Book Review of Show Me the Magic by Paul Mazursky (1999)
Show Me the Magic. Paul Mazursky. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1999. 270 pages.
By Patrick Charsky
An unknown kid born of Russian- Jewish immigrants, raised in Brownsville Brooklyn, grows up to be the voice of the “Me” generation. Does this sound remotely possible? That’s just what happened to Paul Mazursky. In his memoir Show Me the Magic: My Adventures in Life and Hollywood, Mazursky relates his life from childhood to late adulthood. The book talks about his early days in Greenwich Village to his stellar years in Hollywood during the 1980’s
I first learned about Mazursky by reading Patrick McGilligan’s Backstory 4: Interviews with Screenwriters from the 1970s and 1980s. I decided to dig deeper and found this wonderful, concise, memoir by Mazursky. I read the book and watched as many films by Mazursky as I could find. It was a great pleasure to watch the films.
From his first hit, I Love You, Alice B. Toklas to his finale The Pickle, Mazursky’s films touched on the currents of the decades of the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. In Show Me the Magic, Mazursky reveals how he made films for many years which reflected not only his personal life but the times around him.
Show Me the Magic starts where it all began for Mazursky; Brownsville. He talks about his childhood, growing up with his grandparents, his Mother, and the tight knit community that nurtured him into becoming an actor. The turning point in Mazursky’s youth was leaving home for the Village. His decision to move from Brooklyn into the Village led him to several miner acting roles. All of this is dramatized in Mazursky’s autobiographical film Next Stop, Greenwich Village. From the Village Mazursky made the big move to the West coast and his first film as a writer; I Love You Alice B Toklas.
Mazursky talks about dealing with the neurotic Peter Sellers. At the time Sellers was a big time comedy star just coming off of Dr. Strangelove. Mazursky relates several funny stories about Sellers’ eccentricities and how he and Sellers got into an argument and never talked again until years after the film was released. The film stands as a classic of 1960’s comedy. It showed the counterculture of LA in the multitude of characters and situations that surrounded Sellers character who changes from a straight laced Lawyer to a hippie who eats delicious marijuana laced brownies. The film was a hit
Throughout these early years Mazursky talks about Federico Fellini as a big influence. Mazursky was infatuated with the Italian Master. Mazursky even flew to Rome to persuade Fellini to appear in his film based on a director who was experiencing writer's block. The film was loosely based on Fellini’s 8 ½. It was called Alex in Wonderland and was Mazursky’s sophomoric effort. In other words it was a flop.
The late 1970’s and early 1980’s proved a particularly good time for Mazursky. He made Tempest, Wille and Phil, Moscow on the Hudson, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and Scenes From a Mall. These successes led him to be called the voice of the “Me” generation.
In his memoir Mazursky talks about taking a trip to the Soviet Union during location scouting for Moscow on the Hudson. It’s a very stimulating story that adds to an understanding about how a film like Moscow on the Hudson was made. Flying all the way to the Soviet Union to get a sense of what it was like there really added to the authenticity of the film. Moscow on the Hudson might be Mazursky’s best film. It is certainly a heart-rending film about what it was like to defect from the Soviet Union only to find oneself in inner-city New York and facing the hardships of life there.
Through films like Moscow on the Hudson and Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Mazursky became the voice of the “Me” generation. In Show Me the Magic, Mazursky details how it all came together. But it was not just the big hits that made him an iconoclast. It was smaller films like Willie and Phil or Scenes From a Mall, and his last film, The Pickle which reveal Mazursky’s breath and depth at creating films with compelling plots, but more importantly unique characters.
Show Me the Magic is, at times, a laugh out loud funny, and deeply moving exploration of a writer’s past. The writing sparkles with wit, interesting details, and the lingering sense that the best of times had passed for Mazursky. His stories about the passing of his Mother and his own quadruple bypass make the reader feel empathy for the author.
