Fat, Drunk, & Stupid: The Inside Story Behind the Making of Animal House
In the mid-1970s, Simmons was riding high as publisher of the wildly popular humor magazine National Lampoon. The publication’s success spawned an entire industry, including live theatrical shows, radio programs, books, and comedy albums. But its most successful spin-off was just on the horizon, the classic 1978 film National Lampoon’s Animal House. Simmons and most of the movie’s top-shelf talent, including fellow producer Ivan Reitman, director John Landis, and a then-unknown Kevin Bacon, take a fond look back at the raucous making of their underdog production, which became an unexpected blockbuster, turned the late John Belushi into a superstar, and, according to the book, changed the course of mainstream American comedy forever. Animal House is the granddaddy of the gross-out genre that includes American Pie, but Simmons argues it was the daringly subversive political commentary and gut-busting jokes that set it far above all followers. Previous books have covered similar ground, and Simmons’ writing style is more fizz than pop, but loyal fans of Animal House will find much to like in this engaging read. --Chris Keech