Customer Reviews

The Shooting Script: A Novel of Suspense

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Laurence Klavan's THE SHOOTING SCRIPT is a lot of over-the-top breezy, gonzo fun. Like a Janet Evanovich novel for boys. While the plot engages and the pace brisk, my big problem with this novel was the absence of women who weren't either boinking main character Ray Milano or somehow related to him. Though I guess some readers might find this a plus rather than a minus.

There is a part of me that is constantly amazed whenever I turn on a television or slip a DVD into the player and see something actually materialize on the screen. All we ever see is the end result of a process that is so convoluted, illogical, and laborious that it's a wonder that the only thing that ever shows up on a movie or a television screen is a test pattern (of course, I have the same reaction whenever I crack the binding on a new book and actually see something in print, but that's another story).

There are a lot of projects, however, that start off as a good idea and never happen. Ever see a film called LaBrava, starring Dustin Hoffman? Of course not. Didn't happen. It almost happened, but as my firearms trainer once told me, "almost" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Another project that "almost" happened is a legendary film by Jerry Lewis --- yes, that Jerry Lewis --- titled The Day the Clown Cried. Clown, a rare dramatic vehicle for Lewis that was filmed in 1972, may never see the light of day, for a variety of reasons. Naturally, everyone who knows about it wants to see it. And that, of course, would include Roy Milano, Laurence Klavan's film-obsessed creation, who makes a welcome return in THE SHOOTING SCRIPT.

The general object of Milano's obsession is film trivia, to the extent that he is able to think of little else. Indeed, odd pieces of trivia pop into and out of Milano's consciousness, unbidden, at the most inappropriate times --- including, but not limited to, moments of near-death. Milano encounters several of these moments in THE SHOOTING SCRIPT, almost from the minute he receives a cryptic call from a stranger concerning a long-sought copy of the Jerry Lewis movie. The call leads Milano to a somewhat manic and madcap pursuit of the film, from New York to Los Angeles, to Amsterdam and back again, shadowed all the while by a mystery man who will stop at nothing to get the film for himself. Milano reprises his role in 2004's THE CUTTING ROOM as an almost-lovable nudge who would get a life except for the fact that he is enjoying his neurosis too much to do so.

Klavan, while not a deep literary writer, is an extremely entertaining one, and his plot holds together, hilariously, as a vehicle for the presentation of arcane film facts. In THE SHOOTING SCRIPT Milano's fixation is with what actor/director replaced what actor/director in which film. The trivia is extremely interesting if you have even a passing interest in film history, and if you are as obsessed with it as Milano, you will find the narrative to be riveting as the facts come flying at you.

THE SHOOTING SCRIPT establishes that Klavan has a winning franchise with Milano and this series. Given that Klavan has several decades' worth of film history to work with, we hopefully can look forward to much more of Klavan, and Milano, in the years to come. Recommended.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Roy Millano considers himself a "Trivial Man", a person so obsessed with movie arcane that he doesn't have a life and his only source of income is a newsletter he produces. He considers himself a movie detective after finding the original long lost version of the movie "The Magnificent Ambersons" (See THE OUTING EDGE) even though he was almost killed while pursuing it.

Now Roy's mother is ill and his aunt wants him to get a real job to pay for her care. When he gets an e-mail from an anonymous person telling him that he has a copy of the Day the Clown Cried, a Jerry Lewis drama, that was never released, Roy rushes to meet the man. When he arrives at his hotel room, the man is dead and there is no tape. Forgetting about his mother's illness Roy follows the trail to the tape and is stalked by another "Trivial Man" who is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way of finding and keeping the tape.

THE SHOOTING SCRIPT is a story of what happens when obsession is taken to extreme; Laurence Klavan has a protagonist with a refreshingly unique voice who can quote movie trivia at the drop of a hat especially when he is nervous. The dangerous situations Roy finds himself in pursuing the movie does not deter him from going after what he wants even though he knows he might get killed by his obsessive stalker killer.

Harriet Klausner

Mr. Laurence Klavan is a sheer genius, and his second novel is absolutely brilliant! Roy Milano, movie trivia expert is on the go to try and find Jerry Lewis's lost video of: The Day The Clown Cried. Along with Milano's self-deprecating manner, which is endearing, the humor, action, the vivid characters, story, drama, and most of all Mr. Klavan's impeccable timing and sharp wit make this a must read! It is a page-turner if ever there was one. Fully enjoyable in every way, this book and Mr. Klavan's first: The Cutting Room, would both be hits as major motion pictures. This is an Amazon verified purchase, and if you have a chance, do not miss the opportunity to read these two gems!