Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Book Review #40: Dean & Me (A Love Story)

Dean & Me (A Love Story) 2005


Reading Dean & Me was a real pleasure. You don't have to even be a fan of Martin and Lewis to enjoy the ride here. But if you are a fan, then this is definitely a must-read for you. By the title of the book alone, it's clear that it centers on the relationship of both Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, both professionally as well as personally.

I knew beforehand how much Jerry worshiped Dean. I just didn't know to what extent. You really do get that Jerry loved Dean as both a partner as well as his "older brother". The respect that he had for him comes through big time and you really do feel for Jerry when the team broke up 10 years after rocking the world with their routines. It was more than just making movies, doing stand-up and singing songs. Jerry really did lose a brother when they went their separate ways and I totally understand why he slipped into serious depression afterwards.

This book is a treasure trove of a lot of intimate private moments that you have never heard of before, unless  of course you happen to know Jerry personally. I think out of all the stuff I read, the one that I really felt lucky enough to hear about was when Jerry ran into Dean long after their break-up at their favorite restaurant, and Dean was in a booth eating by himself and they were able to mend fences and reconnect as before as best as they could. Man, how I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that.

Overall this is a very well written, heartwarming story of how a chance encounter between the two ended up changing not only their lives, but the lives of everyone on the planet. I highly recommend this to everyone. And do yourself a favor, when you're reading the book, watch as many Martin and Lewis clips on YouTube as you can. It really makes you appreciate the book all the more.

FYI, I may have not lived through their era, but I know from my own personal experience of comedy, they are without a doubt the best comedy team of all time. So damn funny it hurts.

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1 

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