Book Review: All About Me! - My Remarkable Life in Show Business

Despite being born many decades after the prime of his movie career, I have a deep appreciation for the comedic works of Mel Brooks.  I was introduced to his movies through my dad, who had bought a DVD boxset of his most iconic films when I was younger.  I didn’t like older films as a kid for some reason; I often shied away from them and preferred newer movies.  Despite this, I remember being in the room with my dad when he was watching Spaceballs one day and finding it really funny and was able to appreciate it because I loved the Star Wars movies, even the old ones. I remember enjoying the over-the-top satirical approach the film had while also celebrating the work it was clearly poking fun at.  That was my gateway into the rest of his works with some of my favourite being High Anxiety, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles.  All these years later, I’ll always be thankful for my dad for introducing me to Mel Brooks comedic work and I figured with my adoration for books, now was good a time as ever to read the autobiography about his work in show business.

The structure of this book follows Mel Brooks’ early life growing up in the suburbs of Brooklyn until his eventual enlistment in the US army for World War II.  It then leads off onto his early career as a comedy writer for famed comedian Sid Ceaser on his TV show before his eventual segue into writing and subsequently directing comedy movies with the odd dabble in Broadway.  He breaks down each section of his early life and career in a nice devoted chapter which he recounts in a very reflective format. I loved the way he structured the course of this book because he segments major parts of his life and career in a really nice structure that is easy to digest as reader.  Writing it in a personally reflective format also helps you give the most intimate level of impression from Mel and his opinions on major parts of his life.

There’s a wonderful level of emotion that Mel Brooks is able to incorporate into his book as well.  As a comedy genius, he’s able to incorporate primarily a lot of humour into his recounting of his life, but he also balances the comedy with a surprising amount of sincerity when he reflects on more serious moments in his life.  I’ve often found comedy writers are some of the best people to capture life in its purest form because they are able to recognize the biggest way to counter the difficulty of life is to find ways to laugh at it.  Mel Brooks is one of the best examples of comedic genius and learning about his life both within and outside the movie-making industry has allowed me to appreciate him more than I already do. 

If you like Mel Brooks and his comedic works, this book is a definite must-read for so many reasons.  Its primary benefit is it allows the reader to understand Mel Brooks on a much more intimate level.  The man is a wonderful human being who has lived a fantastic life and this book fleshes out so many aspects of it that I was unaware of.  I will always appreciate the joy Mel Brooks was able to bring into so many of our lives and it means so much to be able to read and understand how much Mel Brooks never took any of it for granted, this book just excels in putting Mel Brooks on an even higher pedestal in my opinion.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