01/06/2020
Sonnenfeld recounts harrowing childhood experiences followed by his success in the film business in this episodic and uneven debut memoir. En route to becoming a respected cinematographer in the 1980s and then a hugely successful comedy director in the ’90s, Sonnenfeld’s difficult relationship with his parents is a recurring theme—the title comes from an incident when his mother had Madison Square Garden interrupt a Jimi Hendrix performance to page Sonnenfeld about missing his curfew. Sonnenfeld employs a deadpan narrative style, an effective choice when recounting his early work in the 1970s porn industry and, later on, dealings with Hollywood players such as Penny Marshall and Scott Rudin, but jarring when dealing with childhood trauma, including repeated molestations by his mother’s cousin and, as a five-year old, being asked by his father to convince his distraught mother not to commit suicide. Since these incidents are only treated superficially, the complicated dynamics underlying his relationship to his parents never become truly clear. Sonnenfeld is on surer ground discussing his artistry, with his look at cinematography proving a particular highlight. Readers will wish this intermittently entertaining and enlightening book had a sharper focus. (Mar.)
02/01/2020
With this candid memoir, Sonnenfeld (b. 1953) traces his journey from a troubled childhood to success as a sought-after filmmaker. Growing up in New York City, he contended with a philandering father, a neurotic mother (when Sonnenfeld was five, his father woke him up, asking him to talk his mother out of suicide), and a relative who sexually molested him. After graduating from film school, he worked as a cinematographer: first, briefly, on pornographic movies, then with the Coen brothers on Blood Simple and Raising Arizona. At the urging of producer Scott Rudin, Sonnenfeld agreed to direct The Addams Family—which launched a career that would include Get Shorty and three Men in Black features. Here, he mines scores of details, from the absurd to the mundane, painting a vivid picture of life on and off the set. A gifted storyteller, Sonnenfeld finds comedy in almost every situation—including his own pain. However, he turns serious, too, as he looks back on his dysfunctional upbringing. Above all, he stresses, anyone can overcome hurdles and thrive. VERDICT While film enthusiasts will appreciate Sonnenfeld's witty anecdotes, this self-deprecating memoir will also resonate with anyone seeking an inspirational story. —Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ
2019-11-20
The director of The Addams Family and Men in Black tells all.
Sonnenfeld makes his debut as a memoirist with a brisk, funny recounting of his improbable rise to fame in the movie world. With a brief interlude as a cameraman for porn films—an experience he recalls in visceral detail—Sonnenfeld carved out a successful career as a cinematographer (Blood Simple, Raising Arizona), director of photography (Big, When Harry Met Sally), and movie and TV director (Addams Family Values, Get Shorty, and Pushing Daisies). The only child of a neurotic, manipulative mother who "had a very fluid relationship with the truth" and a philandering father, the young Barry was sexually abused by his mother's first cousin, who lived with the family for a while. When Sonnenfeld confronted his parents about the abuse, they responded coolly: "don't forget child molestation didn't have the same stigma back then that it has now." His mother smothered him with her fears, threatening to kill herself if he opted to go to a residential college, but she also encouraged him to go to film school when she saw that his career as a photographer was not taking off. Although his parents reneged on their offer to pay tuition—"Don't be ridiculous. I would never say such a thing," his mother exclaimed after he enrolled—NYU's film school launched him into cinematography. Sonnenfeld offers a behind-the-scenes look at the many directors, producers, and actors with whom he worked. The Coen brothers, he writes, were "total novices" when they started filming Blood Simple, a low-budget movie that brought Sonnenfeld to the attention of Penny Marshall, who needed a cinematographer for Big. Sonnenfeld came to like Marshall despite her legendary indecisiveness and negativity; she balked at Sonnenfeld's visual style and even Tom Hanks' acting. The author was in the midst of filming When Harry Met Sally when volatile, unpredictable Scott Rudin summoned him to direct The Addams Family—after several other directors turned Rudin down.
Zesty anecdotes about family, marriage, and fatherhood combine with Hollywood gossip to make for an entertaining romp.
