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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe I'm not classy enough for the vine..., September 4, 2008
This review is from: My Custom Van: And 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays that Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face (Hardcover)
...but I love this book to death. I want to be buried with it. When I die, I want it to be because I laughed so hard I accidentally ate the book and then I want to be buried in a coffin made out of this book. Just kidding - I want to be cremated.
Okay, here's my real review:
Michael Ian Black is a genius and to me, his book is hilarious. But like any brand of comedy, you have to be predisposed to it. If it's not up your alley, it's not up your alley. It seems to me that those reviewing this book negatively (I'm looking at you, Amazon Vine) are not taking into account that this is a particular type of humor and are instead reviewing based on their personal comedic preferences. It's like going to see a sci-fi movie and saying it wasn't good because you prefer romantic comedies.
Within this genre of comedy, however, Michael Ian Black does it best. If you like your humor a little vulgar and definitely surprising, then this this book is for you. If you prefer the Blue Collar Comedy Tour or remember The State or Stella as the stupidest things you've ever seen, then it's probably best to shy away from this one.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Warning: May cause severe laughter, September 2, 2008
This review is from: My Custom Van: And 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays that Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
What can I expect from a collection of humorous essays introduced by Abe Lincoln? Apparently, hilarity.
I have enjoyed the talents of Michael Ian Black for several years across several television stations and different program formats, but I approached the book carefully for several reasons. In my opinion, so much of comedy is in the timing of the delivery, the cadence of the speech, and the inflection in the voice that I often approach comedic books with trepidation, if not outright fear, of wasting my time. I have read books written by other comedians that fell flat because there was not enough thought given to the change in format. Written comedy has to be presented a little differently sometimes to still come out funny, and some jokes do not translate at all (try reading a transcript of "Who's on first?"). Additionally, many comics try to write a whole book and present it the way they would a set or a monologue. A book cannot be fine tuned to the reaction of the audience as it is read (at least, not yet) so there is no way to gauge which part you should ad lib a little on and which part you should drop. It is also hard to be topical because some issues have no lasting impact and you cannot really revisit them. Few comedic books have earned my respect and few still have been recommended by me to friends and family.
Somehow, Mr. Black managed to discover a way to not only preserve his delivery but also to give us a book with humor that has no expiration date. Presenting his work as a collection of essays gives the reader options not available in a traditional format. Here, if I start reading an essay and it does not suit my mood I can simply flip a couple of pages and move on to a different entry. It also makes it something you can easily put down and come back to again (see Sarah Silverman's suggestion on the back cover).
The delivery works, the format works, and the humor is the sort I can visit over and over again when I need a good laugh. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sarcasm, laughter, and occasional nonsense.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Radical Feminist Poet branches out to comedy/satire, August 31, 2008
This review is from: My Custom Van: And 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays that Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I am mostly familiar with Michael Ian Black from his radical feminist poetry, written under a pseudonym of course. But we know who he is.
Seriously though, I am familiar with Michael Ian Black the basic cable TV superstar, from shows such as "The State" and the bite-sized nuggets of inanity from "I Love the 70's/80's/90's/Bradys."
Since I'm used to Black in TV nugget form, can he successfully hold my interest in book form? Thankfully so, because My Custom Van is split into bite-sized nugget essays on topics ranging from erotic fiction to instructions for cleaning ladies ("My advice would be to hold your breath, clean as much as you can, run outside, take another deep breath, and then clean some more.")
His humor isn't as observational as comics like Carlin, Seinfeld, and Attell. His essays are zany dysfunctional takes and anecdotes on many different topics, usually with a crazy twist at the end of each one. Very entertaining. And, let's be honest, in this Internet and TV society of fast cuts and instant gratification, who would have the patience for an entire 200+ page book with one continuous plot or theme?
I sort of expected to learn more about Black in this book. All in all, I'm not sure how much this book is really about Michael Ian Black, you can't tell since he writes most of his essays from the viewpoint of fictional personas. If the viewpoints expressed by the fictional personas are really Black's, he is a sad, sick, twisted, funny man.
But I still do respect him for his radical feminist poetry.
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