From Publishers Weekly
"I don't care who you know, you never start out at the top, no matter what business you're in. First you're given oil wells, then you're given a baseball team, and then, and only then, are you given the White House." This Miller "rant," similar to the others that run five or six to a page in this new collection, his fourth, encapsulates all of his comic traits: biting, slashing, witty and ecumenically politically savage, targeting right, left and center. This persona honed on HBO's Dennis Miller Live and ABC's Monday Night Football is not a far throw from his kinder Saturday Night Live days, but his aggressive tone and often vicious ridicule make him this country's most notorious satirist, social agitator and malcontent. Whether he is going after George W. Bush or Gary Condit, Miller is rude and abrasive, taking on everyone and everything, from God (whose "name gets thrown around like the drunken dwarf at a biker rally") to the fat Elvis ("after the 50s, even Elvis couldn't do Elvis") although much of his anger is directed at stupidity in government and popular culture. Though funny, the pieces tend to suffer from sameness, and in the end, after he has demolished most everything in sight, readers have no idea of what Miller's politics or thoughts really are. Despite its political topics, Miller's work is really about great stand-up, not serious exploration of current events. Of course, that's just our opinion. We could be wrong. (On sale Oct. 23)
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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In his new collection of, uh, commentaries, many of which have been publicly aired on HBO, Miller scores a few hits and a few misses. His usual suspects--sex, politics, and sports--are his main targets again, but the NFL, perhaps not surprisingly, gets off pretty much unscathed. As usual, Miller begins each piece by saying that he doesn't want to get into a rant. Then he rants. This amusing strategy becomes a little tedious 10 or 15 rants into the book, but then ranting is what Miller does best. Lying flat on the page as they do here, however, their quality of spinning down into a vortex of cynicism doesn't register nearly as well as when he delivers them in stand-up mode. Inflection, timing, and asides are all missing--and missed. Still, Miller remains amusing on such underappreciated aspects of modern life as sports talk radio; in fact, he's moderately entertaining throughout. This volume stacks up nicely with its three predecessors and breaks little new ground, which is probably okay with his fans. One cautionary note: the collection was put together before September 11, and in it, Miller doesn't fawn over W in the now-obligatory manner.
Mike TribbyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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