"[Sonnenfeld's] moments of self-effacement...make him an ideal tour guide through the vagaries and hypocrisies of the entertainment industry.... He catalogs his own anxieties at length, sometimes to exorcise them and sometimes to fetishize them.... It is thrilling to ride shotgun."—David Itzkoff, The New York Times
"If I went to prison, and I saw that Barry Sonnenfeld was going to be my cellmate, I would think, 'Oh, this will be a breeze.'"—Jerry Seinfeld
"The extraordinary thing about Barry is how many truly strange and amazing chapters he's had in his life."—Neil Patrick Harris
"Writing a book this sharp, [Sonnenfeld is] puncturing the myth of the Director as God....A wild account of his life and times....Here we have not only a new entrant in the movie-director memoir genre but an even rarer beast: a book by someone in the entertainment industry who is neither self-aggrandizing nor self-important but uniquely, and painfully, candid."—The Wall Street Journal
"Hilarious."—Ryan Seacrest, "Live with Kelly and Ryan"
“An engaging storyteller…. In his memoir, Sonnenfeld is both hilarious and tragic…. Somehow the combination works: Sonnenfeld’s breezy style engages us and makes us believe, as Will Smith has joked, that if Barry Sonnenfeld can be a director, anyone can.”—Jeremy Hobson, NPR's "Here and Now"
"Barry's memoir is amazingly honest and brazenly hilarious. Now excuse me, I need to take a shower and try to get some of those images out of my head."—Cheryl Hines
"Sonnenfeld's autobiography is laced with funny, sometimes absurd, moments.—WBUR
"Anyone who has encountered Barry for any length of time has wondered how he came to be the way he is. The answer is hilariously, poignantly, and forthrightly told through various stories that resulted in me feeling nauseous, laughing out loud, blushing, and repeatedly saying under my breath, 'Oh my God, Barry.' Sometimes all of those things at once."—Allison Williams
"Barry Sonnenfeld's memoir is not unlike many of his films. It's an incredible story about an unlikely hero. There is action, adventure, comedy, horror-and just a little bit of porn."—Kelly Ripa
"Hilarious, full of heart, and there are no typos."
—Max Greenfield
"I couldn't put it down."
—Marc Maron
"The most purely enjoyable memoir I've ever read. The content of this neurotic genius's life is fascinating, complimented by his rare gift of storytelling."
—Patrick Warburton
"Exactly everything a good memoir should be."—Audible Editorial
"Outrageous and hilarious...written with poignant insight and real-life irony."—KATU AM Northwest
"Very funny...Told in his unmistakable voice."—WAMC
"A neurotic, revelatory treat...[Sonnenfeld] spins eye-opening yarns....It's brutally honest...memorable and hilarious."
—HollywoodInToto.com
"His utter lack of sentiment when it comes to his achievements makes for a tonic against the typical showbiz-dreamer's success story. It is also a very, very funny book....Sonnenfeld is a portraitist with an ironic sense of humour some would call quintessentially Jewish, and he can't help but find the humanity and hilarity in the horrorshows...uniquely insightful."—Film Freak Central
"Hilarious."—Atlanta Jewish Times
"An extremely Jewy memoir."—Jewish Telegraphic Agency
"Funny, wry, and thoroughly entertaining memoir. Sonnenfeld is, above all, a storyteller."—Bookpage
"A candid, sometimes dark, entertaining, anecdotal trip down memory lane from a Hollywood icon."—Booklist
"Sonnenfeld makes his debut as a memoirist with a brisk, funny recounting of his improbable rise to fame in the movie world...Zesty anecdotes about family, marriage, and fatherhood combine with Hollywood gossip to make for an entertaining romp."—Kirkus Reviews
"The voice of Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother is one for this moment...chock full of humor and pathos."—The Jewish News
"A very engaging read."—Everyday Decisions with Jo Firestone
"His powers of exposition are impressive....This is both a serious and a comical book—sort of like Sophie's Choice, only funnier."—The East Hampton Star
"Sonnenfeld leavens his many struggles with a substantial dose of humor. He might have endured much, but Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother: Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker reveals Sonnenfeld to be a survivor. It's also a testament to how the rivers of fate can push you in unexpected directions....Sonnenfeld comes up with a wealth of entertaining stories....Revel in the ruminations of a man whose youthful traumas seared but didn't scar him."—Book & Film Globe
"Amazing."—Peter Sagal, NPR's "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me"
Barry Sonnenfeld, who has directed and produced numerous films, including MEN IN BLACK, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, and a series of pornographic shorts, tells the story of his tortured life. While a seasoned narrator might have lent some rhythm to the narration, Sonnenfeld performs it without emotion. He plows right on, one story after another, in a Woody Allen-esque recitation of his horrible life. True, he wasn't physically abused by his family—school bullies took care of that—but they tortured him psychologically. From an overbearing, incompetent mother to an uncaring father who allowed him to be molested by a cousin, he learned to fend for himself. That drive made him one of Hollywood’s most famous producers and directors. M.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Barry Sonnenfeld, who has directed and produced numerous films, including MEN IN BLACK, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, and a series of pornographic shorts, tells the story of his tortured life. While a seasoned narrator might have lent some rhythm to the narration, Sonnenfeld performs it without emotion. He plows right on, one story after another, in a Woody Allen-esque recitation of his horrible life. True, he wasn't physically abused by his family—school bullies took care of that—but they tortured him psychologically. From an overbearing, incompetent mother to an uncaring father who allowed him to be molested by a cousin, he learned to fend for himself. That drive made him one of Hollywood’s most famous producers and directors. M.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
