I borrowed The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray from Caitlin_D because who doesn’t love Bill Murray? Unfortunately, I found the book a little lacking. It’s the second book about this man that I’ve read the last few months, and the other one was definitely better. Although I don’t normally have a problem with narratives skipping around, I second Caitlin’s opinion that the author’s choice to alphabetize Bill’s movies instead of presenting them chronologically (which does makes sense, as this is supposed to be encyclopedia), makes it difficult to follow the course of his career.
I also feel like the author was really reaching on some of the entries, like when he would talk about a restaurant that Bill mentioned once in an interview or how he happen to like a certain actor despite never having worked with them. I assume it’s because he could hardly call up Bill & interview him. Still, you can tell that this book was a labor of love for the author. It’s meticulously researched and the full-color photographs are beautiful. It’s a very heavy book (in fact, so heavy, with such glossy pages, that I had trouble reading it in bed), and would make a great present for a fan, even if they don’t feel the need to sit down and read every entry.
I will say that the more I read about Bill Murray the more I’m certain that he has some sort of un-diagnosed mental illness that causes him to be the person that he is. He certainly comes off as an asshole in a lot of the stories, but also so lovable that you just shake your head and deal with it.
I got this one for Christmas – maybe I’ll just look at the pictures and watch another of his movies instead.
I recommend the pictures, and the write ups on the movies that you like. There is some interesting info, but a lot of it is buried.