today, this book is a definite read. It opens a lot of doors into understanding his acting style, why he does comedy and why he is an actor.....he lives for attention and approval, and all his fans are happy to give that to him. He came from the school of REAL hard knocks. This makes me admire him all the more for perserving in the face of multiple adversities and giving us the performances we love to watch over and over. My personal favorite of all is The Truman Show, and the Majestic is right up there too. Catching up on his old films after reading this book, and I can see where he was coming from in his life at the time. The author did a tremendous job of writing this bio and I truly thank him for shedding light on someone I thought was "just another pretty face"....a wonderful bio on Mr. Carrey. I hope he gives some thought to bringing it up to date at some point. Jim Carrey I salute you for your wonderful acting. Great book; simply great.

I have been a fan of Jim Carrey's since Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and ever since then I have been emersed in the magic that is Jim Carrey. With only "Earth Girls Are Easy" being the bad movie in his career, which was not horrible, Jim Carrey has had a great life in film in television with a lot more to come. Films like "The Cable Guy" and "Truman Show" were horribly underrated and not given much of a chance. With the dark and witty humor that the "average" Jim carrey fan would not appreciate or enjoy. So to some it all up, a great choice and a great read, Keep on laughing.

A JC fan, I enjoyed this well-written book very much. It's amazing what people can do with their lives with encouragement and humor. I recommend people read this book.

I am a big Jim Carrey Fan and reading this book I realized I didn't know as much about him as I thought i did. This biography was well written and very detailed, you get to know Jim as you go through the book, from his succeses, his failures, his life as a celebrity. you also get to know how much he struggled over the years and how hard it was for him and just how hard it is to become a comedian. I definitley reccomend redaing htis book, it is good from the minute you open and close it from cover to cover.