Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
fabulous satirical tale , August 26, 2005
In Southern California, size 12 waitress Julie Jorlamo thinks God is missing an angel since highly regarded actor Chad Downing moved into her building. Chad is conducting research on how the working class lives for an upcoming role. She will soon reconsider her belief star system when the paparazzi catch Julie leaving Chad's temporary apartment in a bathrobe due to a "matchmaking" canine. This explodes into a media feeding frenzy. to learn who is the lover of America's heartthrob. Phil the publicist drums up the concept of royal Hollywood dating a commoner.
As Chad escorts Julie around the town to the swankiest of galas and events, the star-struck waitress sees how shallow the glamour and glitter truly are. As her fifteen minutes of fame begins to wane, Julie just wants to return to her normal boring life as Hollywood has opened her eyes to celebrity-ism.
MY FIFTEEN MINUTES is a fabulous satirical tale that lampoons the American worship of movie stars and other figures on pedestals. The story line is at its lampoonist best when the starry eyed waitress oohs and ahs her way into high society though she just the waitress next door, which she soon receives an education as such to remind of this. When the plot veers towards chick lit territory it loses some of the sting as inanity replaces stinging social wit. Still this is a fabulous glimpse at who is a hero.
Harriet Klausner
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Hated it. I didn't like the main characters or the story., January 10, 2008
There was too much crude, vulgar and foul language. I recently read a different book, where I actually enjoyed the swearing by one of the characters, but not so in this book. It was unpleasant. I had no sympathy for the main character, Julie, who worked in a chain restaurant. The manager and fellow workers treated her unfairly and badly. I couldn't believe that she didn't try to find another waitress job. She becomes a pretend girlfriend for a famous movie star, whom I don't like. I also didn't like Julie's girlfriend Billie who partners with Julie to get free stuff from retail stores simple because Julie is the girlfriend of a movie star. This book was not fun or interesting. Sexual language: none other than vulgar swearing. Number of sex scenes: none. Setting: current day U.S. Copyright: 2005. Genre: contemporary romance.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
I didn't like it either... , September 21, 2005
Sorry, I just didn't. None of these people were likeable, not even Julie. To really get inside a character's head I need to feel some sympathy for her, and that didn't happen here. She was as shallow as Chad, and I hated the way she let everyone walk all over her. Chad (and every other person in the story) treated her like dirt, but I didn't care enough about her to either be enraged on her behalf, or to root for her to stand up for herself. And yes, way too much throwing up. The rest of the characters were too exaggerated, so not only was Chad a complete jerk, he came off like a cartoon villain, as did Julie's boss at the restaurant. Billie, who was supposed to be zany and loveable, was just annoying. That guy who had a crush on Julie and hung around the restaurant every night to see her (I can't even remember his name one day after finishing the book) was obviously supposed to be the good guy, but he struck me as creepy - can we say stalker? Ugh. I know this is fiction and I would have been willing to suspend belief enough to get into the implausible plot, but I disliked these people so much I couldn't do it.
For a much better story of sudden fame by association, read "The Year Of Living Famously" by Laura Caldwell.
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by Sara Faith Alterman