If anyone is interested to learn about Hollywood over several decades and numerous films, Mazursky’s book offers a birds eye view of how the films got made. Show Me the Magic is a great memoir that film students and filmmakers would find compelling reading. Perhaps Mazursky’s memoir would be of most interest to screenwriters. His stories about working as a writer in his early days up until he was an in demand Hollywood auteur reveal a life lived as a Hollywood scribe. In today’s era of Marvel movies, Mazursky’s films were more personal. They offer insights into characters and the World at large. A far cry from the escapist tent poles in most movie theaters these days. Like his mentor Fellini, Mazursky was one of the last true Auteurs
From his first hit, I Love You, Alice B. Toklas to his finale The Pickle, Mazursky’s films touched on the currents of the decades of the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. In Show Me the Magic, Mazursky reveals how he made films for many years which reflected not only his personal life but the times around him.
Show Me the Magic starts where it all began for Mazursky; Brownsville. He talks about his childhood, growing up with his grandparents, his Mother, and the tight knit community that nurtured him into becoming an actor. The turning point in Mazursky’s youth was leaving home for the Village. His decision to move from Brooklyn into the Village led him to several miner acting roles. All of this is dramatized in Mazursky’s autobiographical film Next Stop, Greenwich Village. From the Village Mazursky made the big move to the West coast and his first film as a writer; I Love You Alice B Toklas.
Mazursky talks about dealing with the neurotic Peter Sellers. At the time Sellers was a big time comedy star just coming off of Dr. Strangelove. Mazursky relates several funny stories about Sellers’ eccentricities and how he and Sellers got into an argument and never talked again until years after the film was released. The film stands as a classic of 1960’s comedy. It showed the counterculture of LA in the multitude of characters and situations that surrounded Sellers character who changes from a straight laced Lawyer to a hippie who eats delicious marijuana laced brownies. The film was a hit
Throughout these early years Mazursky talks about Federico Fellini as a big influence. Mazursky was infatuated with the Italian Master. Mazursky even flew to Rome to persuade Fellini to appear in his film based on a director who was experiencing writer's block. The film was loosely based on Fellini’s 8 ½. It was called Alex in Wonderland and was Mazursky’s sophomoric effort. In other words it was a flop.
The late 1970’s and early 1980’s proved a particularly good time for Mazursky. He made Tempest, Wille and Phil, Moscow on the Hudson, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and Scenes From a Mall. These successes led him to be called the voice of the “Me” generation.
In his memoir Mazursky talks about taking a trip to the Soviet Union during location scouting for Moscow on the Hudson. It’s a very stimulating story that adds to an understanding about how a film like Moscow on the Hudson was made. Flying all the way to the Soviet Union to get a sense of what it was like there really added to the authenticity of the film. Moscow on the Hudson might be Mazursky’s best film. It is certainly a heart-rending film about what it was like to defect from the Soviet Union only to find oneself in inner-city New York and facing the hardships of life there.
Through films like Moscow on the Hudson and Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Mazursky became the voice of the “Me” generation. In Show Me the Magic, Mazursky details how it all came together. But it was not just the big hits that made him an iconoclast. It was smaller films like Willie and Phil or Scenes From a Mall, and his last film, The Pickle which reveal Mazursky’s breath and depth at creating films with compelling plots, but more importantly unique characters.
Show Me the Magic is, at times, a laugh out loud funny, and deeply moving exploration of a writer’s past. The writing sparkles with wit, interesting details, and the lingering sense that the best of times had passed for Mazursky. His stories about the passing of his Mother and his own quadruple bypass make the reader feel empathy for the author.
If anyone is interested to learn about Hollywood over several decades and numerous films, Mazursky’s book offers a birds eye view of how the films got made. Show Me the Magic is a great memoir that film students and filmmakers would find compelling reading. Perhaps Mazursky’s memoir would be of most interest to screenwriters. His stories about working as a writer in his early days up until he was an in demand Hollywood auteur reveal a life lived as a Hollywood scribe. In today’s era of Marvel movies, Mazursky’s films were more personal. They offer insights into characters and the World at large. A far cry from the escapist tent poles in most movie theaters these days. Like his mentor Fellini, Mazursky was one of the last true Auteurs
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