Customer Reviews

How to Make Money Like a Porn Star

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

After reading Strauss's riveting Jenna Jameson autobiography (How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale), I thought that I'd find something of value in this companion graphic novel. Not the case, unfortunately. The "plot" here is barely cohesive and, quite frankly, disgusting (the main character, a gun-wielding porn star, is kidnapped and raped by her own brother...). Some reviewers have called this book "laugh outloud funny." Maybe if you're in junior high, all of the naked boobies will make you giggle? While I give Strauss's Jameson autobiography my highest marks, this book is at the other end of the spectrum.

I had a chance to sneak peek some of the contents of the book before its release (he released various portions on some private BBs), and was quite surprised at the departure in content from previous material he's released.

Though in a way, I guess I shouldn't be.

Strauss has a writing style/persona that gives him the best of both worlds - to roam among the world he observes and writes of while never quite being OF it himself - able to distance himself from the subject matter, stay above the fray, to remain professionally unscathed.

It worked, to a point, in his last book, The Game. Though strange to some observers - the undertone of that book read like a morality play, and yet he went on to teach and discuss pickup techniques in mainstream media outlets.

I'm not sure he will remain as unscathed with this release. Already the book's subject matter - juvenille at best, (a graphic novel with the artwork done by Bernard Chang, who's work added visual affect in The Game), a patronizing insult at worst - his bifurcation simply doesn't hold up this time around.

Like Pete Townsend's lame claim that he posessed child pornography 'for research purposes,' trying to convince us that this is a high-minded expose squeezed in between silly, obnoxious artwork and titilating characters simply doesn't wash.

Reminds me of those cheesy late night programs on cable TV, showcasing rude/crude sex acts in the form of a documentary. Be a man; pick your path.

Most should see right through it. Save your money and pass.

"How to Make Money Like a Porn Star" is a rich concept, but poorly executed. The origin of this idea comes from Neil Strauss' interactions with porn stars from his Jameson project, who all shared their heart-wrenching stories to him as how they came into the idustry. Apparently, he rolled them all into one character, Claudia Corvette. The trouble is the Corvette character becomes more archetypical than fresh--her story (the road to the porn industry, not after) as sad as it may be, is nothing any viewer of "Dateline" (or other journalistic programming) doesn't already know, or can't already guess.

If Strauss set off to show us an unimaginiable underbelly to the pornography industry, he overcompensated with such an over-the-top plot. It is difficult to distinguish between what a porn starlett suffered through, or what is the creation of Strauss' imagination. Would a sultan train women in sexual technique for his harem? Yeah, probably. Could a women crunch a man's penis with her kegel muscles? Maybe. Could there be a "family reunion" as coincidental as this book's ending? I don't know. And what about Corvette's mother planting a butcher knife in a 3rd grader? I would place my money on this actually being fiction, so why wouldn't we believe the rest is also?

Bernard Chang's artwork and diverse styles shines through here, considering the script he had to work with--too fast-paced, sloppy flashbacks, and confusing backstory (Was the "Body Shop" a strip bar or really an autobody shop?).

Not all is lost though. Strauss' stength comes in the mock advertising inserted between acts. The "Porn Nuts" comic strips in the book are gems, particularly "Dirty Laundry" and "Scarred for Life." I would have preferred a "Porn Nuts" collection instead of "How to Make Money."

This is a work of satire, though the themes and messages in the graphic novel would have benefitted from a realistic approach. This would have meant a longer project, and more characterization (The reader feels distant from the characters). Otherwise, it is what it is--satire and fiction.

If you're a fanboy or a Style-monger, then go ahead and make the purchase. If you're not, borrow a copy for half an hour.

I read it at Borders, keeping a close eye on my back, on a non-busy night...

Entertaining story. Most men love porn, the image of a beautiful woman, the sex act, hot lesbos, etc. This allure is mixed with the ugly realities behind a semi-underground industry only recently 'legal'. But sarcastic humor is the way to otherwise potray stuff that would otherwise make people ill.

Fun for a lark, but scary. When the ultimate porn fan (south of an ex Egyptian prince) gets the porn star of his dreams in his clutches, but has a problem with 'something'.

This comic book satirizes everything even remotely related to not only the porn industry, but human nature. Very well-drawn, but at the same time, only sexually appealing in an extremely "guilty-pleasure" fashion, the story is the whole point here. The artist does exploit the beauty of the female form, but only in service to the story of, well, a woman exploited for the beauty of her female form. Absolutely not for kids, and only for adults willing to actually read a good, merciless story.

This was an interesting read (I read it in one sitting... = <1 hour). The whole thing is written comic-book style. While it had a great message and plotline, I was expecting to learn something. The title is a little misleading.

Lot of suggestions on all niches of porn out there waiting to be viewed. A great resource.

The only reason I gave this book one star is because it is the minimum allowed for ratings. This book is a complete rip-off and not even a book but a very badly written comic book.

I'm glad Amazon has a good return policy as this one is headed back the next time I make a trip to the post office.

This and Rick Vietch's Can't Get No are mandatory foundations of any early 21st centruy collection. The book is above analysis, anyone who attempts wordy critique has missed the entire point of the book, is the the target of the book's irreverence, and is not to be taken seriously.

I thought this would be a book about making money, from the title it seemed like it. I was not familiar with the 'like a Porn Star' books so I did not realize it would be a comic about violence, drugs, incest and bestiality.