Bob McCabe, "Dark Knights and Holy Fools � The Art and Films of Terry Gilliam"
I didn�t realize this until I finished this book, but Terry Gilliam films defined three pivotal points in my life.
1986: Watched Brazil with my girlfriend at the time. She was my first real long-term girlfriend who could be taken seriously as a relationship and not some middle school fumbling. Smart as hell and pretty to beat the band, she talked about things from the movie that I just didn�t get. Feeling a little stupid from not understanding all the symbolism, I started my first foray into other books besides goofy horror novels.
We broke up after dating for five years because she went away to school at Humboldt and we drifted apart. (We still really liked each other, but come on! We were 20 years old and full of hormones!) She eventually married and the last time I talked to her she said she and her husband spent a lot of time watching sports on television, something she once told me she never wanted to end up doing. I haven�t seen or heard from her in years.
1991: One of the very few times that I actually asked a girl out on a proper date � and proceeded to have one. We went and saw The Fisher King at the theater, and we snuck in a twelve-pack. Since the movie was so long, we went to the bathroom in shifts, filling each other in on what happened.
Jezum Crow, I fell hard for this girl. She, furthering my theory that all women are crazy, decided to go back to the abusive skinhead who I was surreptitiously stealing her away from. This marked the last of my �player� days, as the dishonesty that I�m sorry to say I had carried out on several women bit me back tenfold. My refusal to play head games any longer also marked a significant drop in my dating in general.
She had a child with the skinhead. Eventually did finally break up with him, got married to somebody else, had another child and then got divorced. I�ve seen her twice, and she looks great. And by great, I mean fucking hot. Apparently she�s having a hard time meeting people now though, because of the two kids.
1998: I went to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with one crazy girl who I had been seeing exclusively for about five months. A week later, another girl was proofreading my article on the movie. I eventually dumped the crazy girl for this new one, who of course turned out to be even crazier than the first.
She seriously fucked up my life for a long time. After we broke up we talked a few times, attempting to keep the friendship. It didn�t work. After trying a few more times to reestablish ties, she finally left me alone when I asked her that when her feet were finally amputated from her diabetes, I�d appreciate it if she shoved them up her ass.
I haven�t heard from her since.
So, maybe it�s a good thing Gilliam hasn�t put out another movie since Fear and Loathing. I can�t handle the drama. But in the meantime, this book is great! This is the third book about or by Gilliam that I�ve read, and all of them are spectacular pieces of work, and they never get repetitive.
I�ve been waiting for this to come into the store for a long time, so imagine my surprise when I got it for my birthday! Score! I just can�t figure out why Monty Python books are so dreary but Gilliam books are so good.
