"I was making my first tentative steps out onto the hollow ground where fame resides."
As a youngster, I admit to having quite the crush on Andrew McCarthy. I absolutely adored the movie, Mannequin, in which a young, pre-Sex in the City, Kim Cattrall plays a store dummy who comes to life.
It is quite surprising to discover the clean cut star of such films as Class, Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, and Weekend at Bernie’s spent an inordinate amount of time with a serious drinking problem. Equally surprising is the distance he experienced from the so called ‘rat pack’ with whom he was so closely associated.
McCarthy has an endearing narrative voice and draws on his experience as a travel writer, taking the reader on a journey through his origins from New York to Hollywood. There’s a sense of wonder and confusion that colours the success of his youth and the book feels relatively unguarded in exploring McCarthy’s memories which survive among the fog of drug and alcohol abuse.
I was moved to buy the book after listening to the author’s talk with Wil Anderson on the Wilosophy podcast. For someone who had experienced intense fame at a formative age, McCarthy appears to have exited the bubble as an interesting, decent human that you just want to hear more from.
5 out of 5 - preppy star grows to be pretty impressive.
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