Rowan Atkinson

by Bruce Dessau

Book Overview

With the release of Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie, and its largely American setting, Atkinson's zany brand of humor has now become accessible to an even wider audience. This well-illustrated book... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0752812254
• ISBN13: 9780752812250
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Orion Books
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 2.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Still Enigmatic After 278 Pages

Until an authorized biography is written with the cooperation of Rowan Atkinson, this book will have to do. Because none of Atkinson's close companions (or the man himself) would be interviewed for the book, the author had to resort to sources such as published interviews and the like. While not an ideal situation, the general outline of Atkinson's life does successfully emerge, though with substantial interpretation required of Dessau. The book is more a summary of Atkinson's career than an in-depth biography (for obvious reasons) and in that regard it is quite detailed. Atkinson emerges as the shy and reclusive youth with a penchant for "pulling faces" and physical humor. Although obviously his material has matured over the years, a persistent theme of the book is the essential "brainy physicality" of Atkinson's catalog. This physical humor obviously leads to comparisons with John Cleese (the two are friends,) who emerges as a mentor of sorts for Atkinson. I was especially amused at the prospect of Atkinson participating in the corporate training films made by Video Arts, Cleese's film company (see page 100 for details.) I appreciate also that Atkinson never lost touch with his roots as he participated in several projects centered on the schools he attended (he went to Durham School with Tony Blair) and Newcastle, his home town. I found it interesting that Atkinson's first date with his future wife Sunetra was to see Dire Straits, the band fronted by Newcastle's other famous progeny, Mark Knopfler. The book does detail the shows and characters Atkinson became famous for, notably Mr. Bean, and my personal favorite, Blackadder. It also supplies a fairly detailed amount of information on several other ventures of less critical note (for instance, please feel free to read page 165 for a full account of the travails of attempting to get a piece of toast to stick to Jeff Goldblum's bottom) or import, such as his small roles in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "The Tall Guy." As for genuine biographical insight, the book mostly outlines Atkinson's love for cars (and vehicles of all kinds; he's very proud to have a commercial truck drivers license) and racing. In the end, Atkinson seems not to have changed that much: he's still reclusive, shy, and intellectual, but of course, now he's the top paid actor in Britain. I awarded this book four stars for a couple of reasons. While it isn't that insightful into Atkinson's inner being, it is the best that could be hoped for given the source restrictions faced by the author. It does yield a detailed professional history, and it gives us at least a glimpse of the enigma that is Rowan Atkinson.

The face that launched a thousand quips

Bruce Dessau's book begins with his childhood and school life at St. Bees, then into his gradual abandonment of a science degree (he was expected to go into electrical engineering) and onto the theatre, where via connections to the Oxbridge mafia, he got the biggest breaks and the funniest lines.Influences? Jacques Tati's Mr. Hulot character, whose tics and twitches he memorized during his time at St. Bees. The significance of this is that it helped him in his technique of using silent comedy, miming even, to get laughs. Coupled with the faces he pulled in front of a mirror to gain a rubbery-faced elasticity that rivalled Jim Carrey, we can see the beginnings of Mr. Bean. Naturally, Monty Python is an influence, as it aired when he was 15 years old. John Cleese's nasty sarcasm was later felt in each of the Blackadders, as well as his portrayal of hideous comedy star Ron Anderson in his first starring movie, The Tall Guy, opposite Jeff Goldblum.There are a lot of comparisons between him and Cleese, come to think of it. Each of them had many years behind them, cutting their teeth on TV series, working with other performers, never being in something for too long, before making it big.In terms of his TV series, there's quite a lot devoted to each of them: Not The Nine O'Clock News, Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and the Thin Blue Line. Brief plots are given of each episode, as well as major performers who appear as guest stars, such as Miranda Richardson, Rik Mayall (The Young Ones), and Robbie Coltrane (Harry Potter movies). It is with the third series of Black Adder (my personal favourite) that he won BAFTAs (the British equivalent of the Emmys and Oscars).Mr. Bean, despite being his breakthrough series, was not only his fulfillment to create a comedy that could be more universal instead of being directed strictly at British tastes, was in a way the culmination of sketches he did on stage in the late 1970's, so it was basically old material (e.g. face shaving routine) refined. The movie was a success here, but because it was so Hollywoodized, was panned quite a bit in Britain.Atkinson though comes through as a genius who despite striving to be a perfectionist, realizes that perfectionism unhealthily reduces someone to a bundle of ragged nerves. More an introvert, he is two different people, a comic onstage, a very private person offstage.At this point, the Bean movie seems to be the pinnacle of his American success, but has the backlash happened? Sure, he came out the painfully jejune Rat Race, but Johnny English may be his saving grace, as Hollywood seems at a loss how to use him optimally. Then again, he didn't quite break into movies, as the book points out. Most of his movie roles have been minor (Never Say Never Again, Hot Shots Part Deux, Four Weddings And A Funeral). Yet through this book and from the time I noticed him in Not The Nine O'Clock News, the thing I've learned is never to anticipate what Rowan Atkinson will do next. Overal

A Great Book!

Rowan Atkinson is a genius actor, writer, and comedian. There is no one funnier, and his characters such as Mr. Bean can be enjoyed by the whole family.This biography is excellent, and I would reccommend it to anyone!

hilarious

This book is hilarious! I love Mr. Bean!

Bean Here And I'm Going To Read It Again!

This book is in the words of Bart Simpson is," Fab-U-Lus! "