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BOOK REVIEW: Hollywood Car Wash by Lori Culwell
From the minute I heard about Lori Culwell's novel Hollywood Car Wash I couldn't wait to read it (I admit it even jumped my massive queue of books to be reviewed). I'm celebrity-obsessed (yes, I know it's shallow, but I don't care) and Culwell's book, about an actress who is systematically turned into a "starlet," is based on true events.
Amy Spencer is a college student in Michigan with ambitions to be an actress in independent films, but when she gets the part of a regular girl from Michigan in a TV pilot she puts her ideals on hold and heads for Hollywood. The part is good, the money even better (particularly since Amy's family have been struggling since her father's death), but soon the show becomes incredibly popular and Amy's under increasing pressure to change, well, everything. Her name (to Star), her hair, her teeth, her nose and, of course, her body.
I didn't want to put this book down and I wouldn't have done if I hadn't had other responsibilities (I kept thinking what a perfect book it would be for the beach... if I didn't have a 3-year-old). It's entertaining, shocking and completely compelling. Because Star - sorry, Amy - is ordinary at the start of the book, she's easy to identify with, and though I found her a little weak at times, I really felt for her (I even cried a couple of times).
The back cover blurb includes the line: "...this shockingly accurate novel about the ins and outs of the Hollywood gave will leave the reader wondering - who is Star?" I don't know who she is (and she's not who I thought she was - the "megastar boyfriend with a big secret" was a red herring!), but I am desperate to know.
Despite the fact that I've read plenty of celebrity magazines and biographies and watched the odd E! True Hollywood Story or ten, there was still plenty in this book to shock me (unless I'm just gormlessly naive) and it made me appreciate just what a truly awful place Hollywood must be! Plus it's interesting from a feminist point of view - showing just how much work goes into making actresses "picture perfect" these days.
Rating: 5/5
Like this? Try How To Sleep With a Movie Star by Kristin Harmel
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Posted by Keris Stainton on June 13, 2007 in American Authors, Debut Novels, Rating: 5/5, Recent Release | Permalink
Comments
I need to read this now! Especially since I've been Hollywood-obsessed since birth. Speaking of actors being groomed, I can't help wondering why some of the blokes in Oceans 13 weren't processed before being put in front of the camera. When your teeth are a bit grubby and your wrinkles are prominent it's NOT a good idea to be on a screen six miles wide and seven miles high (Al). (I enjoyed the movie though!)
Posted by: Maz | Jun 13, 2007 2:12:32 PM
I may have to check this out. I live in Hollywood, but I certainly don't live a "celebrity" lifestyle. I have a book I'm working on which actually reveals the other side of Hollywood. The Hollywood for regular people, which is pretty dang different from life in an ordinary town, but also remarkably dissimilar from those on Hollywood's A-list.
Posted by: Lucie Simone | Jun 13, 2007 6:04:20 PM
well both Hollywood Car Wash and Lucie's book sound *great*! :)
Posted by: DIANE SHIPLEY | Jun 13, 2007 6:24:30 PM
Well, I been to Hollywood a couple of times and know someone who lives in West H. TBH I found it smaller than I expected. I'm far more fascinated by the Hollywood of the 1930s/40s/50s - the history of the place than how it is now. (Which left me fairly unimpressed, btw) I guess life's the same really wherever you live, unless you got dosh of course!
Posted by: maz | Jun 13, 2007 7:28:54 PM
Me too, Maz. I found it seedy, dirty and depressing (although, to be fair, that was just Hollywood Boulevard) and one of the biggest sadnesses of my life is that I wasn't born in the golden age of Hollywood. And American. And glamorous. And talented. Oh never mind.
Posted by: Keris | Jun 13, 2007 10:42:15 PM
Hollywood is many, many things. Seedy. Dirty. Grungy. And it can definitely be depressing. But it's also hip, trendy, and fun - you just gotta know where to find all the cool kids (I'm not talking Paris Hilton and her vapid crew of sycophants). They sure aren't hanging out on Hollywood Boulevard! If I ever get my book published, you'll get an insiders view of the "real" Hollywood. And hopefully a few laughs, to boot!
But certainly, Hollywood's heyday was back in the 30s and 40s. Glamour. Glitz. And all that Glittered.
Posted by: Lucie Simone | Jun 13, 2007 11:28:14 PM
Oh and did I mention I absolutely LOVE HOLLYWOOD! In spite of everything. Yay! And, in fact, all things American - except George Bush - but perleeze don't get me started on that one!
PS Poor Paris, I'm starting to be really glad I was born ordinary!
Posted by: maz | Jun 14, 2007 3:16:45 PM
