Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105026 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Amazon.co.uk
Rupert Everett is one of Britain's most admired actors (as well as being one of the most lusted after -- the fact that he has made no secret of being gay has hardly dented his female fan base). But he is also one of our most liked actors, and the reason for that is simple to discern. As his charming (and often hilarious) memoir, Red Carpets and other Banana Skins proves, he is not given to the self-important, self-aggrandising manner of so many actors (notably those in Hollywood). And, in fact, his winningly self-deprecating manner is reminiscent of an earlier generation of British actors, such as David Niven. It's not surprising that Red Carpets and other Banana Skins has invoked favourable comparisons with Niven’s classic autobiography The Moon’s A Balloon.

Theatrical/showbiz memoirs need to be frank and candid, without too many worries about decorum (the actor John Mills’ autobiography some years ago was so anodyne in this respect that many readers yearned for a little unbuttoned candour along with all the praising of famous colleagues -- but there need be no such caveats for Rupert Everett). Everett’s descriptions of working with such stars as Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone and Madonna are hilarious and revealing (with some side-splitting anecdotes), and his book is equally diverting when dealing with the author’s chaotic childhood and adolescence. Actors from an earlier generation -- Niven (as mentioned above) and Dirk Bogarde -- showed that certain thespians could be just as adroit as writers as they were in front of the camera or on stage. To their illustrious (but small) number, Rupert Everett's name may now be honourably added. --Barry Forshaw

Review
'The most keenly awaited celebrity autobiography is Rupert Everett's RED CARPETS AND OTHER BANANA SKINS, an urbane charmer in the manner David Niven's THE MOON'S A BALLOON.' John O'Connell's, TIME OUT

Simon Callow, GUARDIAN
'[A] continuously brilliant memoir, the best theatrical
autobiography since Noel Coward's ... a superb and unexpectedly inspiring
achievement'

Customer Reviews

And he can write too, sigh....
It hardly seems fair that a person born into such privilege should have a pile of natural gifts flung his way too - in Everett's case those dazzling looks and an acting 'talent' that has at least got him jobs over the years. I assumed he couldn't also be a proper writer but he is, the swine!

This bio is a brilliantly absorbing and amusing description of this lucky sod's life so far, and given the subject matter (showbiz) it comes with healthy doses of name dropping, gossip and backstage dirt. Brilliant.

I was disappointed though that after that wonderful description of his childhood he basically abandoned any reference to his family, leaving us to assume they'd fallen out but never saying so.

And for a man so famously gay, the only sexual partners he seemed happy to dish about were women. For a period 'back in the day', Everett had every edgy woman of the moment on his arm, and bizarrely, in his bed. Beatrice Dalle and Paula Yates, no less.

Most celeb bios are hailed as being 'refreshingly honest' and I have to take that with a pinch of salt. I think Everett is a refreshingly talented exaggerator (or has memory skills to rival Marvo's) but in one sense I did love his honesty in describing his career choices for what they really were. Many celebs whose career paths slide downwards blame their co-stars, changing fashion, the audience etc. But Everett cheerfully admits when his films have been garbage, and intelligently explains why.

Ok so describing My Best Friends Wedding as the benchmark of rom com is maybe a bit optimistic but in every other way, he seemed only too aware of the actor's lack of control over the quality of the product.

I was surpised and amazed by this book - it's readable, fun, moving and hugely enlightening about the tedious reality underneath the gloss of showbiz. A brilliant achievement, whatever you think of his film offerings.

Hilarious moments
Rupert Everett's memoirs are a frank account of his life so far,his memories of his earliest childhood,his eccentric schooldays, his failure at drama school and his emergence as a filmstar. His writing is detailed, fluent and initially entertaining. His accounts of his experiences working in London Theatres and of his teachers are hilarious. He is able to mask the pain of childhood and communicate the magic of his experiences beautifully. However, as the account moves to the present, it becomes less focused. We learn little about his approach to acting or the development of his craft, we learn about his relationships, his attachment to animals. Throughout the book seems to be modest, entertaining and amusing. Does it allow us to take Rupert Everett seriously ? I'm not sure.

Amusing and Very Entertaining
This is like O.K. Magazine. It even has photographs. The best thing is that it is written very well indeed and instead of having the usual vapid questions that appear in such celebrity magazines where the reporters are too afraid to annoy their celebs, Everett pulls no such punches and invariably says exactly what he thinks of the people he comes into contact with.

He has a lovely turn of phrase which manages to both flatter and undermine at the same time, and a great eye for a society now dead, both the shagfest of seventies gay life and the old school society, high glamour life of Hollywood. This melancholy descriptive style is reminiscent of Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate.

I enjoyed the book hugely. I would only have two criticisms, one that it wasn't long enough, and two that I found the shifting back and forth of the time frame rather confusing. I would also say that for all the wonder and glitter that the book shows I was more interested in the loneliness of his life and his schizophrenic pull between the hedonistic pleasure seeker and the clearly very intelligent person looking for meaning in a world that seems empty.